Bullets Streak Past Garnet
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Gettysburg broke open a scoreless game with a quick-strike goal in the 47th minute and held on for 1-0 win over host Swarthmore on a cool Saturday night at Clothier Field.
A Gettysburg defender cleared a Swarthmore corner kick out of the Bullet box right to a teammate's feet, sparking the fast break. Two passes later, the ball was on the feet of Chris Bayon (Langhorne, PA / Lawrenceville School). Bayon beat one defender off the dribble, and with another on his hip, knocked the ball into the lower left corner of the net.
The Bullets nearly extended the lead to 2-0 in the 63rd minute when Matt Varner (Medford, NJ / Shawnee) knocked the ball towards an empty net. But Swarthmore senior captain Brendan Grady (San Jose, Calif. / Bellarmine), facing the goal, set his feet and bicycle-kicked the ball away.
Swarthmore's best chance to tie came in the 70th minute. Junior Evan Nesterak (Parker, CO / Ponderosa) rose high above a defender and sent a header towards the goal, but Gettysburg goalkeeper Matt Langston (Harrisburg, PA / Central Dauphin East) was well-positioned to make the save.
Gettysburg looked poised to ice the game in the 90th minute, but Garnet goalkeeper Ryan Sutcliffe (Milford, DE / Milford) stoned Bayon from five yards away.
The teams played a nearly even first half, with Gettysburg holding a 6-4 edge in shots. Gettysburg went on to finish the match with a 13-9 shot advantage.
The Garnet held a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks, but the Bullet defense held the hosts to just one shot off of corners-a Jeff Kushner '09 (Norristown, PA / Methacton) header that sailed high in the 52nd minute.
Langston made three saves for his first shutout of the season; Sutcliffe made three stops for the Garnet.
Swarthmore will look to rebound next Saturday in Collegeville, Pa. when they face conference foe Ursinus in a 1:00 p.m. match.