Ladule, Garnet Upset #9 F&M
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Garnet junior Ladule Lako Lo Sarah (Davis, Calif. / Claremont) continued his offensive surge Saturday night, sending hometown Swarthmore to a 1-0 overtime upset victory over ninth-ranked Franklin & Marshall. Lo Sarah's fourth game-winner of the season handed the Diplomats' their first loss of the season and improved Swarthmore's record to 8-2-3 overall and 3-2-1 in the Centennial.
The two teams battled through 90 scoreless minutes-it was the fifth time the Garnet played into extra time in 2007. Lo Sarah began the overtime period on the bench, but was strategically re-inserted by Garnet head coach Eric Wagner at 93:30.
The move paid off in a big way for Swarthmore.
The Garnet played a long ball down the center of the field, where Lo Sarah had found a pocket of space in between the Diplomat defenders. The lanky forward settled the ball and turned towards the F&M net with a Dip defender draped on his back. He quickly encountered a second defender in his path. On a full run, Lo Sarah ticked the ball over the step-in by the F&M defender, planted on his right foot and drilled a low line-drive past charging Diplomats goalkeeper Zach Zamek. The ball found the back of the net at 95:31 and set off a mad celebration by the Garnet faithful.
The Swarthmore/F&M men's soccer match-up has turned into one of the better rivalries in all of the Centennial Conference-eight of the last ten meetings have resulted in a 1-0 score. The Garnet improve their overall series record (dating back to 1924) with their Lancaster County-rivals to 33-24-4.
The Garnet exacted a bit of revenge-F&M defeated Swarthmore 1-0 in both 2006 matches, including a victory in the Centennial Conference semi-final in Baltimore.
Franklin & Marshall (13-1 overall, 5-1 CC) controlled play in the opening minutes, with senior All-American Brandon Corday creating a scoring chance in the 11th minute. The pony-tailed speedster found space at the top of the Garnet penalty box and his rolling chip banged off the cross bar. Another bending shot by Corday was deflected away by Swarthmore senior goalkeeper Ryan Sutcliffe (Medford, Del. / Medford), keeping the game scoreless into the intermission.
The visitors enjoyed a 13-6 shot advantage in the first 45 minutes, attempting seven corner kicks to Swarthmore's one.
The Diplomats continued to press the issue in the second half, assuming an 8-0 shot advantage. Sutcliffe (five saves on the night) and the Swarthmore defenders continued to make life difficult for Franklin & Marshall forwards, clearing cross after cross.
The Garnet needed just the one shot midway through overtime, resulting in Lo Sarah's team-leading seventh goal of the season. It easily surpasses his previous career-high (two goals in 2006) and increases his career point-total to 27 (nine goals, nine assists).
Swarthmore has won three out of its last four matches (all in Centennial play) to move just one point out of the final CC spot (idle Dickinson is fifth with 11 points). The Garnet have made the Conference playoffs each of the last three seasons and will need to continue strong road play (3-0-2 in 2007) as two of three remaining Centennial matches are away from Clothier Field.
The Garnet travel to Alvernia on Wednesday, Oct. 17 for a non-conference game at 4:00 p.m. before resuming their Centennial quest at McDaniel (7-4-4 overall, 1-3-2 CC) on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 1:00 p.m.