Four Garnet Men Make All-Centennial
LANCASTER, Pa. -- The Swarthmore men's soccer team had four members selected to the 2007 All-Centennial Conference team, as announced by the Conference office on Thursday.
Seniors Pat Christmas (Chapel Hill, N.C. / East Chapel Hill) and Ryan Sutcliffe (Milford, Del. / Milford), and juniors Jeff Kushner (Norristown, Pa. / Methacton) and Ladulé Lako Lo Sarah (Davis, Calif. / Claremont) were named to the second team following a vote by the conference’s head coaches.
Christmas (above), a midfielder, makes All-Centennial for the third consecutive season (first team in 2006, honorable mention in 2005), becoming the first Swarthmore soccer player to accomplish the feat. The three-time team captain started 16 matches in 2007, accumulating five points (four assists, one goal) including the game-winning goal in a 2-1 overtime win at St. Mary’s (Md.) on Sept. 13. His four assists (a career-high) were second on the team and tied for 13th-best in the Centennial. Christmas has missed just one match in his four-year career (a total of 76 starts), accumulating 10 points (two goals, nine assists) while leading Swarthmore to three Centennial Conference Championship appearances.
Kushner (right), a defender, receives his first All-Centennial nod
following a 2007 campaign where he scored two goals and assisted on another. He, along with Christmas and Lo Sarah, was also named All-Tournament at the Garnet Alumni Classic on the opening week of the season.
Lako Lo Sarah, a forward, makes All-Centennial for the first time after a break-out campaign in 2007. He led the Garnet with career-highs in points (16) and goals (seven), finishing in a tie for the ninth-most goals scored in the Centennial. Four of Lako Lo Sarah’s goals were game-winners, tying him for fourth in the conference.
Sutcliffe, a goalkeeper, is on the All-Centennial list for the first time. The senior net-minder had a 9-3-3 record in 2007, ranking in the top-five in the Conference in shutouts (five) and goals-against average (0.82). Sutcliffe was named Centennial Defensive Player of the Week and Division III E.C.A.C. South Region Defensive Player of the Week on two separate occasions, as well as appearing on the D3Kicks.com Team of the Week.
The four Garnet men is the most ever selected for the All-Centennial team – the previous high was three in 2006.
Swarthmore completed the 2007 regular season with an overall record of 11-3-3 (5-3-1 in the Centennial).
To view complete 2007 Centennial Conference Team Click Here