Garnet Find Groove with 5-0 Win
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Swarthmore men's soccer (1-0) started their season with a 5-0 win over Skidmore (0-1) in front of a roaring home crowd at Clothier Field early Friday evening.
For the 11th season Swarthmore opened their season with Garnet Alumni Classic, in a classy fashion senior forward Evan Nesterak (Parker, Colo. / Ponderosa) scored his first two goals of the season to give the Garnet the offensive edge against the Thoroghbreds.
Well into the first half after a Skidmore foul from ten yards off the 18-foot line defender Gage Newman'11 (Cambridge, Mass. / Buckingham Browne & Nicholas) sent a ball to the back left section of the box which was knocked around by a few players and ultimately sent passed the Thoroughbred goalie for an own-goal. Newman was credited with his first career goal with 21:17 on the clock.
Garnet freshman Pierre Dyer (Bethesda, Mary. / French International School) sent a long ball from the midfield line to Nesterak who buried it into the back right side of the net with a header at 34:40.
The Swarthmore footballers closed the first half with 2-0 advantage over Skidmore.
Like the first half all players continued to play aggressively and a number of yellow cards were handed out to both sides. In the 50th minute of the match Nesterak was taken down in the box and classmate Ladule Lako Lo Sarah'09 (Davis, Calif. / Claremont) finished by sending the ball through the goalie's hands on the right side of the net.
With 59:46 showing on the score board Newmann floated a long cross to Nesterak who beat two defenders with a diving header to send the ball flying over the goalie into the back right of the net making the score 4-0.
The Garnet offense continued to win 50/50 balls in the second half which aided in their ball control. Their solid offensive shape was a direct reflection from the back line sending crisp passes up the field.
Garnet center midfielder Omari Faayke (Kwahu-Nkwatia, Ghana / SOS-Herman Gmeiner Int'l. College) saw a few opportunities but had trouble connecting the ball over the goal line. Throughout the game he consistently beat defenders and distributed the ball well to his team mates.
Following a heart breaking crossbar shot from senior Jason Thrope (Port Washington, N.Y. / Schreiber) at 88:33, freshman David Sterngold (Muncy, Pa. / Muncy) drilled a shot to the back of the goal for the Swarthmore's final goal on the night.
Garnet netminders Zach Weimar '10 (Rutledge, Pa. / Friends Central) and David D'Annunzio '12 (Piedmont, Calif. / Piedmont) combined for a shut-out, while Nick Peterson and Chris Ford shared a total of six saves for the Thoroughbreds.
Down the road at Widener University where the second match of the Garnet Alumni Classic was being played, Richard Stockton (1-0) beat Widener (0-1) in overtime by a score of 1-0. Following two periods of regulation time, with 94:55 showing on the clock, Ospreyfreshman Brennen Fitzsimmons (Neptune, N.J. / Neptune) took advantage of junior Pat Tolomeo's (Ocean City, N.J. / Ocean City) miss-hit off the post for a back-heel goal.
The Garnet Alumni Classic will continue tomorrow when Swarthmore hosts Richard Stockton at Clothier Field with a match time of 2:00 p.m. Over at Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium, Widener will take on Skidmore with a kick-off time of 2:00 p.m.
FULL BOX (Swarthmore 5, Skidmore 0)
FULL BOX (Richard Stockton 1, Widener 0 OT)