Swarthmore Men Blow Past Seahawks
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- The 24th-ranked Swarthmore men's soccer team continued their unbeaten streak, downing St. Mary's [Md.], 5-1, on Sunday afternoon at Clothier Field.
Sunday's match was originally scheduled for Saturday evening but the heavy rain and wind from Hurricane Hanna forced a postponement.
The first half on Sunday saw lots of Garnet possession; the home team controlled the ball well and successfully fought for the 50-50 balls. Swarthmore nearly missed on several corner kicks but could not connect until midway through the half. At the 34:14 mark, Dylan Langley ’10 (Honolulu, Hawaii / Iolani School) fed his brother, forward Morgan Langley ’11 (Honolulu, Hawaii / Iolani School) with a through pass for the first Garnet goal of the afternoon. Morgan Langley’s shot bounced over the goalie and landed in the left corner of the net put Swarthmore ahead, 1-0.
Just two minutes into the second half, Dylan Langley put pressure on the Seahawks’ defense, drawing a foul in the box and the Garnet were awarded a penalty kick. Sophomore midfielder Tobias Resch (Pfunsstadt, Germany / Ludwig-Georgs-Gymnasium) converted the penalty try at 47:04 for his first goal in 2008.
The Garnet (2-0-1) offensive line continued to attack during the second half. In the 51st minute after a corner kick was knocked around by a group of players it was senior Ladule Lako Lo Sarah (Davis, Calif. / Claremont) [pictured left], who put home a successful strike for Swarthmore’s third goal of the match.
With 58:09 showing on the clock, Garnet seniors Evan Nesterak (Parker, Colo. / Ponderosa) and Lo Sarah combined to make the score 4-0, Swarthmore. Nesterak scored his team-leading third goal into the right side of the net after receiving a short pass from Lako Lo Sarah 10 yards off the goal line. With his 10th career assist, Lako Lo Sarah joins four other Garnet men student-athletes in eighth place all-time (records since 1981).
The final Garnet goal came from senior Jason Thrope (Port Washington, N.Y. / Schreiber) [pictured below] who drilled an impressive shot into the upper corner from outside the 18-yard line, making the score 5-0 at 67:34. It is the first career goal for Thrope. ![](../../../../wp-content/uploads/2008/09/thrope.jpg "Jason Thrope \")
The Seahawks got on the board in the 77th minute as sophomore defender Amir Reda (Odenton, Md. / DeMatha Catholic) sent a pass to freshman Matt Grady (Rockville, Md. / Walter Johnson), who headed the ball past Garnet freshman goalkeeper David D’Annunzio (Piedmont, Calif. / Peidmont).
Swarthmore’s offense out-shot the Seahawks 23-5 and got a strong effort from the Garnet back line, anchored by seniors Rory Stackpole (Sanford, Maine / Sanford) and Jeff Kushner (Norristown, Pa. / Methacton) who both continually cleared the ball out from the Swarthmore side of the field.
The Garnet men’s soccer team has just one defeat in its last 12 matches (seven consecutive), limiting its opponents to eight goals over that span.
St. Mary’s goalkeeper Dan Gressang’s (Bowie, Md. / Bishop McNamara) collected 11 saves for St. Mary’s (1-2-1) while spending all 90 minutes between the posts. Swarthmore junior captain Zach Weimar (Rutledge, Pa. / Friends Central) started for the Garnet and played 71 scoreless minutes while D’Annunzio entered the game in the second half and picked up one save.
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The Garnet begin a four-game road trip this Wednesday, September 10 when they take-on Eastern University at 4:00 p.m.