Evan, Almighty Garnet Win in Allentown
ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Garnet senior forward Evan Nesterak scored in the 18th minute and the 17th-ranked Swarthmore held on to defeat hometown Muhlenberg 1-0 in Centennial men's soccer action Wednesday night.
The win, the team’s eighth in a row, marks head coach Eric Wagner's 75th win at Swarthmore and sends the team to the Conference playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. Wagner is now 75-49-13 at the College in nearly seven seasons.
With the win and a Johns Hopkins loss at Gettysburg, Swarthmore (13-2-1 overall, 7-1) clinches the top seed and right to host the upcoming Centennial Conference Championships. It is the first time in program history that Swarthmore will host a Centennial soccer championship and will be the first Conference finale on campus since 2006 (women’s tennis).
The lone goal came after a Garnet player was fouled outside of the Muhlenberg penalty box. Swarthmore freshman midfielder Micah Rose (Williston, Vt. / Champlain Valley Union) quickly set-up the free kick and sent a ball towards Nesterak (Parker, Colo. / Ponderosa), who knocked it home. The score marks Nesterak's 20th career goal and puts him the top-10 all-time at Swarthmore. He leads the team with seven goals (tying career-best) this season, ranking in top-five for the Centennial.
Swarthmore freshman netminder David D'Annunzio (Piedmont, Calif. / Piedmont) collected three saves while registering his fifth career shutout.
Swarthmore will return to Clothier Field for the final game of the regular season, hosting long-time rival Haverford College on Saturday, November 1st. The contest is set to begin at 7:00 p.m.
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