No. 9 Garnet Trounce Widener 4-0
SWARTHMORE, Pa. – After receiving praise and accolades all week after the upset of then-No. 2 Stevens Tech, the No. 9 Swarthmore men’s soccer team certainly lived up to its new-found hype, overwhelming local-rival Widener 4-0 from Clothier Field Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
Sophomore Fabian Castro netted two goals while junior Morgan Langley and sophomore David Sterngold also found the back of the net for the streaking Garnet (5-0).
Sterngold (center) found the back of the net against the Pride.
The game was one-sided from the opening whistle. Swarthmore finished the game with a 21-4 advantage in shots, 10-1 edge in shots on goal and 12-2 advantage in corner kicks. The Garnet controlled possession for essentially the entire match, while the defense did not allow a Widener (1-4-1) shot until the final 10 minutes of the contest.
Sterngold got the Garnet scoring started in the 21st minute of play. He took a deflected ball deep in the Widener box, turned his defender and blasted an upper-90 shot into the right corner of the net, netting his first goal of the season and giving Swarthmore the early 1-0 lead. With the goal, Sterngold became the 10th different Garnet player to score a goal this season.
In the 32nd minute of play, sophomore Ayman Abuimer took the ball off of a corner kick, skipped a cross pass into the front of the net where Castro was patiently waiting to blast the ball into the back of the net, extending the lead to 2-0.
If the Pride had any thoughts of a comeback, the Garnet put them to rest early in the second half. Castro scored his second goal of the contest when converted on a penalty kick in the 52nd minute to make it a 3-0 Garnet lead. Less than a minute later, Morgan Langley scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season on a breakaway down the right side to bring the game to the 4-0 final.
In goal for Swarthmore, senior captain Zach Weimar made one save in 80 minutes of action. He was relieved by freshman Jake Tracy for the final 10 minutes.
For Widener, goalie Hamed Correa made six saves.
NOTE: With the victory, Swarthmore ties Widener 1-1 in the inaugural “320 Challenge.”