No. 6 Garnet Brave Weather, Hold Off Franklin & Marshall 1-0
SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Whether rain, wind, cold or sleet, the No. 6 Swarthmore College men’s soccer team just keeps winning games.
Senior captain Dylan Langley scored on a blast from the top of the box in the 16th minute and the Swat defense held off a late-attacking Franklin & Marshall offense as the No. 6 Garnet (13-1, 5-1) defeated the Diplomats 1-0 on a cold, wet Saturday night from Clothier Field Stadium.
Dylan Langley's fifth goal of the season was the game-winner for Swat.
Playing in a gusting, frigid rain more suited for a December match than mid-October, the Garnet fought the elements and a more than game Franklin & Marshall (8-5-1, 4-2) squad to earn its sixth consecutive victory. With the victory, Swat moves to 8-0 in both home games and night games this season, all while extending the program's best start since the 1966 squad finished the season undefeated.
Sophomore goalkeeper David D'Annunzio made six saves to earn his team-leading fifth shutout, and no save was bigger than the one with :03 seconds left to preserve the victory. A perfectly-placed corner kick by F&M's Matt Melino with under :10 seconds left in the game set-up a point-blank header for Eric Noto that could have tied the game. But D'Annunzio was in the right place at the right time, making the clean save to win the game for Swat.
In the first half, the Garnet took the lead behind the work of its captain. Dylan Langley’s go-ahead goal in the first half was the work of a total team effort on the counter-attack. Junior Gage Newman blocked a shot from an attacking F&M forward, gained possession, and forwarded the ball to sophomore Roberto Contreras IV in the midfield. From there, Contreras split defenders and found sophomore Fabian Castro on the right wing, who then flicked the ball to Langley for the blast into the right post, giving Swat the early 1-0 lead.
The rain picked up significantly to start of the second half - shifting from a slight drizzle to a steady downpour - and so did the play of both squads. The Diplomats fired fours shots – two on goal - within the first five minutes of the half, but couldn’t quite get past D'Annunzio. A few minutes later, tempers began to flare, with both Dylan and Morgan Langley, as well as Franklin & Marshall's Austin Luskin picking up yellow cards on the same play in the 53rd minute . However, the Garnet regained composure, the defense clamped down, and the team hung on for the important 1-0 victory.
Swarthmore finished with a 7-3 edge in corner kicks, while the teams each ended the game with six shots on goal.
The Garnet have the week off before returning to action next Saturday at McDaniel. Play is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.