Opportunistic No. 15 Garnet Men Capitalize on Widener Mistakes, Defeat Pride 4-1
CHESTER, Pa. - Junior Roberto Contreras, IV scored two first half goals and junior Micah Rose and senior Morgan Langley also found the back of the net as the No. 15 Swarthmore College men's soccer team (3-0) took advantage of early mistakes from Widener to crush the Pride 4-1 on Wednesday evening at Quick Stadium in Chester.
Contreras led the Garnet offense with two goals for the second time this season.
The two-goal outing is Contreras's second of the young season, as the junior continues his torrid start to the 2010 campaign.
The Garnet found themselves with a two-goal lead within the first 15 minutes of play, capitalizing on Widener mistakes to grab total control of the contest.
In the eighth minute, Contreras netted his first goal of the game from the right side of the box - perfectly set up after a Widener defender failed to clear an easy ball. With a clean shot at the goal, the opportunistic Contreras delivered, giving Swarthmore the early lead.
Just seven minutes later, another Widener mistake led to a Garnet goal. Racing down the field, Langley drew a foul from Widener's central defender. Upset with the call, several members of the Pride appealed to the referee - only problem was they left a live ball open for Contreras, who converted a wide-open free kick from 20 yards out to make it a 2-0 game.
Widener had a chance to get back into the game in the 19th minute when Dan Lorenzet drew a foul in the box and earned a penalty kick. But Drew Hilinski's attempt was stoned by Swarthmore goalkeeper David D'Annunzio, who dove to his right to stop the kick and preserve the 2-0 lead.
Just minutes after penalty save, the Garnet put the match away. Thanks to an excellent long clearance from junior Pierre Dyer up the middle of the field, Langley broke away from the Pride defense once again, netting his second goal on a beautiful finish, making it a 3-0 Garnet lead in the 23rd minute.
The score remained 3-0 into the second half, until Rose scored his first goal of the season on a 30-yard dagger set up by Ayman Abunimer in the 64th minute.
Widener got a goal back when Lorenzet converted on the counter-attack in the 77th minute, but it was too little, too late, as the Garnet prevailed 4-1.
D'Annunzio finished the game with one save.
Swarthmore returns to action under the "Friday Night Lights" against No. 21 Rensselaer in one of the squad's biggest matches of 2010. Action is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m and can be viewed on the Garnet Sports Network.
Goals: Swarthmore - Contreras,IV (2) '8, '15; Langley '23, Rose '64; Widener - Lorenzet '77