Sports

Soccer 3-0, 38 years in the making

In print | September 9, 2004

Thirty-eight years is a hell of a long time.

For some perspective: in the fall of 1966, Swarthmore’s current President Bloom began his senior year at an unknown university in Princeton, New Jersey.

Since those days, the Cold War was fought and won, disco came and went (eventually replaced by heavy metal, which was replaced by grunge, which was replaced by the Backstreet Boys). Thirty-eight years have passed since the Swarthmore men’s soccer team started 3-0.

Never has retro been so cool.

This past weekend’s Garnet Alumni Classic was one-sided at best. Swat first brought the pain to Farmingdale on Saturday night under the Clothier Field lights. Ramjam’s “Black Betty” played over the PA system as the men warmed up in black shirts and shorts. Coach Eric Wagner must have known that there was going to be a funeral.

Farmingdale initially possessed the ball well, but Swat continued to knock at the door, hitting the crossbar on a shot and losing a goal to an offsides call early in the first half. The Rams’ luck ran out in the 19th minute, however, as Brandon Washington ’08 dropped a dime to Michael Bonesteel ’08 for the first goal.

The game only got worse for Farmingdale, who scored on their own goal and increased Swarthmore’s lead to 3-0 with 16 minutes left in the first half.

The Rams’ sweeper cleared the ball hard to the sideline, only to have it ricochet off a teammate and land in the net. Farmingdale’s spirit was broken, and the floodgates were open. The second half saw six more goals, and Scott Long ’06 finished his first career hat trick.

One Wharton resident who left after the fifth goal was shocked at the final score. “They scored four more goals after I left? Are you serious?”

Many fans were quick to recognize the potential of the Farmingdale team.“They have technical skill,” said Daren Tedeschi ’05, offering his analysis of the freshman-laden Rams, “but lack a group dynamic capable of scoring” (or keeping other teams from scoring, for that matter).

Wagner, however, did not rest on his laurels after breaking open a nine-goal can of whoopass on Farmingdale. “It would have been very easy to lose focus after that blowout,” Wagner said.

Sunday brought a tough opponent in Wesley. Though Swat took the lead off a Brandon Washington goal, the Wolverines were obviously up to the test, battling to equalize in the second half. They did, scoring off a corner kick to put the first goal of the season past veteran keeper Nate Shupe ’05. The Tide battled back and, with 10 minutes left, Patrick Christmas ’08 played Santa, leaving a gift for the Wolverines to find in the back of the net.

Thus, Swarthmore finds itself with a landmark 3-0 record. Wagner downplayed the importance of the streak. “It doesn’t mean anything if we don’t keep focused,” he said. The Tide kicks off the conference schedule on Sept. 18 at Dickinson.

Coach Wagner and the team understand that there are no guaranteed wins on the schedule. “Every match for us last year was a test. That’s even more true this year,” he said. So far, the boys are passing with flying colors.