Sports

Men's soccer bounces back

In print | October 9, 2008

Swarthmore Men’s Soccer continued its rebound from two tough losses with a victory last Saturday, marking its third win in a row and improving its record to 8-2-1 (3-1 CC). The 3-0 victory came over Gettysburg College, 4-4-3 (1-2-1 CC), a team that historically has had success against the Garnet. The Bullets won the matchup the past two seasons, and last Saturday’s match was only the second Garnet victory in 16 all-time regular season matches between Swarthmore and Gettysburg. In the 16 meetings the Bullets have outscored the Garnet 40-8.

Through the first half it looked as if either team could gain the advantage with both squads generating opportunities; Swarthmore had six shots to Gettysburg’s three. Despite these chances on both sides, the score remained tied 0-0 at halftime. The game heated up in the second half, with five yellow cards given out by the referee and 27 fouls called (one Swarthmore player was taken to the hospital after suffering a blow to the eye). The Garnet’s offense took part in this effort, scoring its first goal in the 62nd minute.

Swarthmore midfielder Ladulé Lako Lo Sarah ’09 took a corner kick, sending the ball to the top of the box where captain Jeff Kushner ’09 headed it to teammate Yoi Tibbetts ’09, who then headed the ball into the back of the net. Lo Sarah also played a role in the second goal, when in the 67th minute he fed the ball to Dylan Langley ’10, who took a shot that brought the Garnet’s lead to 2-0. The final score came 13 minutes later off an unassisted play by Swarthmore forward David Sterngold ’12. Sterngold dribbled the ball past two Gettysburg defenders before touching it past the goalie, finding the left side of the net.

Lo Sarah described the keys to the victory. “We neutralized their attack and took advantage of our opportunities,” he said. Swarthmore Head Coach Eric Wagner thought that Swarthmore’s game plan was “executed perfectly.” “We were patient, focused, kept wearing the other team down, and we never got worried or concerned,” Wagner said. The idea of patience and tiring the opponent manifested itself in the Garnet’s starting lineup and substitutions. Both Lo Sarah and Morgan Langley ’11, two key players, came off the bench. With regards to Langley, Wagner said that “Morgan is better coming off the bench and we planned to put him in when Gettysburg got tired.”
Speaking about Lo Sarah Wagner said that it was “maybe the best game I’ve seen him play here in four years.” It was certainly a momentous game because, with his two assists, Lo Sarah is now tied for fifth among all-time Swarthmore assist leaders with 12. Another six assists will put him in first. Lo Sarah did not see himself as the key to the game; he pointed to Jason Thrope ’09, who made his first career appearance in goal. Specifically, Lo Sarah described an “amazing save” that Thrope had in the first half. “The ball broke in the middle at the 18, and they had a breakaway through the two middle defensive backs,” Lo Sarah said. “Thrope came out and blocked the ball with his legs.” The save was particularly significant because neither team had yet scored in the game. With a converted opportunity and a Gettysburg lead, the outcome of the game could have been vastly different.

While this was Thrope’s first official start in goal, Lo Sarah revealed that during the team’s preseason trip to Brazil Thrope was called on to play keeper. The Garnet had an exhibition match against a Brazilian club team, Clube Atletico Paulista, which did not have a goalie. Thrope stepped up and played for the other club and gained a valuable experience, one that Lo Sarah said prepared him for this game. Lo Sarah went on to say that Thrope is “a player who doesn’t get enough credit and he showed how valuable an asset he is on the team. Wagner also commended the play of his ad hoc keeper, who finished the game with two saves. Wagner describe the goalie situation as “pretty crazy.” Swarthmore began the season with Zach Weimar ’12 as starting keeper, but he went down with a season-ending injury. It was a hard blow for the Garnet because Weimar was fourth in the nation in the Goals Against statistic. “To lose a player of his caliber is tough,” Wagner said. Weimer received a medical redshirt, so he plans to come back next year as a junior and play two more seasons for Swarthmore.

Freshman David D’Annunzio stepped in for a number of games, but suffered a bad hit to the quadriceps. He played hurt for two more matches, but the trainers decided that if he continued to play it could result in a more serious season-ending injury. That led to the decision to start Thrope in goal. Wagner could not get over how impressed he was with the performance of his improvised keeper. “He was a starting defender on Wednesday, and his first career shutout was on Saturday. He has a goal, assist, and shutout this year,” Wagner said. Certainly not many players can say that. Thrope should be playing the field again soon, however, because Wagner expects D’Annunzio to regain his health and return to his spot between the goal posts.

According to D’Annunzio, “The plan is that I will play in our next game.” At least Wagner now knows he has a proven backup if the need arises. The Garnet have a week off before they face another Centennial Conference foe, Ursinus, home on Saturday at 7 PM. No Centennial Conference opponent should be counted out because the conference is, in the words of Lo Sarah, “the strongest since I’ve been here.” Lo Sarah said he was confident that the team can challenge any adversary if it maintains the attitude displayed in Saturday’s game. “We can play with any team in the nation when we come out focused and play hard,” he said.