Sports

Soccer crushes records and rivals in historic win

Soccer-crushes-records-and-rivals-in-historic-win

Silbia Han | Phoenix Staff

Yoi Tibbetts thwarts Dickinson’s attack in the first round of the championships.

In print | November 13, 2008

Swarthmore Men’s Soccer team (15-2-2) won the championship in its first appearance in the Centennial Conference men’s soccer final. In addition to snagging the school records for Conference wins and the longest uninterrupted winning streak, the team captured the first Centennial title in the program’s history in Sunday’s dramatic win over longtime rival Johns Hopkins.

The Championships began with a contest between Johns Hopkins University and Gettysburg College on Nov. 8. Johns Hopkins’ midfielder Matty Carlson scored the golden goal in the 98th minute to secure a 2-1 victory for Hopkins. The victory earned Hopkins a place in the Centennial Conference Championship game, marking their sixth appearance. The Garnet began their Championship run against fourth-seeded Dickinson at Clothier field. The Garnet started with a bang, as forward Evan Nesterak ’09 sent a low cross from midfielder Dylan Langley ’10 to the right corner of the net just 2:13 into the game. Dickinson responded early, tying the game up five minutes later when midfielder Ben Gemberling sent a low cross across the Garnet goal and the ball found the left corner of the net at 7:14.

Despite a few attempts by both teams, the game remained scoreless until the final buzzer. Both teams failed to score in overtime, thus sending the game into a penalty kick shootout. Swarthmore came out victorious in the shoot-out and earned their place in the Championship finals. Yoi Tibbetts ’09, Rory Stackpole ’09, Dylan Langley ’10 and David Sterngold ’12 all successfully made the penalty shots, while goalkeeper David D’Annunzio ’12 saved two of Dickinson’s attempts. As a result, Swarthmore won the shoot-out 4-2, securing their place in Sunday’s final.

“It was a battle,” Head Coach Eric Wagner said. “But we ended up being a better battling team.”
The Centennial Conference Championship was contested between two-time defending champion Johns Hopkins and the Garnet, making their first final appearance. The Garnet got off to a great start, earning two consecutive corner kicks and two shots on goal within the first twenty minutes. The best chance came when Jeff Kushner ‘09 intercepted a header on goal in the twentieth minute. His attempt was thwarted by a Hopkins midfielder, keeping the first half scoreless. Hopkins also found scoring chances but the Swarthmore defense, led by captain Rory Stackpole ’09, proved unbeatable. The winning goal came at 60:11 in the second half when midfielder Stu Leon ’09 played a long ball over the Hopkins defense to forward Sterngold. Hopkins goalie Matt Mierley came out to challenge, but Sterngold chipped a shot over the goalie at the top of the penalty box, earning his sixth goal of the season. The Garnet went on to win the game 1-0.

“I think I speak for all the seniors on the team in saying that this is the way we wanted to end our careers. There’s no better feeling than ending up on top, knowing that you contributed to something special to the program and the school as well” Kushner said. Stackpole attributed the victories to the team’s depth. The Garnet has shown lot of depth in their lineup this season. Although the team was missing key players, including Ladulé Lako LoSarah ’09 and Philippe Celestin ’11, their depth proved to be a great attribute. “Hopkins did not have that depth and that’s a big reason that we won. Being unable to sub, their midfielders had to play 180 minutes” Stackpole said.

“For me, what was most impressive about our success was that our defense was outstanding,” Sterngold said. In addition, he lavished praise on the team’s graduating cohort, describing the senior class as “true leaders.” “Our senior captains Jeff Kushner and Rory Stackpole really came up huge and that’s what won us the Conference Championship. Regardless of what happens for the rest of the season, they will have left a huge legacy to live up to,” Sterngold said.

The players said that the large crowd of fans had a motivational effect on the team’s performance. “Without a doubt, the home-field advantage certainly worked in our favor. Two games in a row we’ve had an amazing amount of fans. Their support and enthusiasm was the difference in both matches,” Kushner said. Sterngold also appreciate the heavy turnout. “The team is really grateful for the support … it makes the game so much more fun to play,” Sterngold added.

Swarthmore, currently ranked 11th in Division III, will make its fourth appearance in the national tournament and, for the first time in school history, will be hosting the first round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship. The first match will be between Swarthmore and Rutgers-Camden while the other first match features a face-off between Salisbury and Dickinson. The first and second round action of the Championships will be on November 15th and 16th at Swarthmore’s Clothier field. The winners of the first-round matches will advance to second-round action on Sunday, Nov. 16. “I think teams will come out fired up and so will we. If we come out like we did this weekend, I think it will be exciting to see how far we go.” Stackpole said.