BY JARED NOLAN

In print | Published December 4, 2008 — Updated December 05, 2008 09:48

Saturday, November 22 marked the end of the Swarthmore Men’s Soccer 2008 campaign. The defeat transpired on the Garnet’s home turf, Clothier Field, during the NCAA Division III Sectional Semifinals. It came at the hands — or, rather, feet — of the Amherst College Lord Jeffs (14-3-3). Amherst scored right before halftime and held off the Garnet’s rejuvenated second half attack to advance in the Men’s Soccer Championships. The loss ended Swarthmore’s first national tournament appearance since 1991 and closed the books on an historic season.
The Garnet (17-3-2) entered the match on a 13-game undefeated streak, having never trailed in any of those games. The team was also riding the exhilaration of winning the first Centennial Conference Championship in school history. On the other side, Amherst also won its first conference title this season, downing Middlebury to capture the NESCAC Men’s Soccer Championship title.

Early in the match, Amherst dominated the game with physical play. The Lord Jeffs controlled the ball for the majority of the first half and outshot the Garnet six to two. There were multiple reasons the Amherst players were able to maintain possession in the Garnet’s half. Swarthmore Head Coach Eric Wagner acknowledged Amherst’s early domination and as one explanation he offered, “In the first half we were caught on our back foot and we were not anticipating as much as we have been.”

“Their intent was to disrupt our style of play,” Wagner added.

Amherst’s game plan of disruption was recognizable from the last row of the stands. Whenever a Swarthmore player maintained control of the ball, an Amherst player closed in quickly and did not allow space for plays to develop. Defender and Captain Jeff Kushner ’09 recognized this pattern and commended Amherst for it. “The better teams, that’s what they do. Putting pressure on the ball and making it real difficult is a sign of a good team,” Kushner said. In the first half, the Swarthmore attackers had no margin for error, and they were simply not sharp enough to create scoring opportunities, managing only two shot attempts.

With the ball spending the majority of the half on the Garnet’s side of the field, it was inevitable that it would eventually find its way into the net. With less than one minute left in the first half and the game still scoreless, it looked as if the Garnet had escaped the inevitable, but the Lord Jeffs had one last opportunity after Swarthmore goalkeeper David D’Annunzio ’12 punched the ball out of bounds deep in Garnet territory.

On the resulting throw-in, Amherst was able to successfully finish with 20 seconds remaining on the clock. “One of their players snuck in behind us. It was a loose ball in the box that wasn’t taken care of, and he got a toe on it,” Kushner said. The Garnet entered halftime down 1-0, trailing for the first time in 13 games. The crowd waited anxiously to see how Swarthmore would respond.
Once the ref’s whistle pierced the frigid air and the second half began, the transformation became apparent. “We completely dominated the second half. In the second half we were as good and as tough and as focused as we’ve ever been,” Wagner said. “All we did was overmatch them physically.” He added that the change came about “subtly.” “We stepped it up a little higher then a little higher and little by little we just ramped up the pressure. That’s one of the reasons we’ve been so consistent over the season,” he said.

The incremental increases in pressure manifested themselves in the shot log. The Garnet turned it around in the second half and outshot the Lord Jeffs four to threein that period. Swarthmore also held the advantage in corner kicks, three to two. The best opportunity of the half came in the 58th minute off of a free kick by Swarthmore midfielder Roberto Contreras IV ’12. The kick deflected off the crowd in front of the net and struck the far post. The ensuing corner kick was also unsuccessful.

With the game well into the second half and the Garnet still trailing, Wagner substituted in a forward, David Sterngold ’12, for a defender, Gage Newman ’11, and played with only three defensive backs in an attempt to generate more offense. He said that the team had used this formation in South America during the preseason. The last chance for Swarthmore came on a free kick deep in Amherst’s half. With the crowd on its feet, cheering wildly, Swarthmore threw everything it had at Amherst. Even D’Annunzio sprinted from his goal to join the mob in front of the net. One final time, however, the Garnet was unable to capitalize.

Despite the demoralizing loss, the Swarthmore players were not despondent. Wagner was confident that the team would be satisfied with its effort. “This was a bit of a magical season and at some point it had to end,” he said. “We gave it everything we had. We threw everything but the kitchen sink at them. No, I think we did throw the kitchen sink at them.” Kushner was also optimistic. “I couldn’t have thought of a better senior year,” he said. “It’s a shame we came up short tonight, but there were a lot of question marks coming into the season in all classes and I think we answered them all.” Kushner’s fellow captain Dylan Langley ’10 was also able to look past the defeat. With a nod to Kushner, he said, “It’s not losing the game that hurts the most, it’s losing these guys.” Swarthmore will lose eight seniors from the squad, but look for the team to continue its success next year with a strong core of returning players.

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