Sports

Brothers boost men's soccer in Alumni Classic

Brothers-boost-mens-soccer-in-alumni-classic

Jake Mrozewski | Phoenix Staff

Defender Gage Newman (3) heads a Roberto Contreras corner kick into the net in a 3-0 victory against Wesley College on Saturday to open the 2009 Garnet Alumni Classic.

BY VICTOR BRADY

In print | September 10, 2009

It took a red card, a rebound off a saved penalty kick and a flurry of goals in the final twenty minutes, but when the dust finally settled in the final of the 12th Annual Garnet Alumni Classic on Sunday, #11 Swarthmore emerged victorious by a score of 4-1 over the Catholic University of America.
The score does not do justice to the hard-fought battle between the two teams.

Both teams were held scoreless through the first half of play, and just minutes into the second half, a header beat Swarthmore goalie Zach Weimar ’10.

After a flood of Swarthmore scoring chances, Catholic goalie Quinn Daly tripped the Garnet’s Morgan Langley ’11 as he charged on a breakaway into the goal box. With Daly ejected, Dylan Langley ’10 buried a rebound off of the saved penalty kick and the Garnet never looked back. “Dylan’s presence of mind and conversion of that opportunity really made a big difference for us,” head coach Eric Wagner said.

The brothers Langley would each add another goal (they now each have three on the young season), and newcomer Kieran Reichert ’13 added his first collegiate goal in the final minute. “Reichert comes out, and in his first couple sessions of preseason, really plays like an experienced, comfortable, mature player and immediately commands the respect of everyone around him,” Wagner said.

Meanwhile, Morgan Langley cherishes the opportunity to continue playing soccer with his brother. “It is a lot of fun playing with my brother, especially at the college level. There are so many ways in which soccer can be played, depending on what region of the country you came from. Having somebody on the team who played in the same region and same club as me makes things easier. Even better, it’s my brother.”

The two Langleys, defender Gage Newman ’11 and midfielder Roberto Contreras IV ’12 were named to the All-Tournament Team. Catholic finished second in the Classic, followed by Wesley and Widener. Swarthmore defeated Wesley on opening night by a score of 3-0, while Widener fell to Catholic on Saturday and Wesley on Sunday.

However, the Garnet have their eyes set on a bigger title than that of the Garnet Alumni Classic, which it has won for each of the past six years. After last season’s run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Tournament, Swarthmore has the talent and the depth to contend again on the national level. The Garnet finished the 2008 season with a record of 17-3-2 and a national ranking of 13.

The men’s soccer team lists only two seniors on the roster while boasting seven first-years, many of whom have already made substantial contributions on the pitch.

John Pontillo ’13 started both tournament games at center-back, Reichert found the back of the net, and Thomas Drew ’13 saw significant playing time, playing brilliantly in the midfield and on the back line.

Even as a new addition to the Garnet squad, Drew senses the drive and desire of the team. “I haven’t heard much talk from the seniors about the NCAA tournament last year. The focus seems to be on this season and not on previous success.“

The Garnet graduated eight seniors from the squad last season, but Morgan Langley believes that the Garnet can overcome this loss. “The guys now have the potential and ability to fill the holes we lost,” Langley said, adding that, “the soccer being played now is a more advanced form of the game. In other words, the ball possession is much smoother and flows between players much easier.”

Swarthmore has shown the ability to find the back of the net and to spread the ball around early in this campaign. Eight players have combined to score the twelve Swarthmore goals through the first three games of the season.

Coach Wagner is equally excited for this year’s season. Wagner, who took over the Garnet soccer program in 2002, has led the men’s soccer team to a record of 77-50-14 as head coach and was named the Centennial Conference Coach of the Year and the Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year in 2008.

“This [year’s] team is a little bit quicker all around the field. I think this team is a little bit more technical than last year’s team, but last year’s team was a lot stronger physically and obviously a lot more experienced, with eight seniors,” says Wagner.

The Boys of Autumn will play #2 Stevens Tech, the runner-up in last year’s national tournament, on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Clothier Field before hosting Widener on Wednesday. Stevens Tech’s only loss at home over the past five years was to Swarthmore last year. The score was 2-0.

The Garnet’s first Centennial Conference matchup is against potent #18 Johns Hopkins. In the Centennial Conference preseason poll, the Garnet is picked to finish first, just ahead of the Baltimore rivals.