Sports

Ranked soccer teams blank formidable opponents

In print | September 17, 2009

In what was a banner weekend for Swarthmore Athletics, the men’s and women’s soccer teams each held their opponents scoreless to stay undefeated on the season and to vault up the national rankings.

The men enjoyed a crowd of over 450 – unusual for a Sunday afternoon – that came out to support the Garnet (5-0) against #2 Stevens Tech. Last year, Swarthmore stunned the then-fifth-ranked Ducks on their home turf by a score of 2-0.

This year, they extended the streak to two. Upsetting Stevens Tech for the second year in a row, Swarthmore won the contest by a score of 1-0. Roberto Contreras IV ’12 scored in the 23rd minute for the Garnet from a David Sterngold ’12 assist inside the box.

David D’Annunzio ’12 was tested with only three saves in goal for the Garnet.

Stevens Tech tumbled to No. 10 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll after the loss, while Swarthmore inched ahead to No. 9.

Yet despite the second consecutive victory in what is shaping up to be an annual clash between Division III bigwigs, the Garnet remains humble in their quest for national prominence. “I am very impressed with how grounded the players are,” head coach Eric Wagner said.

Wagner, like any good coach, does not give much to national rankings. Yet with such impressive results, he said, he and his players “can’t not notice that they’re ranked in the top 10.”

But the players aren’t the only ones who are keeping tabs on the goings on in Division III. The raucous crowd of Swarthmore students ever-present in the stands at Clothier Field are staying informed, too.

“[The importance of the crowd is] enormous. The guys feed off the energy in the crowd,” Wagner said. “It’s a wonderful atmosphere.”

Swarthmore – and its fans – will face its next ranked opponent (and its first Centennial Conference foe) in #25 Johns Hopkins at Clothier Field on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Women skyrocket up national poll with victories

It took 99 minutes, but once Kirsten Peterson ’11 had a shot opportunity, she made the most of it.

Peterson gave the No. 15 women’s soccer team (5-1) a 1-0 overtime victory on Saturday night against non-conference Elizabethtown College (2-2). With only 52 seconds left to play in the first ten-minute overtime period, Peterson found the net off a Julia Luongo ’10 assist at Clothier Field after a flurry of scoring chances in favor of the Garnet.

The high-energy atmosphere of the overtime period fueled an extra layer of pressure on the field. Combined with the fast pace dictated by Elizabethtown, Swarthmore had a lot to overcome in order to capitalize on openings in the defense. “We had to huddle a couple of times. We wanted to just stay composed,” Peterson said, “It was a very physical game.”

Taking a moment to regroup proved to be key for the Garnet. “Once we started communicating,” Eileen Earl ’10 said, “we were able to maintain composure.” The defensive line had a busy day against the potent Blue Jay offense. Earl, a four-year starter in the back, added that Elizabethtown was “more high-pressure” and came with more direct style of play than the Garnet is used to seeing in an opponent. “We started talking to each other, and we had to adjust a little bit,” Earl said.

The Garnet defense had a busy day against the potent offense of the Blue Jays. Swarthmore was outshot by Elizabethtown by a 17-9 swing, but held the visitors at bay on the strength of that resilient defense. In fact, both teams capitalized on a strong defense to keep the other scoreless for over an hour and a half. “The [Elizabethtown] defense was very good at picking up errant passes,” Peterson said.

Marie Mutryn ’12 notched seven saves in her second shutout of the season.

The Garnet welcomed a familiar opponent to Clothier Field in #8 College of New Jersey on Wednesday. It was Swarthmore, of course, who made headlines by holding off a furious charge by the then-top-ranked Lions on their Ewing, N.J. turf one year ago today. The Garnet exploded in the second half to hold a 4-1 lead through 83 minutes. The host Lions rallied with two goals in the homestretch of the contest, but it wasn’t enough. New Jersey plummeted from the top spot to No. 14 after the unexpected loss.

This year, the Lions were only ranked at No. 8, but the Garnet couldn’t replicate last year’s victory, falling 2-0 in the rain at Clothier Field.

The win against Elizabethtown vaulted the Garnet to a national ranking of 15, which would theoretically land them in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament in November. The Garnet, who fell to Dickinson by a score of 2-1 in the semifinal round of the Centennial Conference playoffs last year, lead three Centennial teams tabbed by the poll; defending champions Johns Hopkins (3-2) are ranked No. 17, while Dickinson (5-0) squeaked into the poll in the No. 25 spot. “[The ranking] is a great motivation for us,” Earl said. “There was a while when we felt we were underestimated. We want people to recognize that we are becoming much more of a team to be reckoned with.”

Swarthmore begins the race to the Centennial Conference Championship on Saturday. The Garnet will host 2008 nemesis Dickinson at 4:30 p.m.