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In print | Published October 22, 2009

As the rain finally began to lighten at Clothier Field, goaltender David D’Annunzio ’12 grabbed a header on goal and held on as the final horn sounded on a Swarthmore victory. The No. 11 Swarthmore men’s soccer team defeated Franklin & Marshall by a score of 1-0 on Saturday.

Returning home after a three-game road trip and a game played in the cold and steady rain all night, the Garnet held the Diplomats at bay after a 16th minute goal by Dylan Langley ’10 gave Swarthmore the early lead.

That would be all that the home team needed as Swarthmore controlled play for the rest of the game and maintained a strong back line even with the absence of John Pontillo ’13, a starter for most of the season, who was battling flu-like symptoms and did not dress for the game.

Anchoring the Garnet defense was Brett McLarney ’12, who was named the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against both Franklin & Marshall and St. Mary’s, who Swarthmore defeated by a 1-0 margin on the road Tuesday, Oct. 13.

“Brett has slid [into the defense] very comfortably, having not played a whole lot last year and starting out injured this year. He was physically ready, he was mentally ready, and technically and tactically we knew that [he] could play,” head coach Eric Wagner said.

Working alongside proven stalwarts Gage Newman ’11 and Pierre Dyer ’12, McLarney has continued to develop and thrive. “He dominates in the air, [and] he dominates in the tackles. He is so fast that nobody has been able to get around him this year, and he has been making better and better decisions each time he’s out there,” Wagner added.

With the win, the Garnet improved to 13-1 on the year and 5-1 in Centennial Conference play, completing a brutal four-game stretch that included games at non-conference opponents Richard Stockton and St. Mary’s.

Wagner, who said two weeks ago that he would be thrilled to get through the next four games unscathed, was pleased by his team’s recent results. “It was a very tough stretch for us, with three road games in the middle of midterms, and [this] part of the season is always very difficult. For us to make it through there unbeaten is just hard to believe, but it shows the quality and the mettle of our team,” he said.

David Sterngold ’12, who scored the lone goal for the Garnet against St. Mary’s, recognizes the importance of getting through such an important stretch of the schedule. “As the season goes on our team gets worn down,” Sterngold said. “I think part of the difficulty we experienced during this recent stretch can be attributed to the accumulated wear and tear of this season really catching up with us.”

Still, Wagner is impressed by the ability that his team has shown to overcome that wear and tear. “We have guys who are pretty tough mentally, physically tough, and obviously showing their talent when they need to … against some of these teams, I think that we could have played a little better. Are we playing our best soccer? No. But we are grinding out victories and grinding out results when we need to.”

The Diplomats succeeded in keeping Morgan Langley ’11, the Centennial Conference’s leading scorer, from adding to his 13 goals on the year. But in the 16th minute, Newman blocked a shot from an attacking Diplomat forward, with the ball deflecting all the way out to Roberto Contreras IV ’12 in the midfield. After splitting defenders across the centerline, Contreras found Fabian Castro ’12, who sent the ball in to Dylan Langley. Langley buried the ball on a blast inside the right post, giving Swarthmore the 1-0 lead.

“When [a team keys on Morgan], Dylan will score, or David will score. We have had 13 or 14 guys this year who have scored for us. I am not worried about [our opponent] shutting out one player. They have to shut out all 11,” Wagner said.

Sterngold would “love to win by playing nice, flowing soccer every game, but it’s important for us to be able to grind out those types of victories as well.”

Wagner agreed. “You don’t give up a lot of goals in conference. If you get a 1-0 victory, you’ve done extremely well, regardless of whom you’re playing or where you’re playing them. … That’s the difference between a team like Swarthmore and a team that might not be so successful — we still manage to put a goal in when we need to.”

But with only three games to go, the Garnet is poised to find a second wind for the playoff push.

“It’s easier to find that extra bit of energy and intensity the closer we get to the post-season, because everyone, in the back of their heads, knows what’s at stake.” No Wednesday game this week means more uninterrupted training, which Sterngold said is crucial in maintaining focus for the next couple weeks.

Swarthmore will next compete on the road at McDaniel (7-6, 3-2 CC) this Saturday at 1 p.m. The Garnet dismissed the Green Terror by a score of 4-0 in a meeting last year at Clothier Field.

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