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BY VICTOR BRADY

In print | Published December 3, 2009

On Nov. 20, for the third straight 2009 NCAA Tournament game, the Swarthmore Garnet men’s soccer team found itself down 1-0. For the third straight game, the Garnet rallied to tie the game 1-1. Although it had defeated the Merchant Marines and Hobart by 2-1 scores at Clothier Field the week before, the Garnet was unable to score again against a strong Transylvania (Ky.) defense. In penalty kicks, the Garnet fell 4-1, ending its tournament-run in the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.

The Transylvania Pioneers kept the Garnet offense at bay all afternoon. But as the clock ticked down, Gage Newman ’11, who also scored the game-tying goal in the Garnet’s first round win over Merchant Marine, took a pass from Morgan Langley ’11 and buried a shot in the back of the goal, tying the game at 1-1.

Though the Garnet outshot the Pioneers 20-9 and led in corners by an 11-3 margin, the match came down to penalty kicks. After David Sterngold ’12 scored to knot the shootout at 1, Henry Ainley ’12 and Roberto Contreras IV ’12 were stopped by Pioneers keeper Trey Kramer.

Transylvania, who upset Ohio Wesleyan to move on to the Sweet 16, fell to Calvin (Mich.) in the Elite Eight. The final four teams in the Division III draw, who will play in San Antonio this weekend, are Messiah (Pa.), Williams (Mass.), Dominican (Ill.) and Calvin.

“I’ve never seen a group of guys battle so completely — we’ve seen outstanding efforts before, and teams put everything they have into a match, but some of these guys went beyond what I thought was physically capable,” said coach Eric Wagner, who led the Garnet to a 16-2-3 record this year.

The Garnet will return the core of their squad for the 2010 campaign, but the two seniors, Dylan Langley ’10 and Omari Faakye ’10, will be sorely missed.

Dylan Langley ’10 scored in his first career game, an 8-1 victory over Delaware Valley on Sept. 2, 2006, and he never stopped. He ends his career with 17 goals and 12 assists — tied for ninth all-time in Swarthmore’s scoring history, but he was much more to the Garnet over the past four years than just a scorer. Langley served as a captain for the past two seasons and consistently led by example with an incredible work ethic both in practice and in matches.

“Not having Dylan [will be] huge. He’s been a part of this program for four years now, and he’s been such a big part of it — as a two-year captain and as a four-year starter. Dylan will graduate as the winningest soccer player in the history of our program. No individual soccer player has won more games in a Swarthmore uniform than Dylan. And that’s remarkable in and of itself,” Wagner said.

Wagner added that “It really shows the quality of the teams that he led. When he was a freshman and a sophomore, he was a leader in terms of his productivity on the field … and as he became a junior and a senior, the team got better and better around him, [and] he stood out more in ways of leadership, in terms of leadership and competitive fire. I’ve never worked with someone who was as competitive as Dylan.”

Fellow senior Omari Faakye feels privileged to have played with Langley throughout their college careers. “We are the only two players in the class of 2010, and I really realized the connection that I had with him primarily this past year. We both had that common ground, being able to lead the team.”

Faakye is impressed by Dylan’s incredible effort in the first round of this year’s NCAA tournament against Merchant Marine. “I remember calling for the ball on top of the box — it was right at the end of the first half — and Dylan was playing with so much passion and he dribbled to the goal line and took a shot, and I don’t even know how it happened — but the ball was in the net. In that moment, seeing how driven and filled with passion he was, he just couldn’t be stopped.”

Dylan’s desire to succeed on the field was truly contagious, as the Garnet posted a remarkable 59-13-10 record over the past four years, including a 37-7-4 record at Clothier Field.

In the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament last year, the Garnet faced off against the Dickinson Red Devils.

When asked about one moment involving Dylan on the field that stands out, Faakye recalled Langley’s game-winning goal over Swarthmore’s Centennial Conference rivals.

“One moment that sticks out with Dylan was his leaping above the entire crowd of defenders and attackers in the Dickinson game last year, and heading in what turned out to be the game winner off of Fabian Castro’s free kick. It was fantastic. It was pure athleticism, timing, grace, skill, and everything that he brought to this team for four years. I’ll never forget it like it was yesterday,” Faakye said.

Omari Faakye didn’t have a point until this, his senior season, in which he tallied a goal and two assists. But the impact that Faakye had on the Garnet will not soon be forgotten. Faakye, a crowd favorite, was a catalyst for Swarthmore, both on the field and in the locker room, and his ever-present smile could be seen from across the field.

“I’m going to miss Omari’s smile first and foremost,” Wagner said. “I’m going to miss his enthusiasm, his energy, his spirit. Omari … learned so much about the game and the American game and about what it took for him to be successful.”

Langley is likewise honored to have had the opportunity to play with his classmate for the past several years. “It’s been a pleasure playing with Omari and being able to share the experience with him. There were a number of great guys who came out my freshman year, but after four years, we were the only ones left. It’s been a great four years,” he said.

“Omari is a different spirit, a spirit that this team thrived on, and hopefully the people he’s touched in his four years here will carry that forward as well because it was invaluable to our success,” Wagner added.

Wagner’s most vivid memory of Omari on the field was not that first career goal. Wagner told the story of Faakye entering last year’s Centennial Conference Championship game at Clothier Field against rival Johns Hopkins. “There was an enormous crowd, the game was incredibly tight, and we put Omari in. And the crowd went bananas because they love Omari — everyone loves Omari. And when he went on, the crowd got even louder, which I didn’t think was even possible.”

Wagner said that “thirty seconds after he got onto the field, Omari [slide]-tackled a kid right in front of our bench … and the crowd went bananas, and the team went bananas, and it just lifted the intensity of our team so much.”

“[Being a part of the soccer team] has definitely defined my life at Swarthmore — I learned so much about soccer and about my life in general. It has taught me so many things about teamwork, how to relate to people, and about having the same dream as 25 other guys — and working with them to achieve the same goal. I’ve become very passionate about soccer, and I’ve learned how to achieve what I want and to follow my passions,” Faakye said.

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