Swarthmore Wins ECAC Southern Region Championship
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Swarthmore won its first-ever ECAC Division III Southern Region Men's soccer Championship in a 3-2 thrilling overtime game against Frostburg State (13-8-1) on Sunday afternoon at Clothier Field.
First half action saw equal possession from each squad with Swarthmore led shots 10-7. After a few missed shooting attempts Frostburg senior Kenny Dotter (Baltimore, Md./ Sparrows Point) scored deep into the first half at 40:08, when he drilled a shot past Garnet goalie Ryan Sutcliffe ’08 (Milford, Del./ Milford) through heavy traffic. It was the second goal of the tournament for Dotter. The Garnet had a number of opportunities but could not finish during the first half.
The second half saw plenty of action with nine shots from the Garnet and five for the Bobcats. The ball was controlled well by both sides as the teams used their transition play to distribute the ball well. In the sixty-seventh minute junior Evan Nesterak (Parker, Colo./ Ponderosa) tried to tie up the game when he received a quick pass in front of the Bobcat’s net but the shot flew wide left. At 72:45 Garnet freshman Morgan Langley (Honolulu, Hawaii/ Iolani) sent a cross to Nesterak who tied up the game 1-1 as he scored his seventh goal of the season. The Bobcats took the led at 82:25 when freshman Andres Vega (Potomac, Md./ Wootton) scored his second goal of the season, but with 1:24 left on the clock Garnet senior Brendan Grady (San Jose, Calif./ Bellarmine) scored his first goal of the season to even the game at two goals for each team.
The overtime period ended quickly when Garnet midfielder Stu Leon ’09 (Wrentham, Mass./ King Philip Regional) blasted in the game-winning goal in at 91:53.
Following the game Swarthmore senior Brendan Grady was awarded with the Most Outstanding Player award for his efforts during the championship game.
Junior goalie Jay Herford (Crofton, Md./ South River) made two saves for the Bobcats, while Garnet goalie Sutcliffe saw little on goal action as well posting three saves.
The game was marked by physical play, as a total of five yellow cards were assessed and 34 fouls were called.
Swarthmore finishes their season with an overall record of 14-3-3. The Garnet will graduate seven seniors and will look to contend for the Centennial Conference championships in 2008.
2007 ECAC Division III Southern Regional Men’s Championship Results
Saturday, November 10 – Semifinals
No. 1 Swarthmore 1, No. 6 Westminster 0
No. 8 Frostburg State 2, No. 3 Penn State-Altoona 1 (OT)
Sunday, November 11 – Championship
No. 1 Swarthmore 3, No. 8 Frostburg State 2 (OT)