SWARTHMORE, Pa.—After a scoreless first half, Swarthmore College Men's Soccer put on a convincing display in the second half to defeat the Lycoming College 4-0 on Wednesday evening. Swarthmore tallied three of its goals in the final five minutes of play to turn the game into a blowout.
In what was the first meeting between the two teams, Swarthmore defended an onslaught of corners and free kicks in the first half, even clearing a ball off the goalline at one point. The visitors poured on nine shots and eight corners in the opening 45, but time and again the Garnet were able to thwart the attacks. Freshman goalkeeper Max Kral made three saves in the first half, including one tip over the bar late in the period.
The second half was a completely different story. Barely two minutes after the break, junior winger Joe Barile turned his man at midfield, blazed down the left flank and drove a left-footed cross into the goalmouth, where freshman striker Bless Tumushabe secured the match's first mark. It was Tumushabe's second goal of the season, and Barile's first assist.
But the Warriors were not done. Although they only managed two more shots in the second half, they continued to press Swarthmore, earning another three corners and several free kicks, all of which the defending Garnet turned away. It was not until very late that Swarthmore finished off the match, scoring three times in the final five minutes.
Junior midfielder Charley Ward landed an awkward shot while falling at the edge of the box to make it 2-0 Garnet. Two minutes later, with under three minutes to play, Ward earned a free kick right at the top of the box. Senior midfielder Trevor Homstad blasted in his third goal of the season, and fourth of his career. Finally, with just seven seconds remaining, Barile again bolted down the left flank, beat his defender and slipped in a left-footed shot into the far right corner past Lycoming's keeper.
With the win, Swarthmore improves to 6-1-1 on the season. It was the first shutout of the 2019 campaign for the Garnet. The shutout and the four-goal outburst came at a great time for the Garnet who had been blanked 4-0 by Dickinson the game before. Lycoming (4-4) had just beaten Dickinson 2-0 last week.
Next up is Centennial Conference foe Muhlenberg in Allentown, Pa., on Saturday evening. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
