2010 Centennial Conference Men's Soccer
Championship
First Round (at Baltimore): #4 Johns Hopkins d. #5 Gettysburg,
4-1.
Semifinal (at Swarthmore): #3 Muhlenberg d. #2 Franklin &
Marshall, 4-0.
Semifinal (at Swarthmore): #1 Swarthmore tied #4 Johns Hopkins,
1-1. Garnet advance on PKs.
Final (at Swarthmore): #1 Swarthmore d. #3 Muhlenberg, 2-1
(OT).
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Sophomore Kieran Reichert scored a golden goal in the 106th minute of play off a well-placed header in the box from senior captain Gage Newman, as the Garnet (15-1-3) defeated Muhlenberg 2-1 (2OT) to capture the Centennial Conference Championship on Sunday evening from Clothier Field.
The Centennial title is the Garnet's second in program history,
with the first coming in 2008. The win gives Swarthmore an
automatic berth to the NCAA Championships. The NCAA berth is
Swarthmore's third consecutive - a new program record - and sixth
overall.
With the victory, Swarthmore becomes the first team in Centennial
Conference Championship history to win a game after trailing 1-0 at
halftime. Reichert's golden goal is just the second in Centennial
Conference final history (first was Max Venker of Johns Hopkins in
2006).
A wildly-entertaining back-and-forth game between the two
clear-cut leaders in the Centennial saw plenty of scoring
opportunities, tremendous play for both goalkeepers and - in what
is becoming a trend for this Garnet squad - some late-game
heroics.
The physical game, which saw the two teams combined for 36 fouls,
five cards and a yellow issued in the first six minutes of play,
saw the Mules strike first. Mike Williams - who finished the
Championship with two goals and two assists - scored the Mules lone
goal in the 29th minute, when his shot from 15-yards out hit a
Swarthmore defender, changed direction and sailed over the head of
D'Annunzio. Muhlenberg maintaind the advantage throughout the
remainder of the first half and went into the locker room with a
1-0 lead.
In the second half, Swarthmore began to shift the momentum, as it
ramped up the offensive attack, with senior Morgan Langley, junior
Fabian Castro and junior Roberto Contreras IV all seeing excellent
chances in front of the net foiled by diving Berg defenders in 58th
minute, and Langley missing just wide in the 65th minute. The
game-changing play came in the 75th minute when junior Henry
Ainley, who played a solid overall game off the bench, drew a hard
foul from a Muhlenberg defender in the box to force a penalty kick.
From there, junior captain Micah Rose stepped to the ball and
converted the kick, giving the Garnet the late score, making it a
1-1 game and bringing life to the Swarthmore crowd.
In overtime for the second-consecutive game and fourth-consecutive
playoff game, the Garnet outplayed the Mules, nearly ending the
contest on several occasions, while not allowing Muhleberg to get a
single shot on goal. In the final five minutes alone, only
fantastic saves from Muhlenberg goalkeeper Jason Daniels prevented
shots by Langley (100th minute), Rose (102nd minute) and
junior David Sterngold (105th minute) from ending the game.
But Muhlenberg's luck ran out in the 106th minute, as the Garnet's
late-season magic finally came to life.
Following a Muhlenberg foul, Castro booted a powerful free kick
into the Swarthmore area. Newman rose up above crowd on the left
wing, headed the ball towards the right wing, where an unmarked
Reichert was waiting to win the championship for the Garnet.
With the ball in the back of the net, Reichert was mobbed by his
teammates, coaches and Swarthmore fans storming the field to
celebrate the championship.
A day after helping the Garnet advance by stopping Johns Hopkins'
final penalty kick, junior goalkeeper David D'Annunzio was solid in
net once again, making five saves to keep the Garnet in the game.
His counterpart from Muhleberg was equally as impressive, as
Daniels finished the day with seven saves.
The victory extends the Garnet's Clothier Field unbeaten streak to
25 games.
Overall, Swarthmore has won four consecutive playoff games at
Clothier Field after conceding the first goal.