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BY GENEVRA PITTMAN

In print | November 15, 2007

Two weeks ago, the men’s soccer team was faced with disappointment at having just missed out on the Centennial Conference playoffs and anticipation of the ECAC seed announcements. This week, it’s celebrating a historical team finish, a championship in the ECAC Southern Region, after a 3-2 overtime win over Frostburg State Unversity on Sunday. Top-seeded Swarthmore overcame two deficits against the Bobcats to take home the trophy one day after it edged Westminster College in the semifinals, 1-0.

Patrick Christmas ‘08 scored the lone goal of the game three minutes into the second half against the Griffins to send Swarthmore into the finals. The Garnet dominated the offensive stats, outshooting Westminster 23-7. Goalie Ryan Sutcliffe ’08 was forced to make just two saves in the game, as the Garnet defense, anchored by Brendan Grady ’08, kept the Griffins out of striking distance. Despite Swarthmore’s offensive advantage, the match was a battle until the end. “It was a scrappy battle,” Christmas said. “For most of the game it could have gone one way or the other.”

Swarthmore’s confidence level was at a high going into the final. “We felt really positive about it because we didn’t really know a whole lot about Frosburg State but we knew we were playing some of the best soccer of our season,” Sutcliffe said.

Swarthmore’s semifinal win set the team up for a matchup on Sunday at Clothier Field against the Bobcats, who had defeated Carnegie Mellon University 3-2 and The Pennsylvania State University – Altoona, 2-1, both in overtime, to reach the finals. Both teams came out on the field with an intensity that was immediately evident, and to the delight of 301 fans in attendance, never let down for over 90 minutes of play.

The Garnet came out firing early on, with two big chances in the first ten minutes. Mike Bonesteel ‘08 shot a bullet that was punched over the goal by Frostburg State goalie Jay Herford, followed by a header just wide of the goal by Yoi Tibbetts ’08. The Swarthmore pressure continued, but the Bobcats responded and much of the first half was back-and-forth opportunities for the two squads. Frostburg State was able to capitalize for the only goal of the half, as Swarthmore defenders collided in front of the goal, allowing the Bobcats’ Kenny Dotter to put a ball past Sutcliffe five minutes before halftime. Swarthmore had one more significant opportunity before the break, as Bonesteel headed a ball from Gage Newman ’11 over the crossbar with 1:20 left in the half, allowing the Bobcats to maintain their 1-0 lead.

Far from being discouraged by the deficit, the Garnet came out firing with increased intensity in the second half. Twenty minutes in, Swarthmore had two frustratingly close opportunities, as Grady’s tip on an Evan Nesterak ‘09 corner kick went just wide of the goal, and Nesterak’s diving shot was stopped. Nesterak found the net a few minutes later, however, to tie up the game on an assist from Morgan Langley ‘10 and shift the momentum back to the Garnet with 17:15 remaining in the game. But the Bobcats weren’t done, and at 82:25, recent substitute Andres Vega put an unassisted ball past Sutcliffe, with the Frostburg State bench erupting in championship-worthy celebration. But the Garnet men and their crowd responded with more enthusiasm and energy, as the last seven minutes of the team’s season began to tick away.

“These kind of moments, they don’t come around very often,” Christmas said of the team’s mentality in the waning minutes of the championship match. “We’re at the end of the season and when it’s over, we’re going to want it back. And so we knew that we had to leave it all on the field, and that’s what was really driving us throughout the playoffs.” Swarthmore continued its offensive push towards the Bobcat goal, and Nesterak shot a ball that just barely cleared over the crossbar with six minutes left in the game, forcing the nail-biting to continue for the Garnet fans. But the anxiety would become elation a few minutes later, when Grady, the MVP of the tournament, scored his first goal of the season with 1:24 left in regulation, stunning a confident Frostburg State team and giving the Swarthmore seniors, players and fans alike hope for the possibility of one more win at home.

According to Coach Eric Wagner, Grady’s goal completely turned the tide and there was no longer any question in the team’s mind that the championship was theirs. “Once we tied it up that late in the game, I said, ’That’s it, we just broke their backs, it’s over,’” Wagner said.

Sutcliffe agreed. “It was the turning point because the goal came from an unlikely person,” he said. “I think the goal itself shocked Frostburg quite a bit.”

Wagner acknowledged that the Bobcats had a “hot goalie” and that getting two goals against Herford had already been an accomplishment. “Getting a third [goal], I didn’t know if we could do it,” he said. “I also knew we weren’t going to give up another goal. I thought at the very least if we went to penalties they didn’t stand a chance against us.”

But neither Wagner nor the Garnet faithful had to wait for penalties, as Stu Leon ’09 sent a perfect shot from 25 yards out past Herford, also his only goal of the season, less than two minutes into the overtime period for the ultimate end to the game and the season. Fans stormed the field following the goal as Swarthmore earned the ECAC Southern Regional championship and Wagner was subjected to the traditional Gatorade dunking.

“It was amazing, I was so busy running around getting nuts myself that I didn’t realize how quickly the crowd got on the field, how many of [them] there were,” Wagner said. For his sons, the dunking will be the most memorable moment of the championship win. “My two little boys were standing there pointing at me and laughing and laughing,” he said. “They’ll never forget it.”

It was the team’s first ECAC championship ever after trying for the past four years, and the squad’s overall record of 14-3-3 gave it the best winning percentage since 1966. “I think the most remarkable thing about this particular season is that the seniors on this team have won 50 games in their career,” Wagner said, “and to think the year before they got here the team won five games. So they’ve really been the catalyst for an incredibly turnaround.”

“I’m still trying to soak it in and realize what happened,” Christmas said. “You can really say it’s kind of a dream come true. After such a roller coaster season, to finally culminate in that one game in the final seconds is unbelievable.”

“a senior going out on this note you can’t really ask for a much better note,” Sutcliffe said. “I know we could have what a conference championship or what have you, but this, to win the last game at home, is something really special, and it’s definitely something I’ll never forget.”

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