Box Score SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Swarthmore College men's soccer team (15-2-2) opened its NCAA Championship Tournament campaign with a dominating 3-0 first-round victory over Albertus Magnus at home on Saturday evening.
With the win, the Garnet advances to Sunday's second-round contest from Clothier Field Stadium against the winner of the Christopher Newport-RPI first-round contest.
The Garnet was fueled by a three-goal outburst over a 20-minute span to open the second half. Sophomore
Koby Levin and sophomore
Michael Stewart both scored for Swarthmore, which advances to the NCAA second round for the first time since 2010.
In goal for the Garnet, junior Peter Maxted made two saves to pick up the shut out.
Swarthmore controlled the ball for much of the first half, but failed to capitalize on numerous scoring opportunities. In the 28th minute, Stewart broke through the defense and had a shot on goal, which the Magnus goalie blocked on a fantastic diving save.
Returning from halftime, the Garnet capitalized on its aggressive play by scoring two goals within the first 12 minutes of the second half. With numerous players crowding the goal, junior
Joe Keedy shot on target and hit a Magnus defeder, causing the ball to ricochet into the net to give Swat the 1-0 lead.
Nearly two minutes later, sophomore
Koby Levin headed the ball in the net off of a pass from freshman
Wyatt McCall, suddenly giving Swarthmore a commanding 2-0 advantage.
The final goal came in the 68
th minute of the game off of a penalty kick by
Michael Stewart. It was his 13th goal for the season.
The Swarthmore men will continue their run in the NCAA championship tournament Sunday night at against RPI, which defeated Christopher Newport 2-0 in Saturday's second first-round contest. Action from Clothier Field begins at 5:00 p.m.
