BALTIMORE, Md.—Avenging last year's Centennial Conference tournament loss, Swarthmore College Men's Soccer returned to Johns Hopkins University on Saturday and came away with a win. The Garnet topped the Blue Jays 1-0 in overtime with
Tommy Sheehan scoring the golden goal four minutes into the extra period.
With the win, Swarthmore improved to 5-3 (1-1 Centennial) and head coach
Eric Wagner collected his 171st career victory at Swarthmore, making him the winningest coach in the program's 100-season history. Wagner, in his 15th season as head coach of the Garnet, said after the game that he couldn't have gotten to this point without a lot of support. "It's indicative of the support and talent we've had, the hard working and talented players and the help of administration, staff and families."
As the Garnet battled to keep the Blue Jays off the scoreboard, the Garnet took its first shot on goal in Saturday's contest in the 37th minute. The Garnet didn't register another shot on goal in the remainder of the physical regulation, but tallied six total attempts for the game.
Michael Thut, who earned the victory in goal for the Garnet, recorded five saves.
Swarthmore's second shot on goal came right at the four minute mark of the first half of overtime, and the Garnet made the opportunity count.
Michael Nafziger circled his way through the defense and found
Ryan Ward who worked to the goal line and slid a pass across the goal line to
Tommy Sheehan who dashed in and met the pass, flicking it in with his heel for the sudden victory.
Sheehan, a junior, has played a role in the game-winning goals of four games for the Garnet this season, scoring the game-winner against Widener, Eastern, and Johns Hopkins and setting up the game-winner against St. Mary's. "He's blazing fast, so he's always dangerous," Wagner said of Sheehan. "This year he's 100 percent healthy, so we're getting the most out of him. He worked hard in the offseason on striking the ball and he's getting it done."
Swarthmore returns to road play on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. game at Muhlenberg College.