SWARTHMORE, Pa. - No. 16 Swarthmore College Men's Soccer won with just 14 seconds left on Saturday in the opener of the 23rd Annual Garnet Alumni Classic.  On Sunday against Babson College, the hosts treated their fans to another late-match winner in the championship match.  Sophomore Freddie Lin redirected a free kick from junior Sean Nolan with 9:25 left on the clock to break a scoreless tie and earn the Garnet their 2nd victory in as many days.

With the victory, Swarthmore finish the weekend 2-0, Babson are 1-1, Widener are 1-1, and Immaculata ended 0-2 in the annual four-team tournament in Delaware County.  Freshman Christian Bignotti got his first career shutout in the goal, and Lin marked his first career goal for the home side.

The Beavers dominated much of the first half, outshooting the Garnet 5-3, and winning four corners to Swarthmore's one.  The visitors made several dangerous forays into Swarthmore's defensive end, while the Garnet struggled to threaten the other way.  But Swarthmore's back four of Nevins, Hotham, Kalathias and Nolan were disciplined, organized, and denied any serious chances for Babson.  Despite their pressure, Bignotti didn't have to make a save on the Beavers in the first half.

The second half started much the same, with Babson threatening and pushing into Garnet territory, earning a few more corner kicks and giving the hosts more to worry about defensively.  But the tide turned about 12 minutes in when Swarthmore took over the match, settling into a groove and pressing Babson into several mistakes.  Much of the action took place to the left of the Garnet bench, in the opponents' third of the field, as Swarthmore moved the ball right to left, up and back, and whipped in a handful of dangerous crosses.  Sophomore wing Oliver Garcia had a near miss on the left post, and Nolan sent a teasing cross left to right that the hosts could not capitalize on.

In the 81st minute, a long driven pass from back to front gave the Garnet their opening.  Lin challenged for the ball 30 yards from goal and got run over by Babson's centerback.  On the ensuing free kick, Lin made a dash across the defensive line from left to right while Nolan bent a perfect ball into his path.  Lin glanced the header goalward, and Babson's Itai Rubin - who had been excellent in goal throughout the match - misjudged the shot as it bobbled off his gloves and in.

Swarthmore expertly saw the match out to earn the title of the tournament and move to 2-0 on the season.  The Garnet will travel down Route 320 to take on Widener in the rescheduled DelCo Derby on Wednesday, September 8 for a 6:00 pm kickoff.