SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Stathis Kalathias scored the winning goal in the 74
th minute to give the Swarthmore College men's soccer team a 2-1 win over Misericordia University in non-conference action on Tuesday night.
The victory snapped a nine-game winless streak for the Garnet in which they went 0-5-4. The triumph comes at an opportune time, as Swarthmore looks to carry the momentum into its final four Centennial Conference games as it seeks a postseason spot.
Adrien Marcelli got the Garnet on the board early and they held the lead until midway through the second half. After the Cougars tied it in the 58
th minute, Kalathias followed up on a saved penalty kick to put Swarthmore ahead for good.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Garnet went in front just under seven minutes into the contest.
Len Yamabe had the ball in the middle of the field and connected with Marcelli as he was cutting into the box. Marcelli made a quick move to his right to create shooting space and beat the goalkeeper to the right side for a 1-0 Swarthmore advantage.
- The Garnet dominated the opening 45 minutes overall, outshooting Misericordia by a 14-4 count. All four Cougars shots were on frame and
Christian Bignotti came up with the stop each time to keep Swarthmore ahead.
- Misericordia started the second half strong, winning the shot battle, 4-1, in the initial 12 minutes and netting the equalizer. The Cougars continued to generate opportunities, getting off 11 shots total during the period, but were unable to beat Bignotti again. Bignotti came up with another pair of saves in the stanza.
- The Garnet earned a golden chance to take the upper hand again when they drew a foul in the box in the 74
th minute. Kalathias scored on the initial penalty kick but a retake was ordered by the referee. The second shot was saved by the Misericordia goalkeeper but the rebound went right back to Kalathias, who tapped in for an easy goal. The Cougars recorded five shots down the stretch but none were on target.
GARNET LEADERS
Goals: Marcelli, Kalathias 1
Assists:
Antonio Callegari, Yamabe 1
Shots: Yamabe 4
Shots on Goal: Kalathias, Yamabe 3
Saves: Bignotti 6
UP NEXT
Swarthmore (2-6-4) begins the stretch run with a home matchup versus Dickinson College on Saturday at 4 p.m.
