PASADENA, Calif. – The Swarthmore College men's soccer team completed a perfect West Coast trip with a 1-0 victory at California Institute of Technology on Sunday. The Garnet earned their first shutout of the season and outscored their two opponents, 4-1, on the weekend.
Joost Almekinders tallied the lone goal for Swarthmore, his second of the year, off a free kick with just 1:28 remaining in the contest. The Garnet dominated the game, outshooting the Beavers by a 17-2 count. Eleven of Swarthmore's attempts were on target while Caltech was unable to place any of its shots on frame. The Garnet also had an 11-2 advantage in corner kicks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Swarthmore created its first sustained pressure in the seventh minute, with
Len Yamabe beginning a stretch of four Garnet shots in a five-minute span. Two of the shots had to be stopped by the goalkeeper.
- Swarthmore nearly broke through again starting in the 21
st minute, placing another two shots on goal and three total in a four-minute stretch. The Garnet had another three attempts turned away by the goalie in the final 14 minutes of the half and the game remained scoreless at halftime.
- The Beavers' backline was able to tighten up and limit Swarthmore to just six shots in the second half but the Garnet offense peppered Caltech with five shots in the final 10 minutes of the match. Three shots were saved and another went wide before Swarthmore was finally able to break through in the 89
th minute. Yamabe took a free kick from 25 yards out.
Tejas Sarna headed the ball down for Almekinders, who booted it after one bounce into the left side of the net for the game-winning marker.
GARNET LEADERS
Goals: Almekinders 1
Assists: Sarna, Yamabe 1
Shots: Yamabe 5
UP NEXT
The Garnet (3-0-1) return home to take on Kean University on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
