GETTYSBURG, Pa. - The Swarthmore College men's soccer team earned its way into the Centennial Conference Tournament with a 3-2 victory at Gettysburg College on Saturday. The Garnet return to the playoffs for the first time since 2023.
Joost Almekinders paced the Garnet with a pair of goals, scoring his team-leading seventh and eighth of the season. The senior also improved to 6-for-6 this season on penalty kicks.
JohnPaul D'Andrea continued his scorching-hot October, scoring his seventh goal in the past six games. D'Andrea notched his fourth game of the week after recording his first-career hat trick against Washington College.
Len Yamabe collected one assist to record his 50th career point. The senior has six assists this season and four in the previous two games.
Colin Crowe made three saves in a winning effort. The sophomore improved to 5-4-1 on the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Swarthmore tested the Bullets keeper early with a pair of shots on goal from
Kaden Cho and Yamabe, but were turned away on both attempts. Crowe then stepped up and made his only save of the half in the 23rd minute.
- The Garnet generated a couple more chances in the half with shots on target from Yamabe and D'Andrea. Swarthmore outshot the Bullets 6-5 with a 4-1 on-goal advantage.
- D'Andrea opened the scoring with a goal in the 50th minute. The junior received a pass from Yamabe, and then rocketed a strike past the goalkeeper on a breakaway.
- Crowe helped preserve the lead with a save in the 53rd minute. Javier Minuesa Sicilia then earned his team a penalty kick in the 59th minute after being taken down by the keeper. Almekinders then stepped to the circle and drilled the attempt for a two-goal lead.
- Almekinders struck again in the 65th minute to give the Garnet a three-goal lead. The senior made an acrobatic play to knock home a loose ball following a Swarthmore corner attempt.
- Gettysburg quickly cut into its deficit with a goal in the 65th minute. The Bullets then made things interesting with another score in the 77th minute, making it a one-goal game. However, the Garnet tightened up its defense in the final ten minutes, holding the Bullets without a shot attempt.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Almekinders 4
Goals: Almekinders 2
Assists: Yamabe 1
Shots: Yamabe 5
Saves: Crowe 3
UP NEXT
The Garnet (7-7-2, 5-3) wrap up the regular season next Saturday against Haverford College.
