HAVERFORD, Pa. – Two early goals pushed the Haverford College men's soccer team past McDaniel Saturday afternoon on Walton Field. The Fords (5-3, 2-0 CC) notched another shutout victory in the conference with the 2-0 win over the Green Terror (2-4-2, 0-2). The victory also keeps pace with the rest of the leaders in the Centennial Conference.
Brady Seitz provided Saturday's first and eventual game-winning goal just 5:30 into the match off a deflected shot from Tejan Walcott. In the 18th minute of play, Sam Yarosh provided the insurance tally on another rebounded shot that was played by Michael Carr. Sam Miller recorded his third shutout of the season in goal for the Fords as he made three saves on the day.
Haverford's early tally came during an offensive onslaught against the Green Terror's defense. In a sequence of three quick shots, Carr saw his original shot on goal saved. However, the rebound came right to Walcott. With the goalie out of position, Walcott appeared to have a clear lane to goal before a McDaniel defender stepped in front of his shot for a team save. That second rebound found its way to Seitz, who was eventually able to hammer home the early 1-0 lead. Seitz's goal gives him a point in three straight matches and three goals this week. After scoring today's latest goal, Seitz has four goals on the season. Walcott was credited with his first assist on the play.
The Fords backed up the first goal with more frantic action in front of the net in the 18th minute of play. Walcott again beat the goalie only to have his shot saved by the McDaniel defense. This time, the rebound came out to Carr and he would calmly play it back to Yarosh at the top of the 18 for the strike. Yarosh's finish was his team-leading seventh goal of the season. Carr recorded his second assist of the year after also helping out on a goal in the season opening win against Scranton.
A strong opening 45 minutes of play saw the Fords carry that 2-0 advantage into the half. Haverford held an 8-1 edge in shots over the first 45 minutes of Saturday's action. The second half was much closer statistically, but the Fords still finished the Centennial Conference matchup with a 15-6 advantage in shots.
Four different players – Seitz, Yarosh, Walcott, and Will Corkery – each had three shots against McDaniel to lead the offensive attack. Carr also finished with two shots, while Ryan Hill rounded out the attempts at goal. The Fords put nine of those 15 shots on frame.
The Green Terror's best chance to score on Saturday came in the 66th minute of play when McDaniel's Bertrand Chepngang had just a defender to beat to bring his team back within one. However, this time it was Maclyn Willigan that came up with a defensive save to preserve the shutout and clear the ball out of harm's way.
Saturday's victory continues the longest home Centennial Conference winning streak in program history. The Fords have now won seven straight conference matches at home dating back to November of 2013. The Fords will look to carry that momentum onto the road as their next contest will see them to travel to Washington College on Wednesday evening. The conference clash is set for 7 p.m.