GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Haverford College men's soccer team used a pair of goals in each half to down No. 19 Gettysburg on Saturday night. The Fords (7-3, 4-0 CC) led by a 4-1 score early in the second half before a late run by the Bullets (7-2-1, 2-2 CC) came up just short. With the victory and Franklin & Marshall's contest for the weekend being rescheduled to later in the month, the Fords now own sole possession of the top spot in the Centennial Conference standings.
Sam Yarosh opened and closed Haverford's scoring with a pair of goals on Saturday. Yarosh's nine goals this season are the top mark in the Centennial Conference. Michael Carr assisted on Yarosh's first goal and got into the scoring action with his first career goal to put the Fords up 2-0 in the first half. Brady Seitz scored Haverford's third goal of the evening.
The rain soaked field did not appear to slow down either offense on Saturday night. Just over four minutes into the contest, the Bullets thought they had a 1-0 lead only to see the offsides flag up on the sideline. Haverford's first shot of the match led to the first goal. To open the scoring, Yarosh took a pass from Carr and found the upper 90 to the far side in the 12th minute of play. Carr's assist was his third of the year.
The Fords continued to make the most of their chances with their second goal in as many shots during the 16th minute of play. After assisting on the opening goal, Carr tallied his first collegiate goal just under four minutes later when the Fords' freshman settled a bouncing ball in front of the net and finished to put his team up 2-0.
Haverford amassed a 5-1 advantage in shots over the first 45 minutes of play. Nevertheless, the Bullets made the most of their first official shot of the contest as Mark Yearick headed home a corner chance to cut the deficit in half just 33 seconds before halftime.
After a quick start to the opening half, the Fords replicated that feat in the second half. In the 52nd minute of play, the Fords turned a set piece of their own into instant offense. With a foul off to the right side, Seitz countered the early Gettysburg aerial attack with one of his own as he finished a ball played by Corkery into the back of the net. Seitz's goal was his fifth of the season, while Corkery recorded his seventh assist of the season on the play. His seven helpers are currently tied for the top mark in the conference.
Yarosh capped the Fords' offensive output for the evening with his second goal of the evening in the 62nd minute of play. Just like Seitz's goal earlier in the half, Yarosh finished his second half goal on header. Yarosh took the cross from Nick John. John's assist was the first collegiate point for the Haverford freshman.
The Bullets did not go into the night quietly despite the three-goal deficit and less than 30 minutes left in the game. Goals in the 63rd and 72nd minutes from Ryan Kennedy and Patrick Santini made the contest a one goal affair with 18:14 left in regulation.
Despite the quick answer to pull Gettysburg back into the match, the Fords' defense quickly regrouped and allowed just three more shots for the Bullets over those final 18-plus minutes. Sam Miller came up with a save in the 79th minute of play, while shots high and wide in the 84th and 85th minutes were Gettysburg's final chances on the offensive end. The Fords finished with a 14-8 edge in shots for the match. Miller came up with a pair of saves for his seventh win of the year.
Men's soccer will be on the road this week as the team travels to Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. match. Centennial Conference play for the Fords will resume next weekend when Dickinson comes to campus Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest.