BALTIMORE, Md. - The 18th-ranked Haverford College men's soccer team earned the top seed in the upcoming Centennial Conference tournament with a 1-1 double-overtime tie against host Johns Hopkins University on Saturday night in the regular-season finale for both clubs.
The Fords (11-4-2, 5-2-2 CC), the 2012 Centennial champions, will now get the opportunity to defend their title on their home field due to the tie against the Blue Jays (7-7-3, 4-3-2) and rival Swarthmore College's 2-1 loss to Franklin & Marshall College later in the night. Haverford and the Garnet ended the regular season with the same conference record but the Fords claimed the right to host as a result of their 2-1 victory over visiting Swarthmore on Oct. 26.
Trailing 1-0 at intermission, Haverford continued to apply pressure on the Johns Hopkins defense. The Fords' persistence paid off in the 82nd minute as a cross from sophomore Colin Seitz found freshman Tejan Walcott alone in the box. Walcott gathered the ball and fired it high into the net past Blue Jays goalie Nick Cerrone (2-1-2), who led the Centennial in saves and shutouts in 2012.
Johns Hopkins sophomore Kenny DeStefano had given the hosts a 1-0 lead in the contest with his fifth of the season in the 39th minute of play. DeStefano took a cross from sophomore Nigel Joseph and deposited the ball into the left corner of the goal.
Haverford freshman goalie Sam Miller (4-1-2) made seven saves on the night including a tough stop off a Blue Jays' corner opportunity in the second overtime to preserve the tie. Miller finished the regular season with the highest save percentage (.850) among all conference netminders.
The Centennial semifinals will take place at Walton Field on Saturday. Having lost just once in their last seven games, the Fords will open defense of their title against the winner of Wednesday's opening round match-up between Johns Hopkins and Dickinson College. The other semifinal will be a rematch between Swarthmore and F&M. Saturday's two winners will square off on Sunday for the conference crown. Game times will be announced on Monday.