HAVERFORD, Pa. – The historic run for the Haverford College men's soccer team lived on Saturday afternoon as the No. 7 Fords (18-3) advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals with a 2-0 victory against No. 13 St. Lawrence (16-4-2) on Walton Field. The Fords' march to the quarterfinals marked the first time in the NCAA era that the team has stood among the final eight competing schools. Haverford's victory was its 16th in a row.
With the latest victory, Haverford will now play for a spot in the NCAA Semifinals Sunday at 1 p.m. against SUNY Oneonta. The No. 8 Red Dragons (18-3-1) were also 2-0 winners on Saturday as they defeated No. 20 MIT. Tomorrow's match will also be contested on Walton Field.
Keying the victory were a trio of first-team All-Centennial Conference performers. Sam Yarosh quickly put his team up 1-0 with an unassisted goal just 4:55 into the match. The Centennial Conference Player of the Year now has 17 goals for the season and tied the school record set by his teammate Will Corkery with his seventh game-winning goal of the year. Speaking of Corkery, he set up the Fords' second goal of the afternoon in the 26th minute of play with his 13th assist of the season. Scoring the goal off a free kick was last year's Centennial Conference scoring leader Brady Seitz.
Yarosh's game-winning effort came unassisted when he stole the possession away from the Saints' defense and beat the goalie to the far post. His 33rd goal of his career ties him with Rob Shaker '91 for 11th in school history. He now ranks just one off the school leaders with 11 career game-winning goals. Both Frank Adamson '98 and Rich Billings '00 finished with 12 game-winners in their careers. His 17 goals this season are tied for the fifth most in a single season at Haverford.
Just over 20 minutes after bringing the crowd to its feet early on Saturday, the Fords had an encore performance. Seitz headed home his eighth goal of the season on a free kick that was played by Corkery. He now has 29 goals for his career to sit in 14th in the school record books. Corkery was credited with his 13th assist on the play. The junior now has 21 career assists. His assist total ranks eighth for a single season at Haverford.
With the 2-0 lead just over 25 minutes into the game, Haverford relied on its defense to carry home the victory. Sam Miller made four saves in the second half to keep the Saints off the scoreboard. The shutout was his seventh solo effort of the season and the team's 10th clean sheet as a unit for the year.
Although unable to crack the scoreboard during the second half, the Fords were able to create great scoring chances over the last 45 minutes. Five times Haverford was denied a third goal in the final 15 minutes of game action. The two sides each finished with 11 shots for the game. Haverford also had four chances whistled offside during that final 15 minutes of game action.
SUNY Oneonta and Haverford will now get ready for the quick turnaround for Sunday's sectional final. The winner of Sunday's match will punch its ticket to the national semifinals in Kansas City, Missouri.