CHESTER, Pa. – The Widener men's soccer team opened its 61
st season in program history on Thursday night against local rival Swarthmore, but the Garnet netted a pair of goals in the second half to come away with a 2-1 win at Elizabeth J. Hirschmann Field at Leslie C. Quick, Jr. Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST SWARTHMORE
- Junior forward Sean Fatiga picked up where he left off a year ago by scoring the Pride's first goal of the season. The Woolwich, N.J. native, who was the program's first MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Year after scoring a single-season record 16 goals, found the back of the net 55 seconds into the contest off a pass from Monsif Astify.
- Following Fatiga's quick goal, the Pride managed to hold Swarthmore to one shot in the first half while taking three more shots. Fatiga had two of those shots, while first-year forward Bryan Gaviria took his first shot of his career.
- In the second half, Swarthmore went on the offensive by taking 10 shots. Widener goalie Ryan Van Pelt saved three of those shots in the first 23 minutes, but the Garnet got the equalizer in the 73rd minute and put in the go-ahead goal in the 77th minute.
- The Pride tried to make a late push for the equalizer, but the Garnet defense kept the ball away from the net to secure the win.
- Van Pelt finished with five saves on the night for Widener.
UP NEXT
Widener returns to Hirschmann Field at Quick Stadium on Sunday when it hosts SUNY-Cortland. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
