Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Junior Patrick Santini (Cos Cob, Conn./Greenwich) broke open a scoreless game in the 51st minute and senior Henry Smith (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) added an insurance tally in the closing seconds as the Gettysburg College men's soccer team earned a big 2-0 Centennial Conference (CC) victory over Swarthmore College Saturday afternoon at Clark Field.
 
The two sides entered the match locked in a four-way tie for fourth place in the conference standings, but with the victory, the Bullets (6-3-1, 3-2 CC) temporarily moved into a tie with Johns Hopkins University for third with two matches still to be played Saturday evening.
 
In an evenly- played match, the Bullets held a slim 18-16 shot advantage.
 
With the win, Gettysburg earned its first victory over Swarthmore (6-6, 2-3 CC) since 2007. The Garnet had captured six victories and a pair of ties over the last eight meetings.
 
The Bullets locked up their fourth shutout of the season, with freshman Thomas Keane (Potomac, Md./Gonzaga College) making three stops for his third clean sheet of the year. Michael Thut turned aside nine shots for the Garnet.
 
It was defensively-controlled affair for most of the opening period, as the two sides combined for just two shots over the opening 29 minutes. The action picked up the rest of the way, however, as the Bullets outshot the Garnet 7-4 over the final 16 minutes.
 
Gettysburg's best scoring chance came with just over six minutes on the clock. Smith found some room on a breakaway and blasted a shot at Thut inside the box. Thut made a save that deflected back to Smith, whose rebound sailed over the cage.
 
The Orange and Blue nearly went in front six minutes into the second half, but a goal from Smith was waved off due to an offsides call. But the Bullets responded five minutes later, when freshman Precious Ozoh (Abuja, Nigeria/Holdernesss School [N.H.]) delivered a beautiful pass from midfield to a streaking Santini down the right side of the field. Santini took two dribbles before pulling up on the right side of the box and rifling a shot into inside the far post for his third goal of the season. It was the first collegiate assist for Ozoh.
 
Gettysburg continue to turn up the pressure over the remainder of the half, outshooting Swarthmore 11-10, but Thut made five saves the rest of the way before Smith's late tally. After the Bullets were awarded a late goal kick, Keane's boot found its way to Smith near midfield. Smith sent a header upfield, beating three defenders to the ball before finding the left side of the net with a shot from the top of the box for his team-leading fifth goal of the year.
 
The Bullets return to action on Wednesday, when they host Susquehanna University at 7 p.m. in a non-conference outing.