Men now 1-0 on season following big win against #7 Calvin College

What a night it was at Fauver Stadium yesterday for the men's soccer team.

The Yellow Jackets played a nearly flawless game en route to their 3-1 win against Calvin College, who in one poll was ranked #7 in the nation.

UR got off to a slow start, giving up an early goal in the first few minutes of the game. But the 'Jackets responded big time as they went on to score three unanswered goals, two of which came off of Tom Sorrentino ('12) throw-ins.

Just about five minutes following Calvin's goal, Josh Richards ('12) was in the right spot at the right time. He deflected an errant shot into the net for his first goal of the season to tie the score, 1-1.

Sophomore Max Fan's goal in the second half gave UR the lead for good against #7 Calvin.

Later on in the game, at the 50:23 mark, Max Fan ('14) gave UR its first lead when Sorrentino had a phenomenal throw in into the 18'. After a few passes, Fan kicked it home for his first goal of the year.

UR sealed the game at the 78:48 mark when Scott Zorn ('12) put the 'Jackets up 3-1 after another Sorrentino throw-in.

The 'Jackets really looked good in all phases of the game throughout the season opener. They looked a bit tentative in the match's early moments, but after giving up an early goal in the fourth minute to Calvin, UR completely dominated the competition.

Scott Garfing ('13) was in net and he looked much improved from last season. In 2010, Garfing split goalkeeping duties with Mike Moranz ('14), and with Garfing's stellar play in net against Calvin, it will be interesting to see whether or not head coach Chris Apple will continue his goalie platoon.

The most intriguing part of the game for me, however, was seeing Coach Apple's extensive use of three freshman: Alex Swanger ('15), Shane Dobles ('15) and Jarvis D'Souza ('15).

All three showed a lot of poise the entire game. If they had any rookie nerves, I surely couldn't see it.

Swanger arguably had the biggest impact of the fantastic freshman trio. The forward from Penfield, a suburb of Rochester, had a very nice assist on Zorn's goal, started the game for the 'Jackets, and was extremely close to scoring a goal in the second half.

Freshman Alex Swanger

UR's next game is tomorrow (9/3) at 7pm vs. Fredonia State. I won't be broadcasting that game, but two other WRUR broadcasters will be. Check out the live broadcast at www.thesting.wrur.org.

For his performance in his first ever collegiate game, the inaugural Jackets' Nest Player of the Game goes to Alex Swanger. He played aggresively and confidently the entire match and showed little passiveness. He had an important assist which helped seal the win for UR and nearly scored a goal of his own.



In other news...
-I had the opportunity to interview Coach Apple today about yesterday's big win. I will post a transcribed version of the interview within the next few days.
-The women won their opening game earlier today in dominating fashion against Medaille College, 7-0. I will post a recap of their game tomorrow as well.
-I will be broadcasting the women's championship of the Flower City Tournament at Fauver Stadium tomorrow at 1:30 PM. The lady 'Jackets are taking on Skidmore. Check out www.thesting.wrur.org at 1:30 to hear the live radio feed.
-Great news on the broadcasting front: I was notified yesterday by the UR athletic department that a video feed is going to hopefully be attached to WRUR's Internet soccer broadcasts by next week. Simply put, there is a very good chance that starting next week, UR's remaining home soccer matches will be broadcasted live with video and an accompanying radio voice over. More to come about this when I hear more.