NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Goals from All-Americans Branden McGarrity (So./Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) and Neil Bartholomay (Sr./St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) proved enough to push the Carleton College men’s soccer team to a 2-0 non-conference victory over the University of Northwestern for the Knights’ fourth consecutive triumph.
Carleton (7-1-2) dominated the entire match, outshooting its opponents by a tally of 31-5, and did not allow the Eagles (2-7) to test keeper Keenan Smith (Jr./Madison, Wis./West) at any point during the opening half.
Despite the extreme advantage in possession and shots, Northwestern kept the game close thanks to spectacular play from their goalie Shane Coleman. Although the Knights peppered Coleman with 14 shots and 10 corner kicks in the opening period, the Knights managed only one goal in the first 45 minutes. That goal, however, proved to be all Carleton would really need.
Working out of the defensive zone in the 21st minute, Bartholomay connected on a pass to Will Corcoran (Sr./Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi), who immediately sent a long ball up the right side. McGarrity ran onto it, beat his defender to the inside and blasted a low, left-footed shot by an outstretched Coleman and inside the near post.
This was the fifth straight game in which McGarrity found the back of the net. It was his 24th career goal, moving him into a tie with Ron Sanders '65, George Monyemangene '89, and David Watson '06 for fourth on the Knights' all-time goal list. On the play, McGarrity also vaulted past Ryan Cammarota ’12 into eight place on the program’s all-time points list with 54. Corcoran’s assist pushed him into sixth place with 17 career assists.
Although the Eagles defense tightened for the rest of the half, Carleton opened up the second 45 minutes with a trio of corner kicks. The third time proved to be the charm for Carleton, as Bartholomay—the reigning conference player of the week—headed home a perfectly placed corner from junior Nathan Park (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) in the 50th minute. It was Bartholomay’s fourth goal over the last three matches.
The Knights had chances to add to their lead, but shots by McGarrity and Corcoan bounced off the post and crossbar, respectively. Coleman finished with 11 saves, including a couple of dandies in each half.
Smith worked his sixth career shutout and lowered his goals against average this season to 0.59.
Carleton will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 5 against Saint John’s University. Links to live video and stats from at Bell Field can be found on Knights Online.
