Bullets shut out Washington College to stay in contention for conference playoffs
Photo courtesy of Gettysburg College website. Sophomore Peter Como tied a career-high with six saves, including three in the final six minutes.
By Andrew Milone, Staff Writer
The Gettysburg College men’s soccer team was coming off a tough loss to Dickinson College going into Saturday’s match against Washington College. Fortunately, the Bullets pulled through to win 1-0, making up some lost ground in the Centennial Conference standings.
The game started off with familiar names in the starting attack with sophomore Patrick Santini, junior KJ Depontes, and second team all-conference forward Henry Smith. All three had a breakout campaign last season.
After a two game absence, sophomore goalkeeper, Peter Como, returned to the starting lineup against Washington College and had arguably the best game of his career coming off of six saves and leading Gettysburg College to the clean sheet and 1-0 win. He was also named Gettysburg College Defensive Player of the Week.
The game was very shot heavy with Gettysburg having twelve shots on goal and Washington College attempting to score on Como nine times. Gettysburg only needed one shot to go in, though, to secure the victory. The game winning goal came from Depontes who tallied three shots for the day. This goal came in the 21st minute on an assist from senior Will Gately who played a ball through to Depontes near the right side of the end line.
“We’ve had a couple of injuries that have really thrown kids into unusual roles but throughout the season we’ve all had the mindset of ‘next man up.’ Everyone knows they might get called on at any minute and it really showed that they were up to the challenge,” said Como. One of the big names to go down over the last couple of weeks is senior captain Marc Franco, who usually plays center back and contributes heavily to the Bullets backline.
The Bullets were very solid defensively in Saturday’s game, something that has been a consistent factor for the team all season. If the Gettysburg men’s soccer team can limit its opponent to one goal, they will go on to win the game.
“In some of the past games it seemed like there was a disconnect between the offense and defense but on Saturday forwards were running back to defend and it really made the difference,” said Como. The team looks like they are now back on track.
The goal by Depontes was important not just for the win, but also placed Gettysburg College in contention for playoffs. The Gettysburg men’s soccer team is now tied for the final playoff spot featured in the Centennial Conference Tournament. This makes the last two games against top standing power house Franklin & Marshall and other Centennial Conference foe McDaniel College crucial.
The last two games of the season will be played on the Bullets home turf on Oct. 28 and Oct. 31 against Franklin & Marshall and Johns Hopkins, respectively.
Be sure to come out and root for the men’s soccer team as they finish out their season!
