COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Despite creating a litany of chances, the back of the net eluded the Ursinus College men's soccer team's grasp in a 3-0 Centennial Conference defeat to Swarthmore.
The Garnet (4-5-1, 2-0-1) got two goals from Woojin Shin in a relatively even affair, one in which the visitors rode impressive individual strikes to a shutout that was far less comfortable than the final score suggested.
The Bears (2-6, 0-3) produced a bevy of close calls, including a shot by junior Ben Amaral that rocketed off the crossbar, but were unable to score for the second consecutive match.
Swarthmore peppered Ursinus freshman goalie Matthew Kenwood with four shots on frame in the first 12 minutes alone, but the freshman was equal to the task each time. One of his more impressive stops came on a bending effort by Conor Gill that was destined for the left corner of the net before Kenwood dove to secure it.
Gill had another near miss in the 28th minute, but his header from the right of the box bounded inches wide of the far post.
The Garnet broke the stalemate with 12:12 to play in the first half, when Shin tucked a left-footed blast into the lower right corner of the net from about 30 yards out.
Ursinus nearly found an equalizer with a minute remaining in the stanza, as a long throw-in by junior Justin Molyneaux bounced around dangerously near the net before freshman R.J. Liszewski's attempt was blocked by a Swarthmore defender.
Swarthmore wasted little time building a cushion. Less than five minutes into the second half, Felix Laniyan sent in a cross from the left that took a brief deflection before Yuheng Wang collected the loose ball in the center of the box and deposited a left-footed shot to the lower left corner of the net for a 2-0 lead with 40:22 to go in the contest.
Desperate to pull one back, the Bears cranked up the pressure in the attacking third. Ursinus had several close calls over the next few minutes, one of them a volley by freshman Braden Burns that Swarthmore keeper Oliver Steinglass went to the ground to corral.
Ursinus just missed cutting the deficit in half in the 70th minute. Molyneaux's cross from the left was perfectly placed for freshman Noah Kilday, but the rookie's header from the right side of the box skipped just past the far post.
Despite all the Bears' chances, Swarthmore stretched its margin even further when Shin ripped a 25-yard shot past a diving Kenwood off a deflection, his second of the night making it 3-0 with 17:12 to go.
Another golden opportunity fell by the wayside two minutes later, when the Bears caught the Garnet off-guard with a quick throw-in to Amaral. The junior was all alone on the keeper, but his shot caromed off the bar.
After being outshot 9-2 in the first half, the Bears rebounded with a 9-3 surplus in the second frame to narrow Swarthmore's final edge to 12-11. Amaral led all players with four shots for Ursinus. The Garnet held a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Steinglass made two saves to pick up the win, while Kenwood matched his career high with five in his first career start.
Sophomore Brett Korn made his collegiate debut in the second half.
The men's soccer team looks for its first CC win at Dickinson on Saturday.