Men's Soccer Finishes in the NCAA Final Four
Men's Soccer Finishes in the NCAA Final FourClaiming its first New England Region Championship with victories over Bowdoin and Plymouth State, Amherst notched its third NCAA victory in the national quarterfinals over Ithaca to propel the Jeffs into Championship Weekend. Amherst had been playing its best soccer of the season in the tournament, stepping up its offensive output to 10 goals in four games while allowing only five with two shutouts.
Pitted against defending the national champion, The College of New Jersey, Amherst held off eight first-half shots with skillful saves by keeper Kevin Larner (Short Hills, NJ). While the Lions controlled the tempo of the game with fast-paced and aggressive play, the Jeffs capitalized on a breakaway late in the half. Senior Co-Captain Tim Christian (Agawam, MA) fed a ball to Andy Kay (North Easton, MA) on the left side of the field with under a minute to play in the first. The sophomore danced by a defender before sending a lob under the crossbar and out of the goalie's reach for Kay's 12th goal of the year and fifth of the tournament. Just 39.4 seconds before the break, the Jeffs had claimed a precarious 1-0 lead.
New Jersey continued to pound the Amherst net for a chance to defend its title, but the backfield of Nate McDonald (Burnsville, MN), Jon George (Minneapolis, MN), Ben Haley (Milford, CT) and Mike Grant (Mendon, MA) robbed the Lions of shots as they helped hold off 14 corner kicks, nine in the second half.
New Jersey was awarded a penalty kick in the 50th minute as Amherst was charged with a handball in the box. But Larner, who had saved a Panther PK in the first round to kick off Amherst's NCAA run, faked out Lion captain Jason Cairns (Brick, NJ) for his seventh save of the game. Refusing to back down, New Jersey locked in the offense in the closing minutes of regulation, tallying their final four shots inside the 18 with less than 10 to play. Their efforts paid off with 6:54 left on the clock as junior Jack San Filippo (Shrewsbury, NJ) sent a deflected corner kick into the upper left corner of the net. Just 68 seconds later, Cairns avenged his spoiled penalty kick attempt with the game-winner.
Wheaton (IL), who had defeated host Mary Washington in the other semifinal, went on to defeat a wearied New Jersey squad 3-0 in the championship game.
NCAA Tournament Notes
No. Name G A P 11 Andy Kay '00 12 4 28 4 Tim Christian '98 8 4 20 7 Matt Diggs '99 7 5 19 9 Devin Talbott '98 5 4 14 18 Mike Sullivan '98 2 1 5 10 Gary Kegal '00 1 3 5 3 Nate McDonald '98 1 2 4 5 Brian Angelini '00E 1 2 4 15 Stephen Squillario '01 1 0 2 6 Jon George '98 0 2 2 12 Mike Grant '99 0 2 2 2 Ben Haley '99 0 1 1 Amherst Totals 38 30 106 Opponent Totals 26 20 72 Goalkeeping W L T Min Svs GA Sv% GAA ShO Kevin Larner '99 12 5 2 1793 112 25 .818 1.25 5 Stephen Tornabene '01 0 2 0 20 3 1 .750 4.50 0 Amherst Totals 12 5 2 1813 115 26 .816 1.29 5 Opponent Totals 5 12 2 1813 107 38 .738 1.89 2Final Record: 12-5-2 Last Week: NCAA Final Four at Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia Fri Nov 28 The College of New Jersey, L 1-2