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Intercollegiate AthleticsFor Sports EnthusiastsFor Student Athletes |
Men's Soccer Ends 33-Game Losing Skid |
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AUGUST 27, 2001 Geoducks win for first time since October of 1998 OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The pain and suffering is finally over for The Evergreen State College men's soccer program. After 33 consecutive losses, and 38 games without a victory, the Geoducks took dominated their season opener against Northwest College, defeating the Eagles, 4-0. Evergreen had not won a match since Oct. 14, 1998, when the Clams stopped Hawaii Pacific, 1-0, and had lost each match since a 1-1 tie with Northwest on September 3, 1999. Sophomore Justin Connell (Sequim, Wash. / Sequim HS) scored twice within the first 23-minutes, giving Evergreen the advantage it needed. Connell, last season's leading scorer, took a crossing pass from his high school teammate Dave Zebley (Sequim, Wash. / Wenatchee Valley CC) at the 11-minute mark and found the net. He then took a nice feed from true freshman Dave Rack (Whitefish Bay, Wis. / Whitefish Bay HS) in the box and drove it past Eagles keeper Jason Bishop to make it 2-0. The win overshadowed the fact that Evergreen women's soccer head coach Arlene McMahon was leading the squad into battle. McMahon, who had to leave immediately following the match to coach the Geoduck women at Seattle University, was replacing former head coach Scott Martin, who was let go by the school on Friday. "As the slogan on their practice shirts says, 'It's Time to Move Forward,' and they are doing it," an overjoyed McMahon said. I was really pleased with their dedication. It is great to get a conference win right out of the gate." The victory was the first-ever Cascade Conference win for the squad after dropping all 12 of their games throughout the loop last season. Evergreen (1-0 CCC, 1-0 overall) added a third first half goal when Truman Read (Media, Penn. / Penncrest HS) dribbled into the box and found the top-right shelf. True freshman Tom Kneeshaw (Eatonville, Wash. / Eatonville HS) was outstanding in his goalkeeping debut for the Geoducks, stopping all four shots on goal to record the shutout. The former All-Nisqually League star used a diving punch to thwart a Takeshi Ushikubo point blank shot during the first half. With the turmoil of the past few days, co-captain Jimmy Nagle (Bremerton, Wash. / Univ. of Portland) knew things could go one-of-two ways. "Either we were going to fall apart or really come together," the three-year veteran said. "Today we came together as a team very well." The Geoducks outshot Northwest (0-1, 0-1), who was playing a man down the entire game, 24-8 and had a 9-4 shots on goal advantage. During the 2000 campaign, Evergreen took just 115 shots in 16 games, and scored only 11 goals all season. Co-captain Kinnan Murray (Portland, Ore. / Catlin Gabel HS) liked what he saw. "It feels great to get back where we should be. Everyone here knows how to win." The Geoducks return to action Saturday afternoon, when they host NAIA power, The Master's College, at 4 p.m. |
Men's Soccer InformationAffiliates
Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC)
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Related Links |
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