|
||||
Intercollegiate AthleticsFor Sports EnthusiastsFor Student Athletes |
Geoducks pull off upset |
|||
|
November 18, 2004 Evergreen ends Rio Grande's 63-game win streak in overtime THE OLYMPIAN OLATHE, Kan. -- If fans at the NAIA men's soccer national championships had never heard of The Evergreen State College Geoducks before the tournament, it was understandable. After all, the school has always been much better known for academic achievement as opposed to accomplishments on the athletic fields. But after Evergreen knocked off second-seeded University of Rio Grande on Thursday, ending its 63-game winning streak and dashing its hopes of repeating as national champions, the Geoducks have opened up some eyes, and gained some new fans in the process. Nate Ford found the back of the net from about 18 yards out in the seventh minute of overtime to give No. 18 Evergreen a shocking 2-1 win and advance to the quarterfinal round of the tournament. "It was just a great game," Geoducks coach Tom Boatright said. "We stayed as disciplined as we could, sat back and waited for opportunities and sure enough, as the game went on, we had more and more breaks." Confident from the outset, Evergreen got on the board first when senior Jason Gjertsen scored just before halftime, blasting in a direct free kick from 30 yards out into the upper corner. "It was just a beautiful goal," Boatright said. "We were up 1-0 at halftime, and we deserved it -- we had the better chances and were holding them down." But defending champ Rio Grande turned up the heat in the second half, peppering the Evergreen defense with shots on goal, piling up an 11-3 advantage in the half and forcing Geoducks goalkeeper Tom Kneeshaw to make four saves. Eventually, Rio Grande broke through the Evergreen defense in the 70th minute, on a goal credited to Michael McManus, but that Boatright said was actually an Evergreen own-goal. "They got back more of the play in the second half," Boatright said. "They got an own goal that they deserved -- they were getting a lot of pressure at that point. They had really turned the tide." With a roster Boatright said was packed with club players from England, Ireland and Scotland, Rio Grande had a distinct style on offense that helped keep Evergreen off balance. "They like to put it in the ball in the air and play it in the air -- it was very challenging for us," Boatright said. "We're not huge in back, and we don't see that style as thoroughly executed as Rio Grande did." But in the last minutes of the second half, Evergreen seized the momentum, and had good offensive chances to win it in regulation, in front of a crowd that had suddenly turned partisan in favor of the Geoducks. "We started getting some of the play back and people in the stands started quacking -- we're now the Cinderella," Boatright said. "It was just awesome. If we bought Geoducks T-shirts, we could have made a fortune." In overtime, Boatright said the Geoducks just took over with several good opportunities before Ford's clincher, which came off an assist from Joe Gjertsen. "Their outside-mid let me get behind him and Joey played me a great ball through, near post and the keeper wasn't covering it," Ford said. As surprised as the fans may have been to see the liberal arts school with the strange mascot beat the defending champs, the Geoducks have been confident all season. They believed they could match up with the nation's best, and now they're proving it. "Right when we started playing, I had a feeling we could play with these guys," Ford said. "We've got to just take it game by game now, and try to get better every game. Evergreen has a day off, and will face the winner of today's match between Southern Nazarene (15-4-2) and Berry College (21-3-0) at noon on Saturday.
NAIA national tournament |
Men's Soccer InformationAffiliatesRelated Links |
|||
|
Last Updated: February 28, 2008 All content and images on this site are copyrighted by The Evergreen State
College. © 2008 |
||||
