It is really too bad that the championship game of this year’s Atlantic 10 men’s soccer tournament was not televised because if it was, it would definitely be appearing on the ESPN-Classic network for years to come.
In one of the most intense games played in A-10 soccer history, Massachusetts (14-5-1) defeated the Richmond Spiders (12-6-2) in a thrilling shootout on Sunday. The 4-3 penalty kick victory on the campus of Dayton University in Ohio gave UMass its first-ever A-10 championship.
The Maroon and White advanced to the title game by beating the Flyers 4-2 in the first round on Friday.
One hundred and fifty minutes of scoreless play consisted of 90 minutes of regulation and four sudden death overtime periods led to the Minutemen’s first title-game shootout since West Virginia downed UMass in 1992.
Junior defender John Lytton ended the heart-stopping match as he netted the championship-winning goal in the fifth and final round of the shootout, clinching the victory. The game goes in the record books as a 0-0, 4OT match.
The heroic goal gave the Minutemen their first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Spiders got on the board first in the shootout as senior Cam Letke fired a shot to the upper right corner of the goal.
UMass quickly answered back as A-10 Player of the Year and leading goal scorer Jeff Deren, placed a shot past UR keeper Shawn Alexander.
In the next round, senior goalkeeper Bryan O’Quinn came up huge when he stopped a shot attempt from UR sophomore midfielder Eric Dutt to give UMass the advantage.
The co-captain played like it was his last game and it possibly could have been. O’Quinn posted a career-high 10 saves en route to his 15th career shutout. The blanking tied the school record set by Sam Ginzburg (1985-88) for shutouts.
The Spiders evened the advantage when, with the score 2-2 in the third, Alexander made a diving stop on sophomore forward Derek Rhodes’ shot.
In the fourth round, UMass watched UR freshman back Grant Dickens give UR a 3-2 lead. Minuteman junior forward Yuri Morales was not shaken by the goal as he immediately countered – knotting the score at three after four rounds.
In the fifth and final round, Richmond had a chance to take a 4-3 lead but came up short when senior midfielder Bryon Waggoner misfired – hitting the bottom of the crossbar.
Waggoner’s blunder set up a chance for the recently injured Lytton to be heroic. He took advantage of the rare chance and rocketed a shot past Alexander.
“I’ve taken home that second-place trophy three times and I didn’t want to do it again,” head coach Sam Koch said. “I’m just extremely proud of all these guys and the way they have played all season. This game was an example of how hard they fought all year long.”
After the match O’Quinn, Deren and senior defender J.R. Pouncey were named to the all-tournament team. Co-captain Pouncey was also named the 2001 Atlantic 10 Tournament Most Outstanding Player thanks to his unbelievable defensive work in the 150 minutes of shutout play.
Next up for the Minutemen is the pinnacle – the NCAA tournament. They will have the opportunity to face up with national powerhouses such as North Carolina and St. John’s.
The 2001 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Soccer Championship bracket will be announced on Monday, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m.