2008 Woodie Awards
Men's soccer earns first finals berth in two decades
Team overcomes two deficits to win in penalty kick shoot
By Travis Pickens
Rocket Contributor
Issue date: 11/4/05 Section: Sports
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After rallying from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1, SRU knocked off Lock Haven at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference semifinals in a penalty kick shootout.
Nathan Puskar put the game away with a kick that flew into the net just inches below the crossbar, giving the Rock a 3-2 edge in the shootout. The teams battled to a 2-2 tie after 110 minutes of action.
"I don't know," Puskar said of what he was thinking in the moments after Rock goalkeeper Chris Cook turned away Andrew Meehan's kick to keep the shootout tied, 2-2. "(I thought) I could take it and be the lucky one today. I guess it's up to anybody. Anybody could have finished it."
Early in the shootout, it looked as if Lock Haven would finish the job. Patrick Long and Michael Smith were the Bald Eagles' first shooters and commenced to put the team ahead, 2-0, before Cook settled down. The goalkeeper turned away the next five Lock Haven shots, while Matt Furlan and Gary Saunders scored the first two shootout goals for the Rock.
"It was ridiculous," Cook said of his five straight saves. "I've been thinking about this all week, and I was terrified of (the game) going into penalties. That's what I didn't want to see happen."
If Cook was nervous, it was hard to tell. The sophomore kept his team in the shootout as both sides recorded two goals after five kicks each. Cook followed with two more saves to set the stage for Puskar's winning tally.
"I was just walking around in my box, thinking to myself how I didn't want to do this," Cook said. "It seemed like I knew exactly where every one (of the shots) was going to go. It was unbelievable."
Scoring a goal at all seemed unlikely for the Rock (12-7-1 overall, 11-5-1 PSAC). The teams finished the first half scoreless before the Bald Eagles took control of the match early in the second half.
In the 54th minute, Lock Haven (11-8-2, 9-6-2) took the lead thanks to Michael Skeggs' goal. The Rock fought back, and, five minutes later, Dave Keller buried a penalty kick to knot the score. The penalty was given to goalkeeper William Trimble III for colliding with Nick Christy in the penalty box.
"I thought the first half, at least, you could see the nerves," assistant coach Matt Garrett said of his team, which hadn't been to the postseason since 1985. "They were very nervous. Most of them didn't get any sleep, honestly. They were nervous."
Six minutes after Keller's goal, Ashley Rosindale broke free of the SRU defense and put the ball over Cook for a 2-1 Lock Haven advantage. The Rock came back again. In the 88th minute, Ed Mocarsky took advantage of a shot that bounced off Trimble III. Mocarsky tapped the ball into the goal to send the match into overtime.
"I thought (our chances) to come back were good," Puskar said. "We've been a comeback team all season. We work really hard and we don't quit until the end."
Garrett said the home crowd, which was the largest the Rock has played in front of this season, was a big help to his team. But, he knows if SRU wants to bring home its first conference title since 1974, it must travel to PSAC regular-season champion California, (Pa.) to do so.
The Vulcans (14-7-0, 12-5-0), a team that beat the Rock for the division title by two points, knocked off West Chester in double overtime on Wednesday, allowing California to hold onto home-field advantage.
"The field down there is crap," Cook said. "That's something we're going to have to deal with, I guess. We can't really play here. We're going to deal with it well I think."
Garrett said the team will not be favored, but will not be tentative.
"We're out to win it," Garrett said. "We beat them in the last game 1-0 (Oct. 22). They've got to be the favorites, (it will be) in their place. They've been here before, they're the favorites, but we've got nothing to lose."
There will be more at stake Sunday at 1 p.m. than just the PSAC playoff championship. Coming into the match, California sits in third place in the northeast region, while the Rock is fourth. The top three teams move into the national playoffs.
"That's the problem," Garrett said. "We wanted Cal to lose because if Cal lost and we won (against Lock Haven), we would probably go (to the national tournament), even if we lost on Sunday."
