After 4 years of putting everything we had into this program, it has finally paid off. You could see and feel the emotion coming from every senior on the team after we captured our first SUNYAC championship for the program since 2005.
Coming into this team as freshmen, we heard so many stories about the ‘05 team and how successful they were and how great it is to win a SUNYAC title. Ever since then we have been so close to winning one only to fall in the championship time and again.
The under classmen don’t realize it yet but to have this feeling so early in your career is something special and we are trying to reinforce the notion that they should never take this for granted as we have suffered heartbreak year after year trying to get to this point.
Although we did make it to NCAA’s last year it is not the same as getting in as the conference champion. Nobody can ever take this championship away from us, it’s ours forever.
The way we went about winning was not the easiest, winning every game in a penalty shootout. The games were shown live on the internet and I know a lot of us had family members who couldn’t be there that were nervously watching.
The first game against Oneonta really pitted the two best technical teams in the conference against each other. They are a good side and we respect the way that they try and play but we really should not have let them anywhere near this game. We had the lead twice only to throw it away by using bad habits. Shaughnessy scored 2 nice goals to put us in the lead and usually the attackers get the blame for not scoring if the defense doesn’t do its job. This time we need to place blame on our defending as a team for not getting the job done.
In the end we got through the game and into penalties were Andy came up big with a save and we were perfect again to advance.
Facing Brockport again was something that many of us wanted. They had knocked us out on penalties the two years previous and also given us a spanking at home in the regular season.
We got off to a great start with Shaughnessy again putting us in the lead and we kept them at bay for the first half. They were not dangerous and we looked more likely to score a second rather than give one up. At half time we talked about the importance of attacking them and not sitting back to soak up pressure. Unfortunately we gave up another soft goal that was preventable. From then on Brockport barely touched the ball. We took it to them and they were hanging on for their lives at the end. Their goalie had to make 3 huge saves to keep them in it, one from a free kick and then 2 from the rebounds but we couldn’t get one in.
Off to penalties we went and most of us knew that they had watched us the day before and taken note of which way we shot. Bart and I got us going with the first 2, but then Lojo had his saved because he went the same way as the previous day. It was hard to watch someone like him miss because of his commitment and desire for this team to win but I knew that Andy would save one, he always does. Just like that Andy made one of the most amazing penalty saves I have ever seen. The shot was going for the side netting and at full stretch he somehow caught the ball, I honestly cannot do it justice with my explanation. Then we knew we would finish our pens it was matter of them missing and they did. Their sixth shooter missed wide and Erik, who was our first shooter against Oneonta replacing Bart, was our sixth. To have someone of his ability shooting sixth gives you a great comfort inside. When he scored the celebration was wild and emotional. Byrnes’ dad stormed the field along with a couple of other people and we were jumping around and hugging each other in elation.
It was great to hear some of the younger players that didn’t see much time to say it was a great feeling because it truly was a team championship. We have had a lot of injuries this year and everyone has had a role play. From Ryan Graig and Connors stepping in when Bart was hurt, to JJ, Martin and Levine combining to get the job done at left back, to Hakim becoming one of the best defensive midfielders in the conference, everyone has helped out.
Lojo was the deserving MVP of the tournament and Hamilton was rewarded for his tireless work with an All-Tournament accolade.
The bus ride home was a great time and the feeling is something we will never experience again. I hope this is the first of many for our freshmen because there is no better feeling.
Now we await the draw to see who we play in NCAA’s. We want to go further than last year but every game is a bonus for us now. We are trying to extend our careers as much as we can and I think we may shock a few teams in the national tournament.
A personal message to our ex-teammate and good friend Noel Tipovski out in Korea:
We finally know what time it is Noel, we miss you!
2010 SUNYAC CHAMPIONS
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