The men’s soccer team scored a huge road upset on Saturday over the sixth-ranked Carnegie Mellon University Tartans in their final regular season game. The 1-0 victory gave the Eagles a share of the University Athletic Association (UAA) title in a four-way tie.
It is the seventh UAA championship in program history, and the first since 2008.
With a 10-6-2 record and a 4-2-1 mark in conference, the Eagles earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Head Coach Sonny Travis was proud of the way his team battled, winning their final two matches by one goal apiece.
“It’s like I always said–I like this team,” he said. “I think they’ve got great chemistry.”
Emory appeared to be out of the UAA championship race following a loss at Brandeis University, but the team battled back with a close win at New York University last Sunday.
Although Washington University’s tie against University of Chicago on Saturday gave the Eagles a chance to clinch a share of the title with a win, the players did not concern themselves with any scoreboard but their own.
“We weren’t even aware [of the Wash. U game] until halftime,” said sophomore forward Dylan Price. “Our mindset didn’t change. We wanted a win from the start.”
The game was scoreless through 71 minutes as the Eagles and Tartans traded saves.
Emory had three starters injured in the first half and relied heavily on the bench during the late stages of the game.
Senior defender David Garofalo credited fellow co-captain David Langton with maintaining the team’s focus during the stretch.
“David, through his tackling and communication, really lifted the team during that period,” Garofalo said.
The Eagles finally broke through at 71:53, when sophomore midfielder Zachary Rosenberg sent a pass into the six-yard box that freshman forward Sebastian Hardington knocked into the goal.
It was Hardington’s first goal of his career and Rosenberg’s first assist of the season.
“I think it shows the quality of the depth on our team,” said Travis. “It was a complete team effort.”
The key to the win was the Eagles’ stifling defense that held the Tartans to just seven shots, two of which were on goal.
It was the Eagles’ second straight shutout–both of which came on the road against nationally ranked opponents–and their sixth on the season.
Garofalo credited the defensive resurgence to the team’s perseverance throughout the season.
“We just really worked hard as a team,” he said. “Throughout the entire season we played really well but had some mental errors which led to goals. These last two games everybody was sharp and determined to fight for everything.”
Freshman goalkeeper Abe Hannigan came up big once again with two saves, recording the win to run his season record to 8-3-1.
Despite only scoring on Hardington’s goal, the Eagles peppered the Tartans’ goal with 14 shots, with Price leading the team with three.
“We just wanted to keep using our momentum to break them down,” Price said. “We knew if we kept playing to our potential, they would crack.”
The team enters postseason play on an 8-2-1 run in their last 11 games, which included five matches against nationally ranked foes.
“Since the Rochester game [a 1-1 tie on October 14th], I think we’ve been playing the best we’ve played all year,” said Travis.
Price finishes the regular season second on the team in both points and goals.
Senior midfielder Andrew Natalino leads the Eagles in both categories, while Garofalo leads the team in assists.
Even with a chance a national title in the future, the Eagles’ 2012 season has already been one to remember. Not only did the regular season end with a UAA title and an NCAA Tournament berth, but Saturday’s victory was the Eagles’ senior class’s first win over Carnegie Mellon.
“It’s good that we beat Carnegie,” said Garofalo. “But I think it was a special game because we knew we were a team that could compete with anybody this year and we proved that.”
The team’s first game of the tournament will be against Roanoke College (Va.) on Thursday, November 8th at 6 p.m.
– By Ryan Smith
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