2008 Woodie Awards
Men win three in a row in Orlando, head to NCAA
Dave Lomonico
Issue date: 11/20/07 Section: Sports
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Sports Editor
Every team, especially those at the mid-major level, relishes the opportunity to taste the postseason, and for the first time since 2002 the Loyola men's soccer team is getting that chance. The NCAA Tournament became a reality on Sunday afternoon as the top-seeded Greyhounds willed their way to a 1-0 win in the MAAC Championship game against No. 2 St. Peter's in Orlando, Fla., to earn an automatic bid.
The ending fit perfectly, and the Hounds didn't even need an at-large bid. A team that won just seven games last year was completely revamped, instilled with a young, hungry bunch that defied their age on the way to 18 wins and a MAAC Championship.
"Going to the national tournament is what it's all about," said head coach Mark Mettrick, who was named MAAC Coach of the Year. "It's great for our players, and a lifetime experience. They've earned it. It's very difficult to make it, especially at a small college."
The Hounds completed their miraculous run with three wins in four days in the MAAC Tournament, including wins over Siena (3-0), Canisius (2-0) and culminating with St. Peter's, the only conference team to beat the Hounds in the regular season. They did it with a defense that refused to concede a single goal in the tournament; they did it despite losing sophomore forward Jamie Darvill to an ankle injury; they did it with replacement forwards and a bunch of freshmen. Most of all, they did it with grit, desire and an unbreakable will.
"This team has done extremely well, coming from under the cloud of underachievement last year to winning 18 games," Mettrick said. "I'm proud of them."
Senior Janson Blake scored the lone goal in Sunday's thriller, converting a header the 26th minute off a corner kick. Blake's classmate, Camilo Correa, sent a rainbow kick into the box where Blake out-leaped his man for the 1-0 Loyola lead.
But the true hero was first-team All-MAAC keeper Milos Kocic, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after recording three straight shutouts. Kocic stymied St. Peter's with nine saves, including four gut-check stops in the waning minutes when the Peacock's offense was desperate for an equalizer.
Kocic had help up front from his four backfield mates, including MAAC Defensive Player of the Year Tennant McVea, junior Josh Taylor, senior Julian Cantillo and Blake.
"We said all along defense wins championships," McVea said.
Tempers flared on both sides all afternoon, resulting in seven yellow cards, 24 fouls and a second-half red card on St. Peter's. Both McVea and Mettrick indentified poor officiating as the cause for all the fouls, but nevertheless the Greyhounds kept their composure, relying on their stout defense, led by Kocic and MAAC Defensive Player of the Year Tennant McVea, to stifle 14 St. Peter's shots. In the end, the Greyhounds prevailed, and Kocic picked up his sixth straight shutout and his 15th on the year.
"Milos had a spectacular game," Mettrick said. "This defense has a lot of character and they showed it again today."
Loyola will find out at 5:30 p.m. on Monday whom they will face in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, which begins on Nov. 23.
Mettrick obviously knew what he was talking about when he said, "it doesn't matter how old you are, it's how you are," as three of Mettrick's prized freshmen recruits littered the box score in Saturday afternoon's 3-0 win over No. 4 Canisius. Glenn Leitch, who is stepping in for the injured Darvill, scored twice, Danny Ankrah scored once and Phil Bannister, who played the part of distributor, recorded three assists.
"The first game we were a little tired after traveling, but today we were sharper and we defended very well," Mettrick said. "The guys were highly motivated, especially to try and get that at-large bid. We put it all together today."
It didn't take long for the Hounds to set the tempo as Leitch found an opening at the top of the box in the fourth minute and drilled a low liner into the right corner for a 1-0 Loyola lead. It was Leitch's first goal of the season.
A little more than 12 minutes later, Ankrah put the Hounds up 2-0 when Bannister found his midfielder with a cross to the left side of the box.
"Glenn and Danny played great, and we have confidence that they can score again if we need it," freshman Eddie Dines said. "It's a team game, and we can get goals from all over the park. Now we got Glenn and Danny joining in."
Down 2-0, Canisius faced a tremendous uphill battle against the defense. The Griffins didn't have a prayer; Kocic stood strong on all three of Canisius' best shots.
"We have a balanced team between the defense and offense," Kocic said. "They say defense wins the league. We try to keep it zero, and it gives our offense more confidence to go out and score."
Bannister, who learned of his MAAC Rookie of the Year honors prior to the game, took a backseat to his classmates on the scoring end on Saturday, but he was hardly a nonfactor.
All around, his performance against Canisius ranked with some of his best. Playing without his normal partner up front, Bannister, the team leader in points with 31, stepped into the leadership role, relentlessly attacking when the opportunity presented itself and distributing when Canisius brought a double team.
With two assists already in the books, Bannister tallied a third when he found Leitch at the top of the box in the 73rd minute. Leitch fired a liner past the keeper for his second score of the day, capping off the 3-0 win.
"It's good to get goals from different places," Mettrick said. "It makes us very dangerous."
Bannister may have been distributor on Saturday, but in Thursday's quarterfinal match against No. 8 Siena, he took his usual place on the scoring end, leading the Hounds to a 2-0 victory. Bannister, playing his first game without Darvill, scored on a rebound in the 37th minute to put the Hounds ahead, 1-0. The goal, Bannister's team-leading seventh game-winner of the year and 12th goal overall, would prove to be all Loyola would need as the stout defense kept Siena -- coming off a 6-2 win over No. 9 Rider in the opening round -- at bay.
"It was important to get the win against a dangerous Siena team that gave us some problems," Mettrick said. "It wasn't a very comfortable game, but it was a pressure game, and we were relieved to come out of it with a victory."
Siena bit down on defense and kept Loyola subdued for the first 35 minutes, but the Saints couldn't deny fate.
The Hounds have been getting the majority of the lucky bounces all year, and nothing changed in the tournament setting.
Siena's keeper Steve Skonieczny was in position for the stop in the 37th minute, but as Loyola's offense penetrated the box and met the Saints' defense, the ball caromed out to Bannister. Skonieczny was slow to react and Bannister converted for Loyola's first postseason goal.
In the second half Siena stayed aggressive and played as if they had nothing to lose, but the Greyhound backfield matched their intensity and barely allowed a clear shot. And the two chances the Saints had at an equalizer were stymied by Kocic, who had three saves.
"We handled them well in the first half, but [Siena] turned up the pressure in the second half," Mettrick said. They had two or three good chances, but they didn't finish their shots."
Loyola had just two shots in the second half, but Dines made one of them count. He put the game away for good with a goal in the 69th minute when he took a feed from Cantillo. The goal was Dines' eight of the year, putting him second on the team to Bannister.
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