Isaac Taylor (11) after scoring the Golden Goal in BC's 2-OT win over Dartmouth.
Courtesy of Boston College
Courtesy of Boston College
Look up. Take that picture in for a second. Witness Isaac Taylor fairly levitating off the grass in Newton, Mass. after scoring his first-ever collegiate goal at the perfect time to send a young -- very, very young -- Boston College team into the second round.
And that, in a 626x328 frame, is The Tournament. In that picture we see the compressed feelings of chance and determination, of hope and fear, of the explosive borderline between success and failure -- between, as far as seasons are concerned, life and death.
Taylor's was a look and a burst felt by 16 teams in yesterday's D-I Tournament First Round, one that featured six overtime games -- two of which went into double-OT, with two more going into PKs -- and only two games decided by more than one goal.
We saw seasons of unprecedented success keep going: Monmouth defeated UConn in PK's to win its first-ever Tourney game in a season in which the Hawks earned the highest-ever ranking for any Monmouth sport; UNC Wilmington, CAA regular season and first-time tournament champs, also used PK's to end Charlotte's season and clinch its 14th straight game without a loss; MPSF champ Sacramento State took its first NCAA win by a 2-1 margin over Loyola Marymount. We saw equally possessed seasons finally fade away: Wofford, springing out of six straight years in the SoCon basement, fell to UCSB with a late goal; Green Bay, in its first Tourney since 1983, dropped to Notre Dame; Missouri St. won the MVC regular season but lost to Saint Louis, 2-1.
We saw hyper-regional clashes: In that UNC Wilmington-Charlotte game, UNCW coach Aidan Heaney matched up against his alma mater, where he started in goal from 1989-92 and had his number retried in 2003. A little up the Atlantic Coast Maryland downed Loyola (Md.), 2-1, in a battle of Beltway teams about a half hour's drive from each other.
Partly because far too much went on yesterday to put in a single reaction piece, and partly because we're staying with the picture metaphor, we now take a look at some of the best moments from yesterday -- the single slices of time that define seasons, feed our hope and remind us just how much championship season can evoke out of us.
...The day's first result might have been its most thrilling.
After Monmouth and Connecticut battled through 110 minutes of scoreless soccer -- despite a 15-4 shot advantage by the Huskies -- the game went into PK's. Through its five shots UConn went up 3-2, pushing Monmouth into a must-make situation with freshman Ryan Clark kicking. Clark didn't hesitate, burying a shot to even the PK sequence. Then, with Connecticut's always-dangerous Mike Pezza kicking, Monmouth keeper Bryan Meredith leapt for the top-left corner, picking off Pezza's shot just before it snuck under the left 90. One shot later, Cesar Blacido drove a shot home to send Monmouth to its first-ever NCAA win with a 4-3 margin in PKs, and into a second-round date with 10th-seeded Harvard in Cambridge, Mass.
...After UCSB was given a first-round game, many complained that the Gauchos -- ranked
as high as fourth before falling hard to UC Irvine in the Big West championship game -- deserved a seed and first-round bye. Until the second half, UCSB didn't do a whole lot to support its argument, limping through a lifeless first half with Wofford.
"I was massively disappointed in our energy, our work rate, our commitment," said head coach Tim Vom Steeg in the UCSB release. "We played a first half like we didn't care. And that's one thing that's never going to happen while I'm here. We're always going to care. I like our group and know we're capable of winning every night; sometimes it's just a matter of fighting through it."
The Gauchos ended up out-shooting Wofford, 15-4, in the second half. But until the 84th minute, the closest either team got to scoring was a Wofford centering pass that UCSB's Tim Pontius attempted to head clear but missed, sending the shot just barely off the Gauchos' crossbar into safety. Then, with under six minutes left in regulation, David Walker rocketed in a shot from eight yards out to send UCSB to a second-round date with San Diego.
...Just three minutes into overtime with New Mexico, Portland's all-conference goalie Austin Guerrero was shown a red card, bringing in freshman Justin Baarts, who hadn't seen a minute all year, and sending the Pilots down a man for the remainder of the game. UNM couldn't score on the ensuing corner kick, and five minutes later, Portland's Logan Emory hit Collen Warner streaking down the middle of the field with a perfect lob. A few strides later, Warner slipped a shot in past New Mexico goalie Justin Holmes for his second goal of the game, sending the Pilots to a 2-1 OT win.
...Against a Stony Brook team that came into the Tournament with a losing record,
qualifying via an America East championship, Brown looked perfectly matched-up. For 103 minutes, the Bears and Seawolves went back and forth, playing tight and scoreless soccer. Fatigue had begun to dig in, and the game looked destined for PK's. But with seven minutes left in the second OT, Jon Okafor curved a pass across from left to right across the Stony Brook goal mouth, right onto Sean Rosa's foot. Rosa did what he'd done only four other times on the year -- hammered it home, scoring the biggest goal of his career to send Brown to the second round.
"I saw the post was empty, and immediately took off for it," said Rosa in the Brown post-game release. "Jon [Okafor] saw me there and did what he does best, and gave the ball back to me in the perfect spot for the goal."
...In Charlotte, the host 49ers opened up to a 1-0 lead in their first Tournament game since 1997 and hung onto it through the first 80 minutes of the contest. But with just nine minutes left in the match, UNC Wilmington -- a team that hasn't lost since a 2-OT loss to Duke on Sept. 22 -- evened it up with a slicing free kick off the foot of Daniel Roberts that danced inside the left post from 22 yards out. Then, after two OT periods couldn't settle the game, Wilmington dominated in PK's, rolling out to a 4-1 mark with sophomore Shaun Utterson sealing the win for the Seahawks and delivering them to the second round.
...In Los Angeles, Sacramento State got an OT goal off the head of Brian Baker to take down Loyola Marymount, 2-1, and extend its unbeaten streak to 10 games -- and earn the right to stay in L.A. for another game, drawing UCLA in the second round. The goal came after Loyola Marymount ripped the game's momentum back with a goal that tied the game at 1-1 in the 74th minute. Then, after Sacramento State goalie Brian Oliver stoned a shot from LMU's Brock Smith six minutes into overtime, the Hornets earned a free kick from 25 yards out. That was all Fernando Cabadas needed, serving a ball right above Baker, who headed it home.
...There's much, much more, and any other moments are very welcome in the comments section. Thanks for reading, and stay with us through Cary, N.C.
And that, in a 626x328 frame, is The Tournament. In that picture we see the compressed feelings of chance and determination, of hope and fear, of the explosive borderline between success and failure -- between, as far as seasons are concerned, life and death.
Taylor's was a look and a burst felt by 16 teams in yesterday's D-I Tournament First Round, one that featured six overtime games -- two of which went into double-OT, with two more going into PKs -- and only two games decided by more than one goal.
We saw seasons of unprecedented success keep going: Monmouth defeated UConn in PK's to win its first-ever Tourney game in a season in which the Hawks earned the highest-ever ranking for any Monmouth sport; UNC Wilmington, CAA regular season and first-time tournament champs, also used PK's to end Charlotte's season and clinch its 14th straight game without a loss; MPSF champ Sacramento State took its first NCAA win by a 2-1 margin over Loyola Marymount. We saw equally possessed seasons finally fade away: Wofford, springing out of six straight years in the SoCon basement, fell to UCSB with a late goal; Green Bay, in its first Tourney since 1983, dropped to Notre Dame; Missouri St. won the MVC regular season but lost to Saint Louis, 2-1.
We saw hyper-regional clashes: In that UNC Wilmington-Charlotte game, UNCW coach Aidan Heaney matched up against his alma mater, where he started in goal from 1989-92 and had his number retried in 2003. A little up the Atlantic Coast Maryland downed Loyola (Md.), 2-1, in a battle of Beltway teams about a half hour's drive from each other.
Partly because far too much went on yesterday to put in a single reaction piece, and partly because we're staying with the picture metaphor, we now take a look at some of the best moments from yesterday -- the single slices of time that define seasons, feed our hope and remind us just how much championship season can evoke out of us.
...The day's first result might have been its most thrilling.
 Courtesy of Monmouth
|
...After UCSB was given a first-round game, many complained that the Gauchos -- ranked
 Tony Mastres/UCSB
|
"I was massively disappointed in our energy, our work rate, our commitment," said head coach Tim Vom Steeg in the UCSB release. "We played a first half like we didn't care. And that's one thing that's never going to happen while I'm here. We're always going to care. I like our group and know we're capable of winning every night; sometimes it's just a matter of fighting through it."
The Gauchos ended up out-shooting Wofford, 15-4, in the second half. But until the 84th minute, the closest either team got to scoring was a Wofford centering pass that UCSB's Tim Pontius attempted to head clear but missed, sending the shot just barely off the Gauchos' crossbar into safety. Then, with under six minutes left in regulation, David Walker rocketed in a shot from eight yards out to send UCSB to a second-round date with San Diego.
...Just three minutes into overtime with New Mexico, Portland's all-conference goalie Austin Guerrero was shown a red card, bringing in freshman Justin Baarts, who hadn't seen a minute all year, and sending the Pilots down a man for the remainder of the game. UNM couldn't score on the ensuing corner kick, and five minutes later, Portland's Logan Emory hit Collen Warner streaking down the middle of the field with a perfect lob. A few strides later, Warner slipped a shot in past New Mexico goalie Justin Holmes for his second goal of the game, sending the Pilots to a 2-1 OT win.
...Against a Stony Brook team that came into the Tournament with a losing record,
 Courtesy of Brown
|
"I saw the post was empty, and immediately took off for it," said Rosa in the Brown post-game release. "Jon [Okafor] saw me there and did what he does best, and gave the ball back to me in the perfect spot for the goal."
Courtesy of UNC Wilmington
|
...In Los Angeles, Sacramento State got an OT goal off the head of Brian Baker to take down Loyola Marymount, 2-1, and extend its unbeaten streak to 10 games -- and earn the right to stay in L.A. for another game, drawing UCLA in the second round. The goal came after Loyola Marymount ripped the game's momentum back with a goal that tied the game at 1-1 in the 74th minute. Then, after Sacramento State goalie Brian Oliver stoned a shot from LMU's Brock Smith six minutes into overtime, the Hornets earned a free kick from 25 yards out. That was all Fernando Cabadas needed, serving a ball right above Baker, who headed it home.
...There's much, much more, and any other moments are very welcome in the comments section. Thanks for reading, and stay with us through Cary, N.C.
