|
|
NCAA men Early Sullivan tally sends Lafaytte past American 1-0 in Patriot League final.
SoccerTimes WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sunday, November 13, 2005) -- Without exchanging a word or establishing eye contact, Thomas Harju and Luke Sullivan knew just what to do. Employing a telepathy unique to teammates, Harju accurately delivered a ball to Sullivan to head home for an early goal that proved to be the difference in Lafayette's 1-0 victory over American in the Patriot League Tournament championship before 724 at Reeves Field this afternoon. "We've been running that play all year and we've scored three or four goals off of it," said Harju, a junior midfielder who delivered his team-leading 11th assist. "We work on it in practice every day." Harju sent his right-side corner kick to the near post where Sullivan bent forward and nodded the ball on one hop into the far corner for a 1-0 lead with 3:45 elapsed. It was the only goal Lafayette (13-4-2) scored in the Patriot tournament, having advanced to the title game by defeating Lehigh 4-3 in penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw Friday. AU made the final by edging Colgate 1-0. "I was just in front of the near post and I flicked it back a little bit," said Sullivan, a sophomore defender who has four goals. The corner "was perfectly placed. (The goal) gave us a little bit of a comfort zone, but not much." The Leopard's triumph was not secure until senior goalkeeper Mike Tortora made a sensational save with 1:45 remaining. AU freshman reserve midfielder Mark Petruniak ran onto a weak clearance from the LU box and used his first touch to drill a hard roller ticketed for just inside the left post. Tortora extended fully to snag the potential equalizer. "I didn't see it till real late," said Tortora, a Leopards co-captain, of the last of his three saves. "I saw it out of the corner of my eye. Got down. I thought (the game) was over right there. I didn't think they'd get another chance."
AU's quest to earn the PL's automatic NCAA tournament bid despite a losing record was undone by poor marksmanship. The Eagles took 14 shots in the first half, but could not put one on frame. AU's first shot on target came with 65:44 elapsed. "The onus is on us," AU junior defender and co-captain Nathan Baker. "We have to put a few on net. It kills me that we can't get another game." The Eagles outshot LU 14-5 in the opening 45 minutes, though the Leopards had the two shots on goal before the break. For the game, AU held a 20-15 shots advantage, but Lafayette put nine shots on frame, compared to the Eagles' three. "We had half a dozen (scoring) chances in the second half," Leopards coach Dennis Bohn said. "With the players we have here, we are committed to defending first. We believe if we get a shutout, we're going to win the game." In the 19th minute, AU freshman midfielder Stephen Romeo took a pass in the penalty area from senior defender Gordon Templeman, but sent his shot wide right. Sixteen minutes later, junior striker Larry Mark's header from the middle of the box also went outside of the right post. Just before intermission, AU sophomore keeper Chris Sedlak made a point-blank stop on Leopards sophomore forward Mark Price who volleyed a bouncing ball. While American dominated play throughout the first half and the beginning of the second, momentum started turning Lafayette's way with an increasingly effective counterattack as the Eagles became more desperate to find a tying tally. In the 51st minute, Harju drove a bouncing ball just over the crossbar. In the 68th minute, LU sophomore defender Mike Tilley nailed an angled shot that Sedlak directed just over the crossbar. In the 71st minute, Harju's 18-yard drive from the left top of the box was also tipped over the bar by Sedlak. A minute later, Price blasted a shot and saw Sedlak touch yet another ball over his bar. With four minutes to go, junior midfielder Garth Jucken put a corner kick right on Mark's head in the middle of the box, but his shot went right to Tortora. "I definitely felt we had the better side," Baker said. "We knew coming in that Lafayete was good on set pieces -- and they scored on one -- and they defended well."
Gary Davidson is SoccerTimes managing editor. E-mail Gary Davidson. |
