By Chris Vaccaro
The wait is over. Fumbling the chance to clinch a berth in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) playoffs in its first two seasons as a conference member, the Pride men's soccer team not only earned the fifth seed this season, but last Sunday won the CAA Championship in a 1-0 defeat of third seeded Old Dominion University (ODU) at Virginia Commonwealth University's (VCU) Sports Backers Stadium.
Two seasons in a row, poor late season performances and bad breaks cracked the hopes of any CAA Tournament berths for the Pride (11-9-1). Now, just a short time since its 2002 conference entry, the Pride earned a victory in its first attempt at a CAA title.
The Pride last appeared in a title game came when it was still a member of the America East Conference in 2001, losing to Vermont 2-1. Since then, the task to clinch a CAA Tournament has been difficult, yet the goal of capturing the crown is not impossible.
Joining a conference with national power houses such as VCU, ODU, James Madison University (JMU), and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, the Pride had a rather arduous chore at hand upon its entering.
Three years into its CAA tenure and 50 years into Pride history, this team has become a model of diligence and experience.
Not only does the Pride capture the CAA crown, but it also advances to its first ever NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. It will travel to Seton Hall University on Saturday at 1 p.m. to face the Pirates (12-6-3). The last Pride appearance in this tournament came in 1968 when it participated in the Small College Division, prior to the NCAA realigning into its current Division I, II, and III format in 1974.
Sitting anxiously waiting for the tournament pairings on ESPNEWS at Champions Sports Bar, the team erupted when the Pride was announced. In a meeting of alumni, team boosters, and the current Pride players and staff at the local restaurant, a feeling of unity was sweeping through everyone in attendance.
Coach Richard Nuttall added to the already classy gathering when he made a short but invigorating speech. Nuttall's comments were of heartfelt passion for his players and show how he really feels about the program.
"Not only are these great players, but they're even greater people," Nuttall said to an onlooking crowd. "We've played well, played hard, and are going to go get them [Seton Hall] and give it our very best."
Ready for business, Nuttall walked away wanting a scouting report of the Pirates.
The magical CAA tournament run culminated with a goal scored by junior forward Michael Todd, the Pride's leading goal scorer. His tally at the 39:05 mark of the first half was all the Pride needed to capture victory against the fierce Monarch opposition.
"We didn't get lucky," Nuttall said when questioned about how the Pride made it far. "We deserved the win and went toe to toe with every team we faced."
Todd's goal was scored on a breakaway on a through ball, which was passed up from sophomore Arman Osooli. Crashing through the Monarch trap down the middle, Todd drew Monarch goalie John Connelly off his line and chipped a bent shot in the upper right hand corner of the net from 20 yards out.
Although the Pride did not score another goal, it did not need to. Todd and freshman forward Chris Cox had two solid scoring chances to add insurance goals, but were stopped on defensive efforts by Connelly and Monarch back Ian Kaila.
As for the Pride defensive front, Gary Flood played with an injured ankle suffered midway through the season, but Gerd Schuster and Arnel Andrada were healthy and did their share of work in the backfield. Andrada made one save when clearing a shot from ODU's Kyle Hartley.
Pride goaltender Matthias Gumbrecht has been a major factor in the team's success throughout the playoffs. Gumbrecht's 402 minute shutout streak stretches across four games, while his season total of goose eggs stands at eight. The shutout streak is the longest since 1994 when the Pride also had four.
The Pride current unbeaten streak of five games is the longest since 1997 when it won 11 in a row.
Many Pride players have not been engulfed in this much success, other than what they took part in during high school.
"I've never experienced something like this," Flood said. "It's all awesome, and I don't think we have anything to worry about in our next game."
Senior captain Matthew Telling was excited about the CAA Championship victory also, but like his teammates, he's ready for the next game.
"They're a good team [Seton Hall]," Telling said. "If we play well we can beat them."
The Pride faced Seton Hall three times in the 1950s, with two of the three games going to the Pirates. This will be the first time since turning Division I in 1973 that the schools meet.
If the Pride win in the first round it will face the third seeded University of Maryland (15-5-1) in the second round on Tuesday.
Confident and determined the Pride sets out into uncharted waters with hopes of making a giant splash in the NCAA.
"There's not one team we can't beat," Nuttall said. "We feel we're good enough to beat anyone."