Cadets lose GNAC final, but still hope for at-large NCAA bid
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By James Biggam Staff Writer - Published: November 4, 2007
NORTHFIELD – At first glance, the Norwich men's soccer team appears to be a shoe-in for the NCAA Division III national tournament.
The Cadets are 16-3-1, featuring nine all-conference players that helped the team earn the No. 5 ranking in New England.
But playing in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference can be a handicap, and just about the only way to make the big dance is to earn an automatic bid by winning the conference tournament.
Norwich squandered that chance with a 2-1 overtime loss to Johnson & Wales in Saturday's GNAC final, but the Cadets are not hanging up their cleats quite yet.
Roughly a dozen at-large bids are still up for grabs across the nation, and even a snub by the NCAA selection committee on Monday morning would open the door to the Eastern College Athletic Conference postseason tournament for the Cadets.
"The three teams that we've lost to – Middlebury, Plattsburgh and now Johnson & Wales – will all be in the NCAA tournament, which tells me that we did a good job of not losing to anybody that wasn't a worthy opponent," Norwich coach Kyle Dezotell said. "So hopefully the committee will take that into consideration. But our conference isn't too highly regarded, so it's tough for two teams to get in. But we've certainly made a good case for it.
"We were ranked fifth in New England by the NCAA this week, so I'd say there's somewhere between a 25 and 50 percent chance that we get in. I'm still holding out hope. And if that doesn't happen, we'd be the top seed in the ECAC and all the games would be here. We'll definitely be in the postseason, and if it's the ECACs we've just got to regroup and it's a good accomplishment to be the top seed, which I'm sure we would be. If we don't get into the NCAAs, we've got to win the ECACs. That would be a good way to cap off the year."
The Cadets struggled to find their groove in the first half of Saturday's game, forcing sophomore Jake Yaris and senior Peter Andrews to make several outstanding defensive plays to keep the game scoreless. Andrews made the first standout effort with a goal-line save at the right post, while Yaris blocked two hard shots on net moments later.
The Cadets battled back to create a scoring chance at the other end, with Rob Harlow collecting a right-to-left cross from Ryan Boyton and then laying the ball off at the top of the penalty box. Yaris ran onto the service and cracked a low, hard shot toward the left post, only to have Wildcat goalie Joe Ferraro (eight saves) smother the bid.
Johnson & Wales had the last word before halftime, as Scott Kirchner delivered a cross from the right corner that Jeremiah Schenzel redirected past Norwich goalie Jacob Pagragan (four saves).
The Cadets pulled even in the 60th minute when a Wildcat defender used his arm to stop a shot at the goal line. Norwich senior Kyle Przekaza of Northfield stepped up to take the ensuing penalty kick, which he buried into the left side-netting with a low, curling blast.
Yaris threatened to end the game at the start of overtime, rifling a hard shot that was deflected out of bounds by a Wildcat fullback.
Wildcat Barry Phillips of West Glover had his own chance minutes later, hitting a one-time shot from the left side that Pagragan tipped away at the last second.
"We had got a little out of shape and their kid got in," Dezotell said. "There was bouncing ball that he touched and it looked like it was going to go past Jake, but Jake just stuck out his left hand and made a great save to keep us alive."
Johnson & Wales ended the game in the 97th minute when Kirchner collected a feed from Schenzel on the right side and ripped a shot on goal. Pagragan put himself in the line of fire to stop the initial shot, but Schenzel pounced on the rebound to silence the Cadets for good.
"He's just that kind of player – he's an instinctive player, he's a great player and he's been doing that kind of thing all season," Wildcat coach Gregg Miller said. " But you can't say it comes down to one player – it's about the effort from the entire team. We've had an up-and-down season. We've suffered some injuries, our squad's not too deep, so to be able to pull this off on the road is great. We've got five seniors in that group that have been the core of the team for three years now and they've been fantastic all year."
Norwich outshot Johnson & Wales 20-16 and held a 7-3 edge in corner kicks. The Wildcats will carry their 14-5-3 record into next week's NCAA tournament.
"I would find it hard to believe that that wasn't one of the best games Johnson & Wales played all year," Dezotell said. "The game when we beat them in the regular season, we more or less controlled play. Today, I thought in the first half they were certainly the better team. In the second half I thought we were maybe a little bit better than they were, but in the end I guess it just came down to a deflection and a bounce and they're in."
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