Norwich men's soccer moves on
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By James Biggam Staff Writer - Published: November 16, 2008
MIDDLEBURY – Some fans might have thought Norwich's Rob Harlow was out of his mind Saturday.
If you ask Harlow, he won't argue.
The Cadets' all-time leading scorer punctuated his game-winning goal by unleashing a wild celebration down the sideline during his team's 1-0 victory over Clark in the first round of the Division III NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament.
"I saw it go in and I just blacked out for a bit," Harlow said. "I ran over to my fans and we were all just going crazy."
Jake Yaris set up Harlow's heroics in the 52nd minute when he caught Clark's defense playing flat, allowing him enough space to slot a through ball into the left portion of the penalty area. Harlow ran onto the service and had time to spare while settling the ball with his first touch. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound striker then spun toward the net and glanced up at his target as two fullbacks raced back at full speed toward the ball.
"I saw one defender and I heard another one coming, so I just took my touch and went in," said Harlow, who has scored 58 career goals for NU. "I saw the back of the net and I didn't even worry about the defenders – I just made sure to beat the goalie."
With Clark keeper Peter Wise several yards off his line, Harlow lined up a left-footed shot from about 15 yards out and pounded a low cannon inside the right post.
Harlow's celebration nearly rivaled the goal itself. He puffed out his cheeks, pumped his chest and sprinted toward the sideline with his hands raised high. The wide-eyed senior was instantly greeted by a horde of Cadet fans before being surrounded by his teammates and dragged onto the pitch again. Even as he was held back by his fellow Cadets, Harlow kept thrusting his hands in the air and continued to fire up the crowd.
"The goal we scored was a great goal," Norwich coach Kyle Dezotell said. "Kyle Przekaza was involved, Ryan Boyton was involved and Jake Yaris had the assist. It was about four one-touch passes that put Rob in, and he did what he does best when the ball's on his left foot: He hit a laser into the far post."
The Cadets flirted with the possibility of doubling their lead in the 55th minute when a short corner kick led to a dangerous cross into the 6-yard box. Norwich fullback Jason Grupp sprinted through traffic and sent a leaping header toward goal, but the ball bounced off the left post and was quickly cleared.
A sharp cutback from Nick Micucci in the 62nd minute set up an open shot for Boyton, whose hard blast from the penalty stripe whistled wide.
Clark dominated the final 20 minutes of play, forcing Norwich to put a few more players behind the ball at most times. Andrew Ninnemann came the closest to scoring the equalizer in the 83rd minute, but his half-volley from close range sailed over the crossbar. When teammate Adrian Blackadar managed to hit a volley on target in the 88th minute, Norwich goalie Charles Maxwell (three saves) tipped the shot toward the ground and then dove on the deflection.
"Our defense is great," Harlow said. "Grupp and Kyle (Przekaza) have been playing for four years and Rivet's been playing for three years. I'd say those three together are probably one of the best (defenses) in the country."
The 18-2-1 Cadets will now face Middlebury (13-2-3) in today's Northeast Regional Final at 1 p.m. in Middlebury. The Panthers edged Framingham State on penalty kicks Saturday and are looking to defend their national title. Dezotell is a Middlebury graduate who still holds the school's career records for goals (34) and assists (22).
"Are we underdogs? Yeah, for sure," Dezotell said. "And that's fine. But I think our guys are confident that we're actually the best team."
Middlebury earned a 2-1 overtime victory over Norwich on Oct. 22, thanks to Brooks Farrar's goal in the 100th minute.
"We played them about three weeks ago and it went to double overtime and they scored with about 40 seconds left," Harlow said. "If anything, it just made us more hungry for this game. We were hoping they would win so we could face off against them again."
Both Harlow and Dezotell agree that one key advantage they'll have today is team solidarity. The majority of the Cadets have been playing together this season since Aug. 1, when the team embarked on a 10-day training trip to Argentina. Nearly four months later, the Cadets are still standing tall and hoping to break new ground at today's Regional Final. If NU can top Middlebury, the victory would lock up the Cadets' first-ever appearance in the Sweet 16 of college soccer.
"This year not a single person cares about who scores the goal or who gets the all-conference award or anything like that," Dezotell said. "Everyone just wants to win, and you can see it out there. We lost the momentum for the last 15 minutes and did what teams do – we sat back and defended – and I think you need that team mentality to pull out games like that."
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