CHAMPIONS!!!  Men's Soccer Routs Holy Family 6-2, in CACC Final

Box Score

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA - Post University Head Men's Soccer Coach Ted Haley didn't look all that thirsty.  Even so, that didn't stop two of his players, Eurica Trowers and Johan Pineda, from pouring four gallons of ice water over his head in the waning moments of Saturday night's CACC Championship game.  Turns out, the present was exactly what Haley asked for on his 34th birthday, as the ice bath was the culmination of his team's 6-2 victory over Holy Family in a game that left no doubt as to which was the best men's soccer team in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference in 2008.

Simply put, the law of the jungle states that Eagles are not supposed to be able to maul Tigers, but that's exactly what happened for the second time in three weeks.  The Post Eagles, which defeated the Holy Family Tigers 5-2 in Waterbury back on October 18, went one better this time.  Playing with poise and precision on a misty, surprisingly warmish November evening, Post raced out to a 3-0 halftime lead on two goals by Pineda--the tournament MVP--and a single tally by Trowers, who, along with Francis Eno, Mike Semedo and Junior Co-Captain, Andrew Nelson, joined Pineda on the All-Tournament team.

Trowers goal was the picture of finese, as he made a brilliant run across the field to stay onside until Pineda played him in.  Trowers then beat Holy Family keeper, Chuck Bernard and calmly pushed the ball into the open net.  Pineda's 2nd goal was a counterstudy to Trowers' as he laced a 20 yard rocket that caromed off the left post before violently making its way into the back of the net with such force that the goal seemed to shake in its' very foundation. 

And yet, while the raucous Pro-Eagle crowd that traveled down in a busload, began chants of "start up the bus" at halftime, Haley and assistant coaches, Doug Cunningham and Marco Gaspar urged their players to remain focused for the second forty-five minutes.  "Holy Family is a quality side, and one that is certainly capable of battling back into a game if you let them," Haley said.

Post almost did just that.  Goals by Jason Lopez and Matt Kocher pulled the Tigers within 4-2 with 20 minutes remaining.  That made it interesting, but it wasn't nearly enough.  Senior midfielder, Jose Chavez and Junior, Abby Walker, added goals in the 80th and 83rd minutes respectively to put the game away.

In all, five Eagles may have been named to the All-Tournament team, but a host of others were heroes on this night as well.  Alex Brito scored the team's 4th goal of the night on an assist from Luis Figuieredo, and Trowers and Pineda added assists to go with their goals.  Senior Co-Captain and goalkeeper, Dan Nadel had a 1.00 goals against average for the tournament, including a shutout against top seeded Caldwell in the semifinals.

Even more impressive was the fact that Post played most of the game without it's 2nd leading goal scorer, Eno, who had to leave the game with a hamstring pull 15 minutes in, and played stretches of the contest without a hobbled Trowers, the CACC's leading scorer.

For Holy Family, whose Cinderella run through the tournament included upset victories over 3rd seeded Bloomfield and 2nd seeded Dominican, their season ends at 9-12-1 and in the exact same place as last season--impressively in the CACC Championship game.

The Eagles, on the other hand, who came up on the short end of a 1-0 score to Dominican in the 2006 final, raise their season mark to 14-4-3, and eagerly await to see if their name will be one of those announced on Monday afternoon when the NCAA Tournament pairings are announced.  By all logical assessments, they should receive their invite.

Since opening the season, 2-2-1, the Eagles are 13-2-2, including a region best 7-0-2 in their last nine contests.  And they managed to avenge the only two "blemishes" during that span--draws with top seeded Caldwell and Wilmington University--by defeating both in the CACC Tournament.  They are also a perfect 2-0-0 against the ECC, defeating both Bridgeport and Queens College, and own a 3-2-1 mark against the Northeast 10, including victories over New Haven, St. Anselm's and St. Michael's and a draw with Merrimack.

"We certainly feel we've earned a spot in the NCAA's," Haley said, "but we'll have to wait until Monday to find out."

Until then, there is one word that could be used to describe them right now--CHAMPIONS.