Champions!
Rock men's soccer wins first PSAC title since 2005
By Tim Durr
Issue date: 11/7/09 Section: News
Jeremy Deighton held the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship trophy high above his head on Saturday night, soaking in Slippery Rock University's 2-1 victory over Millersville University.
"I've worked for four years to get this, we all have," said Deighton. "The last time we won was the year before I got here and we have a picture on the wall of that team. I told Coach Thompson I wanted our picture on that wall. Now we got it."
With the win, the Rock captured its first PSAC title since 2005.
Coming into the game, SRU knew it would be facing its biggest test this season. The Rock had to face the No. 1 ranked Marauders for the PSAC title.
On the field, Millersville would lose a man and its goalkeeper because of a red card. In the stands, SRU would gain a man because of how enthusiastic the crowd was.
Junior midfielder Toby Bowser realized early in the game how important the crowd was in leading SRU to victory.
"The environment was crazy the whole game," Bowser said. "We knew that we couldn't let them down once we took the lead, the fans did it all for us."
The excitement started early when a scuffle ensued near the SRU goal after senior goalkeeper Greg Blum was jawing with several Marauders. Blum received a bit of a cheap shot and had his hand stepped on, teammates held him back while he cooled down.
SRU would battle back and forth with the Marauders for 30 minutes until Deighton would score a goal after sophomore forward Kenneth Fultz lured out the Millersville goalkeeper and sent a cross to Deighton.
After the Rock took the 1-0 lead, a huge momentum swing would come its way when Millersville goalkeeper Matt Langione received a red card in the 34th minute.
Coach Matt Thompson knew how important it was to get out ahead of the Marauders early and was aware it would be a tough game throughout.
"It was massive to get the first goal," Thompson said. "The emotions were definitely high the entire game and we knew they wouldn't give up but we continued to work hard as we have all year."
In the 50th minute, Iain Langstone would help the Rock add an insurance goal after receiving a pass from Deighton and beating a defender and the goalkeeper to score.
The Marauders didn't quit and in the 61st Kyle Loughlin would sneak a goal past Blum cutting the Rock lead to 2-1. Millersville couldn't pull any closer as Blum along with the defense made solid plays to close out the game.
Blum was excited about the effort that the team put forth and found trouble coming up with how to describe his emotions.
"I'm speechless right now, I can't even describe it," Blum said. "These guys worked their butts off all year and nobody quit when we had troubles early on, these guys deserved it."
On Monday night, SRU will find out who they play in the national tournament when the selection show is held on ncaasports.com.
"I've worked for four years to get this, we all have," said Deighton. "The last time we won was the year before I got here and we have a picture on the wall of that team. I told Coach Thompson I wanted our picture on that wall. Now we got it."
With the win, the Rock captured its first PSAC title since 2005.
Coming into the game, SRU knew it would be facing its biggest test this season. The Rock had to face the No. 1 ranked Marauders for the PSAC title.
On the field, Millersville would lose a man and its goalkeeper because of a red card. In the stands, SRU would gain a man because of how enthusiastic the crowd was.
Junior midfielder Toby Bowser realized early in the game how important the crowd was in leading SRU to victory.
"The environment was crazy the whole game," Bowser said. "We knew that we couldn't let them down once we took the lead, the fans did it all for us."
The excitement started early when a scuffle ensued near the SRU goal after senior goalkeeper Greg Blum was jawing with several Marauders. Blum received a bit of a cheap shot and had his hand stepped on, teammates held him back while he cooled down.
SRU would battle back and forth with the Marauders for 30 minutes until Deighton would score a goal after sophomore forward Kenneth Fultz lured out the Millersville goalkeeper and sent a cross to Deighton.
After the Rock took the 1-0 lead, a huge momentum swing would come its way when Millersville goalkeeper Matt Langione received a red card in the 34th minute.
Coach Matt Thompson knew how important it was to get out ahead of the Marauders early and was aware it would be a tough game throughout.
"It was massive to get the first goal," Thompson said. "The emotions were definitely high the entire game and we knew they wouldn't give up but we continued to work hard as we have all year."
In the 50th minute, Iain Langstone would help the Rock add an insurance goal after receiving a pass from Deighton and beating a defender and the goalkeeper to score.
The Marauders didn't quit and in the 61st Kyle Loughlin would sneak a goal past Blum cutting the Rock lead to 2-1. Millersville couldn't pull any closer as Blum along with the defense made solid plays to close out the game.
Blum was excited about the effort that the team put forth and found trouble coming up with how to describe his emotions.
"I'm speechless right now, I can't even describe it," Blum said. "These guys worked their butts off all year and nobody quit when we had troubles early on, these guys deserved it."
On Monday night, SRU will find out who they play in the national tournament when the selection show is held on ncaasports.com.
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posted 12/23/09 @ 1:09 PM EST
My congratulations to the Rock men's soccer.
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posted 12/23/09 @ 1:12 PM EST
It is a very interesting article.
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