Box Score By Bill Mullins/Sports Information Staff
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- On Seniors' Day, it was the seniors that led the attack for the Eastern Connecticut State University men's soccer team in capturing its fourth regular-season Little East Conference championship in six seasons in a heated 2-1, come-from-behind overtime victory over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Saturday afternoon at Thomas Nevers Field.
An inspired effort on behalf of both teams was a fitting conclusion to the de facto regular-season championship match. Rated first in the pre-season conference coaches' poll for the fifth straight year, Eastern (15-1-1, 6-0-1) fulfilled those expectations for the third time, defending its 2011 title. In the process, the the No. 25 nationally-rankedWarriors denied UMass Dartmouth (11-6-0, 5-2-0 LEC) its first LEC regular-season championship in the 24-year history of regular-season competition.
As the No. 1 seed, Eastern hosts No. 4 seed Plymouth State University in the playoff semifinals, that match scheduled for Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Nevers Field (weather permitting). Five weeks ago, Eastern erased a two-goal deficit in a 5-3 triumph over Plymouth at Nevers Field. The Warriors have won the LEC playoff title in each of its previous two tries as the top seed.
The top two teams in the conference for the majority of the season, UMass Dartmouth and Eastern Connecticut put on a show for the ages. Needing a victory to garner the program's first Little East Conference championship in men's soccer, UMass Dartmouth came out guns a-blazin'.
Less than three minutes into overtime, senior Cory Tobler (Portland) notched his third game-winner of the season after taking a pass from fellow senior Matt Furman (Montville) around midfield and racing the remaining length of the field to beat the UMass Dartmouth keeper, Mike Phelan, in a one-on-one chance From the time Tobler took the pass from Furman, all that could be heard was the voice of head coach Greg DeVito, instructing him to "go right to goal." He did just that.
In their final seasons, four-year players Tobler and Furman have combined for half of the team's 38 goals and 47 of its 113 points in leading the program to its record 15th regular-season victory and 60th win overall in this four-year stretch.
After taking a clearing pass out of the air off his foot, Furman delivered a toe pass to Tobler on the outside of the field and left no doubt as the ball left his foot and struck the back of the net squarely. Following the Golden Goal, the Eastern bench flooded the playing field to mob Tobler as the fans cheered raucously, providing a fitting soundtrack to the championship celebration.
The first half was marked by a furious attack by UMass Dartmouth as the chippy visitors outshot Eastern, 8-4, and dominated the possession battle behind their trademark physical style of play. The first half barrage was withstood, anchored by the leadership of senior Bradley Fletcher (Middletown). But for all the shots manufactured by UMass Dartmouth, it managed to only put one on goal, which senior Jordan Munsell (Waterford) wrapped up to avoid any damage. The clubs each had two corner kicks in the first but no serious threats came off them in the scoreless first half.
While UMass had more opportunities to strike first in the first half, the hosts had the best, but were denied when one of their four shots caromed off a UMass defender stationed on the goal line.
The second half started out heavily in favor of Eastern as they had two great opportunities within the first five minutes of the second half. Junior Mike Radlbeck (Westbrook) took a shot off a bouncing cross out of the air and missed high over the crossbar. Shortly after, Furman mis-hit on a ball inside the six-yard box and put that over the framework as well.
Despite the strong start to the second half by the Warriors, it would be the Corsairs that would put home the game's first goal. After corralling a loose ball, Jordan Sindo took a shot off the top left corner of the box and sent a hooking ball past the outstretched reach of Munsell at 64:28. After a myriad of substitutions by UMass-Dartmouth beginning at the 70th minute, Eastern was finally able to crack the scoreboard with only nine minutes left in regulation. Furman collected a pass from Tobler just outside of the Corsair six-yard box and buried it for the equalizer. It may not have proven to be the game-winner, but it will be remembered as one of the most important goals in Furman's career.
The game was a chippy affair from the onset. A total of 28 fouls were issued in the match in addition to two cards. As a hand struck the face of Tobler during a scoreless contest, a red card was immediately issued to UMass Dartmouth's Victor Ferreira early in the second half, forcing the Corsairs to play a man down for the remainder of the match. The UMass Dartmouth bench erupted in protest at what it felt was an unreasonable penalty. Shortly after the red card was issued, another melee took place under the gaze of the press box leading to a stoppage of play: a constant theme throughout the contest. Just six minutes after the issuing of the red card, a second booking occurred against UMass, as Sindo was issued a yellow card at 58:19.
Prior to the game, five Eastern seniors were honored for their contributions to the program over the last four years. Honored in addition to Fletcher, Furman, Munsell and Tobler was Jon DeCasanova (Glastonbury), whose mother, Karen was presented a bouquet of flowers. DeCasanova has been absent throughout the season due to illness.
Notes:
-For the game Munsell had two saves for Eastern, while Phelan had five for UMass Dartmouth.
-The win marks the seventh consecutive season in which the Warriors have lost one or fewer regular season conference games. The Warriors are now 32-5-5 in LEC regular-season play in six seasons under DeVito.
-Eastern becomes the third different team to go undefeated in conference regular-season play since the current seven-game schedule in 1997. Keene has done it four times and Plymouth twice. Keene and Plymouth were each 7-0 twice, with Plymouth going back-to-back in 1997 and 1998.
- Eastern was also undefeated in LEC play in 1991when it went 4-0-1 under former head coach Frantz Innocent and shared the regular-season title.
-Eastern has won or shared six LEC regular-season titles. In addition to 2011 and this year, the Warriors were outright winners in 1992 and 2007 and shared titles in 1991and 2009.
-Eastern's all-time record against UMass Dartmouth improves to 31-10-6
-Furman's goal, his 13th of the season, moves him into a tie with Vic Villacorta ('69) for fifth place on the school's all-time list, both with 38, four behind E-Club Hall of Famer Jason Brasher, who is fourth. Furman needs three points to reach 100.
- Barring a dramatic change of events, Furman will top the team in both goals and points for the third straight season.
-By assisting on the tying goal and scoring the game-winner, Tobler was voted Man-of-the-Match.
