Fort Wayne, IN — When Tavi Mounsithiraj took over as head coach of Goshen College men’s soccer in the fall of 2001, he envisioned bringing the storied program back to the dominance it once ruled the region with.

Consider the Leafs’ program resurrected.

After 14 seasons without claim to a Mid-Central Conference Championship, Saturday’s 2-1 win over league foe University of St. Francis gave Goshen a share of the 2005 MCC title, pushing the program back toward its roots in greatness: Goshen won at least a cut of 17 MCC Championships from 1970 to 1990, becoming the league’s powerhouse during that time. Now, following a hiatus that saw Bethel College muster its way to the top (the Pilots won seven MCC titles from 1991 to 2004) Mounsithiraj has successfully led his team back to the promised land.

“I am so happy for our program, our school and our fans to win a share of the MCC Championship for the first time in 15 years,” Mounsithiraj said following Saturday’s win. “I am so proud of all of our players. They deserve this because they have worked so hard for it. It really is an exciting time.”

Goshen (13-1-2, 6-1-1) must share the league title with Bethel (9-5-3, 6-1-1), after the Pilots dispatched Spring Arbor University by a 4-1 score Saturday evening. The Leafs’ and Pilots’ identical conference marks gave the league its first co-championship since the 2003 season, when St. Francis shared the title with Bethel.

Early Saturday afternoon in Fort Wayne, it appeared that the host Cougars were the ones looking for another conference championship. With Mounsithiraj’s team realizing it needed a win to have a chance at the MCC title, it was St. Francis that had the first opportunity, seizing a penalty kick just 90 seconds into the action. For the Leafs’ faithful that made the hour and fifteen minute trip to Bishop D’Arcy Stadium, it was a stunning sight.

“I just couldn’t believe what was happening,” Mounsithiraj said. “Here we were, knowing we needed a win (for an MCC Championship). If that’s not enough to get us going, then something is wrong. Things started off for us quite rough. We were looking at a one-nil deficit right in the eye.”

That’s when junior goalkeeper Craig Welscott made perhaps the biggest save of his career.

Diving to his left, Welscott thwarted the Cougars’ penalty kick, keeping the match scoreless and “setting the tone” according to Mounsithiraj.

“That was a huge, huge save,” Mounsithiraj said. “What appeared to be an easy goal for USF turned out to be a rallying point for us. I think it really set the tone for Welscott, as well, because he went on to make a couple of big saves for us later on.”

With a new life at 0-0, Goshen began to deploy the tactics that made the squad successful all season long. Better ball control and longer sequences of possession began to wear on the Cougars, and with just under two minutes remaining in the half the Leafs’ persistence paid off in a big way.

Junior Joel Miller began a push that started in the Leafs’ own half of the field and ended with a St. Francis defender clearing the ball out of the Cougars’ baseline, setting up one of Goshen’s five corner kicks on the day. Freshman Raad Qumsieh sent a beautiful curve ball into the 18-yard box, and Miller was again positioned for success: The 2004 MCC Defensive Player of the Year volleyed the send into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead, giving Mounsithiraj a needed sigh of relief.

“We were slow getting going because of the surface (at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium),” Mounsithiraj said. “We were playing on sporturf (St. Francis’ artificial grass) for the first time and it takes a while to get used to the way the ball bounces and rolls. As time went by, we were doing a better job moving the ball. I thought for sure we were going into the second half with the score being zero to zero, but Joel made a great play. It was a big goal because having a lead at halftime in a game like this is big.”

Incredibly, things would get bigger for Mounsithiraj and his team.

With time winding down to the intermission, freshman forward Cody Felton somehow picked off a loose ball in the St. Francis penalty area. After out-running a Cougar defender, Felton slipped a silky shot just inside the right post as time expired, dealing a major psychological blow to St. Francis and doubling the Leafs’ lead in an instant.

“To get two goals when we did and how we did was fortunate,” Mounsithiraj said. “Before the second half I told the guys that we needed to keep playing hard, to give it our all and still create chances if the space is available. I knew USF would be coming at us, and I knew it wasn’t over.”

Mounsithiraj was right. The host Cougars began to push hard toward the Leaf net, gaining opportunities as the final 45 minutes wore on. In the 53rd minute, St. Francis’ Justin Adams was able to score past Welscott, the keeper’s only miscue of the day. Despite a furious final 10 minutes that seemed perhaps more tense for the Goshen fans than the players on the field, the Leafs were able to fend off St. Francis for the 2-1 win.

“I thought we played good defense and Craig Welscott came up big,” Mounsithiraj said. “We continued to get some good looks but USF’s keeper came up with a couple of saves.”

The win ensured Goshen at least a piece of the MCC title, as the squad awaited word of Bethel’s finish. Had the Pilots lost, Goshen would have secured its first outright championship since the 1988 season (see graphic below). A Bethel loss also would have given Goshen an automatic berth into NAIA Regional play (the MCC regular-season champion receives that bid), but since Bethel defeated Goshen by a 4-1 score on Sept. 30 (click here for article), the Pilots clinched the MCC’s tiebreaker for first place (used in both MCC Tournament seeding and NAIA Regional qualifications).

Perhaps lost in the excitement of the program’s 18th MCC Championship was a boat-load of nagging injuries to several key players, as usual starting junior midfielder Jesse Woodworth (sprained ankle) and sophomore Matt Yoder (groin pull) did not dress Saturday. Qumsieh didn’t see action in the second half due to a recurring quadriceps/knee strain, as was the case for junior defender Jared Price, who re-injured a groin pull in the first half against the Cougars. According to Goshen College head athletic trainer Linda Kaminskis, all four players are listed as day-to-day.

It’s Mounsithiraj’s hope that the team will be rested and healthy for its first round MCC Tournament match Saturday night at the Goshen College Soccer Complex, as the Leafs are faced with the difficult task of turning around and playing St. Francis again. Through league tie-breaking procedures, Goshen concluded as the MCC’s number two seeded team. St. Francis, with a 3-5-0 conference record, was seeded seventh after a tie-breaker with Spring Arbor (also 3-5-0). Match time for Saturday’s post-season opener is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are $4 for adults and $2 for students. For advance ticket sales, call (574) 535-7496.