NOV. 15 — Magical Season Stops Short Of Plausible Ending

Goshen falls in first round of NAIA National Tournament with PK shootout defeat

Daytona Beach, FL – For a team that seemed to have destiny on its side, Wednesday’s events at the Embry Riddle University Soccer Stadium at the ICI Center simply did not add up.

The script, as becoming the norm for the Goshen College men’s soccer team, was fully intact:

There was an early deficit to overcome.

The team overcame it.

There was precise change of momentum in the game.

The Leafs had it.

And there was the glorious conclusion, ending with yet another spirited jaunt towards the sidelines, Goshen players beaming with pride and excitement.

This is where destiny took a leave of absence.

Despite a spirited comeback and subsequent dominant play that yielded a 2-2 tie score after regulation and a pair of overtimes against 14th-seeded Park University in the first round of the 2006 NAIA National Championships, Goshen could not capitalize in the ensuing penalty-kick shootout, suffering a 3-1 loss and ending the team’s season in heartbreaking fashion. After PKs helped the Leafs advance in post-season play on two different occasions, the team’s third shootout of the year was anything but the charm.

Wednesday’s result marked Goshen’s third season in the last four years to end on the wrong side of a penalty-kick decision.

“We didn’t want to see this season end like this,” said Tavi Mounsithiraj, Goshen head coach, following the match. “The boys left it all out there today. We felt like we were good enough to advance. This is tough.”

Playing in front of a boisterous throng of Leafs’ supporters that made the trip to central Florida, Goshen (15-5-4, 6-1-1) looked the part of the new kid on the block early on. With Park (13-7-1) making its fourth trip to the national tournament in the last five years, the Pirates got acquainted with the Leafs’ goal twice in the first 18 minutes of play. A pair of nifty dribble moves advanced the ball toward the Goshen net quickly, as the Pirates’ Stefan Stokich blasted in a goal at the 8:22 mark while James Katajwa tacked one on at the 17:58 minute-mark, essentially putting Mounsithiraj’s team up against a wall.

Making its first trip to the national tournament since 1977, a 2-0 deficit just 18 minutes in looked to make the Leafs’ stay brief, at best.

“We had talked about this (Park) team a lot, and the fact that they are a good passing team and very skillful,” Mounsithiraj said. “Early on we didn’t do a good job of staying with our (marks), and they made us pay. They kind of caught us sleeping by kicking the ball around in the back. The next thing you know, they’re attacking us.”

Both Stokich’s and Katajwa’s goals occurred after players made direct drives into the Pirates’ attacking third of the field, while Goshen was slow to react. Park’s first score came off a short pass from the Pirates’ Paul McLaughlin, while the team’s second score came unassisted from the right side of the 18-yard box.

“After their second goal, I was a little concerned,” Mounsithiraj said. “I thought we weren’t focused enough and we didn’t execute. We talked about how good of a team Park was, but we weren’t settled in at first. We knew that we had more depth than they did, and our plan was to wear them down over the course of the entire game. I wish we didn’t give up those two goals, but we did. We were fortunate to get them back.”

Goshen got the scores back almost as if flipping a switch.

In an incredible turn of momentum, the Leafs began to dominate play. A corner kick in the 29th minute resulted in – of course – senior Joel Miller being in the right spot at the right time, blasting in a point-blank shot after the initial send banged around the six-yard box. Just two minutes later, freshman Kyle Stiffney was celebrating a score, this time outrunning a Park defender to a loose ball on the right side of the box and sliding a shot past the Pirates’ Matt Heiman.

Within moments, Goshen went from being down and out to looking like the odds-on favorite.

“We forced the defense to make some mistakes,” Mounsithiraj said of the bang-bang scores. “Once we started to pressure them all over the field, we got some things going.”

As time wore on, things got better for Goshen. Including the second half and overtimes, the Leafs tallied six corner kicks and nine shots compared to Park’s efforts of one and five, respectively. Mounsithiraj’s team began to run Park ragged, subbing early – Goshen used seven reserves in the match compared to Park’s one – and often. By the midway point of the second half, Park had several players cramping up and struggling to continue, while Goshen continued to attack.

“After we tied the game, it was all us,” Mounsithiraj said. “The majority of Park’s side was down with cramps and various forms of minor injuries, and we could just see them struggling to keep up. We completely outplayed them.”

Sadly, that outplaying could not result in a made goal. Even with more opportunities and greater possession, Goshen could not break Park’s bending defense. Miller had two free kicks from just outside the 18-yard box that narrowly missed, while a second-half corner kick bounced dangerously around Park’s six-yard box before slamming into the crossbar and harmlessly over the goal.

“I have to give Park’s defense credit,” Mounsithiraj said. “They have a backfield full of strong and fast players that forced us to shoot from further out than what we would have liked.”

Perhaps Goshen’s greatest chance at a score occurred with just 18 seconds remaining in regulation, as sophomore Raad Qumsieh made a couple of brilliant moves to shed two defenders near midfield. As he raced for a one versus one opportunity with Heiman in goal, Park’s Andrew Merrill threw Qumsieh to the ground just steps outside the 18-yard box. With a yellow card issued to Merrill for the blatant tackle, Goshen could not capitalize off the ensuing free kick.

“ It was a goal,” an emotional Qumsieh said following the match. “(Merrill) knew I was going to score. It was going to end the game.”

Unfortunately, it was Park’s Mirsad Dzilic that captured those honors.

With the golden-goal, double-overtime yielding no scores, the teams retreated to their benches for perhaps the most exciting – and fickle? – manner to decide a winner in all of sport.

Goshen won the coin toss, and elected to kick first.

Miller had his shot deflected by Heiman.

“That is tough,” Mounsithiraj said. “The first shot is always important. You want to put the pressure on them. The goalie made a good guess and stopped Joel’s shot.”

Park made its first attempt, junior Tony Janzen made his, and then the unthinkable happened again.

Heiman blocked sophomore Cody Felton’s attempt.

Following another make from Park, Goshen needed a minor miracle: The team would have to make its final two shots, and senior goalkeeper Craig Welscott would have to stop Park’s final two shooters, only to go into another five-man, PK rotation.

Senior Adam Yoder pushed his shot wide right, mathematically ending the event.

“ We played very hard tonight,” Mounsithiraj said. “That is the nice thing. Yes, it would have been great to advance and play again tomorrow, but this whole experience has been awesome. We’ve won back-to-back conference titles, a conference tournament championship, a regional championship and went to the national tournament. That’s pretty good, especially for these seniors. It wasn’t that we didn’t play hard today. The guys were upset immediately after the match but after a while, they were okay with it. And they should be okay with it. They left everything they had on the field. They’ve had a pretty good career, and should be very proud of what they’ve done.”

Goshen’s four-year seniors conclude brilliant careers with 52 total wins, the second-highest amount in program history. Welscott leaves as the program’s all-time leader in goalkeeper shutouts, while Miller is the only player in school history to achieve a conference player of the year honor on three different occasions.

Somehow, Mounsithiraj said he believes all of that will overshadow the disappointing PK loss to Park.

“I thought we represented ourselves, our conference and our school well here,” he said. “After the game, I had several coaches come up to me and say we were the better side. I am so proud of these guys for how hard they’ve worked and all they’ve achieved. They have been a great team, and I’m honored to have coached them.”

Check back to this website during the off-season for team news and recruiting information. To contact Tavi Mounsithiraj, call him at (574) 535-7235 or click here to send him an email.