The Observer, October 14, 2005
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 7
Men's soccer scores huge victory in the Big Apple
In a huge victory this past week, the Spartans upset the country's 22nd ranked team, New York University.
The win moved Case into third place in the UAA conference with an overall record of 6-4-2. Perhaps more importantly, the victory surely turned any remaining doubters that this year's men's team is every bit as talented as it has been hyped to be.
The Spartans traveled to New York carrying a three game winless streak, but were not intimidated by the Violets of New York University. NYU, on the other hand, had been playing very impressive soccer so far this season, posting a record of 8-2-1 prior to the match. Neither team had won a conference game this year, but the Spartans surely remembered their last two matches against NYU, which were both losses by scores of 2-0 and 3-0.
None of that mattered, of course. This year's squad is far more talented than they have been in years past and they also now have the confidence to know that they can beat any team they step onto the field against.
It took every bit of that confidence, and a whole lot of heart, to outlast NYU in the game last Saturday. The game was controlled by defense on both sides of the ball until the Spartans were able to capitalize on an opportunity very late in the game. In the 84th minute, Case defender Scott Christensen served a ball beautifully to the Spartans' unstoppable freshman forward Kevin Bigart. The rest is history: Bigart scored his seventh goal of the season, and the game finished in a 1-0 Spartan victory.
"It was definitely one of those games that you know you can win and you know you will win, even though nobody else thinks you have a chance," said sophomore defender Neal Duryea. Unable to put in words just how special the feeling was after the win, Duryea simply stated that it was a "truly indescribable experience."
The win at NYU places Case near the top of the University Athletic Conference standings, with the University of Rochester and the University of Chicago as the only teams with better conference records.
The Spartans have a tough weekend ahead of them as they travel to St. Louis today to play Washington University and then turn around and travel to Chicago to play the University of Chicago on Sunday. Also in action today will be the conference co-leaders Rochester and Chicago as they face off in a match that could break the tie at the top of the conference standings.
As an interesting note regarding today's conference games, the Spartans have the ability to tie for the lead on top of the UAA standings with a win over the last-ranked Washington University, assuming the Rochester-Chicago game does not end in a tie.
The men's team will get a break once they return home from the weekend road trip, as its next game following this weekend's play is not until Oct. 20 when the Spartans take on Penn State Behrend at home.
