But, in the end, the Ducks came up short, losing in overtime in penalty kicks to Messiah, a soccer powerhouse that has won six national championships in the past nine years. Stevens finished its season at 19-3-4.
“It was an amazing game as both teams put forth classic efforts but on this day, it was not meant to be for the Ducks,” Stevens Sports Information Director Rob Kulish wrote after the game.
The hard-fought defensive game saw Messiah score less than three minutes into the game. Stevens captain Jeremy Lippel then scored Stevens’ goal with 10:01 left in the game to keep the Ducks alive. In the overtime shoot-out, Messiah saved three straight Stevens goals and then converted three of four shots to win the national championship.
For Stevens, senior Jeremy Lippel, junior Terrence Johnson and sophomore Nolan Sandberg were named to the NCAA All-Tournament team.
The Ducks actually made school history earlier, on Nov. 23, when they defeated defending national champion Middlebury College in Hoboken to advance to the national semifinals—the first time a Stevens team has ever gone that far in the NCAA Tournament. This was another thrilling match, with the teams tied 1-1 before Stevens won in penalty kicks.
Stevens went on to roar past Amherst College 4-1 in the national semifinals, advancing to the championship game against Messiah.
The New York Times captured the Ducks’ amazing journey in a Dec. 5, 2008, article, “Where science rules but soccer thrives.” The story focused on the uniqueness of the Stevens team—a team with a 3.38 overall grade point average, with academically strong students hailing from everywhere from Hawaii to the path of Hurricane Katrina and juggling tough engineering and science classes.
“I wasn’t sure what I had at the beginning of the year but these guys have a lot of fight in them, and I’m proud of all this young talent,” Coach Tim O’Donohue told the newspaper.
In recent years, the Stevens men’s soccer program—as well as other of the Institute’s athletic programs—have enjoyed much success. This season marked the sixth consecutive year that the men’s soccer team has made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. —Beth Kissinger
Stevens’ Office of Athletics contributed to this report.
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