Men's soccer drops to eventual champion
It marked the second year MU lost to the eventual national champion.
Published Nov. 28, 2006
An MU team competed in Arizona for a national championship this season, but it wasn't the team that plays on Faurot Field on Saturday.
The men's club soccer team won its first two matches in a three-team round robin. But it lost to eventual national champion Michigan in the first single elimination match.
The team led off with a 2-1 victory against University of San Diego in its first match of round-robin play on Nov. 16. San Diego had already beaten Auburn University in the tournament.
"After watching them beat Auburn 3-0, we felt a win would put us in perfect position to take control of our group," team president Kurt Austin said.
Kevin Maurer scored a goal off Ryan Huber's throw-in to give MU a 1-0 lead, and the goal helped ease the team's nerves.
"It was a big momentum swing," Maurer said.
San Diego tied the score, but Zach Debord scored on a penalty kick to give MU a 2-1 win.
Having beaten San Diego, a win or tie against Auburn would give MU first place in the three-team group. Andy Hannigan scored a goal off another Ryan Huber throw-in to give MU the lead. Huber is also a staff writer for The Maneater.
"It's like a bullet," Hannigan said of Huber's throw-in.
Auburn scored a tying goal, and the match would finish 1-1.
"We held on behind the stellar play of goalie Ross Pfeifer and the defense in front of him," Austin said.
As the group champion, MU faced the runner-up from another group in single elimination play. The Tigers faced the University of Michigan, which despite finishing behind the University of North Carolina in-group play, won the national championship.
Michigan beat MU 3-0. This marked the second straight year MU lost to the eventual national champion in the round of 16. Last year, the Tigers lost to Colorado in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Michigan is known for its size and physical style, which MU players said was a big factor in the team's championship.
"Michigan is the embodiment of American college soccer — big, fast and strong," Austin said.
Making it to the national tournament offered the team a chance to see what the best teams in the country are doing.
"First and foremost, in winning a title, it takes coaching," Austin said. "Though we have experienced tremendous success without a coach's assistance, that is what it will take to get to the next level."
Hannigan also said a coach would help.
"We have a hard time being in unison," he said.
Hannigan said that MU is at the level of the teams that win titles but that it needs more experience playing against top competition before it will be able to win a title.
Hannigan said the team wasn't used to the level of competition it faced in Tempe, Ariz.