No Consolation

DALLAS, TX – Jason Walker (Windsor) scored twice but the 2008 MCC Men’s soccer season came to a close Sunday morning when CC of Morris, NJ beat the Cougars 4-2 at Richland College in Dallas, Texas.

The dream of a National Championship ended Saturday afternoon when Triton (Ill) College beat the Cougars 1-0 in the NJCAA Division III National Tournament Semi-Final Saturday afternoon in Dallas, Texas.

Walker and goaltender Jeff Gregor (Newington) were named to the All-Tournament team. Walker finished his MCC career with 22 goals – 11 each season – and 14 assists. Gregor made 12 saves, concluding a two-year stint with the Cougars in which he was called the “best goalkeeper we’ve had since I’ve been here” by ninth year MCC Head Coach Jim Insinga.

“Walker came in yesterday and gave us a big lift,” Insinga said. “He did just a phenomenal job.”

CC of Morris scored 10 minutes into the game, but MCC tied it up at 1-1 in the 35th minute. Morris took a 2-1 lead a minute later, then went up 3-1 on a Rafael Martinez penalty kick in the 54th minute. Walker’s second goal put MCC within one with 28 to play. David Mero scored the fourth Morris goal with three minutes left.

“We played a nice possession game,” Insinga said. “This particular team (Morris) did not have the talent as us or Triton, but soccer is all about matchups and these types of teams give us trouble. They played very direct at us. A lot of good athletes and a lot of speed and their speed overwhelmed our backfield and that’s what happened today. We couldn’t absorb the runs they put on us.”

Despite the two losses, MCC was one of only four teams still playing this deep into November.

“We have a lot to be proud of being one of only four teams left,” Insinga said. “The teams here are all excellent teams and on any given day we could have won a couple of games. We came up just a little short.”

Men’s College Soccer

At Richland College, Dallas, TX
CC of Morris, NJ 4 Manchester Community College 2

CC of Morris, NJ (18-4) 2 2 4
MCC (17-4-1) 1 1 2
Goals: MO – Elie Varzea, Salahedine Saadaoui, Rafael Martinez, David Mero. MA – Jason Walker (2) Saves: MO – John Weber 6; M – Jeff Gregor 12.