St. John's University Athletics
Indiana Tops St. John's, 2-1, Wins NCAA Championship
12/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Dec. 14, 2003
Columbus, Ohio - Two years ago, the dream ended in the semifinals to the same team. Two years later, the dream ended on a snow-swept field in the same town, and to the same team.
In 2001, the St. John's University men's soccer team advanced all the way to the NCAA National Semifinals before losing to Indiana, 2-1, in double overtime.
Two years later, the Hoosiers scored two goals in the first half, and held off a furious rally by the sixth-seeded Red Storm in the late stages of the game to claim the 2003 NCAA National Championship with a 2-1 win in front of 5,300 at Columbus Crew Stadium.
St. John's finishes the season with a 17-6-3 overall record and as the national runner-up for the first time in school history. It was the team's third appearance in the NCAA Final Four, and the second in the national championship game.
"I'm proud of my kids and the effort they gave today," St. John's Head Coach Dave Masur said. "Sometimes, the higher you climb, the harder the fall."
After the eighth-seeded Hoosiers, who finish the season at 17-3-5, took a 2-0 lead at the break, the Red Storm attacked the offensive end aggressively. St. John's had a pair of chances before the first television timeout in the second half, but both came up empty as the Hoosiers held St. John's in check. A free kick from senior Simone Salinno (Foggia, Italy) blocked and a cross from senior Chris Wingert (Babylon, N.Y.) off another free kick was blocked.
As the game continued on, snow began to fall harder in the latter stages of the game, blanketing the field in white after two or three inches had been cleared off prior to kickoff. After intense pressure in the IU offensive end, St. John's broke through in the 79th minute. Junior Chris Corcoran (Marshfield, Mass.) headed a ball into the box and freshman Ashley Kozicki (Pleasant Valley, Pa.) played it off his right foot at the far post and beat IU keeper Jay Nolly, making it a 2-1 game with 11:57 to play.
The Red Storm would have several close chances in the final minutes, but not place the equalizer. A corner kick taken by Salinno went to senior Tim O'Neill (Philadelphia, Pa.), whose shot was saved by Nolly. A follow-up from sophomore Sebastian Alvarado-Ralph (Gothenburg, Sweden) in the box was again saved by Nolly, who registered 10 on the day. A minute later, O'Neill crossed a ball from the far side of the field to the box, where Corcoran got a head on it, and was in position for the tie, but Nolly again came up with the save. Salinno had a final shot with 11 seconds left, but the attempt was saved and Nolly cleared the ball, giving the Hoosiers the NCAA title.
The Red Storm had the first chance of the game when a foul around the 35-yard line resulted in a free kick, which Salinno sent wide in the third minute of play.
Indiana had been held in check through the first 14 minutes of play, but capitalized on its first chance. A ball was played back toward midfield by an Indiana player and was fouled at the top of the box by Red Storm junior defender Chris Leidner (Greenlawn, N.Y.). The kick from 22 yards out, taken by Hoosier forward Ned Grabavoy (who had arrived in Columbus at midnight after playing for the United States Under-20 team in the United Arab Emirates), wound around the six-man St. John's wall and beat Red Storm senior goalkeeper Bill Gaudette (Hummelstown, Pa.) to the lower far post.
Five minutes later, Salinno was fighting for the ball and slipped at midfield, allowing Hoosiers Jacob Peterson free. Peterson made a long run as Red Storm defenders converged on him, but the forward's blast from 18 yards out beat Gaudette to the lower near post.
Falling down 2-0, St. John's made a concentrated effort in the latter portion of the first half. After getting the ball into the box, the Red Storm had a pair of shots, with one from Jean Camere (Miami, Fla.) blocked and the second from Salinno saved by IU keeper Jay Nolly. A foul in the 23rd minute on the Hoosiers gave the Red Storm a free kick from 25 yards out and Wingert's ball was headed by junior Ryan Kelly (Marlton, N.J.) and saved by Nolly. A corner kick from Salinno in the 30th minute went to the box and a shot from graduate student Matia Damiani (Foggia, Italy) was blocked, but Salinno's rebound blast from the far right wing was saved by a diving Nolly.
In the final minutes of the first half, St. John's continued to press, with a shot from Corcoran at the top of the box saved and then, in the final seconds of the stanza, Damiani got a blast off from the top of the box, but Nolly saved it with eight seconds left.
St. John's outshot Indiana, 19-7, with 11 shots on goal to the Hoosiers' three. The Red Storm had three corner kicks, while Indiana took six.
POST-GAME NOTES: ? St. John's appeared in its second NCAA Championship game. They are now 1-1 all-time in NCAA Championship appearances, winning the 1996 title over Florida International. ? St. John's is now 19-11 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. ? The graduating senior class - Matia Damiani, Guy Hertz, Tim O'Neill, Angel Rodriguez and Guy Hertz - finished their four-year career with a 61-17-13 record, two BIG EAST Championships, one NCAA Championship game appearance and two NCAA Final Four appearances. ? St. John's used its 22nd different starting lineup this season. ? The starting lineup for the game was: Bill Gaudette, goalkeeper; Sebastian Alvarado-Ralph, Ryan Kelly, Simone Salinno, forwards; Jean Camere Chris Corcoran, Matia Damiani, midfielders; Jeff Carroll, Chris Leidner, Tim O'Neill and Chris Wingert, defenders. ? Junior Chris Leidner, who missed the Maryland game after being issued a red card in the NCAA Quarterfinals against Creighton, returned to the starting lineup. ? Graduate student Matia Damiani, who had missed the second half of the UC Santa Barbara game and all of the Creighton game after breaking his left arm, started his second-straight game for the Red Storm. ? Senior Chris Wingert was named to the All-Tournament team. ? Junior Chris Leidner suffered a sprained left ankle in the first half and did not return to play in the second half.