On Saturday, the RPI men’s soccer team was defeated in the first round of the NCAA tournament by the Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks by a 1-0 margin on the strength of an 89th minute goal. The Red Hawks conclude the season with an overall record of 13-6-1, including 6-1 in the Liberty League during the regular season.
“We played fantastic. We were great,” said Head Coach Adam Clinton of the match against Stevens. “We just didn’t get a goal, and they did … It was a great college soccer game.”
The lone goal was scored for the Ducks by Todd Sheridan, with Craig Moquin assisting. Three of the Red Hawks’ 12 shots in the match came after that score, but RPI could not find the back of the net to knot the score. Sophomore Jabel Prom and senior Tim Wisner combined for five of RPI’s seven shots on goal in the match. Stevens only had three shots on goal during the match, including the winning goal.
“We went out there and we did a very good job of representing ourselves and our league and our school, and I couldn’t be more proud of the way the guys fought the whole game,” explained Clinton.
The Ducks held the Red Hawks’ scoring leaders, juniors Lincoln Field and Kevin Swift, without a single shot between them in the match. Field and Swift finish the year with five goals and one assist each.
Sophomore Zach Carr had six saves for Stevens, while sophomore goalkeeper Alex Penny recorded two for RPI.
Clinton noted that the tournament appearance will help RPI’s men’s soccer program gain some exposure. “People will notice us a little bit more, and kids that are out there that are looking at brackets are going to see us; they may not have ever heard of us before, so from an exposure point, it’s going to help us tremendously.”
Overall, the season ends as a three-win improvement over last year’s final record of 10-6-4, highlighted by the team’s play in Liberty League contests. A year ago, the Red Hawks ended 2-3-2 against their league foes in the regular season, but this season they finished 6-1, outscoring their opponents 9-2 and recording all six of those victories by shutout.
Clinton stated next year’s goals very simply: “Win the Liberty League, win the Liberty League tournament, and try to win an NCAA championship.” However, he also noted that to start the season, “Our simple goal will be to win every game one at a time, like we always do.”
“It was sort of like an appetizer,” said Clinton of this year’s tournament appearance. “We’ve been there now, we got a taste, and we want to go back because it was a pretty big deal.”
He also explained that, similar to how the team’s postseason success last season aided the team this year, he expects this tournament appearance to help the team going into next year’s season. “I think last year winning the ECACs carried over to this year, and I think this year should carry over to next year. Now, we’ve made the jump to the NCAA tournament.”
He continued, “I think it’ll make those long hours in the weight room and the spring practice and the training over the summer all seem more worth it when you know what the ultimate prize is.”
As for the offseason? Clinton said, “We have to stay hungry. We have to realize that as much as we accomplished this year, there are goals out there left for us to accomplish.”
