Rensselaer junior defenseman Joe Johnson must have been feeling sheepish with 16 minutes remaining in the second half and the RPI men’s soccer team trailing 2-1 in a must win battle against travel partner Vassar on Saturday in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
With a Liberty League playoff birth hanging in the balance Johnson, who initially put the Red Hawks up 1-0 with a header from Kelly Grammer in the first half, gave the Brewers the precious lead as he headed the ball in his own net with under four minutes remaining in the first half giving the home team a 2-1 advantage.
Johnson, RPI’s only All-Liberty League selection from the 2003 season, known for his defensive talent made up for his miscue in the most appropriate of ways. Just three minutes after Gary Sroka evened the score for the Red Hawks, Johnson tallied the game winning, playoff clinching goal off a 40-yard fireball that sailed just over Vassar goalie Lloyd Becker’s head giving Rensselaer a 3-2 win.
“Joe had a natural hat trick, two for us and one for them,” Clinton joked of Johnson. The Hopewell Junction, N.Y. native, who hadn’t scored yet this season, matched his 2003 totals with Saturday en route to being named Liberty League Co-Defender of the Week.
The win qualified the Red Hawks for their first Liberty League tournament in Clinton’s three year tenure. The Red Hawks will advance into postseason play as the fourth seed where they take on the nation’s eighth ranked team, and the Liberty League tournament’s top seed, St. Lawrence Saints in Canton, N.Y. this Friday at 11 am.
“It feels pretty good,” Clinton admitted. “Everyone has really worked hard and sweated over the last three years to make this happen.”
Of course the Red Hawks had to do plenty of sweating Saturday against the rival Brewers, who could have stolen the postseason birth from RPI with a win. Despite jumping out to an early lead off the first of Johnson’s two goals; Vassar outplayed Rensselaer down the stretch tallying two goals, one from David Vernon at the 24:08 mark and the other two minutes later on the Johnson miscue.
Despite out-shooting Vassar 19-9 and dominating the second half, things were looking bleak for Rensselaer as the game and their season began to close. To force the issue on Vassar’s smaller field, Clinton pushed a midfielder forward in hopes of creating more scoring chances.
The ploy worked as shortly thereafter Sroka, who was named Liberty League Rookie of the Week, delivered his game tying goal on a direct kick with 74:46 showing on the clock. Johnson’s miraculous game winner came just three minutes later 77:32 into the ball game.
I’m really proud the way the guys fought back,” Clinton said of his team’s gritty comeback. “The battled their way back into the game and into the postseason.”
The Red Hawks are looking forward to the opportunity of dethroning the Saints from their Liberty League throne. While odds-makers would give Rensselaer little chance at completing such a conquest, one can be assured St. Lawrence is taking nothing for granted.
The Red Hawks played the Saints tight for 90 minutes faltering just once as St. Lawrence’s Steve Watson scored the game’s only goal at the 50 minute mark with a sizzling roller, narrowly beating RPI goalie Nick Bochette on the near side pole. The goal gave the Saints a 1-0 victory at Harkness Field in September, but it also proved to the Rensselaer players that they could compete with the Saints.
“We have a chance,” Clinton said. “We have the mind set of, ‘Why not us.’”
To have a chance at what will certainly be the biggest win in Rensselaer men’s soccer history will take more than just desire. Clinton highlighted controlling the ball in the midfield as the key to the team’s success.
“We created a number of scoring opportunities in the last game against St. Lawrence and we did a better ball possessing the ball in the midfield,” Clinton said. “We have been successful at closing them down, but we have to stay organized and communicate in order to have a chance.”
Two other keys to victory for RPI will be the performance of goaltender Bochette and the offense’s ability to capitalize on scoring opportunities. Bochette, who made 10 saves against the Saints in September did his part then while the offense failed to net goal despite having several good looks at the net.
Should the Red Hawks top St. Lawrence they would still have to follow up that performance with a win over either Hamilton or Union, the other two league opponents whom RPI fell to this season, on Saturday in order to make the NCAA playoffs.
“If we’re are going to make the NCAAs we’re going to have to beat the best team,” Clinton stated. “We might as well get it out of the way early.”
