After playing four games in a period of only 22 hours, the Oregon men’s club soccer team (10-0) celebrated the wild pre-Halloween weekend by … resting. Winning the NIRSA Regional Tournament in Orem, Utah, last Saturday proved to be exhausting, but more than worthwhile, co-coach and co-coordinator Jason Modahl said.
“That was probably one of the hardest tournaments we have ever been a part of. We had a gutsy championship performance,” said Modahl.
Ross Anderson said: “We were all destroyed afterwards. Nobody had legs.”
The Ducks defeated Dixie State College of Utah 4-0 in its first match, Southern Oregon University 3-0, Salt Lake Community College 2-1 in the semifinals and Weber State 2-0 in the finals.
The finals match was marred by controversy after the tournament director switched around a semifinals game, slating Weber State A against Weber State B. Weber State B forfeited the game, which Modahl said was a likely strategy to give the Wildcats’ A squad a crucial rest amidst the intense structure of the rapidly moving tournament.
“Everyone was upset that Weber State didn’t have to play in a semifinal,” Modahl said. “We all believed that our team had more heart than the other team we played.”
Junior Nicholas Bickle-Eldridge and sophomore Patrick Walro scored goals to help clinch the finals victory. Juniors Ross Anderson and Modahl and senior Bryan Mikolaitis each scored a goal against Dixie State College, with an own-goal rounding out the score. Goals by junior Eric Richards, Anderson and Mikolaitis lifted the Ducks in the win over Southern Oregon.
In the semifinals, all three goals came off penalty kicks. The Ducks roared out to a 2-0 lead after Walro nailed both his shots.
“They had enough time (to make a comeback), but we didn’t feel threatened … We made a concerted effort to play better defensively,” Modahl said.
Anderson said that the finals squabble only encouraged him.
“It was fuel for the fire,” Anderson said. “It got me more pumped.”
Anderson struggled to pinpoint an MVP of the tournament because everyone played well. He did say that Cole Smith was “all over the field, winning tackles and head balls.”
Nationals, to be held in Tempe, Ariz. are now only two-and-a-half weeks away, Modahl said.
“Our goal has always been to go to regionals, get into the championship division and then win that,” Modahl said.
The Ducks, now with 33 consecutive victories, next host Central Oregon Community College Saturday at 1 p.m. on the turf field next to the Student Recreation Center.