Gators Enter Familiar Territory at NCAC Finals

Nov 2, 2006

MEADVILLE, Pa. – History has a funny way of repeating itself sometimes and that adage holds especially true for the Allegheny College men’s soccer team as it moves toward its third consecutive appearance in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game. The Gators (11-4-3, 5-4-0 NCAC), who were on the brink of failing to make the postseason tournament just a week ago, get ready to take on Denison University (11-4-2, 7-1-1 NCAC) on Saturday, November 4, in Granville, Ohio, at 7 p.m. in a re-match of the 2004 tournament finals.

In a manner reminiscent of its run to the 2004 league tournament title, Allegheny pulled off an upset in the semifinals by taking down top-seed and nationally-ranked Ohio Wesleyan University. After 110 minutes of scoreless play, the Gators and Battling Bishops went to a shootout to decide the victor. Allegheny was able to convert four of its five attempts, while Allegheny keeper Ryan Larkin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) made two big saves to secure the victory.

“Penalty kicks are a tough way to decide a game,” said Gator head coach Angelo Panzetta, who has led his team to the NCAC Tournament title game four times in his six seasons at Allegheny. “I think we went into the game yesterday with confidence after the way we played them earlier in the season.”

Just two seasons ago, Allegheny downed top-seed College of Wooster 1-0 in the semifinals of the NCAC Tournament before getting by its opponent this fall, Denison, in penalty kicks by a 5-3 count. The Gators then moved on to the round of 16 of the national playoffs, advancing past Transylvania University and Carnegie Mellon University with the help of shootout victories.

All five of Allegheny’s strikers Wednesday night – Jeremy Garbutt (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School), Eric Sloan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon), Robert DelGreco (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-LaSalle), Chris Fedele (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville), and Andrew Stutzman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) - were on the 2004 squad, with Larkin also serving as the backup goalie. That experience keeps paying dividends for the Gators as they continue to strive in pressure situations.

“Two of our guys, Sloan and Jeremy, were involved in the shootouts from two years ago, while Bobby, Chris, Stutzman, and Larkin were all on the bench,” said Panzetta. “Our guys gained a lot of experience playing and watching in those games.”

The similarities keep going when Allegheny looks at its opponent for Saturday’s title game. Denison, the No. 2 seed, advanced to its third league title game with a 2-0 decision over Oberlin College on Wednesday.

This will be the fourth meeting between the Gators and Big Red in the NCAC Tournament, with two of the three prior games being determined by penalty kicks. Denison advanced to the championship game in 2001, Panzetta’s first season at Allegheny, by gaining a 5-4 edge in the shootout, but the Gators took out their revenge the following season with a 2-0 win in the semifinals.

Earlier this fall, the Big Red picked up a key 1-0 win over Allegheny in Granville. It was an even game throughout as the visitors held an 11-10 shot advantage, but Denison picked up the game-winner in the 63rd minute. If they can generate some offense, Panzetta thinks his team has a chance at beating the Big Red the second time around.

“We’ve played twice a year now for four of the last six years, so it shouldn’t be any surprise for the both of us,” said Panzetta. “It’s going to be difficult going into Denison, but we played well there two weeks ago. Basically, it’s going to come down to who executes better on Saturday.”

Allegheny, which fell in the championship game 3-0 to Ohio Wesleyan last season, has a slew of players that have been to the finals each of the past three seasons, including five seniors in the starting lineup. Those players would like nothing more than to secure the school’s second berth in the NCAA Tournament in the history of the program.

“Denison has the advantage playing at home, but our team knows what it takes to win on the road,” added the Gator head coach. “Hopefully they take the experience they have into the game, and if that happens, I like our chances.”

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