(Hyde Park, NY) - There was just no way to console the team, particularly the two seniors who put so much effort and determination into their craft throughout their careers at the Mount. There was no way to make the sting feel better, and no way to lessen the blow of what had just happened. The Mount Saint Vincent Men's Soccer team had just been the victim of one of the most controversial calls to ever befall a Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference (HVMAC) Soccer Championship Game, and the resulting 4-3 loss to the Culinary Institute of America was nothing short of a crushing defeat, not because of the fact that the Dolphins lost the game, but because of the way the game ended.
After more than 88 minutes of play so even that an overtime session was perhaps the only appropriate way to determine the winner, a penalty kick that perhaps should never have been called gave Culinary the opportunity to break a 3-3 tie with mere seconds remaining on the clock. Culinary's Marvin Holder dribbled just inside the Mount Saint Vincent box, and appeared to slip on the muddy grass surface that had become increasingly slick throughout the second half of play. While the referee saw no foul and momentarily allowed play to continue, the linesman twirled his flag and ruled that a foul had taken place, giving Culinary a penalty kick that turned into a golden goal for the HVMAC Championship when the Steels' Daniel O'Brien (Atlanta, GA/Marist) converted the shot to make it a 4-3 game. Just moments later, the game, and season was over for Mount Saint Vincent, and the reality set in that the Mount's first-ever HVMAC tournament crown would not happen.
While the validity of what turned into the game-winning play will continue to be a source for debate one thing for sure is that the game's controversial conclusion overshadowed one of the finest championship games in the history of HVMAC Soccer. The game was so well-played and even that both teams appeared at one point or another to be in control, and a huge, raucous crowed at the Culinary Institute oooohed and aaaahed at every play. Mount Saint Vincent senior Chris MacDonald (Farmingdale, NY/Nassau CC) opened the scoring at 19:44 when he gobbled up a loose ball created on a misplay by Culinary goalie Kyle Spencer (Tahoe, CA/Colfax HS) and fired a shot into the empty net for a 1-0 lead. The lead did not last long as Culinary tied the score on a beautiful goal at 20:52 to make it 1-1 ... and the tone was set for the rest of the game ... every time one team gained an advantage, the other team countered.
Late in the first half, Culinary appeared to be headed towards a halftime lead when they were awarded a penalty kick, but Dolphin goalie Martino Cecere (Blind Brook, NY/Rye Brook HS) made one of the biggest saves of his career, a diving stop on Culinary's Mike LaPage (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield HS) who seemed to have placed the ball perfectly. Cecere had simply the game of his life, making 15 saves, several of which required him to dive at shots that appeared destined to find the back of the net.
However, the elation over Cecere's magical save was short-lived as Culinary's Ryan Clark (Tuscon, AZ/Sabino HS) made it 2-1 at 20:52 when he scored on a rebound off of a Cecere save. The Steels led 2-1 at halftime.
The second half began anticlimatic as both teams appeared to shift into a conservative mode as neither seemed to want to make a mistake that could have sealed the game's fate, but finally Mount Saint Vincent turned on the pressure 20 minutes into the second stanza. Several Dolphin transition and breakaway attempts were thwarded by a wide shot or a stop by the Culinary defense, but finally at 70:54, sophomore Michael Hernandez (Ridgefield, NJ/Bergen Catholic) - who could easily have scored three or four goals after one of the finest performances of his career - tied the game 2-2 after receiving a picture-perfect cross pass from MacDonald and one-timing it into the goal. 4:18 later, Mount Saint Vincent made it 3-2 when Hernandez unleashed an incredible crossing pass of his own, onto the foot of junior Garret Cooke (N. Kingston, RI/Bishop Hendricken) who scored for the third time this season.
As Mount Saint Vincent tried to slow Culinary down for one final championship push, the Steels turned on the pressure one more time, and at 80:32 the game was tied when LaPage blasted a header by Cecere on a corner kick by Clark to make it 3-3. With the tying marker coming so late in the game, overtime appeared imminent, until the late-game controversy allowed O'Brien to win the game for Culinary.
O'Brien, a senior, was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player as his solid overall play allowed Culinary to capture their first HVMAC Tournament crown after falling in the Championship Game a year ago.
Overall, Culinary outshot the Mount, 34-18, but the game remained close thanks to Cecere.
Mount Saint Vincent ends the 2006 season with a 4-14-1 overall record with all four wins coming against HVMAC competition. The Culinary Institute of America finishes 2006 with a 7-1 overall record, their only loss coming on Sept. 30, 4-3 to Mount Saint Vincent that gave the Dolphins the HVMAC Regular Season Championship. Mount Saint Vincent and Culinary have now met four times during the last two years with three of the games being decided by a single goal.
