By By Dave Diamond
It happened so suddenly.
Those in attendance at the Old Dominion University (ODU) Soccer Stadium had no clue how to react. Neither did the Pride or the Monarch players on the field. It was not a highlight reel moment, nor did it meet the qualifications of a typical “golden goal.” But there is one way to classify what happened in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Soccer Tournament championship. For the Pride, it was magical.
“It was a state of confusion,” Pride goaltender Matthias Gumbrecht said. “We didn’t believe it right away.”
Believe it, because sophomore Adrian Papaluca scored on a half volley from twenty yards out with just eight seconds remaining in regulation, giving the No. 2 Pride a dramatic 1-0 victory over top-seeded Old Dominion and their second consecutive CAA title. The shot came just after an ODU defender headed away a Constantinos Christoudias corner kick that fell in the middle of the box. Papaluca took the shot after one bounce and popped a shot into the top right corner.
It appeared ODU goaltender John Connolly did not make a full effort for the ball, perhaps assuming that the ball would sail over the net. Instead, it gave the Pride a 1-0 win over the Monarchs, a duplicate of the final score in last years’ CAA final, also against ODU.
The goal was only Papaluca’s third of the season, but there is no doubt he saves his best for crunch-time. This came only a day after the midfielder netted the “golden goal” with 2:23 remaining in overtime of the Pride’s 3-2 semi-final win over James Madison last Friday.
His other goal came in his first game for the Pride after transferring from the now defunct Southampton College. In the team’s opening game this season, Papaluca scored in the 88th minute to give the Pride a 2-1 win over Stony Brook on Sept. 1. He also battled injuries for most of the year.
“It’s wonderful. I’m just so proud of the way the boys kept trying today,” head coach Richard Nuttall said. “I think ODU is one of the top five or six teams in the country. It was a great game between two great teams.”
In fact, the No. 7 Monarchs are the highest ranked team the Pride has ever beaten (in 1997, the team captured a win over No. 10 Boston University). It was certainly fitting that the Pride would win this championship with a shutout victory, considering the team went into the tournament with five straight shutouts. ODU had not been shutout since it played to a scoreless tie with Clemson on Sept. 11.
ODU out shot the Pride in a scoreless first half, thanks to two very aggressive saves by Gumbrecht. He charged to the top of the box to ruin an attempt by Monarchs forward Brian Cvilikas with 20 minutes left in the first half and smothered a shot by Edson Elcock with eight minutes left.
Last season, the Pride came from nowhere to win the tournament as major underdogs. This year, the team prepared successfully to defend as front-runners, something Nuttall attributes his coaching staff for helping to prepare the players’ mindset.
Of course, while the players and coaches seemed eager to get started, it was time to reflect on just what the team had accomplished, at least for one day.
“Last year, a lot of people said it was just luck,” Gumbrecht said. “But we proved everybody wrong. We are good, we defended our title…and we deserved it.”
Gary Flood and the Pride defense must play well on Friday against Providence in the NCAAs. (Photo Courtesy Athletic Dept.)
