 "Photo: Chris Ripley")
 "Photo: Chris Ripley")
Josh Meier is now officially the most popular kid in school. His goal in the 79th minute led Medaille past Penn St. Behrend to win the AMCC Championship. It’s the Mav’s fourth conference championship in the last five years. The win solidified their spot in the NCAA tournament and contention for the national championship.
The Mavs earned the top seed in the AMCC Playoffs by winning the regular season crown (9-0-1 conference record). As a result, the team had home field advantage throughout the playoffs and a first round bye, being the only team to do so. Senior Captain Gary Boughton said this was a huge advantage.
“The turf field allows for a faster style of play and opponents aren’t used to that” said Boughton.
The first round bye gave the team some much-needed rest.
“We only need two games to win, and we needed the extra time to rest and prepare,” said Boughton.
The comfort of home allowed Medaille to control the game against Behrend. The Mavs had the ball for the majority of the first half but just couldn’t get it past the D-line. Behrend stacked the back third of their zone with eight players. The only times Behrend had the ball were on clears and a couple fast breaks that the Mavs denied.
The 41st minute saw a golden opportunity for Medaille to take the lead. A handball in the box led to a penalty kick. Senior Josh Meier was chosen to take the shot. Meier took aim for the left corner, but goalkeeper Dustin Walker made an outstanding save. Walker dove with full extension and batted the ball away and then the Mavs sailed the rebound high over the crossbar. The save jolted Behrend with an energy boost and gave them some momentum, but the Mavs responded with strong play.
“I knew coach was mad at me because usually I don’t miss those in practice,” said Meier. “It was nothing special, I just went for the corner and the goalkeeper made a great save.” Meier would redeem himself later.
The second half saw much of what the first half had in store. Behrend continued to play eight men deep in their zone. Medaille kept playing a lot of jump balls in Behrend’s zone but couldn’t connect on any. There were spurts in which the Mavs moved the ball around on the ground, but Behrend played defensive and cleared the zone. The defensive play by Behrend led to a one-on-one fast break in the 56th minute. But junior Corey Phillips came up big and made a key stop on the ball, eliminating Behrend’s opportunity to score.
In the 59th minute Medaille almost put themselves up by a goal. George Tor, a speedy forward, drove the ball downfield with some great moves. On a fancy spin move he drew a foul and a 25-yard free kick. Tor took the kick and put it right off the crossbar.
Then finally in the 79th minute the ball found the back of the net. Josh Meier redeemed his missed penalty kick and scored the game- winning goal. Behrend tried to clear the ball, and Meier came in from midfield and connected on a one-timer. The ball deflected off a defender, and All High Stadium erupted.
Coach K said of Meier, “He came out motivated in the second half, and came up huge.”
The look on Meier’s face was priceless after the game. “It felt awesome! This is the happiest part of my life!”
Preseason goal: Win the AMCC Championship. Check. Next goal: win the national championship. It remains to be seen, but that could be coming next.
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