After the Creighton Bluejays destroyed IndianaÆs dream of three in a row, they ran into Chris Gbandi. The Liberian native inspired Connecticut at both ends of the field to bring the Huskies their first national championship since 1981.
The makeup of the 2000 MenÆs College Cup was peculiar but intriguing: No California schools, no Atlantic Coast Conference schools. Just one seeded team, just one conference tournament champion. Two returnees from last year, two Missouri Valley Conference teams. Two teams laden with international players, two Midwest teams comprised mostly of Americans.
Connecticut coach Ray ReidÆs observation on the day before the semifinals was that ôI think weÆre going to see two sets of teams that are mirror images of each other.ö
On the surface, ReidÆs assessment seemed accurate. Among his Huskies were nine players born outside the United States, seven of them starters. Their opponent, Southern Methodist had four players born abroad and three others with South American backgrounds. Creighton carried just one foreign-born player on its roster; its opponent, Indiana, had none.
Yet the first semifinal uncovered differences that could not be detected on rosters.
Indiana, a surprise entrant after seeming to lose all the key members of its back-to-back national championships, showed its grit. Whenever Creighton had possesion, the Hoosiers relentlessly hounded the ball. Any ball played near the Indiana penalty area was booted out of danger.
Ryan Mack and Pat Noonan were the inventive ones and when Creighton left its captain, Peter Henning, stranded to face Noonan alone, Indiana took a 1-0 lead.
Creighton, who surprised its own coach, Bret Simon, by making it this far after costly graduation losses, was clearly rattled by IndianaÆs tactics and often passed to red jerseys.
The BluejaysÆ players, however, emerged from halftime with uncanny composure for a group without NCAA semifinal experience. In calmly forming angles and completing short passes, Creighton ceased to resemble its opponent and soon tied the game.
The potent forward trio of Keith Sawarynski, Mike Tranchilla and Brian Mullan linked up in the Indiana penalty area for the goal.
Creighton outshot Indiana, 12-5, after halftime and nearly carved a totem pole out of the woodwork behind Hoosier keeper Colin Rogers.
Predictably, overtime followed. The third Creighton shot to hit the post caromed to Tranchilla and he put the deteriorating game out of its misery in the 124th minute.
ôEvery time we hit the post I thought æYes, the game is over,Æö Tranchilla said. ôThen the last one came right to me, and the game was over.ö
The second semifinal also exposed differences between its combatants. The game was more fluid as both teams held possession successfully, but Connecticut proved more patient, more experienced and more solid in the back.
SMU left speedy Darin Lewis open in the 15th minute and he megged keeper Byron Foss from a poor angle. The Mustangs, the highest-scoring team in Division I with an average of 3.4 goals a game, still looked capable of tying until Lewis pilfered the ball from sweeper Tom Dolan and fed Cesar Cuellar for the final tally.
STATE OF THE GAME. Among the weekendÆs periphery events was the National Soccer Coaches Association of AmericaÆs annual open meeting. Moved from its usual timing at the coachesÆ convention, the meeting had a low turnout.
The most prominent issue discussed was the expansion of the menÆs tournament field, which again looks like a distinct possibility. An expansion proposal last year halted because slightly more championship opportunities existed in menÆs sports than in womenÆs. This year, however, womenÆs sports held a slight edge in that total, and NCAA officials have told the NSCAA that menÆs soccer is first on the list of potential expansion. Duke coach John Rennie said an expansion would likely take the field to 48 teams, if approved.
Simon, who is on the NSCAA menÆs college soccer committee, wasnÆt at the meeting, but he mentioned later that establishing a split season and dealing with gender equity were more important issues than expanding the tournament.
Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski vocalized his concern that without television coverage, college soccer is ôslowly slipping completely off the radar screen,ö and vowed to get the game air time. Cirovski also bemoaned excessive fouling in college soccer, claiming that most games average over 40 fouls. None of the weekendÆs three games exceeded 30 fouls, but the two losing teams in the semifinals had their No. 10s (IndianaÆs Ryan Mack and SMUÆs Mohamed Fahim) leave the field after hard tackles and never return to top form.
ConnecticutÆs Chris Gbandi, who delivered the knock on Fahim, became the first defender since Alexi Lalas in 1991 to win the Hermann Trophy.
GBANDIÆS SUPER FINALE. No Hermann Trophy winner in the past 10 years has dominated the national championship game as Gbandi did in Charlotte.
Claudio Reyna, the most recent Hermann winner to win the national championship, took a backseat in the 1993 final to Nate Friends, who scored both Virginia goals off set pieces from Mike Fisher.
Gbandi, however, proved himself the best player in the country by scoring a crucial early goal on a 23-yard free kick and containing Mullan, CreightonÆs energetic, elusive leader, throughout the game.
Although the Bluejays seized territorial control in the second half, UConnÆs defense limited the chances at goal. A late counter sparked by sophomore Rui Fernandes wound up on LewisÆ foot and he ended all doubts in the 86th minute.
Simon showed class in summarizing GbandiÆs performance.
ôI thought Chris Gbandi was the star of the game,ö Simon said. ôHe obviously scored the first goal ù a great goal ù but he also was the player that made the difference in the back. … Every time you thought we were going to get through and get a great chance, he was the one who was always there.ö
Gbandi, whose natural position is in left midfield, did not show the attacking side of his game as much as last year, but he did show a more extroverted side of his personality. After his goal, the usually soft-spoken Gbandi lifted his jersey to reveal a Superman logo on his shirt beneath. He said it was inspired by the MetroStarsÆ Clint Mathis and his ôI love NYö shirt.
ôI looked for an æI love Connecticut shirt,Æ but I couldnÆt find one,ö said Gbandi.
Born in Liberia, Gbandi (pronounced bandy) moved to the United States with his family at age 10. He holds a green card, but his citizenship status has prevented him from ever playing for a U.S. national age-group team.
His father, Sandy, said he applied for his sonÆs U.S. citizenship before his 18th birthday, but was turned back because it was not processed for two months and missed the deadline.
ôHe even got a little mad and even thought about going [to Liberia] to play because it could take so long here,ö Sandy Gbandi said. ôBut I told him we should be patient.ö
Sandy Gbandi said Chris will be eligible to apply as an adult soon.
In what has become an annual ritual at the College Cup, the media repeatedly pressed the top underclassmen about turning pro early. In this case, Gbandi, a junior, claimed he had not begun thinking about it yet.
ôI have to talk to my dad first,ö Gbandi said. ôIf he feels IÆm ready, then IÆll make that step and he feels IÆm not and I need to work on my skills a little bit, IÆll do that.ö
Coach Reid interupted with a huge grin.
ôYou need to work on your skills more,ö Reid said. ôI already talked to your dad.ö
by Soccer America associate editor Will Kuhns in Charlotte, North Carolina