South Jersey Coach Matt Driver circled 12 players on his roster as starters, before realizing he had one too many. After losing to Western Mass in front of a pro-Pioneer crowd of 5,223, he probably felt as though he played a man short. Playing in front of a club-record home crowd at Lusitano Stadium, the Western Mass Pioneers scored a pair of second half goals and held on for a 2-1 victory against the South Jersey Barons to claim the 1999 D3 Pro League National Championship. Paul Wright and Rob Jachym scored 13 minutes apart early in the second half and John Voight, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, held off a late Barons’ rally to secure the victory. “The boys in front of me blocked shots, cleared balls off the line, they won the game,” said Voight, refusing to take any credit for his team’s victory. “We couldn’t ask for anything better than home field advantage. It made the whole difference.” Part of Voight’s heroics included a game-saver when he tipped a South Jersey free kick that nearly snuck under the crossbar over the goal for a corner kick. Later, Matt Denecour helped out Voight by heading a Baron shot over the bar from the goal line. “[Denecour] has done that every game this playoff season,” said the former Connecticut Wolves goalkeeper, who downplayed the MVP award. “I love the token, but there are a lot of other guys who deserved it equally as much.” After a scoreless first half in which the Pioneers outshot South Jersey, 8-5, the home team gave the overflow crowd something to cheer about when Paul Wright scored through two defenders after Jachym’s shot was cleared off the line. The play started when Baron goalkeeper Paul Royal misplayed a cross into the penalty area and the ball fell to the feet of Jachym. With Royal out of position, Jachym launched a 14-yard shot that was stopped by a South Jersey defender. Wright, standing six yards away had the ball fall at his feet and he deflected a shot off a defender into the corner of the goal. “That first goal was very helpful,” said Western Mass Coach Leszek Wrona. “We possessed the ball better than in the other games, but our penetration through wasn’t good.” “Jachym scored the second goal in the 60th minute when he ran onto a long outlet throw from Voight. The team’s leading scorer broke in on a 2-on-1 opportunity with Wright from midfield. Rather than dishing to Wright, the team’s leading scorer took his defender left and unleashed a left-footer as he entered the penalty area past a charging Royal and into the back of the net. After the goal, the former New England Revolution forward ran over to the far side, pulled a Polish flag off the fence and draped it around his shoulders. “Those guys have been there all season long and when you score, you get that rush of adrenalin and you want to run somewhere,” Jachym said. “When your legs are tired in the second half and you hear one of these kids cheering you on, it makes you run a little bit harder and a little bit longer.” The Barons finally broke the shutout with less than eight minutes to play when substitute Eric Chijioke found forward Matt Brooks wide open eight yards in front of the goal. Brooks had little to do but nod the ball past Voight, who never even moved on the play. South Jersey threatened late for the equalizer, but the Pioneers defense held strong. “They were the better team tonight,” Driver said. “They didn’t make that many mistakes and we knew with this crowd behind them it was going to be tough.” Saturday’s victory for Western Mass was its first in five meetings against South Jersey since joining the league last season. The Barons defeated the Pioneers 2-1 on June 11 and 5-3 on the last day of July. South Jersey had won the regular season championship with a 16-2 record and 72 points in just its third season since joining United Soccer Leagues. Game Report Sept. 11 Western Mass Pioneers 2, South Jersey Barons 1. Goals: Wright 47, Jachym (Voight) 60; Brooks (Chijioke) 82. South Jersey Barons — Royal, Holmes, Christian, Hickey (Agu, 58th), Nick (Wicken, 60th), Harvey, Miles (Chijioke, 70th), Brooks, DiMeo (Mannella, 55th), Zgalich, Southern. Western Mass Pioneers — Voight, Fletcher, Kelly, Chevalier, Miller, Cartiera (Perez, 85th), Denecour (Dimovski, 89th), Monje, Legowski (Clarke, 75th), Wright, Jachym. Yellow Cards Western Mass: Legowski 74, Perez 87, Monje 88, Denecour 89. South Jersey: Zgalich 44, Agu 74. Att.: 5,223