M. Soccer meets Tribe in first round

By DARREN STEELE
Collegian Staff Writer

The Penn State men's soccer team will begin its quest for its first national championship at 1 p.m. tomorrow, when the Nittany Lions welcome William & Mary to Jeffrey Field.

This is the first game in a tournament that invites 32 of the nation's top soccer teams. The No. 6 Lions (17-3-1) are coming off of a disappointing loss to No. 1-seeded Indiana in the finals of the Big Ten Tournament.

"I guess everybody needs to put that (the loss) behind them," Lions junior middle back Ricardo Villar said. "Hopefully everybody is excited for this game. We are hungry for a victory."

Villar, along with Lions sophomore midfielder Derek Potteiger, recently was named first-team All-Big Ten. Both of these athletes have contributed to the team strongly and will be expected to produce for the Lions.

William & Mary enters the match with a 14-6-3 record. The Tribe qualified for the tournament by defeating Virginia Commonwealth 4-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament final.

The Tribe has not lost a game since Oct. 20 and could pose a great threat to the Lions' title hopes.

"We're very familiar with them," Penn State coach Barry Gorman said. "(Penn State assistant coach) Kevin Doyle has coached down there with them."

While the Tribe is a team to be reckoned with, the Lions home-field advantage could give them the edge.

"It (playing at home) is very, very important," Gorman said. "I place a lot of stock in home-field advantage. The teams that make it to the Final Four, the majority of them played all three of their games at home."

William & Mary is similar to the Lions in a lot of ways. The offense is led by freshman forward Carlos Garcia (9 goals, 4 assists, 22 points) and senior midfielder Brian Hinkey (8 goals, 9 assists, 25 points).

The Tribe's offensive setup is similar to the Lions, who also have seen most of their offensive production in the form of two individuals — Villar and junior Greg Oldfield.

"We're playing some awfully good soccer," Gorman said. "We just need to get the ball in the back of the net. Hey, it doesn't matter if it comes off of your butt, or the top of your ear. No one will fuss as long as we win."

The best matchup might be the duel between Tribe goalkeeper Adin Brown and Lions netminder Whit Gibson. The two are mirror images of one another. Brown has 68 saves and eight shutouts for a 0.81 goals-against average. Gibson has 68 saves and eight shutouts for a 0.81 goals-against average.

The Lions could face a trip down memory lane if they are successful in defeating William & Mary tomorrow. The Lions play the winner of the St. John's-Maryland match.

The Lions were eliminated by St. John's in last year's tournament, 1-0. If the Lions can get by St. John's, they would then have the possibility of facing rival Indiana for a third time this season.