2008 Woodie Awards
Soccer: Gorloks celebrate last minute win
By: Tom Parr
Issue date: 11/10/05 Section: Sports
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The Gorloks met the Blue Jays two times prior and won both games handily. The Nov. 2 tourney match went no differently with Webster winning 2-0.
The first goal came at the 31st minute when senior captain Corey Haney sent a free kick into the Westminster box from the half-line. The ball found the head of junior Mike Schinner who flicked a header past Jays' keeper Jack Rubenstein.
The final goal happened at the 85th minute when senior Andrew Mertens picked the pocket of the Blue Jays' Brandon Brook, then raced up the sideline and slipped a pass to freshman Kevin Fann who put it away.
The win moved the Gorloks on to the conference final against Greenville College Nov. 5.
The Panthers, who defeated Fontbonne in the other SLIAC semi-final game, finished 2nd in the conference behind Webster and had battled the Gorloks to a 0-0 tie in the teams' only previous meeting this season.
Webster survived multiple first half chances, including numerous counter attacks and a shot by Panther forward Brian Limbaugh that hit the near post in the 9th minute.
The Gorloks had little goal scoring chances in the first half, although Fann did hit the top of the cross-bar in the 28th minute.
Webster goalie Tim Hanrahan kept the Gorloks' championship hopes alive with 10 minutes remaining in the game. The Panthers broke through again, this time a five on three counter that led to a shot from Limbaugh and a brilliant save from Hanrahan. Hanrahan then saved two attempts off the resulting corner kick. In total he had six saves in the game, but those three in the span of a minute may have saved the season.
The goal that would send the Gorloks to the NCAA Division III tournament came with only 12.9 seconds left in overtime. Fann flicked a header home off a Danny Mee cross and the celebrations began.
Nine ecstatic Gorloks chased Fann up the sideline, where they met in a dog pile with the rest of the team that raced off the bench.
The championship was the fourth for head coach Marty Todt and the first since 2000. Fann was named tournament MVP.
The NCAA Men's Championship begins Nov. 9 and the Gorloks, with a first round bye in hand, begin play Nov. 12. The Gorloks face the winner of the Trinity University and Hardin-Simmons College game. Trinity was the 2003 NCAA champ and last week had a 62 game regular season unbeaten streak snapped. The two teams, both from Texas, are in different conferences and have played each other this season, with Trinity winning 2-1 in overtime.