1994 Finals
The 1994 Scarlet Knights
All-American: Pedro Lopes
Atlantic-10 Champions
National Semifinalists, 14-10-3 Overall
A magic ride for sure. Rutgers spent most of the year in the national rankings, but was the only unranked team at the final four.
With apologies to Charles Dickens, 1994 was the best of times and the worst of times. Lackluster and inconsistent play throughout the regular season gave way to an inspired and emotional post-season run to the Final Four at Davidson College.
The pre-season polls put Rutgers among the elite, ranking RU No. 5. A jump to No. 2 in the Soccer America poll followed the Scarlet Knights' 5-0 opening night victory over West Virginia. That is where the regular season peaked for RU. A controversial 2-1 loss to South Carolina, who was then ranked No. 2 in the pre-season ISAA poll, at Davidson College on national TV, started the Scarlet's spiral downward. It didn't end until the regular season was over. In the sixth game of the season, RU suffered a second controversial loss, this time at the hands of Penn State in overtime. It dropped RU's record to 2-3-1 and out of the national rankings for the rest of the season.
Over the next nine games, Rutgers went 6-3 improving its overall record to 8-6-1. Most of Rutgers' wins in those games were lopsided victories over Atlantic 10 Conference opponents, it was a sign that when business needed to be taken care of, RU responded. Another glimmer of hope came in the Rutgers adidas/MetLife Classic. Rutgers saw itself matched up against two of the finest teams in the country in perennial power UCLA and Florida International. In both matches, RU was inspired, gaining a 1-0 win over FIU and dropping a 1-0 match to UCLA on a day when RU outplayed its rival but came up empty.The Scarlet Knights lacked a consistent scoring punch and a lot of that had to do with a heel injury that nagged forward Hamisi Amani-Dove. It was an injury that the 1993 leading scorer suffered prior to the year, and it limited his ability to run and use the foot with confidence. Valiantly, he played through the pain. Compounding the problem was Rob Johnson's early struggle to get back into the flow after missing all of 1993. Especially with Amani-Dove slowed down, opponent defenses could focus on Johnson, and he had to adjust.
Frustration, disappointment and confusion reigned in the Scarlet Knight camp, which suffered its first regular-season losing record under Reasso. But in its last match of the season against No. 11 Lafayette, and quite possibly the last home match for seniors Pedro Lopes, Andreas Maier, and Brent Longenecker, the Scarlet Knights brought a level of concentration and focus that hadn't been seen all year. The 0-0 final score didn't matter. It was a signal to the soccer world that RU still had a pulse.
Serving as host of the Atlantic 10 Tournament the facts were clear: win or go home. There was no at-large bid awaiting the Scarlet Knights.
Down 1-0 in the second half to St. Joseph's in the semifinals, despite a constant peppering of Hawks goalkeeper Sean Vliet who set a tournament record with 38 saves, Reasso sent in freshman Ian Checcio. With just 25:26 left, Checcio set up Johnson for the game-tying goal, which kept the Scarlet hopes alive.
Checcio added a second goal and assisted on Rich Ferraro's game-winner late in overtime. It was the kind of spark Reasso desired. Ferraro's goal created an interesting subplot as well. The goal was his first of the year and it catapulted him into the starting lineup where he proved to be an outstanding finisher. Just :58 after starting his first match of the season, he scored against UMass in the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship match. From that moment, the match was all RU. Checcio, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, and Johnson added tallies as well as seniors Brent Longenecker, who scored the eventual game-winner, and Pedro Lopes. The 4-3 victory over the Minutemen gave RU its fourth Atlantic 10 Championship in five years,
With his first goal of the year against UMass and another against Loyola in the NCAA Play-in match, Lopes, an All-American sweeper for two straight seasons, began playing his best soccer of the year when it counted the most. So did Amani-Dove. His arcing shot over Loyola’s goalkeeper Zach Thornton from 18 yards out was the first goal of the match and as fine a goal as he had scored in his career. The goal broke a personal eight-game scoreless streak and brought back memories of 1993 when he scored eight game-winners. One of the finest forwards in the country, Amani-Dove raised his level of play despite the heel injury. Lopes and sophomore Mike Shaw scored RU’s second and third goals in the 3-1 victory. Shaw was the team’s second-leading scorer in 1993 and his goal in the play-in broke a personal nine-game scoreless streak. It was now becoming obvious to the Scarlet faithful that something special was happening.While Checcio and Ferraro gave the team the initial spark it needed to get through the Atlantic 10 Tournament, the Scarlet Knights were still going to need significant contributions from its best players in order to defeat Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Champion, Loyola (MD), in an NCAA play-in match in order to join the "Big Dance." Several Scarlet Knights responded with their best efforts of the year.
The Scarlet learned that its first test would come from BIG EAST Champion St. John’s, coached by former RU All-American Dave Masur. The match brought 3,697 fans to Piscataway, and some mixed emotions for Coach Reasso. He was going head-to-head against the very player who took the Reasso-coached Knights to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
The two teams battled back and forth for the first 55 minutes before St. John’s grabbed the momentum. RU goalkeeper Steve Widdowson was tested numerous times from close range and was able to turn away several quality Red Storm shots including a point blank volley from Red Storm forward Huey Ferguson. That save seemed to take away all the momentum St. John's had built.
RU counter-attacked and had two quality chances over the next few minutes before Amani-Dove scored the game's lone goal. The goal was set up by a Longenecker pass which was lofted down the left side of the field. Amani-Dove raced to the pass and met the ball just outside the left corner of the St. John’s penalty area. Red Storm keeper Kris DaCosta left his line and closed on Amani-Dove, but it was a step too late. Amani-Dove chipped the ball over DaCosta and into the open goal for his eighth tally of the season. St. John’s tried furiously to tie the game but couldn’t manage a shot on goal in the waning minutes.
Next up for the Scarlet, in Piscataway, was No. 13 Penn State. It was a chance to avenge a 3-2 overtime loss in State College. Junior midfielder Rocky Strazzella brought the 4,115 fans to their feet with the game-winning goal in the match’s 115th minute. The goal was his first since the second match of the season and he couldn't have picked a better time for it.
Strazzella wasn’t the only hero on a cold November Sunday. Freshman Phil Napolitano came off the bench to score the game-tying goal with just 4:41 left in regulation. With Rutgers down 2-1, Amani-Dove took a shot from 20 yards out that caromed off the crossbar to Napolitano, who was unmarked in the penalty box. Napolitano deposited the ball neatly in the net for his sixth goal of the year. The assist for Amani-Dove, who scored the game's opening goal, was his third point of the match.
Finally, No. 17 Brown was the last team that attempted to derail Rutgers from its trip to the Final Four. The Bears came to Piscataway with some impressive credentials. Brown had just knocked off the No. 1 team in the country, Boston University, on its home field by a score 3-2. The Bears had a reputation for a stingy defense allowing just one first-half goal all season, and that was a corner kick goal by New Hampshire with :14 left in the stanza.
The match drew 7,026 fans, the most to see a match at the new stadium. Junior Rob Johnson ended Brown's first-half streak, with Rutgers' first goal of the match at 21:17, when he redirected a Napolitano pass. The goal was Johnson’s first of the NCAA Tournament and his team-leading 13th of the year.
For the first time all year, Brown saw itself down at the half, but responded with a goal just 5:54 into the second stanza. Neither team held much of the play after that, until Napolitano seized the day. Set up by a Strazzella pass at the top of the penalty box, Napolitano hit a low-liner that stretched the twine. His second goal in as many games, electrified the crowd, which hardly had a moment to catch its breath. Napolitano put it away just 4:26 later. The stadium erupted, and the chant of “Final... Four,” echoed through Busch campus. What had been a disappointing year was now one of the most successful in the program’s history,
The season ended at Davidson on an overcast Friday afternoon at the hands of eventual National Champion Virginia. UVa defeated Rutgers 2-1, on the way to its fourth straight National Championship. But, if there was ever a case to take some moral victories from a loss, this was the one. The semifinal match was described as one of the finest ever played at Davidson and despite the defeat, Rutgers walked off the field with heads held high. Perhaps Damian Silvera, a midfielder for the victorious Cavaliers said it best, "Today, Rutgers was the better team."
