Tech Miners Take Home the Gold

Front Row (left to right): Alejandro Gauna, Maurizeo Leo, Hanh Ngyen, Mike Okoro, Javier Lopez, Levi Chavez, Rafael Donorumma, Tim Kinsworthy

Back Row (left to right): Paul Dailey, Joe Young, Derek Lamppa, Gordon Rueff, Charlie Snider, Nate Vanderlinder, Don Bleeker, Josh Lynch, Mike Petty, (coach) Paul Fuierer

by coach Paul Fuierer

The Miners, New Mexico Tech's men's soccer team, finished on top at the 2002 Underwood Memorial Classic Tournament, Feb. 16th and 17th. The tournament, sponsored by the New Mexico State Soccer Association, was previously held in Socorro, but this year was held at the Mayfield High Soccer Complex in Las Cruces to attract teams from the southern part of the state, like the "International Superstars" of Las Cruces, and the "Nighthawks" from Holloman Air Force Base. Also participating were Division 1 teams from the Albuquerque Soccer League (ASL).

On Saturday, the Miners got off to a good start with a 5-0 win over "Soles" from Albuquerque. The Soles were missing a couple of key players at the 8:30 a.m. game, and the Miners capitalized.

At 11:30 a.m., the Miners looked like they would be victorious again, as Maurizeo Leo scored the first goal against "Roswell." The Miners were confident at halftime, as they clearly were winning the possession game. But they were caught off guard, minutes into the second half, with a long throw-in from a Roswell defender, a bad bounce, and an unintentional handball in the penalty area by a rookie defender. The score was tied at 1-1 after the penalty kick. Minutes later, a freak kick from near midfield caught goal tender Hanh Nguyen off guard, the ball sailed over his head, and the Miners found themselves down 2-1. The bewildered Miners were further frustrated as a repeat of the first handball penalty occurred, and the Miners left the field with tails between legs, losing 3-1.

In the final game of the day, the distraught Techies at first looked to be outmatched by the "Superstars", who took a 2-0 lead in the first 15 minutes. But newcomer Alejandro Gauna ignited the team with a goal, assisted by Leo. At the start of the second half, the Miners seemed to have the momentum, and took control of the game with repeated attempts on goal. Paul Dailey was taken down as he dribbled toward the goal, and Rafael Donarumma finished the penalty kick to tie the game. But a few minutes later, the table turned again, as Donarumma received a second yellow card for an illegal tackle, and was ejected from the game. Now down a man, the Miners' defense, including Javier Lopez, Mike Petty, Joe Young, Levi Chavez and Gordon Rueff, had to withstand an onslaught from the Superstars. Acrobatic saves by keeper Nguyen, including a penalty kick, kept the Miners alive, and finally the game ended in a tie. The tie was all the Miners needed to finish 2nd in their pool, and move on to the semifinals.

On Sunday morning, the Holloman Nighthawks arrived an hour late for the semifinal game. The referees were already gone, and the Miners took the forfeit and moved on to the championship game, where they met the "Catamount" team from Los Alamos/Santa Fe. The Miners, appreciative of their good fortune, rose to the occasion and put on a stellar performance. Their first goal came off of a perfect cross from striker Mike Okoro, first hit by Don Bleeker, and the rebound finished by Leo. The second goal came from an Okoro-Gauna-Leo combination. The third and final goal was scored by Gauna, as he broke through two defenders, and beat the goal tender. The final score could have been greater than 3-0, as several magnificent shots by Nate Vanderlinder, Leo and Gauna just missed the mark.

According to coach Fuierer, the weekend was a lesson in "accepting opportunities, and making the most of them". The team is very excited about taking first place, especially considering their elevated competition compared to previous years. The Underwood Tournament win falls in line with the team's third place finish in 2000, and second place in 2001.

The Miners start their regular spring season at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 3 at Milne Rield in Albuquerque. They are currently tied for 1st place in Division 2 of the ASL with a record of 8 -1. For schedule and stats, see the NMT Miners soccer club web-page at http://infohost.nmt.edu/~soccer.