NMT Miners NIRSA Soccer Debut in Tucson

by coach Paul Fuierer

This past weekend the NMT Miner Men kicked off their Fall 2003 season at the University of Arizona collegiate club soccer tournament. Not only was this their first play of the season, but it was also their initiation into the NIRSA (National Intramural Recreation and Sports Association) collegiate club soccer league. A last minute cancellation by Northern Arizona University the previous weekend (Sept. 7) delayed the Miners debut in the NIRSA region 6 southwest conference. Tournament play is a tough way to start, and the Miners new it as they took to the soccer field under the blazing Tucson sun.

Their first game was against a very skillful Mexican club team called Menlo. This was not a NIRSA “conference” game, so the Miners took the opportunity to experiment with lineups and a new 4-3-3 configuration on the field. The experiment failed, as the Miners fell mercilessly to the Menlo Mexicans with a final score of 6-0. Adding injury to insult, freshman Mathew Reichbach suffered a dislocated shoulder when he was pushed from behind and slammed to the ground. The cry of the whistle was little comfort and was drowned out by the moans of young Mathew as he clutched his limp arm. No card was handed out despite the deliberate and injurious foul, and the Miners knew that this was not going to be a good day.

A few hours later, the Miners returned to the arid turf to take on New Mexico State University. The temperature had escalated to 107 degrees. Despite the heat and earlier defeat, the Miners came ready to play, settling back into a more familiar 4-4-2 configuration, but with young freshmen Stewart Robertson at the helm, playing sweeper. Even Reichbach with his aching shoulder was determined to play hard. And that he did for the first 20 minutes, responsible for the Miner dominance in the midfield play. But Reichbach’s throbbing shoulder was too much to bear halfway through the half and he was out for the remainder of the tournament. Shortly after that, an NMSU forward was given too much room at the 20 yd mark, and ripped a shot past goalie Don Bleeker. As the Miners were looking forward to a rest and the chance to regroup, NMSU dropped another into the net 10 seconds before the halftime whistle.

Throughout the game, the Miners made strong attempts on goal, but they couldn’t buy a break. On one attack, striker Tyson Gobble fired a shot off the post, retrieved the deflection and managed to hit the same post again. When the final whistle blew, NMSU had out-shot NMT 12 to 7, and more importantly landed five of them for a final score of 5-0.

The final game for the Miners was at 8 am Sunday morning against a very strong Arizona State team. Although the early morning weather was perfect, the Miners were far from it. Fatigue and soreness rendered the worst performance thus far during the first half of the game. The ASU Sundevils were clearly superior, stifling any offensive attempt whatsoever by the Miners, who could not string together more than 3 consecutive passes anywhere on the field. The Sundevils organized attack after attack, literally punishing the Miner goalkeeper, Don Bleeker. The mood at halftime could not have been worse on the Miner side, down 4 goals to none.

But the Miners analyzed the situation, and agreed to correct some problems…. namely providing proper support when in possession of the ball. They came out during the 2nd half determined to show their opponents that they knew how to play the game. After the Miners successfully delayed and then ceased the first ASU attack, the Miners marched back up the field using a string of 10 consecutive passes, culminating in a hard shot by (freshman) stopper Galen Hartenberger from the 18 yard line. It did not score, but still the Sundevils were a bit dazed and confused by this seemingly “reborn” team. The Miners continued their improved play, even dominating the possession game over a majority of the half. The Miners pressured hard, forcing Sundevil mistakes unseen in the first half. Then it happened….the Miners’ first goal of the tournament. Striker Tyson Gobble pressured a defender, stole the ball, beat another defender and punched it into the goal. The Sundevils were mesmerized. The Techies were energized, and continued to play hard for the rest of the game despite soreness and fatigue. Bleeker and the rest of the Miner defense denied ASU of any goal in the second half. Bleeker put on a stellar performance in this last game of the tournament, racking up an amazing 16 saves. The Miners were elated that they “won a half”. It was a good way to finish the tournament.

The Menlo Club Team ended up winning the tournament, beating the host University of Arizona in the championship game with a score of 2-1.

Look for the Miners in their first home game, Saturday, Sept. 20 , 4 pm on the NMT athletic field as they try to take revenge on the NMSU Aggies.