With only one loss in its last 12 matches, advancing past the first round and deep into the NCAA tournament is a realistic goal for the AU Men's Soccer team (14-5-2).
Now, knowing it will return to Reeves Field for its first-round encounter, a 1 p.m. Saturday tilt with Long Island (9-6-4), the reality of a second-round clash with No. 4 seed Virginia on Tuesday is within reach.
But hold on a minute.
When the Eagles eye the Blackbirds, they should be eying a bit of themselves, especially since AU players and coaches still don't know too much about their upcoming foes.
"We're working on it," said AU head coach Todd West after Wednesday's training session. "We know they're international. They've got a kid from Poland, one from Sweden, one from Israel, and our coaches think a couple of their other players are British."
A look at LIU's schedule shows that its record is a bit deceiving - two of its losses were to Virginia and No. 3 seeded Maryland in its first two matches of the year. More recently, the Blackbirds have won seven of their last nine. And one of those losses was to Patriot League runner-up Lehigh, which AU twice defeated in harrowing 1-0 affairs, the most recent in Sunday's Patriot League championship.
The Blackbirds qualified for the tournament by winning the Northeast Conference tournament as the third seed, defeating tournament host and top seed Fairleigh Dickinson, 1-0, on Sunday.
"I told our guys it's probably going to be similar to playing Lehigh or Lafayette, and we all know how hard those games were," West said. "Fairleigh Dickinson is there every year, and they beat FDU, so they must have something going for them."
In short, the Blackbirds will likely travel down Interstate 95 this weekend possessing as much confidence as the Eagles, despite what appears to be a less impressive r?sum?. However, if anything can ready a team for playing deceivingly competitive components, it is a successful season in the always competitive if not always pretty PL.
"It gives you a lot of confidence that you're going to treat every game with respect," said senior midfielder Shawn Kuykendall. "If you can get geared up for Army and Navy, you sure as heck can get geared up for LIU in the NCAA tournament, and UVA if we're fortunate enough to get there."
And if anything can give the Eagles confidence to get the job done, it is playing at Reeves, where the Eagles are 9-1.
"It's just another dream come true," Kuykendall said.
The Eagles last made the 48-team field in 2002, when they advanced to the second round before losing to eventual national semifinalist Maryland, 1-0. AU hosted its first-round match that year, beating George Washington, 1-0, on a penalty kick from Kuykendall, who is this year's team scoring leader with six goals and eight assists.
Senior forward Sean Albright played in that match as well and made an impressive showing, though he was a defender. Senior defender Charlie Koniver played alongside Albright in an equally impressive showing.
For the rest of the team, playing in the tournament will be a new experience, though some have watched as reserves in the past three years. Kuykendall said he hopes he can instill in those less experienced players the right mindset to be successful.
"What you've really got to focus on is not getting away from what you've done all season," Kuykendall said. "You can't think the moment is too big, and you've got to believe that you're meant to be there."
With GW winning the Atlantic 10 tournament Sunday, West said he was surprised that AU and GW weren't matched up as they were in 2002, given the committee's preference to lessen travel distances for early-round games.
Then again, with the team's impressive late form, and earlier results against tournament opposition, including a draw against No. 12 seed Old Dominion, West said he thought his team might be deserving of one of 16 seeds in the tournament and a first-round bye.
"I said it before the selection show (Monday). 'I think we should be seeded, but I don't think we will be seeded,'" he said.
Still, the Eagles are delighted to return for one more game at Reeves Field, and they look at playing in the first round as a mixed blessing, knowing that should they advance to play the Cavaliers, they'll have the momentum of a tournament win behind them.
