Off to their best start since the 2002 season, the AU Eagles men's soccer team captured their fourth D.C. College Cup title in the six-year history of the tournament this past weekend. Victories over Howard University on Friday, followed by one over rival Georgetown University on Sunday, gave the Eagles their first piece of silverware on the season.
As host school of the tournament, AU opened up the action against Howard Friday afternoon in the first game of play. After playing to a scoreless tie in the first half, the Eagles opened the scoring with a corner kick goal by senior Sal Caccavale only four minutes into the second period of play.
Seven minutes later, fellow senior Larry Mark added a tally of his own from about twenty yards away to give the Eagles a 2-0 victory and a birth in the championship game against Georgetown.
In the final, AU took a 1-0 advantage in the first half with a header goal by sophomore Justin Turco off of a cross by senior Garth Juckem, his second assist in two games.
However, Georgetown responded by opening the second half with a goal of their own, a strike by Daniel Grasso on a feed by Tim Convey.
Ultimately, it would be the Eagles' day as Caccavale scored his second goal of the young season with two minutes remaining in the game, proving to be the game winner in the Eagles eventual 2-1 victory.
With his two goals, Caccavale would be named tournament MVP, while teammates Juckem, Mark, senior Nigel White, and junior goaltender Chris Sedlak were named to the tournament team.
On top of their accomplishments in the tournament, Caccavale, White and Sedlak were also named PL Offensive, Defensive and Goaltender Players of the Week.
Coach Todd West was very pleased with the championship and sees it as a building block for the rest of the season.
"Hopefully history repeats itself again this year," he said. "Every time we win the cup, we eventually make it to the NCAA tournament. My goal now is to continue to play strong in the upcoming Duke University and University of New Mexico tournaments."
The 2-0 Eagles look to build off of their early season momentum as they head south to Durham, NC and the Duke/Adidas Classic this weekend. The Eagles will face nationally ranked Duke in the first game on Friday, followed by a match against NC State on Sunday.
