The AU men's soccer team failed to earn a spot in the PL postseason for the first time since 2003 on Saturday, losing to Army 3-2 in the regular season finale. The loss ends the Eagles' season at 2-3-2 in the league and 6-10-3 overall, finishing with its fewest win total since the 1991 season.
Following a stunning 1-0 loss to Navy at Reeves Field on Wednesday, the Eagles found themselves needing a victory over Army or a Bucknell loss to Navy over the weekend to assure themselves a spot in the four-team tournament.
Army gained momentum early, out shooting the Eagles 7-1 in the opening period. However, neither team was able to capitalize on their offensive opportunities and the game remained scoreless heading into halftime.
Opening the second half, Army was able to continue their early momentum and took the first lead of the game in the 54th minute on a free kick goal by John Borland. Five minutes later, the Black Knights would score again on a Chris Conklin goal off of a feed by teammate Chase Hunter to give Army a 2-0 advantage.
Down by two goals, the Eagles would not give up easily. Senior Sal Caccavale buried home a penalty kick in the 65th minute to cut Army's lead down to one.
However, Army's Conkin would score the eventual game-winning goal in the 84th minute to increase the lead back up to two.
The Eagles were able to score one more time when Caccavale would later add his second goal of the game and seventh of the season two minutes later to make it a 3-2 game. Unfortunately, this would be all the offense the Eagles would get to end the game.
"We are just very dejected, absolutely devastated overall. We fought hard to win but just didn't get it done," Caccavale said.
With the loss, the Eagles saw the careers of their six seniors come to an end.
Caccavale and his classmates Nathan Baker, Lucas Dowiak, Garth Juckem, Larry Mark and Nigel White were able to qualify for the 2004 NCAA tournament, as well as capture the 2005 PL regular-season title in their four seasons at AU. Caccavale also finished his collegiate career on the top-10 scoring list in AU history.
"As a senior, I am going to miss the college atmosphere because it's fun to play a college sport. I am really going to miss every guy on the team," Caccavale said.
