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The NCAA News -- December 21, 1998

Early goal gives Owls fifth championship

The Owls of Southern Connecticut State earned their fifth championship with a 1-0 victory over previously unbeaten and host South Carolina-Spartanburg in the Division II Men's Soccer Championship December 5.

Southern Connecticut State's Assaf Dagai scored the lone goal of the game off a cross from Paul Oyuga. It took Dagai only one touch to loft the ball into the left corner of the goal past Rifles goalkeeper Jeff Negalha.

Owls goalkeeper Billy Gatti tallied two saves to gain the shutout.

Dagai was pleased to have converted a score early in the game. "I think in the beginning of the game we played like we should have played the whole game," he said. "I think after we scored the goal, we kind of fell back and were afraid of letting them score a goal. We kind of fell back, and they pushed on us, and we couldn't play our game."

The Owls had previously won championships in 1987, 1990, 1992 and 1995.

The 1998 result was a déja vu for some members of the two teams who remember the match-up between the Owls and the Rifles in the 1995 final game. "In 1995 when they beat us, I told our guys afterward, 'They whipped us' and there was no question who won that game," said Greg Hooks, head coach of South Carolina-Spartanburg. "In this game, they put their chance in, but I thought both teams played very well today."

Southern Connecticut State head coach Tom Lang also recognized the struggle of the teams vying for the title. "South Carolina-Spartanburg was very, very good in today's final," he said. "We were back on our heels for a great deal of the game, but we showed tremendous resiliency and (remained) very focused and did what we had to do defensively to get through the game. That was a game that could have very easily gone the other way."

The Owls advanced to the final game by taking out Seattle Pacific, 3-0, in the semifinals. Gilbert Jean-Baptiste scored the first goal for Southern Connecticut State at the 19:34 mark, followed by goals from Dan Valency and Alex Rincon.

The Rifles, who hosted the championship, won their semifinal game against Mercyhurst, 2-0. Aaron Ziehm came off the bench to score at the 27:48 mark. He headed a pass from Henrik Ronnevig into the right corner of the goal. Five minutes later, Ronnevig contributed a goal of his own. Chad Todd made his collegiate debut in goal for South Carolina-Spartanburg by earning 10 saves to post the shutout.

Southern Connecticut State ended the season with a 20-2-1 record while South Carolina-Spartanburg finished at 23-1.

SEMIFINALS

Seattle Pacific -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Southern Conn. St. -- 1 -- 2 -- 3

First half: SCS -- Gilbert Jean-Baptiste (unassisted), 19:34.

Second half: SCS -- Dan Valency (Renwick Hutson, Paul Oyuga), 45:36; SCS -- Alex Rincon (Hutson), 71:50.

Shots: Seattle Pacific 7, Southern Conn. St. 19. Goalkeeper saves: Seattle Pacific (Johann Noeteel) 9, Southern Conn. St. (Billy Gatti) 2. Corner kicks: Seattle Pacific 3, Southern Conn. St. 3. Fouls: Seattle Pacific 9, Southern Conn. St. 6. Attendance: 725.

Mercyhurst -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

S.C.-Spartanburg -- 2 -- 0 -- 2

First half: SCS -- Aaron Ziehm (Henrik Ronnevig), 27:48; SCS -- Ronnevig (unassisted), 33:18.

Shots: Mercyhurst 15, S.C.-Spartanburg 16. Goalkeeper saves: Mercyhurst (Devian Tuitt), 5; S.C.-Spartanburg (Chad Todd), 10. Corner kicks: Mercyhurst 6, S.C.-Spartanburg 1. Fouls: Mercyhurst 15, S.C.-Spartanburg 20. Attendance: 2,093.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Southern Conn. St. -- 1 -- 0 -- 1

S.C.-Spartanburg -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

First half: So. Conn. St. -- Assaf Dagai (Paul Oyuga), 7:58.

Shots: Southern Conn. St. 10, S.C.-Spartanburg 7. Goalkeeper saves: Southern Conn. St. (Billy Gatti) 3, S.C.-Spartanburg (Jeff Negalha) 2. Corner kicks: Southern Conn. St. 2, S.C.-Spartanburg 8. Fouls: Southern Conn. St. 16, S.C.-Spartanburg 16. Attendance: 2,833.