Never before have there been so much more riding on a pair of shoes. This week will feature the 103rd meeting in the nation's fifth oldest NCAA Division III rivalry. (Union leads Rensselaer, 77-21-4). Never before has a league title and an automatic NCAA playoff bid been on the line for both teams in this game. Union enters the contest at 9-0 and 6-0 in the Liberty League, and the Dutchmen are ranked in all three polls (17 in the Football Gazette, 20 in the AFCA coaches' poll, and 24 in the D3football.com poll). Rensselaer stands 7-1 and 5-1 in the league. Should the Engineers win, they would take the title on a tie-breaker even if Hobart (5-1 in the league) wins at Rochester this week.
Surely the founding fathers/coaches/athletic directors back in 1886 couldn't have envisioned so much on the line for this historic rivalry.
“This game is magnified by the other things that are going on with the playoffs and the league championship,” said head coach John Audino. “There should be much fan interest and hopefully our team will perform as it has throughout the year. We will need to play harder and with more intensity than last week.
“RPI has an excellent football team and is well coached. They are very good in all phases of the game.”
The game features two of the top seven running backs in Division III. Union's Tom Arcidiacono (Castleton, NY/Columbia) is fourth nationally with an average of 156.8 yards per game, while Rensselaer's Joe Bernardo is #7 nationally with an average of 145.9 per contest. Both teams are averaging over 26 points per game, and giving up under 15 points per outing. Last year, Ryan Twitchell (Fayetteville, NY/Manlius) caught a 15-yard pass from Anthony Marotti (River Edge, NJ/River Dell) with 1:27 left in the fourth to lift the Dutchmen to an 18-13 triumph. .
Time Warner Cable Channel 3 will televise this matchup (will also provide streaming video at www.twalbany.com), and D3football.com's Pat Coleman is coming to post information on his site, making this one of the country's top games of the week. So, to the victor go the spoils. Only this week, The Shoes will have company, with even more goodies coming to either Schenectady or Troy.
Two Union teams begin competition in the NCAA playoffs this week, and one has the honor of hosting the First and Second Rounds. The women's soccer team took home the Liberty League Championship with a 2-0 win at #5 William Smith Saturday, and was rewarded by hosting the NCAA First and Second Round playoff games. Union will host Ithaca, Rochester and William Smith this weekend at College Park Field. Union will take a 17-1-2 record against Ithaca (12-2-4), the Empire 8 Champions, at 11 a.m. on Saturday. William Smith, 15-1-1, will play the University of Rochester (15-1-2), the UAA Champions, Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
The winners of the first round games will play Sunday at College Park Field at 1 p.m. Sunday's winner will advance into the Sectionals against either Castleton State, Springfield or Oneonta State.
“We are very excited to be back in the NCAA's, and on top of that, to have the opportunity to host,” commented Union head coach Brian Speck. “We had only six home games this year, so we spent a lot of time in hotels.”
Union had two players honored by the Liberty League for their performances in the tourney. Sophomore midfielder Caitlin Cuozzo (Norfolk, MA/King Phillip Regional) scored three goals on six shots in the two games in the tourney and was the Liberty League Offensive Performer of the Week. She scored her 13th goal of the year to add some insurance in the 3-0 win over Skidmore. In the championship game, she scored both goals in the 2-0 victory over host William Smith. Defender LinseyCapecelatro (Orange, CT/Loomis Chaffee) led a Union defense that pitched two shutouts and helped lead the team to the title. In game one Capecelatro and her backfield teammates held Skidmore to just four shots on goal, all in the second period, in the team's 3-0 win. In the finals, Union's defense held the league's second-ranked offense to just two shots on goal by William Smith. In was the first time all season William Smith has been shutout in a game, snapping a 16-game scoring streak. Union held the opposition to just one shot in the second half.
Union is one of four schools that has both their men's and women's soccer teams competing in the NCAA Division III playoffs. Union is joined by the College of New Jersey, Rochester, Wheaton and Worcester State.
“This is our seniors' last shot, so I am sure that we will be prepared. This weekend will have four excellent teams on campus, it should be a lot of fun.”
Another team ready for some fun is the men's soccer team, which returns to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991. Coach Jeff Guinn's squad lost to St. Lawrence in the Liberty League championship game on campus Saturday, but the Dutchmen were selected with their impressive 16-3-1 mark. The Dutchmen will join three other teams this weekend at Western Conn. State in Danbury. Union will face Johnson & Wales (15-5-1), the Great Northeast Athletic Conference champion, on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Westside Athletic Complex, while host Western Connecticut (13-4-3), the Little East Champions, will play Western New England (19-2-0) in the other first round game Saturday at 12 p.m. The winners will meet Sunday at 1 p.m.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to compete in the NCAA tournament,” said Guinn, who was named the Liberty League Coach of the Year. “We know everyone in the field is a hard working successful team and hope to play well this weekend and advance. Our team has had a very good year, but we feel that we have the ability to accomplish more.”
Casey Ftorek (Bedford, MA/Taft School) has 40 points and 15 goals, while Chris Poey (Amherst, MA/Amherst Regional) has 16 goals and 39 points. Rob Kramer (Westport, CT/Staples) has a 0.86 goals against mark and 12 wins in the nets.
Another coach of the year honor was awarded to Union, as field hockey head coach Lacey French won the Liberty League honor for that sport. The Dutchwomen finished the season with 10 victories, the most in 12 years, and reached the Liberty League semifinals. Senior forward Kristin Murphy (Branford, CT/Branford) finished with team highs of 17 goals and 37 points, and also had 110 shots with six game-winning goals. Jessica Trotter (St. Louis, MO/John Burroughs) had 15 goals and 34 points. Freshman goalkeeper Elise Wakeland (Kennebunkport, ME/Kennebunk) had a super rookie season, with 10 wins and a 2.94 goals against average.
As the field hockey season comes to a close, congratulations go to three players who joined their coach with post-season awards. Murphy and Trotter were named to the Liberty League all-league second team, while junior Emily French (North Andover, MA/Brooks School) led a solid defensive effort all season and was named to the Liberty League First Team in the backfield.
The volleyball season wrapped up at the Liberty League championships over the weekend at St. Lawrence. Union had nine wins on the season, and was paced by senior setter Suzy Barbaritz (Clarence, NY/Clarence) averaged nearly eight assists per game and had 32 service aces, and fellow senior Charelle Carter (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) led the Dutchwomen with 326 kills for the year. Danna De Blasio (Schenectady, NY/ND-BG) had 547 digs for the season.
Union's men's and women's cross country teams compete at the NCAA Regionals at Rochester this weekend, while the men's and women's swimming teams will host Rochester Saturday.