By Chris O’Grady
Men’s soccer coach Ken Lolla likened the environment at Cardinal Park for the team’s NCAA tournament second round victory over the College of Charleston to experiences at the last game at Freedom Hall against Syracuse last March, and the football game against West Virginia in 2006.
“There’s a will that comes with a crowd like that, they actually influence the game,” said Lolla. “For our players the crowd had so much to do with winning the game.”
The announced crowd was 5, 197, a record in the state of Kentucky for a non-exhibition soccer game. Fans were wrapped all the way around the track and many even took advantage of the grassy knoll beyond the fence outside the stadium in addition to the ticketed crowd.
“The crowd kept us going, even when things weren’t going our way,” said forward Colin Rolfe. “We were so fortunate to have such a great crowd tonight. The atmosphere was breathtaking.”
Rolfe’s goal at 83:02 put the Cards up 2-1 after a rough first half for the Cards. He beat the Cougars defense and pushed a shot past keeper Kees Heemskerk for the go ahead goal. Charlie Campbell’s goal through Heemskerk’s legs with less than two minutes remaining capped off the win.
The Cougars (14-5-3) fired off 19 shots – 9 on goal – on the Cardinal defense and goalkeeper Andre Boudreaux, who made seven saves on the night. Cougars forward Sean De Silva registered 10 shots on his own. But the strong offensive attack left Charleston open in transition, something Rolfe was able to take advantage of on his go-ahead goal.
“We tried a number of times to catch them in transition and that was just good timing like we’ve seen from Colin all year,” said Lolla. “It was a wonderful play.”
College of Charleston head coach Ralph Lundy said the Cards team definitely has all the pieces in place for a good run deep into the tournament.
“They are so good, so solid,” said Lundy. “They have so many weapons and Ken has them all on the same page. I’m proud of my team, I’m proud of how they played. That was a tremendous night; the atmosphere was how it ought to be in college soccer. Not a fan left their seats disappointed tonight. I have all the respect in the world for the Cardinals.”
The Cards will move on to play Ohio State University in the third round on Nov. 28 at Cardinal Park. The Cards and Buckeyes tied when they matched up in the regular season on Sept. 22. But Lolla said both teams are at different points in their seasons this time around.
“They’re a strong, physical team, but they’ll be a lot different this time,” said Lolla. “We played them at a time when we weren’t clicking on all phases, we’ve changed a lot.”
The strong crowd and difficult matchup against a team he calls “scrappy,” leads Lolla to believe the first game in the tournament was a huge positive in the team’s quest for a championship.
“I told the guys, we so much needed a game like that,” said Lolla. “They are a hard-working dangerous team. And this showed us that we’re ready to go down this road. I’m very proud of where we’re at right now.”
