United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - Men's Soccer

The 2007 men’s soccer season was another successful one for the Academy. The Bears finished 9-7-1 and participated in the ECAC Tournament for the fourth time in five years. In the difficult NEWMAC Conference, the Bears finished 2-3-1, with all seven games (including the conference tournament game) determined by one goal. In fact, all seven Coast Guard losses during the season were by one goal.

The Bears got off to a fast to the season with home wins against New England College and Mitchell College. Dave O’Brien scored the game winner off a restart against NEC, and Peter Deneen tallied two of the five goals against Mitchell College. The match against rival USMMA was a thrilling one, but the Bears came out on the losing end in OT, 1-0.

Three wins against Rhode Island College, Mass. Maritime and neighbor Connecticut College pushed the Bears record to 5-1 after six games. Matt Zangle scored his first collegiate goal against Rhode Island College. Zangle picked up a ball in midfield 45 yards from goal, beat a defender and thrashed a 25 yard strike into the top corner. Thomas Cameron scored two of CGA’s six against Mass. Maritime in a 6-0 win. Creative play saw Cameron score the game winner in a 2-0 win against Conn. College in the annual Whale Cup Match.

Tough back-to-back losses against Springfield and Wesleyan tested the Bears confidence, but Dave O’Brien’s header with 20 seconds left in the second OT gave the Bears their first conference win of the year at MIT. Conference powerhouse Wheaton visited the Academy on Oct. 6th Coast Guard competed well and earned a well deserved 1-1 draw.

The next match against Clark was an important one. With a win, the Bears would have moved into a first place tie atop the conference. A large Parent’s Weekend crowd watched the Bears do everything but score. Clark scored a goal against the run of play and escaped with a 1-0 win. CGA bounced back mid-week with a 1-0 against eventual Little East Champion Eastern Connecticut. Martin Villa scored his only goal of the season from the penalty spot. A Friday night trip to WPI saw the Bears give one of their best performances of the season. In the driving rain, Cameron, Deneen and O’Brien scored in a 3-1 victory.

After a convincing 5-1 win at NY Maritime, CGA traveled to Babson in the final conference match of the year. A win and the Bears would have finished in second place, a loss would mean a fifth place finish. Babson edged CGA 2-1 and claimed the second spot. The Bears headed to Springfield for the conference quarters. O’Brien gave CGA the lead after 10 minutes, but Springfield equalized later in the half. The game was settled with two minutes left as Springfield scored the game winner after a scramble in the box. Disappointed with their exit from the NEWMAC Tourney, the Bears were given a boost by receiving an invitation to play in the ECAC tournament.

Seeded fifth out of eight teams, Coast Guard traveled to Worcester State for a night game on frigid evening in November. James Toohey gave the Bears the lead off a corner early in the first half. Coast Guard missed several opportunities to extend their lead and close out the game. Those misses came back to haunt CGA as Worcester State equalized with just over a minute left, and scored the game winner with 50 seconds left in the second overtime.

After the sting of two late game losses to end the season, the Bears were able to reflect back on a great season. The Bears placed four players on the NEWMAC All Conference team; O’Brien and Villa were selected first team, while Deneen and Toohey were selected to the second team. Villa participated in the NEISL Senior All Star Game. Deneen led CGA in scoring with nine goals and four assists for 22 points, while his classmate Thomas Cameron tallied seven goals with five assists for 19 points. Freshman Chris Tarbell posted a 0.62 goals against while filling in for the injured Tim Olah in goal for half the season.

The Bears return eight starters in 2008 and will look to make a run at a top four finish in the NEWMAC Conference.