EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The best season in the history of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's soccer program came to an end with a 2-1 defeat to Amherst College in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at Simpson Field. The Blugolds, playing in the national quarterfinals for the first time ever, fell behind 2-0 to last year's national runner-up and couldn't fully recover.
The seventh-ranked Blugolds finished one win shy of their first trip to the Final Four. In just their fourth season as a program they went 17-2-4, collecting Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) regular season and tournament championships before winning three NCAA Tournament games for the first time in team history.
"Just coming from where it all started to see where we are now, it's truly remarkable," senior
Jacob Sampson (Sr. – McFarland, Wis.) said. "I'll never forget my tour with (head coach)
Casey Holm. Touring this campus for the first time and (hearing) what his ambitions were — always to get to here and obviously a few steps farther, but we didn't get there unfortunately. But with the program he's created and everything that's now in the classes that are left, I think there's no shot that they won't have chances to go farther."
Amherst (14-2-4) punched its ticket to the Final Four in Las Vegas by scoring twice and holding on from there. The Mammoths got on the board first in the 36th minute, turning in a volley from the right side of the box after a corner kick.
They doubled their lead from the penalty spot in the 65th minute, converting a golden opportunity into a 2-0 advantage.
UW-Eau Claire responded only a few minutes later. A long ball into the box from
Alvaro Alanis (Fr. – Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy) was flicked on by the head of
Will Heinen (Sr. – Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park).
Porter Ball (Sr. – Minneapolis, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) turned in a right-footed volley, beating a lunging keeper to make it 2-1 in the 68th minute.
The Blugolds pushed to find an equalizer across the final 20-plus minutes, but were unable to put another shot on target.
"Any time you go down, you have to find a way to score," Holm said. "Pressing, keeping the ball in their half creates the best chance of having the ball closest to the goal and creating opportunities. We did a really good job switching the field and creating opportunities. We left a number of chances on the doorstep that I don't know how they didn't go in. Kudos to their goalkeeper, he made a couple massive saves that he needed to make to be in the NCAA Tournament, to be in the Final Four."
UW-Eau Claire graduates a large senior class that helped establish the program as an annual threat on the national level. They helped the Blugolds play in the NCAA Tournament three times and reached a pair of Sweet 16s.
"At this point, I think the biggest thing is our 13 seniors and what will be left behind after they graduate…is something special," Holm said. "The legacy they leave, the underclassmen which they've taught, the culture they've brought up is exciting for the future. But in this moment, it's a lot to take in."
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