The University of Mary Washington men’s soccer program added to a long tradition of success in 2008, capturing its 22nd winning season in the last 25 years, finishing second in the Capital Athletic Conference standings, and gaining acclaim in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America national coaches’ poll during the season.
Despite losing 2007 team scoring leader Ryan Taibl with a broken leg prior to the season, the Eagles finished the year with nine wins, and saw two players named to the All-Capital Athletic Conference team. The Eagles jumped into the national rankings after a successful opening weekend, in which the Eagles defeated traditional powers Elizabethtown College and Gettysburg College.
UMW topped Elizabethtown, 1-0, in overtime, before blanking the Bullets, 1-0, in regulation. After falling to ninth-ranked Emory University, the Eagles dropped a non-conference match at Randolph-Macon before tying Roanoke College on the road, 1-1. The Eagles then won a season-high five straight matches, beginning with a 3-1 CAC victory at St. Mary’s College, in which sophomore T.L. Tutor netted two goals and an assist.
The Eagles then topped Christopher Newport University in a key intrastate battle, 2-1, before improving to 2-0 in league play with a win over Hood College. UMW then blanked regional power North Carolina Wesleyan College, 1-0, and CAC foe Stevenson University, 4-1, at the Battleground. Mary Washington then tied Wesley College, 1-1, on the road but lost at McDaniel College in nonconference play causing them to drop out of the national rankings.
A loss at second ranked York College preceded a scoreless tie against Salisbury University at Homecoming, and UMW clinched the second seed in the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament with a 3-1 win over Marymount University in the regular season finale. The Eagles fell at home to Salisbury in the CAC semifinals after a first round bye.
Head Coach Roy Gordon, in his 32nd season at the helm, saw sophomore T.L. Tutor and senior defender David Rodriguez named to the AllCAC and VaSID allstate college division teams. Tutor led the team with 17 points (seven goals, three assists), followed by senior forward Darien Ruggles (three goals, one assist) and sophomore Tony Rodriguez (three goals). In all, the Eagles saw 14 players score goals, and 16 net a point in a season in which UMW posted 28 goals.
Defensively, the Eagles allowed 20 goals, with junior goalkeeper Emmett Rutkowski recording five shutouts. Rodriguez, along with senior defender Stefan Melone, will be key pieces that will need to be replaced in 2009, along with midfielders Tommy DiNuzzo and Teddy Barry, who will also be lost to graduation.