Mulling over a 15-4-1 season in which his Eagles won a second straight Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) championship and a third Virginia Intercollegiate Soccer Association (VISA)title in five years, Mary Washington College head coach Roy Gordon can both smile and wonder. While the aforemen tioned achievements were crowning jewels in the ninth year of a 126-38-15 run, Gordon believes that his program is just a breath away from the national spectrum after finishing sixth in the highly competitive NCAA Division III South Region.
While the Eagles didn't earn a sixth NCAA bid in eight years, they did knock off NCAA Tournament entrants Rowan College (1-0 in the season opener) and Virginia Wesleyan (2-0 in the VISA semifinals) on the road, while also notching two one-goal verdicts over regional rival Randolph-Macon, one a 2-1 overtime victory in the VISA championship game.
Gordon prides in his teams' strong finishes, and the Eagles responded by winning 10 of their last 11 with seven shutouts, including a 1-0 win over St Mary's in the CAC title game. In that span, MWC outs cored foes 39-5. Senior co-captain Tony Trepal (Springfield, VA) concluded his career with 52 goals and 123 points to rank second among Eagle career scorers, behind Bill Lohr (1981, '83-85), who had 58 goals and 134 points.
As a senior, Trepal followed up a record-tying 20-goal junior season with 17 more tallies, and added six assists for 40 points. For the second straight year, the fleet striker was named the CAC Player ofthe Year; he was also tabbed 1992 VISA Player of the Year. Sophomore midfielder Tommy Walthall (Dale City, VA) paced MWC in assists (14) for the second straight season, while adding six goals for 26 points. After two seasons, the two-time All-Region performer has 36 assists, just 10 behind career leader Shane Shackford, a three-time All-American from 1987-89.
In the VISA final against Randolph-Macon, David Holt (So.Newport News, VA) scored the game-winner, his 11th of the season. Holt - who tied Walthall for second in scoring with 26 points - will team with sophomore Jason Lawrence (Danville, VA; four goals, two assists) to lead a solid foundation for next year's frontrunners. While Walthall was the most dynamic of the midfielders, the remainder of Gordon's corps also played well throughout the '92 campaign.
Senior Dodd Terry (Middletown, NJ) - who started all 81 games in his four-year career - scored two goals and two assists in '92 while Ted Keirn (lr./Medford Lakes, NJ) had seven assists and one goal and Sean Forde (So./ Burke, VA) two goals and three assists. Andy McDonald (So./Roanoke, VA) was also dangerous, scoring four goals with three assists.
A stingy defense which shut out 12 opponents and held foes to 0.58 goals per game loses two starters in second-team All-CAC co-captain Terry Murphy (Vienna, VA; three goals, four assists) and VISA All-Star Jakob Kramer (Saddle River, NJ), but welcomes back second-team All-CACkeeper Ryan Wilvert Gr./Springfield, VA) and first-team All-CAC selectionsjohn Lee Gr./Falls Church, VA)and sweeper Jeff Kramer (Fr./Springfield, VA). Casimir Yasutis (Fr./ Alexandria, VA) and Rich Linkonis (So./Richmond, VA) provide depth and skill from the back line.