TCNJ gets Russo win No. 500 to lock up NCAA bid
It was a nice week to remember for area women’s college soccer teams. Two schools won outright league titles, one coach won his 500th game while his team became ranked No. 1 in the nation; and a third team earned an NCAA bid after being ousted in the first game of its conference tournament.
Here’s how it all played out.
DOUBLE CELEBRATION
Friday night, The College of New Jersey took a 1-0 win over Montclair in the New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament championship game, which also gave coach Joe Russo his 500th victory.
“It was a special night, it really was,” Russo said. “It’s about the kids, it’s a unique group, a very talented group. They’re committed to the cause and they have been from start to finish so they’ve been enjoyable to be around.”
They also wanted to get their coach his milestone win, which had Russo a little nervous.
“I can’t lie, I thought it was a distraction,” he said. “I didn’t want it to be about them trying to get 500 wins for me or for the program. But I thought they handled it well. It’s not something that was talked about or discussed. They were really lasered in on accomplishing that goal (of winning the NJAC). They’d been there the last three years without being successful. It was something that they really, really wanted.”
With the win, the Lions moved up to No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches national rankings and will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III Tournament this weekend.
TCNJ (18-0) meets Commonwealth Coast Conference champion Roger Williams (14-7-2) Saturday at 11 a.m., with Tufts and Virginia Wesleyan playing in the second game. The winners battle at 1 p.m. Saturday for a berth in the Sweet 16.
“I think they’re ready,” Russo said. “We don’t look at it as making a big run in the tournament. We approach the tournament as two-game season. We’re gonna approach this weekend the same way. We need to win two games. If you don’t take care of that, nothing else matters. So we try to break it down into small, digestible pieces for everybody. We want to play our best on Saturday and Sunday of this upcoming week.”
Prior to looking ahead to the tournament, Russo was asked to reflect upon his incredible career. He is only the fourth women’s coach (second in D-III) to win 500 games. TCNJ has qualified for the NCAAs all 28 years he has run the program, and has claimed three national titles.
Asked what makes him proudest, the Ewing High product said, “It’s just the whole body of work. There’s so many kids and people that have had a hand in it. We’re very, very fortunate. We’ve been blessed with getting good kids who are committed to what we’re trying to do here. They bought into the culture and it kind of has fed off itself.
“I’ve been fortunate to have Bob Turner at my side for the whole stretch. It’s not every day you can go to work and share something with your best friend for 28 years. It’s almost unheard of today. That continuity has been a huge plus for our program.”
SURPRISE!
When Princeton lost to Columbia on Oct. 14, that put the Lions in control of the Ivy League race. The Tigers had to win out and hope for help.
Princeton (14-2) won out, and got help.
Columbia lost to Yale two Saturdays ago, setting up a possibility co-title. But when Princeton won at Penn for the first time since 2005 this past Saturday, and Columbia tied with Harvard, the Tigers were outright champs.
Ranked No. 13 in the Coaches poll with a No. 9 RPI, Princeton would have gotten an at-large bid even had it shared the title with Columbia (which would have gotten the automatic). So, in a kind of weird way, the outright crown made coach Sean Driscoll a little bummed.
“I’m being honest, it was a catch 22,” he said. “I do like the Columbia coaches a lot, they’ve worked very, very hard. A part of me wanted to have two Ivy teams in the tournament. I was excited that we won, definitely sad for them.
“It’s one of those bittersweet things, but I’m happy with my kids. I anticipated we would be sharing the title, to win it outright was a little bit of a surprise. We’ve had an unbelievable season and the team, based on its body of work, deserved an Ivy League title either outright or shared.”
The Tigers maturity came into play this year. After staring 2016 at 8-1-1, a loss to Brown escalated into a three-game losing streak and Princeton played itself out of the Ivy race. This year, it responded with three straight wins after the Lions loss.
“The senior class could see what could happen if you put your mind in the wrong area and focus on the negatives, it can be a very quick downward spiral, Driscoll said. “The rallying cry to the team was ‘You gotta show your character, your identity and decide what your legacy will be. Are you going to succumb and lose multiple games or are you just gonna let this be one loss and then get yourself back on track?’ This is a very good group. It didn’t shock me that they came back and did what they did.”
The result was a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a first-round home match against MAAC champion Monmouth (15-3-2) Friday at 7 p.m. In the NCAA’s attempt to keep teams close to home, this forces a rematch as Princeton defeated the Hawks, 3-0, on opening day.
The winner meets the Arkansas-North Carolina State winner. The Tigers defeated NC State 2-0 on Sep. 2.
RUTGERS GETS IN
Despite dropping its Big Ten Tournament opener to Penn State on penalty kicks, Rutgers (12-2-5) had built a nice enough resume to earn an at-large bid, and will host LaSalle Saturday at 5 p.m. The No. 23 ranked Knights are making their sixth-straight appearance and eighth in 10 years.
“The standard here is that we compete for championships every year,” coach Mike O’Neill said. “To be a top program you have to have consistency in all that you do. It speaks volumes to the players that have been here in the past and the current players. We talk about the culture to compete for championships and again we have that opportunity.”
LaSalle (17-3-2) advanced by defeating VCU in the Atlantic 10 Tournament title game.