College Roundup Dublin’s Behan leads NYU into ECAC tourney

By John Manley

Dubliner Joe Behan has put the New York University men’s soccer team on the right track. On Saturday, NYU outdueled the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, 2-1, in the process setting a school record for victories in a season with 11. NYU (11-2-5) now move on the first round of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament, again playing the Merchant Marines, today at Riverbank, 145th Street and Riverside Drive.

Gavin Woods, a junior from Belfast, put Norwich on the board in the Cadets’ 2-1 victory over Albertus Magnus that was resolved in the fourth overtime period. The win came in the championship game of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament. Norwich (16-3-0) advances to the NCAA Div. III tournament. Woods has 16 goals and 10 assists for the season.

Gareth Hayden scored in overtime to lead Winthrop past Brevard, 2-1. Hayden is a sophomore from Dublin. Winthrop’s season ended with a 4-0 loss to Liberty in the Big South Conference Tournament. They finished at 7-13-0.

Mark Fitzgerald, a junior from Kerry, had one goal in Mercyhurst’s 2-0 victory over Concord. The Lakers, which are coached by Dungarvan, Co. Waterford native John Melody, are 13-5-1 overall and 6-0 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Bryan Harkin assisted on one of Fairfield’s goals in the Stags’ 4-3 overtime triumph in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference quarterfinal round contest with Canisius. Harkin is a freshman from Derry. The Stags went on to win the Conference title with victories over Manhattan, 3-0, and Loyola, Md., 2-1.

Wingate keeps rolling along. They knocked off Tusculum, 3-0, and North Carolina-Pembroke, 2-0, to close out the regular season. Then they defeated Catawba, 4-1, in the first round of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament. Wingate, coached by Belfast native Gary Hamill, is 16-3-1 and is ranked sixth in Div. II.

Penn State, ranked fourth in Div. I, couldn’t get past Hartwick, leaving the pitch in a scoreless tie after two overtime periods. The Nittany Lions, coached by Belfast’s Barry Gorman, are 15-2-1 overall.

Old Dominion is ranked 16th in Div. I and justified its position with a 3-1 triumph over North Carolina-Wilmington. Belfast’s Alan Dawson coaches ODU (14-3-0, 7-1-0 Colonial Athletic Association).

San Diego, ranked 24th in Div. I, closed out the regular season with a 2-1 victory over St. Mary’s. The Toreros, coached by Donegal native Séamus McFadden, are 14-3-0 overall and 4-2-0 against West Coast Conference opponents. They await word from the NCAA as to whether an at-large berth in the Div. I tournament will be forthcoming.

Christian Brothers finished the regular season with a 1-1 tie against

Central Arkansas. CBU, coached by Gareth O’Sullivan of Ballina, Co. Mayo, then closed out the season against Alabama-Huntsville in the Gulf South Conference tournament. After completing two overtimes with no score, the match was resolved by penalty kicks, with UAH prevailing, 6-5.

Clemson sprung an upset over third-ranked Wake Forest, 4-1. Belfast native Trevor Adair coaches the Tigers (9-7-2, 2-2-2).

The curtain came down on the season for Ed Kelly and Boston College. They lost to Rutgers, 1-0, to finish the campaign at 6-9-2 and 2-9-0 in Big East play. Kelly came to the U.S. from Dublin.

The season can’t end soon enough for Dartmouth. The Big Green (2-9-3, 1-4-1 Ivy League), coached by Dublin native Fran O’Leary, fell to Harvard, 2-1, and Providence, 3-2. Providence, which is coached by Dubliner Brian Ainscough, improved to 8-8-1 with the victory.

Women’s soccer

South Carolina ended the year in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament with a 2-1 overtime loss to Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks, coached by Cork native Sue Kelly, finished up with an 11-6-0 mark.

Christian Brothers tuned up for postseason action with wins over Central Arkansas, 3-0, and Bethel, 3-2. Gareth O’Sullivan’s women then were bounced out of the Gulf South tournament in the first round by West Florida, 3-0. They close the books on 1999 with an 11-6-1 record.

Tennis

Princeton’s Ahn Ahn Liu eliminated both Joe Green and Nick Malone from the ITA Men’s Eastern Region Championships. Green, a Harvard senior from Dublin, advanced past the second round by defeating Andre Vanier of St. John’s, 6-1, 6-2. Green had received a first-round bye. He then lost to Liu, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Malone, a Brown sophomore from Greystones, Co. Wicklow, also received a free pass into the second round, where he defeated Marist’s Eric Sheldt, 6-0, 6-1. He followed with a 6-3, 7-6(3) triumph over Penn State’s Marc Dorfman. Malone then lost to Liu, 6-3, 6-4.

Malone and Justin Natale teamed up for doubles action, eliminating Dartmouth’s Rob Chen and Andrew Evans, 8-1. It was then the Brown duo’s turn to say goodbye, courtesy of Fairleigh Dickinson’s Kivanc Cubukcu and Alvaro Echevery, 8-5.

Green and Andrew Styperek eliminated Brown’s Chris Drake and Chris Wolfe, 8-2, then did likewise to Cornell’s Mike Halperin and Stefan Paulovic, 8-5. The Crimson duo couldn’t get past the quarterfinals, however, losing to Navy’s Mitchell Koch and Jim McHugh, 6-4, 6-4.

Rice’s Robert Collins, a senior from Dublin, defeated Texas A&M’s Stephen Moros, 6-4, 6-7, 6-4, in the second round of the Southwest Regionals. Collins, the 11th seed, received a first round bye. However, it was Arkansas-Little Rock’s Mariano Pettigrosso who was waving bye to Collins, after taking him out in the third round, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.