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First appeared Nov. 7, 2002
About three weeks ago, fifth-year senior and University of Maine men’s soccer captain Patrick Kelly said when he stepped off the field in his final game he hoped to be a part of the field and hoped people would mention his name when all was said and done.
In the traces of leftover snow Tuesday, Kelly’s footsteps etched his mark on Alumni Field. Kelly’s goal, coming off a rebound of a shot by fellow senior Rob Dow, was the game-winner as the Black Bears won their final game of the year, a 1-0 overtime triumph over Dartmouth College.
The game not only marked the Black Bears’ second home win in a row but it also surpasses last year’s win total of three.
With a little more than five minutes remaining in overtime, a ball was passed to Dow, who tapped it and spun off a Dartmouth defender for a clear shot on goal. The shot knocked Dartmouth keeper Michael Conger off balance and Kelly came in from the right side to clean up the rebound.
Afterwards, Kelly led the team to the spectator side of Alumni Field where he and fellow seniors Dow and Luke Garner led the team in the singing of the “Stein Song.”
“It’s a great feeling to score the game-winning goal and today was a team effort,” Kelly said. “The goal was a testament to [Dow] because he was the one who made it happen. It was good to end this season on a high note because it gives the guys for next season something to look forward to.”
The game against Dartmouth marked the second in which the Black Bears used a 4-3-3 formation. Garner, who formed the trio of seniors up front with Kelly and Dow, couldn’t contain his praise for his classmates.
“To see Patrick score, epitomizes the four years I have been here,” said Garner, a Pennsylvania native. “This was [Kelly's] team and it could not have ended any better than what it did.”
Until the overtime goal, the game was a stalemate only due to a couple of calls.
With about 14 minutes left in the second half, first-year forward Kyle Vosmus took a pass and knocked it in for what looked like the game-winner. However, referees called it back because Vosmus was off-sides by a few inches.
This season saw Dow lead the Black Bears in scoring for the second consecutive season.
“I was just so lucky to set up the game-winning goal and this couldn’t be better,” Dow said. “It was great that the three of us [Kelly and Garner] were able to come out and play up front together in our last game. It really meant a lot to me.”
Now that the season has come to a close, there are many positives in store for next year. Outside the loss of his three seniors, coach Travers Evans will have his whole team back in 2003. One question that could pose a problem, though, is the health of junior midfielder Greg Bajek, who had his season cut short by injuries.
Still, with newcomers such as goalkeeper and Essex Junction, Vt., native Chad Mongeon, forward Adam Chenault and Ben Wilcox, only time will tell on how far the Black Bears will go next season.
