SHREVEPORT – “Copy-paste.”
That’s what LSU Shreveport men’s soccer midfielder Jack Thomas had in mind after seeing the baseball program with their first national championship with a perfect record.
“Unbeaten” was a word that described the men’s soccer team through the first 17 matches, starting the season with five draws before rattling off 12 straight wins.
LSUS did fall in the regular season finale and again in the Red River Athletics Conference Tournament Championship, but the Pilots still positioned themselves to host an NAIA national tournament game for the first time in the program’s history.
But then the unthinkable happened – Faulkner scored two goals in the first five minutes in that national tournament second round match, and such a momentous occasion in program history appeared to be slipping away.
“We believed in our ability. We knew what we were capable of even down 2-nil, and it was just a matter of when we could get the goals,” said senior midfielder Jack Thomas. “We left them for late, and I don’t think we should do that in the national tournament (final site), but we felt like it was in our hands at that point.”
The chances started coming soon after the two-goal deficit, and LSUS finally capitalized on those chances in the second half with two goals.
Thomas found Joel Trueb just minutes int the second half, and David Vejsmose provided the equalizer with just 12 minutes remaining.
In overtime, Thomas scored the game-winner – his fifth game-winner of the season and 19th goal overall – off an assist from Trueb.
For the second straight season and second time ever, LSUS advanced to the final site and into Round of 16 where the No. 13 seed Pilots (14-2-5) will face unseeded Warner Pacific (Ore.).
That matchup against the Knights (16-4-2), who knocked off No. 4 seed Keiser, will take place Dec. 1 in Orange Beach, Ala.
“None of our heads dropped,” said defender Caleb Marchany, who was responsible for the foul that set up Faulkner’s first goal off a penalty kick. “We knew we could get back in it.
“We were a good enough team that we knew we could create chances. Once we created that first chance, it just felt like there’s no way we’re not going to win this game.”
That’s the type of belief that coach Adam Kay has developed in his third season at the helm.
A core group of seven guys returned from that first historic team that took the Pilots to the Round of 16 for the first time ever, but the Kansas cold froze its postseason chances in a 1-0 loss to Bellevue (Neb.).
Playing this time in Orange Beach is a breath of fresh (and warm) air.
“It sucked that we didn’t get the result we wanted last year, but there’s a core group of guys that we’ll lean on, that know how it feels to lose on that stage, to lead us into certain areas where we can be successful,” Kay said. “We understand that we belong on that stage now, and we’ve seen a lot of teams who are regulars (at the final site).
“The windchill in last year’s game in Kansas was 22 on game day, and this week I’m wearing shorts as we train at 7 a.m. It’s going to be rainy with a humidity of 96%, so I think it benefits us that we’re used to playing in the South.”
A fairly new Pilots team was finding its way early in the season against tough competition before finding its “form” as Thomas would say.
Thomas ranks in the top-10 nationally in goals (19, tied for seventh), assists (12, tied for eighth), and total points (50, tied for sixth). He’s led or tied for the team lead in goals scored all three seasons and has 46 to his name in his three-year career as he makes his claim for the best player in the history of a program that started just in 2009.
“JT is up there for sure, and there are absolutely some fantastic players that have come through in years past,” Kay said. “When you wear the captain’s armband, it’s about how you lead a team.
“If we win a national championship, he might go down as the undisputed best. As much of a clinical and special player he is, we have a fantastic supporting cast around him. If we didn’t have that quality and depth, I don’t think he’s doing what he’s doing.”
Kay said the late losses to Louisiana Christian and then Xavier, the latter in the tournament championship game in the final seconds, helped jolt the team to be in a position to compete for a national title.
“The loss to Xavier, that’s one where our performance didn’t match the result – we were playing well at the business end of the season,” Kay said. “But the Louisiana Christian loss was a wake-up call, letting the guys know that they aren’t untouchable and aren’t good enough to not show up and think things are going to happen for us.
“I think the game here against Faulkner, our guys started extremely nervous and worried about letting people down – there was a lot of ‘moment’ there. But once we settled in and started to play properly, we played fantastic. It’s one of those matches where if you weren’t a supporter of either team, it’s one of the greatest games ever. As a supporter, it’s one of the most heart-pounding, heart attack central matches.”
The Pilots launch into the national tournament final site as a program looking to establish itself beyond just a Red River Athletics Conference power (where they’ve won the past four regular-season titles from the foundation built by previous coach Phillip Bohn).
“We’ve stepped forward each of my three years here, and we’re very confident about competing in this national tournament,” Thomas said. “(Kay) recruited very well, and we’ve got a lot of quality on this team.
“And it helps that all 28 of us are friends and would die for each other. We all understand what it takes to win, and that’s what happened Saturday against Faulkner.”
Now the program wants to take more steps, starting Dec. 1 against Warner Pacific as the Pilots need two wins to reach the national title game and a third to bring home the program’s first crown.
Just nine of the 16 national seeds are left standing.
“We’re an older team even if we have a lot of guys that are new to this program, but they are hungry for this moment,” Kay said. “Our core group has passed on the values of the program that (Bohn) built through his years and understand what this all means, and the new guys have come in and said, ‘Let’s do this.’”
