Men’s soccer passed over for NCAAs

Courtesy of Sports Media Relations Sophomore midfielder Mark Totten dribbles down the field. He was named All-CAA first team along with two teammates.

After piling up a 12-0-1 record and reaching as high as the No. 8 ranked team in the country, JMU was denied a bid to the NCAA’s 48-team national championship tournament.

The decision was difficult for the team to cope with.

"Not getting into the NCAAs is definitely the low point of the season," coach Tom Martin said.

Despite an unbeaten streak which gave the Dukes the nation’s highest winning percentage, three losses in their last six games lead to an elimination from NCAA tournament consideration.

Two of those three loses were to Old Dominion University, who earned a first round bye in the tournament. JMU has not defeated ODU away from Harrisonburg in 10 years. Hofstra University, the Colonial Athletic Association’s champion, was responsible for the Dukes’ other loss.

After beginning such a successful season, the team now looks for reasons why they were left without an invitation.

"There were very few ‘at-large’ bids available for us," Martin said. "A lot of upsets in conference tournaments meant great teams were having to use ‘at-large’ bids to gain entry into the tournament."

Virginia Commonwealth University, like JMU, lost in the first round of the CAA tournament and lost at JMU 3-1 this season. The Rams earned a No. 16 seed and a first round bye in the NCAA tournament.

At the end of the season, JMU was ranked in all four of the national top 25 rankings and was in the top 25 on the Sagarin ratings, a computer-based ranking system.

The season’s disappointingly abrupt end will not keep the Dukes from getting better.

"We learned this season that every game is significant," Martin said. "We will work this off-season on maintaining our focus over 90 minutes for every game.

"We will also work on developing a hungrier attitude as a team and as individuals."

With its failures came a number of great accomplishments for the team this season.

"To crack the top 20 in the end of September and to hold a spot there for the rest of the season was a great accomplishment for us," Martin said.

"This team was not only talented but, more importantly, a great group of guys who really believed in themselves. They made the year fly by."

With this disappointment as the Dukes’ fuel and a top class of recruits on the horizon, the team looks to improve on this season’s successes.