A year ago, the women’s soccer team at Stevens Tech won a school record 16 games. The mark represented the greatest single improvement of any women’s collegiate soccer team in the country, as the Ducks won all of seven games in 2000.
With a 16-2-1 record, one would figure that Stevens would be headed finally to the post-season. However, the team sat and waited for a phone call from the NCAA Division III tournament committee, a call that never came.
"It was a little disappointing that we didn’t get that call last year," said junior midfielder Elaine Magallon, a product of Jersey City and St. Dominic Academy. "I think what happened last year just made us try harder this year."
The NCAA Division III tournament used the fact that the Ducks really didn’t play the toughest competition a year ago to achieve the 16 victories. The record was nice, but the strength of schedule was more important.
"We thought we were going to get in last year," said third-year Stevens Tech women’s soccer coach Jeff Parker. "When we didn’t make it, I had to make sure that they couldn’t deny us."
So Parker went to work on fine tuning the Ducks’ schedule so that it would include tougher, more respected teams. Maybe a few less wins while playing a tougher slate would be enough to catch the eyes of the selection committee.
Well, the Ducks posted a 12-6-1 regular season record and won the championship of the Skyline Conference for the third straight year. With some quality wins and a very impressive tie against New Jersey Athletic Conference power Richard Stockton under their belt, the NCAA Division III selection committee just had to include the Ducks this time around.
"We felt pretty confident, but we were still sitting on pins and needles," Parker said.
The Ducks got together for a team meal Saturday night around 9 p.m., with the intentions of waiting until 12:30 a.m. to receive the call from the NCAA Division III selection committee together.
If the phone rang, they wanted to be there. If it didn’t ring, same thing.
"People were slowly trickling out of the room, because they thought that maybe the call wasn’t going to come," said sophomore forward Valerie Barnhart, the team’s leading scorer this year (23 goals, seven assists) and already the all-time leading scorer in the school’s history. "We were keeping the faith."
Magallon couldn’t wait any longer. She had to drive to the airport to pick up her parents. Another key performer, Rommy Guevara, had to go back to her room to study. After all, electrical engineering students have to spend their Saturday nights hitting the books.
"But the majority of the team waited," Parker said. "They wanted to be there when the call came."
Sure enough, at precisely 12:15 a.m., the phone rang in the room where the Ducks were congregating. For the first time ever, a Stevens Tech women’s athletic team was headed to the NCAA Tournament.
"It was so exciting," Barnhart said. "We were jumping up and down and tackling each other. It was great."
Magallon had to wait until approximately 2 a.m., when she returned to campus.
"It was just crazy," Magallon said. "I still can’t believe it. I’m still shocked. It’s something we were working so hard for. We were able to finally accomplish one of our goals."
News for the Stevens women got even better Wednesday when they defeated Johns Hopkins, 1-0, in the first round of the tournament. Barnhart’s second half goal was enough to carry the Ducks into the second round. It marked the first NCAA Tournament win of any kind for a Stevens Tech athletic team.
The Ducks will now face The College of New Jersey in the second round of the tournament at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa. While Stevens has now won exactly one NCAA Tournament game in its history, CNJ has won three national titles (1993, 1994 and 2000) and has a NCAA Tournament record of 26-8-2.
"It’s really exhilarating to be part of the team that made history," Magallon said. "I’m so proud. It’s still so unbelievable that it’s happened."
Magallon has been a big part of the team’s resurgence.
"She’s a bundle of energy," Parker said. "She never stops. She’s one of the most positive people on the planet. She really feels like she can do anything."
Barnhart has been big down the stretch. She scored four goals in a win over Centenary College that clinched the Skyline Conference title and has won six games this season with goals. Guevara, a native of Kearny, was named the top goalkeeper in the Skyline for the second straight year. Kim Mirra is the team’s defensive most valuable player.
"It’s just so exciting to be a part of all of this," said Parker, who was once the women’s coach at St. Peter’s College, before coming to Stevens. "It’s been an unbelievable experience for our team."
"It’s been awesome," Barnhart said. "It’s great to walk around campus and have everyone who didn’t notice us before offer congratulations and encouragement. I think this has been the payoff for the last two years. It’s a huge step for us and a tribute to the team."