UMass Dartmouth men's soccer finishes 2nd in LEC and earns ECAC Div. 3 Tournament berth

(Dartmouth, MA) - In Niall O'Donnell's previous three seasons as the Corsairs' head men's soccer coach, his teams has made slow but steady progress up the ladder of the Little East Conference. At the beginning of the 2000 season, O'Donnell hinted that the Corsairs were ready to make a big step forward.

When O'Donnell said the 2000 team would be the best he had coached in his three previous seasons, he wasn't boasting. With nine starters returning from the previous season, plus the addition some talented newcomers to the program, O'Donnell and his Corsairs put together one of the finest seasons UMass Dartmouth men's soccer has ever experienced.

When the season was completed, the Corsairs were 16-6-1 overall, second in the Little East Conference at 5-1-1 and O'Donnell was recognized as the LEC Coach of the Year. After enjoying a first round bye, UMass Dartmouth captured its first LEC Tournament victory in a thrilling 1-0 double overtime victory over Keene State College at Cressy Field. The Corsairs' LEC season came to a conclusion following a heartbreaking 1-0 triple overtime loss to champion Plymouth State College in the LEC Championships game.

In addition to a school record 16 victories and the Corsairs' first winning season since 1994, UMass Dartmouth earned its first post season tournament bid since 1990 when the ECAC seeded the Corsairs 4th in it's New England Division III Tournament. UMass Dartmouth picked up a 3-2 quarterfinal round victory over LEC-rival Western Connecticut before being eliminated in the semi-finals following a 2-1 loss to tournament's #1 seed, Bowdoin College.

Two of the biggest reasons for the Corsairs' success came on opposite sides of the field. Up front, UMass Dartmouth outscored its opponents, 44-22, while in goal. the Corsairs enjoyed a tremendous boost by the arrival of sophomore goalie and transfer student Jorge Fonseca (Ludlow, MA). In 19 games for the Corsairs, Fonseca posted a 13-4-1 record with a 0.80 goals against average which included 7 shutouts. Fonseca allowed only 16 goals all season long and finished his season by capturing several individual awards.

Although named Second Team on the Little East Conference All-Star team, Fonseca led all LEC goalies with a .66 goals against average, 6 shutouts and 12 goals allowed in 17 regular season games. Fonseca capped his LEC season by leading UMass Dartmouth into the championship game, where despite the Corsairs' 1-0 triple overtime loss to Plymouth State, Fonseca came up with 15 saves. For his effort in the LEC Tournament, Fonseca earned the LEC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player Award.

At the end of the season, Fonseca earned two more prestigious awards. He was named to the 2000 National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-New England Team and he also was an NCAA Division III Second Team selection in goal.

Jorge Fonseca wasn't the only member of the Fonseca family from Ludlow who played an important role for UMass Dartmouth. David Fonseca (Ludlow, MA), Jorge's younger brother, joined the Corsairs as a first-year player and had an outstanding season. Selected at the end of the season as the Little East Conference Rookie of the Year, David Fonseca was UMass Dartmouth's leading scorer with 9 goals plus a team-high 8 assists for 26 points. In 20 regular season games, Fonseca finished with 25 points to place him fifth overall in LEC scoring.

David Fonseca wasn't the Corsairs' only goal scorer during the 2000 season as UMass Dartmouth had five players reach double figures in points for the year. In 22 games, senior co-captain Tore Terrassi (Easton, MA) established himself as the Corsairs' other top goal-scoring threat, netting a team-leading 10 goals and 3 assists for 23 points. With a total of 22 points in the regular season, Terrassi finished seventh in the LEC scoring race and earned LEC Second Team honors and LEC All-Tournament honors for the Corsairs. J

orge Fonseca had the benefit of an improved defensive unit playing in front of him led by senior co-captain Pat Gavin (Thornton, CO), UMass Dartmouth's only LEC First Team All-Star. In addition to playing a key role in the Corsairs' defense, Gavin was also among the Corsairs' top offensive threats, finishing fourth in scoring with 5 goals and 4 assists for 14 points.

Rounding out UMass Dartmouth's scoring attack were junior Mike Takacs (Winchester, MA), who finished with 7 goals and a pair of assists for 16 points as the Corsairs' third leading scorer. Injuries cut short sophomore Adrain Gonsalves' (Somerset, MA) season, but in 9 games he scored 6 goals plus and assist for 13 points and still finished fifth in scoring.

Among the Corsairs' who earned honors from the 2000 season were four members of the UMass Dartmouth team who were named to the LEC All-Tournament Team. Fonseca was the Most Outstanding Player with Terrasi and freshman Russell Corkum (W. Springfield, MA) and sophomore Carlos Semedo (Boston, MA) also earning All-Tournament distinction. Neither Corkum nor Semedo scored a point during the entire season but were vital to the Corsairs' success throughout the year on defense.

After opening the season with a pair of tournament losses to St. Michael's College and Rivier College, UMass Dartmouth set the tone for its season by posting a 12-game unbeaten streak. Starting with a 3-0 non-conference win over Mt. Ida College on Sept. 7, the Corsairs picked up 11 wins and a tie before dropping a 2-1 LEC decision to Keene State College on Oct. 14.

But the Corsairs would get a second chance at the Owls in the LEC Tournament and made the most of its opportunity. With darkness settling over Cressy Field, Tore Terrassi sent the Corsairs into their first LEC Tournament Championship game with his game-winning goal at the 112-minute mark of double overtime in one of the most exciting moments in UMass Dartmouth men's soccer history.