Rivermen's sluggish season ends with bang

by Nick Bowman
staff associate

The UM-St. Louis Rivermen's soccer team wrapped up their season with a spectacular playoff run that resulted in a heart-breaking loss to Indiana-Purdue University of Fort Wayne in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship match.

Their final record of 9-11 (5-6 GLVC) may not look all that spectacular, but take into consideration that of those 11 losses, all but three were by one goal.

Of the six games at home this season, UM-St. Louis posted a 5-1 record, but the Rivermen had to travel 13 times, losing 10 of these contests, mainly due to UM-St. Louis being the only team in the GLVC located in Missouri.

This was the fourth year that UM-St. Louis has been affiliated with the GLVC, and the fourth consecutive post-season appearance for the Rivermen. For the second year in a row, the Rivermen advanced to the finals, but lost to tough conference opponents.

"Although our record does not show it, this team accomplished many things above and beyond all expectations," said Tom Redmond, the Rivermen's head coach. "I am especially proud of our seniors, namely captain Scott Luczek, midfielders Derick Kaspar and Bobby Carter, forward Mark Mendenhall, and defenseman Kevin Pierce, who have been with the program all four years, and who have had the opportunity to participate in the post-season tournament every season in their collegiate careers. Also, Ryan Inkley, who transferred from Central Methodist in 1997, and Eric Wilson, who transferred from a successful Florissant Valley program in 1998."

Luczek had a very successful senior campaign, registering 6 goals and an assist for 13 points. Carter was the only Riverman to start all 20 games of the season, scoring two goals for four points, and posting one of the higher shots-on-goal percentages.

The strong conference showing should help UM-St. Louis attract prospective freshman to our campus next year, which should really help fill the holes left by the graduating seniors.

"This year, we stand to lose about half of our starting line-up due to graduation," Redmond said. "However, our playoff runs in the past four years should really help attract prospective freshman to this campus, and we have a dedicated group of men who are willing to step up next season."