Spartans Continue Undefeated Record

They were riding a five-game, unbeaten and untied streak—yet had not posted a conference victory.

But the St. Thomas Aquinas men's soccer team took care of that void in emphatic fashion Saturday afternoon, shutting out East Coast Conference foe New York Institute of Technology, 2-0, at the Nardi Soccer Complex in Thiells.

"It was a huge conference win for us," said head coach Graham Brown. "It keeps the winning streak going, too, but you have to win conference games. We're just delighted."

The Spartans controlled play for the most part in both halves, though goalie Andrew Tartara of Bardonia, a graduate of Albertus Magnus High School, made one key save on a header in the first half and a couple of sparkling saves late in the game as NIT was desperate to get on the board.

"The defense really closed it up, I had to do minimal work," Tartara said, downplaying his six-save effort. "My job is to help out when necessary."

The hard-fought contest was scoreless at the half. STAC broke through at 36:11 after intermission when David Cowpar—the only international player on the STAC squad, as opposed to six on the NYIT roster —converted a well-placed, strong throw-in by Nanuet H.S. grad Dan Davren. Two minutes later, Chris Hernandez scored on a penalty kick into the lower left corner of the net to open a 2-0 advantage that was never seriously threatened.

Tartara, however, was forced to make one spectacular save with just under four minutes remaining, stopping a shot from inside the box amid a sea of players friendly and hostile.

"I had to be ready because my back five did a great job for me" Tartara said. "It was just like another day at the office."

"It was a good, hard game, but I knew it would be," Coach Brown added, noting that a bumpy and patchy playing surface altered the Spartans' style of play.

"We played solid defense," he added. "It was good, honest hard work, not much more than that. It's our biggest win so far."

The Spartans return to action Wednesday afternoon back at the Nardi Complex in a non-conference game against Assumption.

Goal kicks

• Davren's assist was not unexpected. Even before Cowpar's goal, the hustling sophomore's throw-ins were long, on the mark and full of zip. Perhaps this skill is not unexpected, either, since his dad, Neil, was an all-county striker at Clarkstown North, once leading the team in goals, assists and—you guessed it—throw-ins. "I started teaching him when he was 8," said Davren the Elder, who later played a year at Rutgers and a year at Dominican where he led the area with 10 goals in 10 games.
• Robert Hirt, a versatile performer who played soccer at Tappan Zee High and ran track last season at STAC, along with Dan Davren, will be back on the soccer team next season. He's a member of the celebrated Ramapo Valley club team formed and coached by STAC assistant coach Dan McHenry. Other alumni of the U19 team that went to the State Cup semifinals three straight years are Spartans' Sean Riley, Brendan Flynn, Joe Connolly—another Nanuet grad—and Tartara and Davren.
• Veteran official George Tully of West Nyack worked the sideline. The former IBMer is in his 17th year wearing the stripes, with 10 at the collegiate level. "It's still fun after all these years," Tully said.
• Assistant athletic director Barbara Vano, in a supervisory role, and track and field coach Lorne Marcus were on hand to lend their support, along with dedicated fan Steve Marcus, Lorne's pop. Coach Marcus was happy to note that the cross country team had done "very well" earlier in the morning at C.W. Post on Long Island.
• Laura Baden is serving her first year as a team trainer.