Going into the 2001 season, men's soccer coach Bud Lewis was faced with a paradox. He lost six starters from the previous year's team whose stellar campaign advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals, yet the returning team was packed with talent-and possessed the potential to achieve its most lofty aspirations.

"My big issue was not only the graduation of our top scorer from 2000, Matt Milam, but the loss of our two All-Americans in the midfield, Andy Szucs and Jonas Svensson," said Lewis, who ranks sixth in the NCAA with 363 wins and a 71 percent winning percentage at WC. "I knew we'd be strong in the goal and defensively-I felt we'd be solid with three of our four defenders returning.

"I knew we'd be competitive, but I felt a lot of our success would hinge on our ability to score goals," he added. A team goal for 2001 was a combination of not giving up cheap goals, being dangerous on set pieces and cutting down on yellow cards-all of which were accomplished.

The 2001 version of the Quakers was a combination of seasoned veterans, a standout transfer and a host of promising first year players who could make an immediate impact. After a week of training, the team entered its pre-season schedule with the traditional inter-squad Green and White game, followed by the alumni game and matches against Brussia and Cedarville.

Wilmington started the season with a tough non-conference schedule of nine games before going into the slate of Ohio Athletic Conference contests.

The season opened on the road against an old Heartland Conference foe, Franklin College. Wilmington won 4-0 with goals scored by Matt Gnau, Brad McCoy, Chris Baker and an own goal by Franklin.

"It was a satisfactory effort in winning, but I was disappointed we didn't create more dangerous opportunities," Lewis said. Following the game, the team enjoyed a pizza picnic hosted by Billy Gronostaj's parents.

WC's home opener was a scoreless tie with Earlham. "What it came down to was our inability to score on chances we made," Lewis said.

In the opening match of the OAC-NCAC Shootout at Wilmington, WC got off to a 2-0 lead with goals by Mike Miller and Scott Lower, but let Denison send it into overtime before freshman Mark Kinsel scored the game-winner. "It was a well fought, well played match," the coach said. "The goal by Kinsel was a tremendous goal-it was one of those games that would take a tremendous goal to win."

The next night the Quakers got off to a slow start against Kenyon College, but unleashed some fury in the final 20 minutes of the match. Bjorn Lidman sailed a free kick into the nets, followed with goals by Josh Miller and Dave Satterwhite for the 3-0 win. "That game was all about great goals-Bjorn's free kick was brilliant," he added. With the win, WC defended its OAC-NCAC Shootout title from 2000.

In the first NSCAA rankings of the season, Wilmington was sixth in the Great Lakes Region and unranked nationally.

The day after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Quakers went to Ohio Wesleyan with a 3-0-1 mark against what perennially has been Wilmington's greatest rival. WC won by a convincing 3-0 margin. Lower scored a pair while Chris Darby netted one. "That was a game of taking care of our chances. Lower's free kick was one of the greatest goals of the year and Kinsel created the opportunity for Darby to score," Lewis said. "Coming away from OWU was impressive, especially after losing to them twice the previous year-it definitely was a solid effort. That game set the tone for us and told us of our potential."

Wesleyan regrouped and ultimately went on to the Final Four Round of the NCAA Tourney.

Wilmington followed that satisfying win with a 3-2 defeat of then sixth ranked Kalamazoo. The Quakers scored all their goals in the first half as Mike Miller found the back of the net twice and Darby once for a 3-0 halftime lead. "It's very seldom we're up 3-0 and I'm ripping the team at halftime," Lewis said. "Mike make two great goals and Darby scoring our third goal was huge. We were taking advantage of our chances in the first half; then we let them back into the game. We won against a good team while not playing at our best."

After two road games, the Quakers returned to Charlie Gilhart Field for the annual Wilmington Kiwanis Tournament with Hanover, Transylvania and Bethany. On Friday night versus Hanover, another school from the HCAC, Lower opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the season followed by a successful penalty kick by McCoy when Dave Satterwhite was leveled while advancing the ball to goal. "We created scoring opportunities but were unable to score," Lewis recalled about to the 2-0 win.

The next night, Wilmington put together a flurry of goals in shutting out 1994 National Champion Bethany College 4-0 and defending its Kiwanis Tourney title. Scoring were Mike Miller, Lower (2) and Lidman. "Bethany is a team we always battle with. After we beat them 4-0, they went on to upset (2000 National Champion) Messiah, then the top-ranked team in the country.

The rankings found 7-0-1 Wilmington second in the region and 13th in the nation.

The final non-conference game at Wittenberg started off promisingly enough with McCoy scoring early in the match. The Tigers matched that goal but neither team was able to net another. "They've played us as tough as anybody in the last few years-and they've typically caught us when we were riding high," Lewis said. "Brad scored two minutes into the game, then we couldn't buy a goal. Tevis went out of the game (red card) and we played the last 70 minutes with 10 players."

Seven wins and two ties was a solid first half of the season. "In my wildest dreams, I didn't think we'd come out of our non-conference schedule undefeated," he added.

Wilmington's first OAC foe was Mount Union in a game moved to the afternoon at WC because, that evening, Lewis was inducted into the Clinton County Athletic Hall of Fame in recognition of his 27 years as WC's soccer coach and his significant efforts in promoting local youth soccer. In a 5-1 whipping by WC, both Miller and Darby scored a pair and Ben Williams netted a goal. "Chris Darby came into his own in that game," Lewis recalled. "It was an impressive win against a good team-we stayed focused and played well."

The win moved WC to 11th in the nation and second in the region. Next on tap was a road game at Muskingum, which Wilmington won in unimpressive fashion 2-0, goalkeeper Gronostaj's seventh shutout of the year. Baker and Mike Miller scored WC's lone goals. "We weren't a particularly dominating team against a team we'd handled consistently well," Lewis said. "Baker hit the ball with his left foot and put it in the upper 90 for that crucial first score. We didn't dominate, we just did the things we needed to do to be successful."

The OAC's first major test came next when the Quakers held on to defeat Heidelberg 1-0 in overtime. "We didn't give up dangerous chances," he said. "It was a game of perseverance in which Tevis (Foreman) came in on a corner kick from Josh Miller and found the back of the net. It was an evenly matched game."

When the rankings came out, WC broke into the top spot in the region and sixth in the nation-the highest ranking in NCAA ever for any Wilmington sports team.

Things didn't get any easier as Otterbein came to town with a chip on its shoulder after dropping out of the region's number one spot. McCoy's goal put WC up at halftime but Otterbein scored on a throw-in and then got another goal to take the lead. With time running out, Baker got open and tied the game and Mike Evans scored his first goal of the season for the Quakers' win. "That was a great example of having the will to win," Lewis said. "Mike had really been struggling, but, when we needed a big goal, he was there." Wilmington found itself with an impressive 11-0-2 record.

Then came what Lewis described as "The Disaster." Rival John Carroll handed Wilmington its first loss of the season, a stinging 3-0 defeat. "Lower was at his bother's wedding in Massachusetts and Darby was hurt, but statistically it was an even match-they just finished their chances and we didn't," Lewis said. "(JCU's) Chris Heslip (2 goals) hurt us when we'd handled him well in the past. He went on to be an All-American."

The loss dropped WC to 17th in the nation. In WC's 3-0 win at Marietta, Gronostaj's ninth shutout of the season set the school record for career shutouts-he finished his career with 23. "Also, Lower was on fire with two goals and an assist," Lewis said. Josh Miller also scored a goal.

After Capital scored a fluke goal, Wilmington stormed back with five unanswered scores by Lower (2), Kinsel (2) and Mike Miller before the Crusaders tallied a pair late in the match. "We had the game well in hand at 5-1 so I unloaded the bench and suddenly it was 5-3-that was a major disappointment."

Rain transformed the pitch at Ohio Northern into a muddy quagmire. The Polar Bears went up 2-0 before Lower, on a set piece, caught the keeper cheating and connected with his left foot. "It was a great goal and then his second goal tied the game-it was a well-placed shot," Lewis said. "Then Mike Evans had his second huge game-winning goal." Wilmington was 14-1-2.

The Quakers finished the regular season beating Baldwin-Wallace at home 4-0. Lower scored a pair of goals and had an assist while Evans and Josh Miller also found the back of the net. "That was a great finish to the regular season for us," Lewis said. "We were very sharp."

Going into the OAC Tournament as the number two seed behind John Carroll, Wilmington boasted a 15-1-2 record, 8-1 in the OAC. In the semi-final round, the Quakers whipped Heidelberg 3-1 with goals by Mike Miller, Kinsel and Lower. "We played really well. We functioned well as a team-there were key saves and key plays," Lewis said. "Mike Miller pressured the keeper and scored a goal. Kinsel got a goal on a rebound and Lower scored another, his ninth goal in the last five games."

Unlike the classic 2000 OAC Championship game with John Carroll, which went four overtimes and ended in a heartbreaking shootout, Wilmington played uninspired soccer in its title game with Otterbein, who won convincingly 2-0. "Bobby Weinberg scored for them from about 35 yards out," Lewis recalled. "We didn't create many good chances and, when we did, we didn't finish. Otterbein finished their chances. It was an extremely disappointing loss."

So once again, Wilmington, with no automatic berth, was at the mercy of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, which had granted admission to the Quakers in 1999 and 2000. "This year, I was dead sure we wouldn't get in," he said. "Was the strength of our schedule going to be enough to get us into the NCAA Tournament? Fortunately, it was." Not only that, Wilmington was selected to host a first round game as part of the South Region.

Sewanee, University of the South was the opponent. They won the conference that included Division III powers Rhodes, Trinity and DePauw. Wilmington won with tough defense and goals by Evans and Lower. "We out-shot them 30-6 and had a 10-3 advantage on corner kicks, but we struggled to put them away," Lewis said. "Even though we dominated statistically, they were in the game, but it was a good win for us."

The victory put Wilmington in the South Region Championships at Greensboro, N.C. Unfortunately, Wilmington was not up to the task against Roanoke College in the semifinals. After a scoreless first half, Roanoke scored a goal that was never matched by WC. "Our guys really struggled. They didn't like the playing surface (brown Bermuda grass) and we didn't play with the energy we should have-nor did we have any outstanding offensive play," Lewis said. "Roanoke was 17-2 going into that game. We knew they weren't going to give any easy goals. They didn't give us any goals."

A highlight of the postseason was Bjorn Lidman being the third WC player in as many years to be named All-America. He also was selected Academic All-America, First Team All-Great Lakes Region, First Team All-Ohio and OAC Defender of the Year. Gronostaj was OAC Goalkeeper of the Year, Second Team All-Great Lakes Region and First Team All-Ohio, while Scott Lower was First Team All-Great Lakes Region, First Team All-Ohio and First Team All-OAC. The Quakers lost seniors Gronostaj, Tevis Foreman, Mike Miller, Lower, Tony Harting, Dan Bielek, Chris Baker, Matt Gnau and Chris Byrd.

"I couldn't have asked for a greater group of young men to coach and work with," Lewis said, also noting it was the best coaching staff (Andy Brinkman, Brian Page and 2001 graduate Andy Szucs) he ever had. "It was an enjoyable season. To compete at the level we did. You hated to see it come to an end. There was so much maturity, a great atmosphere with the team. I take a sense of love and caring for each other from the season-ultimately, that's greater than a won/loss record."

But WC's 17-3-2 record is something of which to be proud. The 2001 version of the Wilmington Quakers was an especially emotional team. When they were on, they were unstoppable-witness the OWU, Bethany, Mount Union and Sewanee matches. Unfortunately, their emotional roller coaster wasn't at its apex against Roanoke.

"I'll always wonder 'what if?' I believe we were capable of being an Elite 8 team-who knows what might have happened if we'd have been there?" -- BY RANDY SARVIS