OAC Championship Marks Bud Lewis' 400th win

by: Randy Sarvis, WC Public Relations Director

Before Saturday night's Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament championship match, Bud Lewis sat in his office thinking about what he wanted to tell his team before they took the field against rival John Carroll University. Looking around the room, he was surrounded by photographs and other memorabilia from his 30 seasons as Wilmington College's men's soccer coach.

Lewis was a few hours away from winning his 400th game and the faces of student-athletes from 1975 through 2004 came alive as a reminder that the personal relationships and experiences gained have always eclipsed the wins and losses as the foundation for the program.

But there have been some great victories in those 30 years and 28 consecutive winning seasons, and Saturday's 2-0 victory over John Carroll ranks among the sweetest. The milestone not only represents the OAC Tournament title but also an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

"Winning the 400th would have been special whenever it happened - even if it were next year - but coming the same night that we won the OAC Tournament made it so special," he said.

"I really believe God had some things in mind for me," he said. "I don't think you could have written the script much better."

What Lewis affectionately calls the "WC soccer family" - players, coaches, parents, alumni and others close to the program - celebrated his 400th win and the OAC title after the game with a meal hosted by the soccer parents.

"I just couldn't have had a more special night," Lewis said.

"Tonight was awesome," added tri-captain Cole Weddle. "That's a great accomplishment for Bud especially for his 400th win to be the OAC championship."

Wilmington scored three minutes into the match when Alex Van der Sluijs threaded the ball through three defenders and connected in front of the goal with Mark Kinsel, who placed the ball past the goalkeeper. That was Kinsel's fourth goal this season.

"It was a great run on Mark's part and an incredible pass by Alex - it was perfectly placed and a great finish," Lewis said.

"I played a good ball at the right moment," added Kinsel, who missed several scoring opportunities in recent games. "It felt really good to redeem myself."

The Quakers' insurance goal came 11 minutes into the second half when Van der Sluijs "shot a rocket" from 35 yards out that bent away from the goalkeeper, who got a piece of the ball before it glanced off the post and into the net. Van der Sluijs' unassisted goal gives him nine goals and nine assists for the season.

Justin Saylor picked up his second shutout in the OAC Tournament saving four shots by the Blue Streaks. Each team recorded 10 shots while JCU held a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks.

The win gives WC a 16-2-2 record going into the National Tournament and last year's disappointing 10-9-1 season seems light years away, a fact not lost upon several of the team's key players.

"When we went up 2-0 tonight, I was off the field and talking with two freshmen," said sophomore defender Ross Garber. "I said, 'If you guys were only here last year, you'd see the huge jump we've made.' We were a really young team last year."

"I think the difference is team attitude," said sophomore tri-captain Chad Garman, the team's leading scorer with 12 goals and seven assists who missed, due to injury, the last two regular season games, which WC lost and a tied.

Lewis cited the increased maturity of the team this season and the impressive leadership exhibited by the captains and seniors. Those qualities are manifesting itself in what Lewis terms as an "efficiency" of play.

"Our success is not that we're dominating teams, but how efficiently we've played with the opportunities we've been given," he said. "We've been able to get some great goals, timely goalkeeping and clutch defending."

"This has been an amazing season - we've done a lot of work to be where we are today," Lewis added.

After playing in the NCAA Tournament in the 1996, 1999, 2000 and 2001 - and sitting out the past two years - WC's return to glory is especially sweet for Lewis, who believes the team is capable of making a run in the 44-team tournament.

"This team's got a lot of talent, a lot of heart, a lot of desire and a lot of leadership - those are all qualities you need to be successful," Lewis said. "We're just going to go game-to-game now.

"What I'm looking forward to is win number 401."

Bud lewis