After winning the national championship in 1963, the first year that Trenton Junior College (TJC) competed as an intercollegiate soccer team, the Vikings continued to attract talented players. In 1968, after TJC had been established as Mercer County Community College, the Vikings claimed the national title once again under Stan Dlugosz, head coach for the Vikings from 1963 to 1981.
With eight teams competing in the NJCAA Eigth Annual Invitation Soccer Tournament, held at Nassau Community College (Garden City, NY), MCCC edged New York County Community College 3-2 in the opening round, and enjoyed a decisive 4-0 victory over Schoolcraft in the semis. They won the national title 2-1 in a tense contest against Florissant Valley Community College (Mo.), the tournament’s returning champs. Dan Knox scored a firsthalf goal; Florissant came back to tie it up in the second half; and Dave Leckie scored the winning goal to bring home the title. The All-Tournament Team included Ken Hess, Jimmy Solarski and Mickey Forker. All three were named NJCAA All-Americans. The Vikings went 18-0-1 in an undefeated season.
The Vikings achieved multiple records that year: most goals in a season (66) and most goals in a game (14 against Bucks County Community College).Leckie earned an individual record for goals (25), and Forker tied with Ken Hess for 15 assists. The team held five straight opponents scoreless and shut out eight teams.
On November 18, 1968, the New Jersey Senate signed a resolution to commend and congratulate Athletic Director Howard Landa, Head Coach Stan Dlugosz, Assistant Coach Joe Secretario, and the members of the soccer team.
MCCC has repeated as national champs six more times (‘82, ‘88, ‘91, ‘95, ‘96, ‘04); the Vikings have been national runners-up eight times.
Members of the 1968 championship squad:
