The good news is that the Vikings men's soccer team qualified for the NJCAA National Tournament in Tyler, TX, for the first time since 1998.  The bad news is this wasn't the year they won it all.

With seven national championships to their credit, Mercer's men's soccer teams have made winning the title a part of the Mercer tradition.  But Head Coach Charlie Inverso is the first to acknowledge that every championship is a huge challenge.  And with two starting players injured, the Vikings' road was even tougher.

The men's perfect 1-0 run ended on November 15 as they suffered a 2-0 loss to The College of DuPage (IL).  In a consolation game on November 16, they lost to Schoolcraft College 5-4 in overtime. Levy Dobondi was named to the All-Tournament team.  Coach Inverso was named the Region 19 Coach of the Year by the NJCAA.

The Vikings were ranked No. 2 nationally going into the tournament, the result of a stellar season that started off with a decisive 4-0 win over Montgomery County College (MD).  Subsequent games proved that the Vikings squad was strong and deep.  Key contributions came from forwards Dobondi, Oliver Quiha, and C.D. Harris, midfielders Dan Levy, David Tuesta, and Ibrihim Kante, and defenders Ahmed Farag, Kinson Jean, and Eyal Yazdi. George Vasilakis and Tim Summiel shared goal tending duties.  Leading scorers for the Vikings were Quiha with 14 goals and Dobondi with 10 goals.

A season highlight came when the Vikings faced Essex County College (NJ) in the Region 19 Tournament on November 3.  Long-time rival Essex had beaten undefeated Vikings teams by one goal in the last two regional championships.  This year was the Vikings' turn as they handed Essex a 2-0 loss with goals by Farag and Dobondi.  Unfortunately Dobondi and Tuesta incurred stress fractures in that game, abruptly ending their season. The Vikings then played a qualifying game for the national tournament against Essex Community College (MD) on Nov. 8, winning 4-2 as Richard Mitchell came off the bench to score two big goals for the Vikings.

Special thanks to assistant coaches Larry Povia, Bill Daily and John Pietrowski.

(This story appears in the Winter 2002 issue of The Viking, a publication for students, alumni and other friends of Mercer County Community College.  If you would like a copy, please email or call (609) 586-4800 ext. 3736.)