Men's Soccer | 10/15/2020 8:00:00 AM
While Division III fall sports are on pause at Clarkson University, the Athletic Department will look back on memorable moments of yesteryear. This will include only the five fall sports that have been suspended for 2020 (cross country, golf, men's soccer, women's soccer, volleyball). Check back on Tuesdays and Thursdays for these memorable moments.
Having never recorded a win in its two previous NCAA Tournament appearances in 1980 and 1988, the Clarkson University Men's Soccer team was a bit of a surprise to advance through the four-team Northeast Region pod in the 1993 iteration of the tournament. The Golden Knights moved past 12th-ranked Plattsburgh State in the opening round on penalty kicks and then topped fourth-ranked and top-seeded Cortland State in the second round with a 2-0 win over the Northeast Regional host thanks to a pair of goals in the first six minutes of that contest, holding the Red Dragons without a goal for the first time that season.
The victory against Cortland State gave Clarkson hosting rights against the Metro Regional winners, Rowan College, a two-time NCAA Division III National Champion when it was formerly known as Glassboro State (1981, 1990), and the Green and Gold took advantage of familiar territory and a large crowd at Snell Field.
On a cold and rainy mid-November day, two excellent offenses were muted by the conditions as neither team could muster much in the way of offense, combining for only 17 shots overall, though most did make it on frame. As he had for most of the season, Empire Athletic Association Player of the Year Michael Kirmse came through when it mattered most, scoring in the 51st minute. Sophomore Rich Oremus sent a pass across the box and found Kirmse wide right, and the senior touched the ball past Rowan goalkeeper Michael Oehlmann. The next 39-plus minutes were tense for the Golden Knights, but they shutout the sixth-ranked Profs to advance to the NCAA Final Four of 1993, where second-ranked Williams College awaited as host of the final three games of the season.
Clarkson dropped a 3-1 decision to the Ephs in the national semifinal, but the Golden Knights' run in 1993 remains the best in program history. Kirmse, a second-team All-American, led the way by scoring a goal in each of Clarkson's three NCAA Tournament games prior to the game against Williams, giving him 16 goals and 42 points overall, figures that both still stand as single-season marks for the program, the former figure a tie with teammate Larry Martin. Kirmse's 10 assists were also just shy of the single-season record at Clarkson, one short of his record of 11 in 1991.
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