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Sports
Jeremy L. Writt
Staff Writer
The Morehouse soccer team,
on the strength of a strong defense
and an opportunistic offense, won
the fourth annual Intercup
Invitational, held March 26-28,
which featured NCAA Division
II and I teams.
The Maroon Tigers way to
the final was blocked by a
Clemson Tigers team that
regularly plays soccer
powerhouses like the University
of Virginia and the University of
North Carolina.
If, the Maroon Tigers were
intimidated, their play gave no
indication of it. Morehouse
dominated this catfight by
applying constant pressure and
by controlling the ball for the
majority of the game.
Head coach, Dr. Augustine
Konneh gave all the kudos to his
players.
"There was no game plan. It
was just go and play hard. I credit
the players more. They were just
ready to play. From the first game
that they played, they played so
well. It was amazing," said Coach
Konneh.
After dispatching Clemson 2-
0 on Friday, Morehouse won by
forfeit against Mercer University
on Saturday morning.
Middle Tennessee University,
Morehouse's next opponent,
fared no better than Clemson had
against the Maroon Tigers' stifling
4-4-2 formation. MTU fell 3-1 as
the Maroon Tigers spread them
out and again steadily controlled
the ball and made the most of its
scoring opportunities.
In a game that ended up
being a preview to the title game,
Morehouse displayed how good
defense translates into good
offense.
Right fullback, Bishada
Jacques, took the goal personally.
The super sophomore
defenseman even goes active on
the offensive end by setting up
striker William Paasewe for one
of the team's 3 straight
unanswered goals.
Bishada, stopper Allan
Tardieu, and the rest of the
defensive unitwere impenetrable
for the remainder of the match.
Bishada put a perfect comer kick
up in the air in front of Tardieu.
Tardieu, who scored one goal and
assisted Paasewe on another, rose
above two defenders and
redirected the ball into the back
of the net with his head.
Paasewe, a recent transfer,
used this tournament as his
coming out party. In four
tournament games,
the Liberian native
scored four goals,
which was the team
high. Paasewe comes
to Morehouse having
played for Fulani, a
Liberian club team.
He also served there
as a Marine.
"I am here to score
goals for the team,"
said Paasewe on his
role on the team.
The 4-4-2
formation puts a lot of
responsibility in the
hands of the two
forwards. According
to Paasewe, "It is too
much work for the striker, but it
is challenging and I like it"
The Maroon Tigers next
victim was tournament host,
Perimeter College. They were
downed 3-1 in similar fashion.
William Paasewe again provided
the offense along the Lelvin
Crowe ID who had two goals in
the tournament. This time
Paasewe used his head to redirect
a free kick from Allan Tardieu.
The final was a rematch of the
quarterfinal game against MTU.
MTU reached the final by beating
a North Carolina State team that
had earlier beaten the Tarheels of
UNC. MTU again fell prey to the
Tigers losing 4-1.
"We put pressure on them.
We had played a game and they
had played a game that day, but
we were a stronger than them.
You could tell that we had more
stamina than they had. So we kept
pressing them," said Konneh.
Fullback Bishada Jacques
commented, "We tried to control
the ball and capitalize on our
chances."
"We were in a tournament
that made us look really good. We
Dr. Augustine Konneh, head soccer
coach leads the team in its second
season of divsion II play.
All photos by Philip Asbury/Staff
Morehouse’s team players take a break during practice. The soccer team is coming off a
successful tournament and looks for a bright remainder of their season.
played teams that were well
organized and from Division I.
Anytime you beat a North
Carolina, a Clemson, a North
Carolina State, it boosts your
moral. The team prepared
themselves mentally. Before we
accepted the invitation, I told-
them we are probably not ready
to go to this, but they said 'no we
want to play.' We will win this
tournament," said Konneh.
"Our team usually, when we
get a lead they will relax and the
other team will come back. We
did not do that this tournament. I
just kept yelling at them. I don't
do like other coaches and jump
and yell all over the place, but
when something needs to be
corrected I will yell." Konneh
added.
Morehouse soccer fans will
have an opportunity to yell and
cheer their team on as the Maroon
Tigers continue their preseason
against Oglethorpe and Berry
College.