Typically, playing sub-.500 ball in a season won’t get a team anywhere, especially to the postseason, and is certainly no reason to celebrate.
But, such was not the case for Coach Mark Schubert and the 1990 men’s soccer team at The Master’s College which defied mediocrity and the odds to reach the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in school history.
The club did it with a less than sparkling 9-10-5 record but numbers can be deceiving and during this memorable campaign they were. A closer look at the regular season schedule, rated as the toughest in the NAIA by Soccer American magazine, reveals half of the Mustangs’ 20 matches were played against either NCAA Division I or II opponents and although they won only one of those contests (a 6-2 victory over Cal State San Bernardino) the level of competition prepared them for the postseason.
Earning the top seed in the NAIA District III playoffs, the Mustangs blasted Azusa Pacific 7-1 in a first-round game and then punched their ticket to the nationals, beating traditional national power Westmont in overtime to win the college’s first-ever district title.
All that did was earn the Mustangs a first-round national tournament matchup in Boca Raton, Florida, with defending national champion West Virginia Wesleyan. The Mustangs went toe-to-toe with the Bobcats for 90 minutes before settling for an exhausting 1-1 tie.
In their next pool play match the Mustangs easily handled William Carey of Mississippi 5-1 but that wasn’t good enough to advance them into the championship round and their Cinderella season came to an end. Meanwhile, West Virginia Wesleyan moved on and eventually successfully defended its title.
Special teams are made up of special players and there was no shortage of these on this squad. Headlining the group and leading the offensive attack was All-American forward and Hall of Fame member Chris Palm who capped a brilliant career with 51 points (20 goals, 11 assists).
But, the program’s all-time leading scorer wasn’t the only one supplying the offense as freshman Ezequiel Bongarra and senior Randy Whitfield combined for 64 points on 15 goals and a whopping 34 assists, many of those passes leading to Palm’s goals.
On the other end of the field, the Mustangs were in good hands as senior goalkeeper Allan Bowden, turning away shots right, left, and over his head, posted six shutouts.
Recognition for a remarkable season came in the form of post-season honors for a number of Mustangs including NAIA All-American kudos for Palm (2nd team), Whitfield (honorable mention), and Bowden (honorable mention).
