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After an even first half in which the Pioneers pressed but failed to penetrate the tough New Jersey defense, the deadlock was broken just after halftime when Paul Wright poked the ball home after a goalmouth scramble.
The play started when Barons ‘keeper Paul Royal fumbled a cross that fell at the feet of Robbie Jachym. Jachym’s shot was blocked on the goal line but Wright was there to finish from six yards out.
Western Mass. seemed to have sealed the contest thirteen minutes later when a long throw from MVP goalkeeper Jon Voight found top-scorer Jachym at the half-way line. Jachym carried the ball to the edge of the Barons’ penalty area before unleashing an unstopable shot to give the Pioneers the insurance goal.
They would need it. Seven minutes from time, the Barons got on the board when Matt Brooks scored off a header from eight yards out. For the final seven minutes, the Barons besieged the Pioneers’ goal forcing several good saves from Voight and one goal-line clearance from midfielder Matt Denecour with three minutes left in the game.
The Championship game marked the first time in five meetings that the Pioneers had defeated the Barons. South Jersey had defeated Western Mass 2-1 on June 11 and 5-3 on July 31 on the way to claiming the USL’s regular-season title. That accomplishment had earned the Barons an automatic berth in the USL’s final four, and given them three weeks off while the Pioneers had to play their way to final. Barons coach Matt Driver would argue that time off at such a crucial stage of the season is over-rated and can cause a team to lose momentum.
“Our performance in the final was our worst in twelve or thriteen games,” he said. “If you’re not playing against top teams in top competition you do lose a bit of an edge. On the night Western Mass was definitely the better team.”
The Western Mass. Pioneers are a two-year-old franchise developed from a long, rich tradition in amateur soccer.
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Pioneers Coach Leszek Wrona has led the team to early on-field sucess in its first two years. |
Ever since 1922, Gremio Lusitano, a Portuguese soccer club located in Ludlow, Mass., has been a staple of amateur soccer in western Massachusetts, becoming the top amateur club in the area and one of the best in the United States. With more than 20 teams competing successfully in Massachusetts and Connecticut at all age levels, the club had nowhere to expand except into the professional ranks. Thus, the Western Mass Pioneers were born in 1998.
Several Gremio players migrated to the Pioneers in the beginning, looking for a challenge they no longer found in the local amateur leagues. Only four still remain on the Western Mass squad in its second year in the USL. Gremio now serves as a training ground for future Pioneers stars.
The rich soccer tradition has helped the Pioneers off the field, as well, making them easily the best supported team at the Division 3 level and earning them the Organization of the Year Award from USL Commissioner Francisco Marcos. And it is not just the Portuguese community that loves them. Ludlow is also home to a sizeable Polish community and many have taken the team to their hearts, as well. When Jachym scored his goal in the Championship game he raced to the side of the field and draped a Polish flag around his shoulders before running off to celebrate with his teammates.
“Those guys have been there all season long,” he explained. “When your legs are tired in the second half and you hear one of these kids cheering you on, it makes you run a little bit harder and a little bit longer.”
The other major contingent in Pioneers crowds is the youth market, which the club has been able to successfully tap into through GM Rick Andre, a long-time leader in the youth soccer community, MYSA’s National Cups Commissioner and current member of the MAPLE Board.
Of course, a team that has consistently won under coach Leszek Wrona has also helped. Jachym’s heroics in the final gave him his 28th goal of the season, to go along with his nine assists. His form in the Championship game was being closely watched by both Sid Mazzola, scouting for the Revolution, and Steve Nicol, the newly appointed coach of the A-League’s Boston Bulldogs. While the red hot striker is willing to consider all options, (he played for the Revs in 1997 before being waived by Thomas Rongen) the liklihood is that he will stay with the Pioneers.
"We are fortunate to have Robbie," said Andre. "He's had a change in lifestyle. He's settling down and getting married and we're one hour away from where he lives."
Midfielder Paul Wright is the second leading scorer for the Pioneers with 18 goals and five assists. A graduate of Central Connecticut State, Wright hails from London, England, and previously trained with Manchester United juniors.
Minding the nets is local hero John Voight. A high school and college standout, Voight played in England as well as for the Connecticut Wolves of the A-League. He was one of the team's first signees in 1998.
In front of Voight are local product Paul Kelley (who once played for Worcester in the A-League) and Toronto native Kyle Fletcher, another graduate of Central Connecticut State who spent time with Canada's national team.
The Western Mass. Pioneers are a rare success story in American professional soccer. Their win gives them right to be considered for promotion to the A-League, a move about which Andre says the club is still undecided.
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