Standing between the netposts at Peacock Park, Fighting Scots goalkeeper Joel Cowan (Alton, IL/HS) always struck an imposing figure. It looked impossible to get a shot in over his head and under the eight-foot high crossbar, and his tall, athletic build meant he could cover the 24-foot width of the goal as well.

Cowan, who recently completed his 63-game career at Monmouth, also possessed some useful intangibles, such as a strong left foot that consistently placed his trademark half-volley punts well into the opposition’s half of the field, and agile footwork that allowed him to control the ball with his feet when picking up the ball with his hands was not an option.

A final intangible, said his coach, Rue Carthew, was leadership, a trait he embellished as a senior captain on the most successful soccer team in school history.

“He was one of our captains this year, and I think that really helped him,” said Carthew. “He had a great year. People saw how great he was.”

Carthew was especially referring to the opposing coaches in the Midwest Conference, who named Cowan the league’s Player of the Year at their annual meeting last weekend.

“I told my assistant that he’d be Player of the Year,” said Carthew. “He just had a great season.”

Often, goalies who near the league lead in fewest goals allowed per game (Cowan surrendered just 0.94 per MWC game, good for first in the conference) benefit from a defense so good that they rarely have to touch the ball. Although Monmouth’s defense was certainly stingy, Cowan did face his share of shots, as he also led the MWC in saves per game (8.29).

During Monmouth’s 7-1-2 run to the national tournament, Cowan allowed just seven goals, and even though he let in three against Luther, he was brilliant between the posts, making several spectacular saves and nearly stopping the penalty shot he faced. And Luther proved to be a very worthy opponent indeed. The Norse went on to defeat UW-Oshkosh, the eighth-rated team in the nation, 2-1, and then knocked off UW-Whitewater 1-0 to advanced to the national Elite Eight, where they’ll play the University of Redlands.

Besides Cowan, several other Scots received postseason honors, including Carthew, who was named the MWC Coach of the Year. Junior forward Zach Hampson (Carbondale, IL/HS), sophomore midfielder Alex Sandoval (East Moline, IL/HS) and senior defender Jeff Samp (Schiller Park, IL/East Leyden) were also named first team All-MWC and sophomore defender Mark Allen (Milan, IL/Sherrard), a sure contender for Player of the Year honors in the second half of his career, made the second team.

“It was a tremendous run,” said Carthew of Monmouth’s second half of the season, “especially considering that we did it with only about 13 players. We were just banged up physically by the time we played Luther. But it was a great run for the kids and was great for the program.”

That program, which already boasts one of the top facilities in Division III soccer in the region, should start to draw the type of players that can make national appearances a far more regular occurrence. Although the Scots lose Cowan, Samp and six other seniors, Allen, Sandoval and Hampson return, along with solid players like Jon Williamson (Leroy, IL/HS), Ortez Davis (Carbondale, IL/HS) and Rob Williams (Batavia, IL/Marmion Military Academy).

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