Nov. 2, 2001

by Mark La Monica

It'll take two wins, a handful of losses by other teams, proper celestial alignment and maybe even some rhythmic chanting around a cauldron and some candles, but it remains a possibility.

The men's soccer team at Stony Brook University (6-6-2, 3-5-1), in its first season in the America East, has an outside chance of qualifying for the conference tournament.

And who better to trust than midfielder Jamie Gaither as the regular season comes to an end with this weekend's road games against Vermont (2-6-1) and Hartford (6-2-1). He knows all too well how to perform in the clutch.

Four of his five goals have been game-winners, including a second-half shot to beat Hofstra (5-4) and another in overtime to beat Drexel (2-7) this past weekend.

"They were really big, especially after we got embarassed by BU and Northeastern," Gaither said. "I've just been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time."

Dan Ferrin, a preseason All-American goalkeeper, has returned to such form in the last two games, doing it with a broken bone in his foot. Ferrin injured a metatarsal in his right foot last year and had surgery, but the foot never healed properly. Ferrin missed two games and was told by doctors not to play "for risk of displacing" his toe.

"There's going to be a lot of pain, but we really need to win these two games," Ferrin said. "I'm supposed to be on crutches, but I'm not."

The sight of his former roommate playing with a bone that is 80 percent fractured has Gaither even more pumped for this weekend.

"It's a huge inspiration for me," Gaither said. "The reason he's still playing this season is because of me, because I'm a senior and he wanted one more year with me."

And perhaps an extra playoff game or two.