University of Delaware Athletics
Celebration of Champions: The 1970 Men's Soccer Team's Journey to the NCAA Tournament
10/22/2020 11:10:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Fifty years ago this fall, the University of Delaware saw arguably one of the best men's soccer seasons in program history.
With only six winning seasons since the program's inception in 1926, Loren Kline took over as head coach of the Blue Hens in 1963. Kline, youthful and laidback at the beginning of his 30-season tenure as Delaware head coach, started a run of 13 consecutive winning seasons in 1965 and led the team to its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1968.
The leading scorer on that 1968 squad was a sophomore forward by the name of Mike Biggs, who bagged a school-record 17 goals. By 1970, the 6'0" Biggs was a senior co-captain and a formidable aerial threat at center forward.
"Just a tremendous goal-scorer, great header," Bill Dodds, who was a junior forward on the 1970 team, said. "He had a great feel around the net."
The status of soccer, both in the United States and abroad, was in a different place in 1970 than it is today. Delaware utilized a 3-2-2-3 or "WM" formation that was popular around the world at the time, featuring three defenders, two midfielders, and five forwards with two "inside forwards" playing underneath a top line of two wingers and Biggs at center forward.
While the tactics were different from what we see on the pitch today, the culture of the game in the United States was different as well. There was no ubiquitous youth soccer opportunities; most members of the Blue Hens didn't start playing until high school. Dodds, who played as a playmaking inside forward within the WM, recalls having to go to the Philadelphia Convention Center with his brother just to be able to watch Pele and Brazil win the World Cup the summer before that 1970 season.
"I had never seen a soccer game prior to my sophomore year in high school," Biggs said. "It just so happened that my soccer coach was also my gym teacher, so he encouraged me to come out and I just kind of fell in love with the game."
After his breakout sophomore campaign, opposing defenders started paying more attention to Biggs as a junior and his production dipped slightly to 14 goals. But after playing in various summer leagues in the offseason, Biggs had his best season as a senior in 1970. He scored 16 goals, leading an offense that scored more goals (37) than any previous team in school history. That squad's scoring rate of 2.85 goals per game still stands as the second highest mark in program history.
The 1970 Blue Hens weren't just an offensive powerhouse, they also shut down their opponents defensively, conceding just nine goals in 11 regular season games. In addition to goalkeeper Dennis Tracey, who helped record five shutouts, the key man to Delaware's back line was dominant left back Walt Cleaver.
"I don't think anybody got by him the whole year," Dodds said.
"His consistency was unbelievable," Biggs said. "He just didn't get beat. He wasn't extremely physical or anything, but he just knew where to be defensively. He knew when to slow the offensive players down, he knew when to attack the ball. Just a really steady player."
To underscore how important Cleaver was to the Blue Hens, Biggs was chosen by the Middle Atlantic Conference as its Most Valuable Player after his prolific scoring campaign, but the Delaware players themselves chose Cleaver as the team MVP.
Delaware got off to a roaring start that fall, hammering Franklin & Marshall 6-2 and Ursinus 6-1. The Blue Hens didn't slow down in conference play, taking the MAC West opener from Lafayette by a score of 5-2. With two games left in the regular season, Delaware held an undefeated 8-0-1 record and eye on a potential NCAA tournament bid.
First, the Blue Hens had to face Temple on the road. Biggs described the Owls, who beat Delaware in its only previous NCAA Tournament appearance and had never lost to the Blue Hens, as their "nemesis." Temple made the tactical choice to have a defender man-mark Biggs the whole game, the first time that had happened all season. The physical, defensive battle ended in a 0-0 draw and while it wasn't the result Delaware wanted, it did keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive.
The final match of the regular season came at home against the reigning MAC champions Bucknell in front of a large crowd.
"My parents took a picture, there was a cross and they had a picture of me in the air beautifully, and behind me, very calm and collected is Mike Biggs just kind of gliding into the area," Dodds laughed about his memory of the Bucknell game. "And I missed the ball, it went over my head, and he scored on it."
Delaware defeated the Bison 3-0 to complete an undefeated regular season at 9-0-2, claim the MAC West championship, and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. The Blue Hens drew the mighty Penn State (Coach Loren Kline's alma mater) in the first round, and while the Nittany Lions were the higher seed, a scheduling conflict with facilities meant Delaware would host the match.
In front of another large home crowd who each paid $1 for admission, Delaware held a 1-0 lead after three quarters (NCAA soccer matches were competed in four quarters of 22 minutes during this era) through a goal from Dave Haney. Tracy stood tall in goal despite Penn State outshooting the Hens by a wide margin. Eventually, the Nittany Lions broke through and netted two goals in the final five minutes of the game, but Delaware had fought valiantly against an opponent that physically outmatched them.
The Blue Hens' season wrapped up a week later as they fell to MAC East champion West Chester in the MAC title game, but the 9-2-2 campaign was still one of the most successful in the history of Delaware soccer.
In addition to the star senior co-captains Biggs and Cleaver, the Blue Hens had a number of underclassmen that turned experience from the 1969 season into productive campaigns in 1970. Junior Gary Harding anchored the back line as a center back. Frank Hagstoz, Daren Miricanyan and Bill Dannenberg featured in the attack, while Haney and Terry Siegele operated the midfield.
Even with all that talent, the players credit the team's chemistry together for their success.
"Really, really good spirit. We worked together, everybody got along really well," Dodds said. "We had fun at practice every day."
"I think it was just the chemistry of the group," Biggs said. "Everybody put their egos to the side and we played to the best of our abilities."
Soccer remained important to the Blue Hens even after their time at UD. Biggs and Cleaver continued playing soccer and won the US Amateur Cup with Philadelphia Inter, while Dodds coached high school soccer for nearly two decades.
"I was kind of shy in high school, and it was a time of growing up for me. It was just a tremendous time in my life," Dodds said of his time at UD. "I ended up educating in social studies and secondary education. For 37 years I was a teacher, I coached soccer for like 18 years, I coached the tennis team. And Delaware laid the foundation for me, turning me into the person I am today."
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With only six winning seasons since the program's inception in 1926, Loren Kline took over as head coach of the Blue Hens in 1963. Kline, youthful and laidback at the beginning of his 30-season tenure as Delaware head coach, started a run of 13 consecutive winning seasons in 1965 and led the team to its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1968.
The leading scorer on that 1968 squad was a sophomore forward by the name of Mike Biggs, who bagged a school-record 17 goals. By 1970, the 6'0" Biggs was a senior co-captain and a formidable aerial threat at center forward.
"Just a tremendous goal-scorer, great header," Bill Dodds, who was a junior forward on the 1970 team, said. "He had a great feel around the net."
The status of soccer, both in the United States and abroad, was in a different place in 1970 than it is today. Delaware utilized a 3-2-2-3 or "WM" formation that was popular around the world at the time, featuring three defenders, two midfielders, and five forwards with two "inside forwards" playing underneath a top line of two wingers and Biggs at center forward.
While the tactics were different from what we see on the pitch today, the culture of the game in the United States was different as well. There was no ubiquitous youth soccer opportunities; most members of the Blue Hens didn't start playing until high school. Dodds, who played as a playmaking inside forward within the WM, recalls having to go to the Philadelphia Convention Center with his brother just to be able to watch Pele and Brazil win the World Cup the summer before that 1970 season.
"I had never seen a soccer game prior to my sophomore year in high school," Biggs said. "It just so happened that my soccer coach was also my gym teacher, so he encouraged me to come out and I just kind of fell in love with the game."
After his breakout sophomore campaign, opposing defenders started paying more attention to Biggs as a junior and his production dipped slightly to 14 goals. But after playing in various summer leagues in the offseason, Biggs had his best season as a senior in 1970. He scored 16 goals, leading an offense that scored more goals (37) than any previous team in school history. That squad's scoring rate of 2.85 goals per game still stands as the second highest mark in program history.
The 1970 Blue Hens weren't just an offensive powerhouse, they also shut down their opponents defensively, conceding just nine goals in 11 regular season games. In addition to goalkeeper Dennis Tracey, who helped record five shutouts, the key man to Delaware's back line was dominant left back Walt Cleaver.
"I don't think anybody got by him the whole year," Dodds said.
"His consistency was unbelievable," Biggs said. "He just didn't get beat. He wasn't extremely physical or anything, but he just knew where to be defensively. He knew when to slow the offensive players down, he knew when to attack the ball. Just a really steady player."
To underscore how important Cleaver was to the Blue Hens, Biggs was chosen by the Middle Atlantic Conference as its Most Valuable Player after his prolific scoring campaign, but the Delaware players themselves chose Cleaver as the team MVP.
Delaware got off to a roaring start that fall, hammering Franklin & Marshall 6-2 and Ursinus 6-1. The Blue Hens didn't slow down in conference play, taking the MAC West opener from Lafayette by a score of 5-2. With two games left in the regular season, Delaware held an undefeated 8-0-1 record and eye on a potential NCAA tournament bid.
First, the Blue Hens had to face Temple on the road. Biggs described the Owls, who beat Delaware in its only previous NCAA Tournament appearance and had never lost to the Blue Hens, as their "nemesis." Temple made the tactical choice to have a defender man-mark Biggs the whole game, the first time that had happened all season. The physical, defensive battle ended in a 0-0 draw and while it wasn't the result Delaware wanted, it did keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive.
The final match of the regular season came at home against the reigning MAC champions Bucknell in front of a large crowd.
"My parents took a picture, there was a cross and they had a picture of me in the air beautifully, and behind me, very calm and collected is Mike Biggs just kind of gliding into the area," Dodds laughed about his memory of the Bucknell game. "And I missed the ball, it went over my head, and he scored on it."
Delaware defeated the Bison 3-0 to complete an undefeated regular season at 9-0-2, claim the MAC West championship, and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. The Blue Hens drew the mighty Penn State (Coach Loren Kline's alma mater) in the first round, and while the Nittany Lions were the higher seed, a scheduling conflict with facilities meant Delaware would host the match.
In front of another large home crowd who each paid $1 for admission, Delaware held a 1-0 lead after three quarters (NCAA soccer matches were competed in four quarters of 22 minutes during this era) through a goal from Dave Haney. Tracy stood tall in goal despite Penn State outshooting the Hens by a wide margin. Eventually, the Nittany Lions broke through and netted two goals in the final five minutes of the game, but Delaware had fought valiantly against an opponent that physically outmatched them.
The Blue Hens' season wrapped up a week later as they fell to MAC East champion West Chester in the MAC title game, but the 9-2-2 campaign was still one of the most successful in the history of Delaware soccer.
In addition to the star senior co-captains Biggs and Cleaver, the Blue Hens had a number of underclassmen that turned experience from the 1969 season into productive campaigns in 1970. Junior Gary Harding anchored the back line as a center back. Frank Hagstoz, Daren Miricanyan and Bill Dannenberg featured in the attack, while Haney and Terry Siegele operated the midfield.
Even with all that talent, the players credit the team's chemistry together for their success.
"Really, really good spirit. We worked together, everybody got along really well," Dodds said. "We had fun at practice every day."
"I think it was just the chemistry of the group," Biggs said. "Everybody put their egos to the side and we played to the best of our abilities."
Soccer remained important to the Blue Hens even after their time at UD. Biggs and Cleaver continued playing soccer and won the US Amateur Cup with Philadelphia Inter, while Dodds coached high school soccer for nearly two decades.
"I was kind of shy in high school, and it was a time of growing up for me. It was just a tremendous time in my life," Dodds said of his time at UD. "I ended up educating in social studies and secondary education. For 37 years I was a teacher, I coached soccer for like 18 years, I coached the tennis team. And Delaware laid the foundation for me, turning me into the person I am today."
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