While most students were busy cramming for final exams at the end of Winter term, two Big Green athletes were in Fiji accomplishing something far more impressive than beating the median in class.
Craig Henderson '09 and Dan Keat '10, members of Dartmouth's men's soccer team, helped their native New Zealand qualify for the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing.
Henderson and Keat were instrumental in helping New Zealand win the Oceania Football Confederation's Olympic qualifying tournament, held on March 1-9 in Lautoka, Fiji.
Keat helped set up the winning goal in the first game against Fiji, but was sent off on a controversial red card in a game against Vanuatu and missed the rest of the tournament due to a suspension.
Henderson had a goal against the Solomon Islands to secure the win and virtually guarantee the Oly-Whites' spot in the 29th Olympiad.
This marks the first time that the Oly-Whites have qualified for the Olympics in soccer. New Zealand's women's national soccer team, the Football Ferns, have also successfully qualified this year.
New Zealand has dominated the OFC since the departure of the Australia's Socceroos to the Asian Football Confederation in 2006. Since only one bid is granted to the OFC, only the winner of the OFC qualifying tournament advances to the Olympics.
Henderson and Keat competed on New Zealand's Under 23 squad, since Olympic soccer is contested between each country's U-23 squad and not the senior national team.
New Zealand does not regularly field a U-23 squad, and the team was called into Auckland just 11 days prior to the tournament's first game. Other teams, such as Fiji, had built up its U-23 squad since February.
Many of those called up for the U-23 squad had previously played with each other, however, and the coaching staff made sure that the Oly-Whites would be ready.
"It was definitely a challenge, but we have a great coaching staff and we have the same coach as the U-20 team," Henderson said. "Half of the team was made of guys from the U-20 Team and then we had some older guys, so it was a good mix of youth and experience. I think we were able to play well even with limited preparation. Against the less-ranked teams we weren't able to play so well, but we stepped up our play for the big games, which was key."
"It was a tough, but we had quite a few players that have played with each other on different teams, and we were able to come together," he added. "We developed a bond quickly and had good team spirit. The Olympics is a huge dream for all of us, so it wasn't really hard to work together."
While the team had limited time to prepare, the timing of the tournament was ideal for Henderson, who was able to play with minimal disruption of his academics.
"It hasn't been too difficult so far," Henderson said, regarding balancing academics with athletics. "Luckily for me a lot of the tournaments and training camps have fallen during the summer and winter breaks for me, but Keat and I have had to take a couple of two-course terms. You want to train with the national team as much as possible, but when you can't do that you just stay here and train with the Dartmouth team."
While jet lag was not a problem, a major factor in the tournament was the heat of Fiji, with temperatures well into the 90s.
"Fiji is only a three-hour trip from New Zealand," Keat said, "I would say that heat was the biggest issue. It was around 90 degrees so it was incredibly hot. It was an adjustment for guys coming in from the New Zealand summer, but for me who was coming in from the snow, it was an even bigger adjustment. All of our tough matches were in the middle of the day, which was very unexpected. We were losing six pounds of water weight a game, so I would definitely say that heat was the biggest issue."
In the first game of the tournament, New Zealand beat hosts Fiji 2-1 in dramatic victory thanks to some deft cross passing from Keat.
After a key save by New Zealand goalkeeper Jacob Spoonley on Samy Krishna's shot to keep the score tied at one-all in the 88th minute, Keat helped on the winning goal in the 90th minute when he set up Steven Old for the game-winning header with a perfectly placed corner. Old had recorded an own goal earlier when he deflected a long-range shot into his own net.
"Our set pieces were good, because that's something you can get together in a short period of time," Keat said.
New Zealand then moved on to dispatch Vanuatu by the score of 2-0.
While the Oly-Whites were able to beat Vanuatu, Keat was sent off in the 36th minute when he allegedly assaulted Vanatu's Spencer Noal with what referees determined was a closed fist.
Both players were sent off, and Keat received a three-game suspension along with a 3,000 Swiss Franc fine, meaning he would not be able to take part in any more games in the qualifying tournament. Noal was suspended for two games and fined 1,000 Swiss Francs.
"It was a little bizarre," Keat said. "I don't like to say too much about referees, but I guess I was in shock. It was kind of ridiculous, I've never been sent off at any level. I realized that the referees have a job to do at the end of the day, but I don't think I did anything to merit the red card."
According to Henderson, the red card was unwarranted and the resulting penalty was more than needed.
"The sending-off was harsh to say the least, and the three-game suspension was too much," Henderson said.
The Oly-Whites received a scare from Papua New Guinea early, but turned up the level of play late in the game as New Zealand earned a 5-2 win.
The Oly-Whites were stunned early when Papua New Guinea took the early lead in the 17th minute. However, a double-substitution in which New Zealand coach Stu Jacobs brought on Daniel Ellensohn and Jason Hayne proved to be a difference, as Ellensohn scored two goals to lead the comeback.
Henderson sat out the game due to injury.
In the fourth game, New Zealand was matched up against the Solomon Islands, who along with Fiji were considered to be the teams most likely to clinch the Olympic bid.
The Oly-Whites struck early, when Steven Old scored in the fifth minute. To add insult to injury, Solomon Islands had one of their top goal scorers, Alick Maemae, sent off in the 12th minute.
Henderson sealed the victory in the 69th minute with a beautiful strike from 25 meters out.
"It was certainly one of the most important goals I've ever scored," Henderson said. "When we won that game, we were pretty much dead-set to go to the Olympics and it confirmed that we were going to qualify."
In the final day, the Oly-Whites closed out the tournament in impressive fashion by beating the Cook Islands in a convincing 8-0 blowout, when they only needed a tie to clinch their berth.
Henderson was rested for this game, and Keat completed his three-game suspension.
New Zealand has not yet announced its roster for the 2008 Olympics, but the team should not be much different from the one that traveled to Fiji.
"They should announce the team in the coming days," Henderson said. "I would imagine they would want to do that before they announce the draw. The majority of the guys who played in the qualifiers are likely to be selected for the Olympics. For the Olympics we are allowed to add three over-age players, who are players over 23, and the squad is only 18 players, whereas it was 21 for the qualifiers."
If selected, Henderson would still finish up his spring term at Dartmouth.
"I'll finish up spring term here and train with the Dartmouth team, and then head to New Zealand in June for training camp. In July we will have some scheduled pre-tournament games, and then we'll head to China for the start of the Olympics."
All of the teams in the 16-team tournament have been set, and the Oly-Whites will now wait for the draw to see who they will be matched up against.
Other teams that have qualified include New Zealand's arch nemesis Australia, the United States, and South American powers Brazil and Argentina. The Oly-Whites will find out who they are drawn against on April 20.
The soccer games will start two days before the opening ceremonies on August 6, and the finals will be contested on the day before the closing ceremonies on August 23.
