What a weekend! Absolultely beautiful weather hovered over Bloomington and made for a great opening weekend of soccer. The results were not bad considering our walking M*A*S*H unit we have for a team at the present time.
We fought back against St. Thomas after giving away a not so great goal to win 2-1 on Saturday afternoon. Junior Carly Calkins scored the game winning goal with only :49 showing on the clock on a nice assist from sophomore Elizabeth Sinclair. The Titans tied the game in the 76th minute when Caroline Leighton knocked home her own rebound past the Tommie's keeper. One of the things working in our favor on Saturday was the fact we really wore down the St. Thomas back four who were bent over at the waist gasping for breath after each goal.
Saturday was made even better because the parents of the players threw an amazing tailgate! There was a strong parent contingency and they really know how to have fun! The entire team (plus the officials, game staff, etc.) all loved the food!
On Sunday we faced a very strong team from Wisconsin-Stevens Point. SP had defeated division 1 UW Green Bay 6-1 in a preseason scrimmage, and blasted CCIW foe Elmhurst College on Saturday 5-0. Given that we didn't play all that well ourselves on Saturday and we were a bit banged up, we needed to make a few adjustments heading into the game today.
My assistant Craig Lee and I felt really good about our tactics as the game unfolded. We changed shape to begin the game and adjusted again at the half to put more pressure on the Stevens Point defenders. While each team had a few quality looks at goal, I personally thought we had the two best of the day that narrowly missed going under the crossbar from close range. Once again I thought our fitness was stronger at the end (although we were gassed too) and we just couldn't find the back of the net. So, a 0-0 tie after 2OT was the result from Sunday, leaving the Titans 1-0-1 on the early season.
I was pleased with a number of performances, and at the risk of forgetting someone here are a few that standout: freshman goalkeeper Alli Novak was very steady and made a great save each game for us; center back Tina Rodriguez was very, very, good...if we can keep her healthy she is on the cusp of a great season; Carissa Nemmers made a big statement with her play this weekend at right back; and freshman Carile Hoekstra was the engine that never stopped playing in her first collegiate games. We played a lot of bodies and it is important to note that everyone played a big role in our positive results this weekend.
We are off to upstate New York this weekend to face SUNY-Oneonta (top 15 team in the nation) and Hartwick College in the Mayor's Cup. We are very excited for the first out of region trip of this nature for Titan Soccer. We'll visit the US Soccer Hall of Fame while in Oneonta and I hope to blog on Saturday night after our first game versus Oneonta State.
Go Titans!
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The girls played great. Of course I am biased but the back line was incredibly strong, especially in Sunday's game...Nemmers - awesome, Patty - you speedster, and Tina - couldn't possibly have done it better myself ;) haha, seriously, great job. I'm proud of you all and missing it a ton! Can't wait to see some more Titans 2007.
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