First Official Match

On August 28th we took a three hour road trip to Danville to play our first "official" game of the 2009 season. Last year we lost to Danville 4-1 and 2-1. Needless to say we were wanting to go to Danville and get a win this year.

The game stared the way we wanted it. Thad Snell put in a goal on a breakaway from the left side at the 15 minute mark. We were looking good. Our possession game was exceptional, and we were putting good pressure on the ball. But after our first goal we hit a lull, and we didn't see much production although we had some good chances to score. Danville put in their first goal late in the first half. It was a 30 yard shot from midfield after a rebound from the penalty area. So, at half time it was 1-1. Not exactly what I was hoping for at half time, but it wasn't a bad effort.

In the second half Neil Houlihan found the back of the net on a breakaway. His goal put us up 2-1 and that's the way it stayed until the 80th minute. They scored from the midfield again after a poor effort on our part to clear the ball. Their second goal should have never been. Our boys seemed to dig down a little bit after that tieing goal. We had some very good chances to go ahead. Three breakaways were foiled by a good effort on the Keeper.

Disappointed, not angry, was a good description of me after the game. I felt like we had the advantage in speed, and talent. I'm not making excuses for the game, but the officiating was sub par for collegiate soccer. Even the opposing coach agreed with me after the game about the sub par officiating. BUT officiating did not lose the game for us. We just simply failed to finish on the ample opportunities that we had. If we would have made half of the breakaways that we had, the score would have been 5-2. Hopefully, we'll do a better job at finishing next week at our three home games.

This was a good test for us. It humbled us a little. I think the boys went into this match thinking that we would be able to do to Danville what we did to Williams Baptist. Hopefully we have learned to not take any game for granted.

Next week is a busy week with three home games. We play Lindenwood University at Belleville and I don't know a thing about them. So we will prepare for them like they are an excellent team and hopefully have a good showing on our home pitch. Kaskaskia is our opponent on Wednesady. They are a new program like us, and that should be a pretty even match. Heartland comes to the Lake on Saturday. They will be a tough opponent. Last year we played them a close game on a small field, but at the end of the season we played them on a different field and they handed it to us. I think we'll give them a little better game this year.

In the end 1-0-1 isn't a bad start, could be better, but it could be worse.

Season is under way

The day of the first game, although it was a scrimmage, has come and gone. We played Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas this past Saturday. I never thought August 22nd would get here. It's a long time between August 1st and the 22nd when you are conditioning, training, and playing inter squad games. The boys were eager to play, and the coaches were certainly eager to see the boys play someone else.

We had a good showing. Our possession game was very good and so was our defensive pressure. We could have finished a little better on a couple of headers, and our corners need a little work, but all in all it was a very good outing. Our freshman Keeper (Marcus Fernandez) got put to the test a few times and he had a good showing. He'll continue to improve with experience and training.

You're not supposed to keep score in "scrimmages", but we won 4-1,,,:) We had some goals by two freshmen, Thad Snell and Neil Houlihan, and one goal by one of our returning sophomores, Jared Butler. Josh Sears, Griffin Groves, Andy Jerome, Ceasar Garcia, and Jared White all had opportunities to put one in the back of the net, but it wasn't meant to be for them. We have an excellent starting front line and we have three to four more on the bench that will come in and spell those boys and do an excellent job.

What I was most proud of was our possession game. I love possession soccer. To be able to build the attack from the back with one and two touches passes, taking the ball wide to stretch the defense, then passing to the middle so that our mids can send the ball forward through lanes created by our forwards making creative runs is simply beautiful to watch. We have three very good mids that can get the job done, along with two - three reserves on the bench that can come in and make a positive contribution. If we continue to do what we did last Saturday, and improve on that part of our game, we will be a pretty tough team by mid season.

The one downside to the game was the concussion (or contusion the drs. can't seem to make up their mind) that Micah Duncan sustained early in the first half. He went up for a header in a crowd and took a shot to the head either with an elbow or another players head. He came off the field during a regular substitution complaining of blurred vision. So I set him out for the rest of the game and took him to the Emergency Room after his symptoms continued. But the Emergency Room Dr. said that the scan didn't reveal any serious damage and we were cleared to go home, after a 3.5 hour visit! Micah is day to day right now. He should be back in a week or so.

Our next match is the start of our "official" season. We go to Danville this Friday to play the team that beat us last year 2-1 with 10 seconds left on the clock. Needless to say, we want this game pretty bad. Hopefully we'll show up ready to play and give Danville a very good game.

News on the Kenyans

Oscar and Antony had their appointment with the U.S. Embassy on the 17th of June and they were denied their request for a student visa. The reason they were denied is complicated so I won't go into any details, but it was not a permanent denial. They can reschedule their appointment with the Embassy and provide the information in that interview that was lacking in the first interview. Keep them in your prayers as they make another appointment in the very near future. Their bags are packed, their airline tickets are arranged, all they need is approval from the Embassy to come the states.

Just in case they don't make it, I'm on the hunt for some others that might fill their spots. We will have a full team of players by August, one way or the other.

With or without the Kenyans we are going to be a good team. I'm very pleased with the talent that we have been able to assemble so far. I was wanting to see you all on the pitch in a bad way on the night of our team meeting, but it wasn't meant to be. Hopefully we will get you all together soon so we can see what we have.

Keep conditioning, you're going to need to be in very good shape by the time we hit the ground running on August 1st.

Team Meeting Update

The Team Meeting will be June 8th, 5:00 p.m. at Second Baptist Church. SBC is located at 605 South 34th Street, Mt. Vernon. We'll meet at 5:00 for a cookout/meeting, then conclude with a light scrimmage just to see what we have as a team. You won't need to bring anything for the cookout, just an appetite. If for some reason you can't make it, (you better have a very good reason why you can't make it) call me or text me and let me know.

For those of you that live an hour or so drive from Mt. Vernon, you may want to contact Coach V and make arrangements to spend the night at America's Best Inn in Mt Vernon. Coach V owns the motel.

2009 Schedule

RLC is having trouble posting the new schedule so I thought I'd publish it.

8/22 Williams Baptist College JV Away Not yet determined
8/28 Danville Away 3:00
8/31 Lindenwood University Home 4:00
9/2 Kaskaskia Home 3:00
9/5 Heartland Home 2:00
9/7 Carl Sandberg Away 3:00
9/9 SWIC Home 3:00
9/12 Springfield College Home 2:00
9/15 Lewis and Clark Home 4:00
9/17 Lincoln College Home 3:00
9/22 ICC Away 3:00
9/24 McKendree JV Home 3:00
9/26 Lincolnland Home 2:00
10/2 Kaskaskia Away 4:00
10/3 Danville Home 2:00
10/5 Parkland Away 4:00
10/8 Missouri Baptist JV Away 5:00
10/10 St. Charles Co. Co. Home 2:00
10/14 Southwest Mississippi Co.Co. Away Not yet determined
10/15 Pearl River Co. Co. Away Not yet determined
10/19 Forrest Park Co. Co. Away 7:00

Better late than never

Jared White was one of the first guys to sign back in late fall of 2008. I wasn't able to get ahold of his picture until recently. He will be a force to reckoned with in the midfield. He played high school soccer at Triad and he played one year at our rival SWIC. We won't hold that against him,,,:) I'm glad that he is a Warrior. He will make a big difference for us this year.

Team Meeting

Hey guys, I'd like to have a team meeting on June 8th or 9th. I need to know how many can make it on those days. If we go on the 8th we will have a meeting in the late afternoon with a cookout/meeting and a fun scrimmage just to see what we have. If we go on the 9th we will have the meeting in the morning with a meeting/cookout and a fun scrimmage.

Text me and let me know what day is best for you. Then I'll get back with you on which day works out best for all of us. Hopefully all of you can make it.