Let the Games Begin!

They're back! Sleepless nights, feverish sweats, pots of coffee, butterfly-filled bellies, and one big rush of blood to the head...it must be the roller-coaster ride we know all too well as the college soccer season!

65 years of soccer is ready to begin in University City...loads of history - Conference Championships, All-Americans, Players of the Year, the Philly Soccer 6, and the coup de gras...a National Championship in 1958 (which we are honoring by adding the star to the uniform this year). It is time to add to this great history in 2011!

How about that intro, not bad if i may say so myself. So when I left you last, I was quoting Robert Frost...and now I am spitting some fly Dougie "Fresh" Hess drizzle... or not... cricket, cricket....

A summer spent coaching at camps, recruiting, and gobbling up as many opportunities as possible to see the game live, albeit on the TV or in person. Went to the Home Depot Center to catch some Gold Cup games, as well as PP&L park and the Linc several times to watch the Union, REAL Madrid, and Klinsmann's debut as the new head coach of our US National Team against Mexico. All great events, but nothing compares to being on the field with our very own Dragons (OK there I go lying again, there is actually nothing better than puring a 4 iron from 200 into a slight wind on the par 5 18th hole down at my parents' place on Fripp Island, SC to close out the former AD and current AD from Rider University on a little 18 hole Nassau press for kick-in eagle...but I digress, I do like coaching soccer too...by the way, we took all 3 - front 9, back 9 and total).

Our pre-season games are all done and the real deal starts today at Villanova, kick-off at 4:00 pm. I do not like the term "pre-season"...we only get two weeks to prepare for an opening game, that is not nearly enough time. So for me, pre-season starts in January and goes until the end of July. When we get here in August, that's season baby!

We played our two scrimmage games away from home and will be starting our season on the road as well (four of our first five games are away from the comfy confines of our home at 43rd & Powelton...for those first time readers, I love to refer to our home complex, Vidas Athletic Complex, as 43rd & Powelton basically because I love directions...just ask my wife, she hates it when I want to talk about a driving route to work or down to her parents or how to get to the grocery store - I'm a living, breathing GPS baby....RECALCULATING!). It is important for us to learn to win away from home, to me this is the truest test of a strong program-that they can win in a hostile environment, away from their comfort zone. A good start for us in our tune-up matches, as we were able to take down both FDU (3-1) and St. Joe's (4-0) at their home fields.

Farleigh Dickinson University (Teaneck, NJ):
This was a good early test against an opponent that finished in the top of their conference last fall and won more than they lost. The Eagles are a pre-season pick to finish atop the NEC and are a team committed to playing a good brand of soccer. We had to duck some clouds and summer thunderstorms to get this one in, but we managed it in the end (thought at one point we were going to get struck by lightning, so I quietly moved to sit on a cooler instead - figured my assistants could test out the metal bench "theory" as energy conductors...).

We played some good soccer box to box, but weren't as sharp in the final third as we had hoped. That is to be expected after a lay-off of a couple of months and we are just getting back into it. Nonetheless, we managed to score three goals from three different goal scorers prior to FDU getting their first. The first goal was a great exercise in patience. Simple passing through the midfield that lead to Ben Miller getting forward from the right back spot. B-Milly from West Philly as he likes to be known (I'm more from Philly than this kid...he should be B-Milly well West from Philly), did well in taking the end-line and finding a free Andrew Goldberg in the box. G calmly took control of the ball, set himself up, and pulled across the face of the goal for our first strike part way through the first half.

1-0 at the half and time for a little re-organization. FDU despite being down, was having a lot of the middle third possession and had some skillful players in their midfield. We had to tuck our midfield in a bit more to prevent them from finding spaces between us. The guys adjusted well and managed two second half goals. The first was a bit of a hockey re-direct in front of goal (hey we are in Flyer Country aren't we?). John Volpatti came forward from the right back position and took a dig from about 35 yards out, as I am yelling "no, play simple" the ball gets through their first line of defense and finds an innocent John Carroll at the top of the 18 yard box. JC re-directs the shot into the top corner and I change my coaching point to "or do that." It really wasn't high percentage, but I have to get over myself because a goal is a goal and we like goals.

The final strike came from our little Italian Stallion, Michele Pataia. We had a passing movement across the top of their 18 yard box that eventually Ridge Robinson and Michele link up on. Ridge slips the Italian Job in behind their back-line and Michele finishes with pace, high at the near post....bella bella!

St. Joe's University (Philadelphia, PA):
A little trip across town for an in-city rivalry game. The Philly games are important to me as we build our program and the guys know that. I want us to be THE team in Philadelphia and our opponents to know that all Philly roads lead to Drexel.

Another solid start to the game and a large amount of the possession. We created chance after chance, but no final result. At the 25 minute mark, I "gently" reminded them that to have all this forward play and nothing to show for it is meaningless. That is one of the toughest things to manage mentally in a game. You are playing well, having success against an opponent and getting content with "playing well," but no goal to show for your work. Those are the times when the game can be the most cruel...play so well, but you conceded a goal out of nothing. Thankfully, about five minutes later we managed our first strike. A nice little counter movement up the middle of the field between Nathan Page and Andrew Goldberg. Pagey slips G in behind their back-line, and G slots it home past their goalkeeper. Unfortunately, he paid the price as he got "touched-up" after finishing. Keeping the fingers crossed that he can return to action this fall.

The half continues and I can tell the guys weren't satisfied with the one goal. They saw the blood in the water and went for it, Nathan Page would be the beneficiary. Just before the half Pagey picks up the ball on the right wing and just runs the ball forward as he likes to do. He ran and he ran (just like Forest Gump) until he got in the box and drove it across the face...hits the inside of the back post and in, a quality finish and right before the half.

The second half was much of the same. A large amount of possession and a couple more strikes. At 2-0 and part way into the half, we conceded a corner to the Hawks. A lost mark in the box, lead to a game-sustaining save from our fine Fin, Pentti Pussinen. Sometimes when you are winning and getting comfortable, you need your goalkeeper to make a save in a game that reminds your team they must keep defending and Pentti did that for us. We manage the third goal at around the 70th minute. Kenny Tribbett takes a hit from outside the box that their goalkeeper saves and spills. Manny Cazares anticipates the lose ball and does a bit of Handy Manny work to lose the gk and his marker before serving back to Kenny who heads home for the goal. A great little example of staying with the play despite not scoring on the first attempt.

The fourth and final goal came in the last minute of play and was a bit of "Groundhog Day" (you know the hilarious early 90's film featuring Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliott where the lead character, Murray, keeps repeating the same day over and over until he learns his life lesson...too much TV as a child, I know) of the redirection from FDU (why not another hockey re-direct goal, just 21 days until the Flyers open up). This time it was Matheus Goncalves (that's Ma-te-us Gon-sal-vez....it's fun to say, try it...) who volleyed the ball from about 22 out through traffic and it found fellow freshman Zack Wolfe who was willing and able to get a bit of a toe flick to the ball lifting it up and over the goalkeeper for the final tally.

A good result in Philly and a solid ending to our "pre-season" scrimmages.


65 years of soccer starts today! Off to the Mainline this afternoon to take on fellow Philly 6 rival Villanova. Get out there and support your Dragons for the 4:00 pm kick-off, it is going to be a great game...hope to see you there!

Regards,
Coach Hess

p.s. Alumni Game is set for October 8th Weekend...get it on your calendars, we want all the former Dragons to make their way back to 43rd & Powelton!

p.p.s. Ma-te-us Gon-sal-vez...go on say it again, you know you want to

Spring to an End.....Let Summer Begin!

"...So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay"

The closing lines from Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay" are suitable to define the closing days of our Spring Season (don't think I am some literary genius, or "well read" person so-to-speak, I recall the poem as Ponyboy recited it from The Outsiders...I watched the movie because I was supposed to read the book in middle school...I mean come on are you really gonna read that book or are you gonna watch a movie that has Ralph "Mr. Machismo" Macchio--pre-Karate Kid, Patrick "Nobody puts Baby in a Corner" Swayze--pre-Dirty Dancing, Emilio Estevez--pre-The Breakfast Club, Tom Cruise--pre-All The Right Moves, Rob Lowe--pre-Youngblood, Matt "Gin Phil" Dillon--pre-The Flamingo Kid, and lastly but certainly not leastly (not a word I know this), Ponyboy himself...C. Thomas Howell--pre-Red Dawn. I mean reading is cool and all, but seriously TV is so much better...for all those that think books are better than TV, I have one question for you...have you ever actually seen TV? I mean come on...the best part about TV...no reading!

I digress... (as I often do... or like to do... or kind of have to do since I like to do what it is that I do so much... tired, need a breath? I know reading the 91st Minute can be exhausting, it's a commitment, I've got you on your back heel, I'm in your grill, your pulse is racing, beads of sweat on the head, "is it hot in here or is it just me" you wonder....nope Doug's just about to drop some science--are people still dropping science these days? Man I gotta get with the times...).

Spring is done and graduation is complete! Our non-traditional spring season was a success on the whole. More time together to train and continue to learn one another's personality, as well as build our relationships. I say it all the time, but it really is true, the college environment is such a unique sporting environment...you live together, train together, travel together, eat together, go to class together...so much time together that it really isn't about the sport, but so much more about how we relate to one another and therefore if our relationships are poor, our time together on the field will be a reflection of this as well. So we work at relating to one another...working with one another...pushing one another....keeping one another accountable...and grow with one another around the game we love!

We finished 4-2 in the spring and ended up winning our last game against Seton Hall 1-0, after dropping a game earlier in the day 2-0 to a solid Princeton side. The Princeton game we showed well soccer-wise, but not result wise. We created plenty of chances to score (including Nathan Page's "go-round the goalkeeper and slot home easily only to be cleared off the goal-line by the center back effort"), but I think we lost sight of the end result as we got more and more comfortable with just "playing well" despite being down 1-0 at the half. I reminded the guys at half to stay the course and not lose sight of the end result, which is winning...As I spoke, I could sense that we were getting comfortable in our surroundings, which quite frankly was a little too "Put it on the Underhills" for me (for those that don't know, that is a Fletch reference..."I'll have a steak sandwich and a steak sandwich...")...however, I started to get a little too rev'ed up and as I built up in my speech...my voice grew more forceful....tone got louder...(basically the ging-ger in me took over and the Red Dragon came out)...I told them not to get too comfortable in the friendly confines of Princeton's campus (nothing against you Princeton, it really is a lovely campus and setting...which is lovely), I reminded them that it's not us...and started beating my chest...and spouting off something about how we like to hold it down at 43rd and Powelton... that we're blue collar... etc, etc, etc.... I think I charged up our friend at the back, Tal Bublil, a little too much...as he had a flashback to his mandatory military service and proceeded to take Princeton's Forward, lift him off the ground, and deposit him into one of the training goals that was slightly off the field... um Tal, wrong goal and wrong object deposited in it... So my bad for charging you up too much and Tal's bad for getting sent off for treating their forward like a handbag.

We regrouped between games and talked about the balance of possession vs. purpose with the ball....the balance of playing good soccer vs. getting the result....and the balance of passion vs. being ruled by emotion... I was well pleased to see the team rebound and get the result against Seton Hall in the second game. A great near post header by Mark Donohue off a corner service from Brandon Zeller gave us the lead early on and allowed the team to play with confidence. We created plenty from the run to garner a second goal, but it didn't happen for us. It was great to play with the lead, manage the lead, protect the lead, and eventually secure the result. A good bounce back from earlier in the day.

The spring overall, was a strong showing against teams that all had success this past fall. I truly believe we grew in so many areas....physically, mentally, tactically... First, physically. Strength gains were made in the weight room with Coach Evan Margulies and fitness gains were made with all the soccer-related fitness we did from January to May. It showed in how we played and in particularly, our fortitude in the games.

Perfect segue into the mental improvement.... Knowing full well what they had been committed to through the winter months, our guys went into games with an expectation of winning and succeeding. Not that we always did (as I said we were 4-2, not 6-0), but it was a big change from the tail-end of our season when we were just hanging on and trying not to lose.

Mentality comes from the everyday grind. Spring is a grind. At Drexel, that means the beginning of January until the end of May....lifting, training, fitness. With only five dates per the NCAA, there is very little opportunity to play outside competition. So you grind and get better by committing to the everyday. And you build up mentality...we built that up, shoveling the field at 6:30 am in January so that we could do our fitness for the day. We built it up in the weight room each time Coach Evan challenged the guys to do a little more. We built it up when we trained in the pouring rain...in the freezing cold.... Bottom line, we are stronger mentally now than we were.

Tactically, we grew as a team. Just like Papa John's (better ingredients, better pizza...arguable I know, it's Papa John's we're talking about), better ideas, better soccer. More so, the better we think alike, the better the soccer too. We have a far better understanding of one another's strengths and weaknesses and therefore, a better understanding of how to play with one another. Likewise, we have a better understanding of what the coaching staff expects and demands in how we want to play. Not a finished product by any means, but we are further along for sure and eager for the fall!

Summer is about to go full bore....recruiting....camps....fall season preparation....more recruiting....crazy!

Stay in touch and drop a line if you get the chance. Stay tuned....get excited....more to come....spring season highlights.... fall season schedule....65 Year's of Soccer at Drexel....a late summer Alumni Gathering at a Philly Union game.... and more tom-foolery from your's truly!


Regards,
Coach Hess

The Banquet a Success... Spring Continues...

The 2010 Men's Soccer Banquet this year was a great success! Nearly a hundred people gathered in the Liberty View Ballroom at the Independence Visitor Center in Old City Philadelphia to celebrate this past year's season and honor the members of the men's soccer team. It was my pleasure to serve as the MC for the event and if I may say so, it was a spectacular night!

Assistant Coach, Bryan Green, shared some video recap from the year that our trusty Sports Info Assistant, Britt Faulstick, labeled as "impossible shots, jaw-dropping saves, and unforgettable plays" (they will soon be loaded on our youtube page http://www.youtube.com/user/reddrexeldragon - a smaller version as I learned recently that youtube only allows you to put up a 15 minute video or they reject it...a bit uppity of them I must say ). We also ran about 40 minutes of pictures from the year through dinner time...assistant coach, Cory Robertson, did an awesome job with it and it got wonderful reviews. I have always been a bigger fan of pictures as opposed to film, something about the stills that really tell a story.

What would an end of the year banquet be without some awards....and, what would awards be without a history lesson! Former Dragons head coach, Johnson Bowie, gave us all some insight into the man, the myth, the legend known as Don Yonker whom our Most Valuable Player Award is named after. Coach Yonker was the first men's soccer coach here at Drexel and the architect behind the famed 1958 team that went undefeated claiming the Dragons only National Championship in any sport. He was a pioneer of our sport in Philadelphia through the 50's, 60's and 70's; and for his contributions to the game was placed in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's Soccer Hall of Fame. Nathan Page (Sophomore) graciously accepted the award and then delivered a heart-felt acceptance speech that only an Englishman can when placed on the spot....well done Pagey!

We also gave out the first-ever Drexel Men's Soccer Goal & Save of the Year Awards....thanks to all who went to the links and voted! Malcolm LeBourne (Sophomore) won Goal of the Year honors for his left-footed strike against Canisius off a Brandon Zeller (Sophomore) assist....coincidentally, Zeller was the recipient of a LeBourne assist earlier in that same game proving that when you give you do indeed get in return! Tim Washam (Redshirt Sophomore) claimed the Save of the Year honors for a diving stab and hold to his left against the Cherry & White Temple Owls.

Mike Serban '87 was our Alumni Honoree and delivered an inspiring speech to the troops. A talented forward and goal-scorer during his time here in University City, Mike urged the guys to embrace their time at Drexel and not take it for granted, advising them to pay attention to detail as they go through their daily lives.

Great advice for the time goes quickly (and a perfect segue if I may add) as our eight seniors learned...we took time to honor all eight of our departing seniors (Anthony Bafile, Nate Baker, Max Crockett, Buzz Conzentino, Justin Johnson, Cory Rohlfsen, Andrew Stolle and Dan Vignola), thanking them for their contributions to our program and reminding them of our slogan developed by Nick Gannon, Associate AD...."I AM a Dragon"....is present tense, not I was a Dragon, but from now and evermore they are part of our family. We wish them the best in their future endeavors!

It really was an awesome night and we hope to make it a regular event in Old City....keep it in mind for next spring!


Saturday, April 16th v. St. Peter's (W 4-0)

So we followed up a great evening with yet another rain-soaked spring game against another Jersey opponent, this time versus St. Peter's College (another 2010 NCAA College Cup Participant and double winning side from this past fall - the Peacocks won both the MAAC Regular Season Championship and the MAAC Tournament Championship).

It was important for us to start well, particularly since our opponent was a little late to arrive. I know you can't always control the traffic, but it's a great statement to say "welcome, there's a game today in case you forgot" by sticking a few early goals in and we were fortunate to do just that. So off we went pressing and chasing as much as we could in their half. We created plenty in the first 10 and finally cracked the shell in the 14th minute when John Carroll made a back post run from midfield and found a cross from the foot of Nathan Page....a great cross and a great finish!

A good start to the game and a reward for getting after our opponent from the get-go. More rewards to come as we nicked the second in the 25th minute. We have been doing more this spring with how we press as a front six unit of players in hopes of taking more pressure off of our back four throughout a game, and it seems the guys are buying into it. It showed in both the Monmouth and UMBC games, and it was evident that this same mentality was going to help us today. Our pressing in the 25th led to Manny Cazares intercepting a bad pass from a St. Peter's defender about 25-30 yards from goal....Manny then found Nathan Page who calmly took the ball, beat a defender and finished back post to the goalkeeper's right.

Third goal again came from pressurizing them in their own half. We lost the ball in the final third and both Pagey and Andrew Goldberg immediately pressed their backs. Pagey picks up the ball, dribbles at their endline and crosses as Manny was running in the box. Their defender was tracking and clumsily tried to clear it, but instead buried it in his own net....own goal!

We picked up a fourth before the end of the half in the 42nd. Go figure, it was the pressure of the front 3 players again! Manny, Page and G all getting on their backs. Pagey intercepts and quickly puts G through on a one touch. G takes the goalkeeper on but he saves it well. Ball comes back to G and he calmly squares to Pagey at the penalty spot who has a better angle to finish and he obliges. Well done to G for making the extra pass!

So into the half 4-0 up. I challenged the team as we made changes at the half to not rest and win the second half, a measurable goal as I told them that the score of this half was starting at 0-0. We experienced a "letting up on the accelerator" in the last game and I didn't want that mentality to start in this one. To their credit, they kept going and kept creating chances but we were not nearly as sharp in the second as we were in the first. While we managed to keep the shut-out, the team failed the mental exercise of being precise in front of goal. There were plenty of chances in the second half, but no one could finish. Perhaps we got content and thought we got a chance, we'll get another....that's a dangerous mentality to slip into, particularly in typically low scoring affairs like the game of soccer.


Wednesday, April 20th v. LaSalle (W 2-1)

A quick turn-around from the weekend, it ended up being a short week of training leading into a cross-town city game. LaSalle had a solid finish to their year, going undefeated in seven straight games prior to their loss in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Championship. We like to play "city games" because we want to establish ourselves as the team to beat in Philly, even in the spring. Our guys are motivated to play these games and it shows from the opening whistle.

Just one minute and eleven seconds is all it took to get going! I love an early goal, but I had no idea it would come that early...I literally was just sitting down after shaking Coach Farrell's hand, exchanging some pleasantries, when Malcolm received an eleventh or twelfth consecutive pass and served a delicious ball into the Explorer's 18 yard box from the right wing that found Phil Hagerty at the back post. Phil rose up like a salmon (I love that expression and I've been waiting to use it for quite some time), and headed home for the first goal of the game.

Early goals don't always lead you on to victory and in our case, it unfortunately made us comfortable....too comfortable. Don't get me wrong, we had plenty of other chances in that first half to grab another goal but it was the level of contentment that had settled into the team that I wasn't happy with. I addressed them at the half making the point that it was a slow bleed from a minute and twelve seconds on.

The second half leveled a bit more and both teams had chances....there was a stretch where I thought if we took the two groups down to the Market Street Bridge, they wouldn't have been able to kick it in the Schuykill! It wasn't until the 88th minute when Mark Donohue was the recipient of a Malcolm through ball that we were able to gain the second goal. A great ball from Malc that found Dono in stride and he was able to finish tidily to the goalkeepers right. However, we eased our mind thinking the game was done and LaSalle caught us flat at the back not even 45 seconds after our goal! A teachable moment for sure for our team and one that we will revisit. It ended 2-1 to the Dragons, giving us another win in the city (that's five in a row for those counting....I am....after the Spring loss last year to 'Nova, we've solidified ourselves in the city with a tie and four straight wins, including a redemptive win over 'Nova - here's the progression... Spring '10 'Nova L 4-1, Spring '10 Temple T 1-1, Fall '10 St. Joe's W 2-0, Fall '10 'Nova W 2-0, Fall '10 Temple W 3-1, Spring '11 LaSalle W 2-1...next games aren't until this fall, so stay tuned as we continue to progress towards the goal of being the men's college soccer team people think of when Philadelphia is mentioned!).


I know we played this past weekend in Princeton....but hold up until next week and I will get you my thoughts on the last two games to our spring...I don't want to crush you with too much at once, oh wait...it's too late! Have a great week and I will be in touch!

Regards,
Doug


I AM A DRAGON!

Spring is Here!

Yet another crazy winter in Philadelphia, but alas....Spring is here! Flowers blooming, birds chirping, Masters' weekend (Rory, tough Sunday) and of course, soccer returns to 43rd & Powelton and with that, so does the fabled (fabled, really dude?) 91st Minute with yours truly! (Be prepared....Dougie has lots to say...)

So we have started our non-traditional season and its great to get out and play some outside opponents after training for the past three months. We trained for the entire winter term (January-March) and to the guys credit, they got after it and have truly embraced the process of getting better. Of course they are 18-22 year old "aspiring" men, so there are good days and bad days, but by and large the good days far outweighed the bad during this time.

Since getting back from spring break, we have started training from 6:30-8:00 am - a necessary evil when you have part of your roster working Co-op (a few unemployables on No-op) and the other half taking night class (truth be told, I love it and would make them train then even if this wasn't the situation....a bit sadistic true, but how can I not love that their first thoughts of every day are on soccer...granted some take a little longer to start thinking than others at that hour...). The early morning forces them to focus straight away and with the length of training being a bit shorter than our normal two hour sessions, it leaves them wanting more at the end on some days.

We have trained for three months now, played two spring games and it is obvious that we are getting better and learning more about one another. Just a year into things now (thanks everyone for the Anniversary gifts...), but clearly the players are understanding me more and more, as well as what we expect of them in how we play. Both of the games showcased this and showed our commitment to fitness, despite this concept of being an "off-season" (honestly there really isn't such a thing...you finish one season, you break for a month and let your body recover, and then you prepare for the next). For me, this is our pre-season. January to May symbolizes the start of our new cycle and build-up for the 2011 campaign (which by the way, will be the 65th season of soccer here at Drexel University...I am planning a ticker-tape parade down Market - but I think it will more likely end up as my assistants throwing some confetti on me in the office...).

Fall seasons are such a sprint, literally just two weeks to prepare before your first game. So for a game that demands everyone have total understanding of one another, this is not much time. As a result, I put a lot of stock in the work we are doing now (lifting, fitness, training, meeting, etc.), as these guys will be the core of our team next fall and responsible for getting the new guys acclimated to the way we do things in our program.

Saturday, April 2nd @ UMBC (L 1-0):

It was a good first run-out against a formidable team. UMBC had some great success this past fall, winning both the America East Championship and advancing to the second round of the NCAA College Cup. The game had pace and a good sporting attitude to it. While we lost 1-0 (a mid-second half penalty that they finished well), we did more than enough to earn a point on the night. I was impressed with how well we pressed and chased the game for 90 minutes. Additionally, we looked to play with tempo when we had possession and we certainly had the large portion of that. While we created more than enough from the run of play and had just over a dozen corner kicks, we lacked some precision in that final third...albeit the last ball for delivery or the final strike at goal.

As I said to the guys after the game that night, you can get better in a loss and that night we did. I believe we saw a picture of how we can be in transition and how that can help us in controlling the tempo of the game. It was a solid first start after a four and a half month lay-off from outside competition.

Friday, April 8th v. Monmouth (W, 2-0):

A good week of training to reorganize the group and hopefully some better results in the final third. We spent the entire week working with the guys on movement and finishing plays in front of goal, mostly in smaller number scenarios but always building to a bigger picture by the end of training.

So second game and against another solid team. Monmouth won their sixth straight Northeast Conference regular season title this past year and qualified for another NCAA College Cup. Additionally, the Hawks spent the entire season ranked in the NSCAA National Rankings with a ranking as high as #4 in the country.

It was a rain soaked evening from the get-go! Guys warmed up in tough conditions with heavy rainfall, but it tapered as the night went on. A nice slick surface is always great to play on, allows you to really move the ball with speed on the ground. I thought Monmouth had a tough time adjusting to the shape of our team and interchange of our players. We continually found space under their back four in the first half and that allowed us to get at them a bit and keep them on their back foot. Clearly it lead to the first goal as Andrew Goldberg was able to find the ball in a pocket of space between their center backs and square up. He beat them in behind and ended up getting pulled down for a legitimate penalty about 2/3's of the way through. Nathan Page stepped up and finished it.

I told the guys at half-time that is was great for them to keep playing and earn the goal for their work in that half. This is the danger of soccer - play well, feel confident, get comfortable, don't score, get done in. We knew that Monmouth would come a bit heavier at the start of the second half and sort out any issues they were having from the first part of the game. Another danger point....you have the game in hand, now you have to keep playing!

I don't like to take anything from our opponent, so I don't believe we necessarily let up as opposed to just settle in mentally. Monmouth upped the tempo of the game and grabbed a good share of it to start off the second half. We showed some strong character to play our way back in and earn another goal off of one of their miscues...a tough back pass for their goalkeeper to deal with that was then put right on the foot of an eagerly awaiting Nathan Page. One touch and a finish, 2-0. It was a good game and a solid result for us.

The Rest of this Week...

Lots going on this week here at Drexel....the inauguration of President Fry....today is Fry-day, on a Thurs-day....get it??? You see it???.....that's called a play on words my friends, one of the many literary tools that we use around here to create a little tomfoolery... shenanigans.... chicanery if you may....

Also this week (as you can tell by the obnoxiously large banner at the top of the blog), it's Cinderella's Ball! Not really, but we are having our end of the year Men's Soccer Banquet at the Independence Visitor Center in the Liberty View Ballroom ....very hip, very sheik, very sweet 16-esque! I am certain our guys are out shopping for that perfect prom dress right now and I am hoping there will be a dance area so that Coach Green can teach us all "How to Dougie..."

Should be a great event and we will follow it up with another spring game on the Saturday, April 16th at 3:00 pm against yet another NCAA College Cup participant from the past season, St. Peter's College from New Jersey. Hope you will get out to Vidas Athletic Complex to see us play!

Thanks for reading as always and stay in touch,
Coach Hess

P.S. make sure you vote for our 2010 Goal & Save of the Year!

Save of the Year Video link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpIAAKChXDY

Goal of the Year Video link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvlLeeJgOUA

Vote for each online at - http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QZ9WZXX


I AM A DRAGON!

Spring is Near....

So good ol' Phil missed his shadow the other day in Gobbler's Knob of Punxsutawney, PA signaling that spring will come early...obviously good ol' Phil hasn't ventured to Philly at all lately! Come on bro, there is snow as high as an elephant's eye around here...and it's frozen...and full of smog (nice dirty frozen snow, the kind you would never want to make snow angels in...).

It makes for an interesting parking adventure as well. Apparently, I am learning that Philly parking in the winter is reminiscent of the California Gold Rush of 1849...back then "prospectors" used simple techniques such as panning to retrieve gold from the streams and river beds...here in Philly, "prospectors" use simple techniques of shoveling and plowing to retrieve their cars from the banks of snow; however they then add the sophisticated technique of "snow-coning" where a traffic cone is then placed in that spot claiming it as their own for the remainder of the snowy season (in most cases a cone is not handy, so a kitchen or dining room table chair is used..."sorry little Timmy, you can eat on the floor, Mommy needs her parking spot").

With the winter days we have had lately, it has been interesting in terms of what we needed to do in order to find ways to get our 8 hours in each week. Per the NCAA, we are allowed to participate in eight hours of activity per week during this segment of our season, but only two of those hours can actually be skill-related ball work activity. So we break it up with two, 1 hour sessions on Tuesday and Thursday nights (outdoors so we can be exposed to the elements...I love that!), and spend the other six hours with lifting and doing soccer-related fitness. We have spent time on Vidas as well as indoors at the Armory, but the best moment had to be last week when the boys arrived at 6:30 am for our 7:00 am soccer fitness session.

Much to their amazement, there was a fresh inch or two on the ground and more falling. They sat in the locker room thriving with excitement...(cricket, cricket)... when assistant coach, Cory Robertson walked in with orders from the boss-man (that's me) to start shoveling paths around the outside of the field for our morning fitness. It was awesome and to the guys' credit, they fought through the tough conditions (with minor grumblings) and got it done. You need to check the video out (low level production I know, but it's my first go...quality will improve, I promise!), click the link on the side of the blog.

We could have easily given them the morning off, but mentality is not developed that way. It is a process of developing the mettle that we need to finish well and dealing with the elements is certainly a step in that process. So just like the US Postal Service, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these Dragons...."

Hope you are well and can make it back for the Alumni Soccer Gathering next weekend, February 12 @ 3:00 pm. We will have food and drinks in the Dragon Room of the D.A.C. followed by the men's basketball against William & Mary @ 4:00 pm. If interested, please drop me a line at dfh25@drexel.edu. Have a great week and stay in touch!

Regards,
Doug

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year...2011 is going to be the year of the Dragon! (Well, actually it is supposed to be 2013 according to the Chinese Zodiac...but as Dragons, we can pre-empt this so-called "Zodiac" that denotes its signs supposedly dividing the ecliptic into twelve equal zones of celestial longitude, cha right... far easier to just name the entire thing the year of the Dragon...or not....so the first 91st of 2011 is getting off to a flying start...get it, flying, year of the Dragon...I'm really rolling now, aren't I....don't answer that, totally hypothetical question).

So another long silence! What can I say, it took some time to get over the rough finish we had...there were a lot of wounds to lick. I think when I last wrote we had five to play and were right in the thick of things. Injuries and missed opportunities plagued us down the stretch, but no excuse, we just weren't ready to take that big step forward yet.

I know it is going to be a process of getting better and as my father-in-law always likes to remind me, Rome indeed was not built in a day! We saw some promise for sure in our group this year and with the start we had, I do believe we all thought this would turn.

There were for sure some positives to take away from the year. A massive learning experience for us all, coaching staff included. We secured another Philly Soccer Six Title with strong wins over Villanova 2-0 and Temple 3-1. Additionally, we scored more goals than the year past and let in far fewer. Progress was made no doubt, but when you don't end up on the right side of the one goal affairs (7 of our 10 losses were 1 goal losses) you know that the mentality is not quite there yet.

It was no surprise to see two of our most consistent players, Nathan Page (Norwich, England) and Ken Tribbett (Centennial, CO), earn All CAA Honors. Nate was a Second Team All-CAA selection and Kenny debuted on the All-CAA Rookie team. Congrats to both guys for their achievements.

I am thrilled that we have already begun our work on 2011...the team kicked off our non-traditional season with practice this past Tuesday night under the lights at Vidas. Despite the rust on a first touch or two, it was exciting to see the group ready to get after it. I truly look forward to this time of year, when we can really focus on developing the players as well as the team without the pressures and rigors of constantly preparing for our next opponent. We will be playing our Spring Season games throughout the month of April, so stay tuned for a game schedule.

We will be hosting an Alumni Outing at the Men's Basketball game against William & Mary (Lou Holtz once said the problem with William & Mary while he was coaching there was there were too many Marys and not enough Bills...) on Saturday, February 12 @ 2:00 pm in the Dragon Room at the D.A.C. Get it on your calendar and keep a look out for the e-vite in the very near future!

Stay in touch,
Doug