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!