The City of Brotherly Love? Really???

Well, well, well...a big week behind and a bigger week ahead! Two massive wins at Vidas last week in the RPI if you didn't hear folks, first on Tuesday night against a strong Rutgers side (the Dragons and Knights, how cool a medieval match-up is that for all you Dungeons and Dragons nerds that are still lurking out there...) and then on Saturday against William & Mary to take a win off of what might have been the hottest team in the land (W&M had won 3 games in a row against nationally ranked opponents - #1 Creighton, #24 Elon, and #1 UNC Chapel Hill).

Oh and guess what, Dougie was on his best behavior...no cards for me. When I set foot on the turf on Tuesday night to do my pre-game ritual turn in the team sheets to our trusty sports info director, Sam Angell, I paused to take in the atmosphere and survey the grounds. I was given fair-warning by the Boss, "no more cards." We all make promises to our significant others and sometimes just to get through that "moment" so that life can continue, but this one I knew I needed to uphold. So much so that I made an even bigger deal in order to make sure I kept my word to my better half.

Pagey showed up to training the day after my second yellow asking, "Boss how many more before you get a touch-line ban?" Not liking that line of questioning I quickly made a deal. You know the saying, your mouth is writing checks your butt can't cash? Well, that's the way it went down. Page now has the dutiful task that if I get another yellow card this year, he gets "to have a go" as the English like to say, at me. Meaning, butts up for Doug on the goal line. For those in the soccer world, they know full-well what I mean...and know full-well that with a marksman like Page, I am in for it if I indulge my engagement with my fine, whistle-ladened friends a bit too much. A yellow and I am on the goal line next training session, offering up my dairy-aire for Page to strike a soccer ball at me from the top of the 18 yard box - no flinching or moving allowed.

When I set foot on the turf Tuesday evening, I knew full well there was no way I was getting a card that night! "Doug, can you see into the future? Have you been reading L Ron Hubbard's Dianetics? Tell us Doug, how did you know?" Funny how things work, I needed that little friendly reminder from my wife to not push the buttons of the center official and it worked out that on this night, we had a female center official. So I smiled when I saw her and handed my team sheet in, knowing that this would be like my wife's voice in the center. She called a tight match, which I am fine with, and was consistent through the game on both sides of the ball. Excellent job.

Two big results. We have not beaten Rutgers in a long time, but history showed us that we have beaten them before so we were confident in our team. Two timely goals in the second half and one heinous crime! Just seven minutes into the half we caused enough problems to have their back line scrambling to make plays, as Page continues his run forward to clean up the pieces. Just 16 minutes later we would see the crime of the ages... a young, bustling midfielder from the West Coast coming to the City of Brotherly Love (so he thought) to further his academic and athletic prowess. A young man eager to make his mark in this world and pursue his dreams. It's a story the warms the cockles of your heart, right to the core.

The young man is California native and Drexel Dragons Freshman midfielder, Adam Arana. Poor kid didn't even see it coming...the culprit? Meanest, baddest, kid in the world - our #16, Ken Tribbett (for those that know Ken, you know this couldn't be further from the truth in terms of being a correct description!!! Isn't that always the case, Kenny apparently will slit your throat with a smile...). Adam plays and runs forward, well done, a staple of what we do. He gets the return pass from Page and strikes a ball that beats Rutgers' keeper and is about to get his first collegiate goal when out of the blue, it happens. "Mr. Nice Guy" Ken Tribbett slides in and steals Adam's thunder. Check out the picture and you tell me?!?

So both Adam and I ask you, where is the LOVE???

William and Mary ended up being another statistic breaker...love it! Down 1-0, 17 minutes in and the looming statistic of the team that scores first wins in the air. Just twelve minutes later, the Dragons are on top of the game through goals from Maty Brennan and the Thief, aka the Dancing Machine, aka Kenny Tribbett (did you see his celebration, a romantic spotlight dance between KT, not JT...that's Justin Timberlake for you older blog readers... and Colin "I Got Moves Like Jagger" McGlynn). Click the Link - THE DANCE Well done boys!

So a return to the City of Brotherly Love this week...@ Penn tonight for a Battle of 33rd Street (join us for the walk over, we are literally walking over from the DAC) and home to Temple on Saturday for Alumni Day...hoping for some more love and to see you all out in support of your Drexel Dragons!

Regards,
Doug

Yellow

Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah, they were all yellow.

I came along,
I wrote a song for you,
And all the things you do,
And it was called "Yellow".

So then I took my turn,
Oh what the things have done,
And it was all yellow.


Hmmm, perhaps I should go with another favorite song from Coldplay on my game day iTunes playlist... Two home games, and two yellow cards!!! Honestly, they are the first two I have ever received in 12 years of being a college head coach! Chris Martin is in my ear I think when things start getting, lets say..."unsettled"...during the game... I start humming his tune and next thing you know, I see yellow!

I jest, but do need to settle a bit I guess. I walked in the house after our most recent victory over fellow Philly rival, LaSalle, only to receive the inquisition from the Boss... I walk in, feeling good... chest out... cracker of a goal from Dono (what a header it was! have a look, possible early Goal of the Year candidate??? For sure!)... above .500 for first time this season... and the questions begin:

"So, how did it go" in that tone that my fellow married guys are all too familiar with; it's not really "hey, how did it go because I don't know what the score is", it's "how did it go because I know what you did."

I answer with a the classic dumb guy approach, "Good, we won 1-0. Didn't you see?" (knowing full well that she saw, and SAW everything...)

"Oh, anything else?" which is quite coy of her...she knows full well I got a yellow and just wants me to sweat some more before the real grilling starts! Oh you women and your games...

I try to trump her and just spill it because it is 10:30 pm, we have practice the next morning and now I am not up for the game at all...

"Yeah, I got another yellow."

Calmly (which I think disturbs me more) she says, "So what happened?" Which isn't like, how did these mean officials wrong my wonderful, loving and so charming husband, more like, What did you do stupid face? Which to be fair is probably more accurate.

So I start my defense... "Kris, it's unbelievable what they let go. These guys and they are not like the officials we used to have down south. They aren't as sharp with off the ball stuff. I can't NOT protect my guys. Someone needs to speak up on their behalf!" (Yeah that's the ticket, she needs to see her knight in shining armor protect his team... oh yeah, she will totally be on board for that).

Not buying one little cent of it! The response...

"So you did nothing wrong and got a yellow for that." Oh she is good...too good... she has inside info... this isn't going to end well for me!

I lose any coolness I had, blast some incoherent fragmented sentences ("Well they didn't... And it was wrong... And my shoes were on wrong...Ahhh,is that the phone?), storm out, trying to pull the strong-arm tough guy move, but surely it ends in a meek concession of defeat!

That was theraputic for me, thanks! I have made the promise though, no more yellows...(not good that I came up with the bright idea to make yellow our home kit this year as well...like all yellow... top to bottom... hmm, maybe it is the uniform's fault! Yeah, stupid uniform made me do it.. Or perhaps it is the obscenely, aggressive photo of me up above on the blog page that is making me do it...I think I need to get that changed out, put a milder, calmer Doug on the blog page...yes, that is it...that pic is amping me up too much, that's what's wrong with me).

Anyhow, two solid wins since we last chatted. A come from behind victory on the road at Lehigh (smashing the stats as my sister quickly pointed out to me post-game via text - she's a math geek and thought she could get one up on me after I released the stat that 85.7% of all the games I have coached at Drexel, the team that scores first ends up winning). We needed that win and needed that win in that fashion. A grind it out, dig in, come-from-behind victory! It wasn't pretty, but it was gritty and you need both those elements in college athletics. Dono gives us the spark we need off the bench, despite feeling under the weather, cracking home the first and Pagey seals the deal after collecting a Connor Goldsmith pass at the top of the box. Wow, awesome!

Onto cross-town foe, LaSalle. I always contend it is much harder to dictate than it is to question, harder to solve problems than identify them, harder to build than it is to destroy. This is what I ask of our team. To control tempo, to do all we can to dominate the minutes of soccer, to be creative not destructive. Defending is a part of soccer no doubt, you must defend in order to win, but you also must score in order to win as well. It is a balance, but one that we want to teeter far more towards building, towards dominating possession, towards being creative.

The real test is, how patient can you be when you are not getting the goal that you need to win. Apparently, we needed to be 89 minutes and 53 seconds patient.... What a goal Dono, what a goal!

So hope you can make this evenings installment of the Magical Mystery Tour (aka The Drexel Dragons Men's Soccer Team's Season)... Some great promo's on tap as the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers University find their way to Vidas for a 7 pm kick-off; Dollar Dogs (can't use dinner as an excuse, we have it for ya, and cheap too!) and $250 in Dragon Dollars for a half-time contest on the line! Welcome back week is here...come out and support your Dragons tonight, who knows you too might see yellow!

Stay in touch,
Doug

Where Does All the Time Go?!?

So much to do and so little time!!!! Wow, it crept up on us didn't it people? One minute your enjoying the sweet, worry-less life of summer and the next, well your heart gets ripped out in an agonizing loss...not real pleasant.

It is indeed here, the Roller Coaster Ride a.k.a. "College Soccer Season!" And already, we've been up and down the first few twists and turns (I think I got sick a time or two already from the the twists and turns, I have motion sickness I must admit...no fun it was as a youth, nor as an adult... matter of fact, first time my lovely wife flew on a plane with me she witnessed it first hand... first the sweats start, then he goes quiet - that's when you know it's all over, Doug goes quiet...).

Valuable lessons learned already in the first couple of weeks. College athletics are funny this way, and more so, this game (soccer) can be so frustrating. Play good enough and lose, play well and tie, play really well and still lose. It is a game so much about opportunity and what you do with it in those moments - just like life! Soccer mimics the rhythms of life, sometimes you are up even though you shouldn't be and sometimes you are down, even though you shouldn't be...

I have been impressed through the first month with our ability to keep possession of the ball. The simplicity of passes we choose and the orchestration of movement off the ball at times are simply put, lovely...ballet like if I might add. But as I told our guys, the game is still about scoring - always will be. So 278 successful passes in the first half against Sacred Heart, 150+ of them in their half and down 1-0 at the half!!! Umm, now you know why I have a receding hair line...(used to be a forehead, now it is looking more like a five!!!).

Forward play and possession are fantastic, but you must get shots on frame to score (I have seen some poor officiating in my life, but I am yet to see an official call a goal on a ball that went wide of frame...that being said, I wouldn't be surprised it one did call it - I'm still bitter about the yellow card I drew on Sunday against Stonybrook...my first yellow card as a college coach! Hard to believe I am sure for most, seeing as how I drew a few of those in my day as a player...but honestly, first card as a coach...not saying I haven't deserved one or two to this point, but nonetheless I've been card-less, until Sunday that is...as long as we throw out the one red card I received as a youth coach in North Carolina while I was coaching none other than Junior centerback for the Dragons, Robert Liberatore, on his U-15 club team - I got sent off while we were up 4-0 late in the second half because I told the ref he was a clown, I mean come on the big red shoes and nose were a dead give-a-way...Rob will at least attest to that - upon which he showed me red because "he took offense to that comment.")

Early on I enlightened the guys to an unfamiliar stat - most games that are won (not tied), are won by teams that score first. Funny thing is that most think it is roughly 70%. Well in my time at Drexel, 85.7% is the number....staggering! Currently this year, the stat is ringing true (FDU wins on 1st goal scored, Seton Hall scores first gets draw - that's a half when figuring, Sacred Heard, and win v. Stony Brook all true!)...the team that scores first this season has won 87.5% of the time!

You either embrace the stats or you attempt to smash them. That's where we are at...an earlier kick-off this evening is planned up in the Lehigh Valley as there is some weather to tend to. Looks like a 6 pm start at Lehigh...as it is an early start, we too hope for an early goal for the Dragons and the stats hold true (if not, somethings getting smashed!!!)!

Hope to see you at the game, if not you can watch it on their website tonight for free Lehigh vs. Drexel

Have a great day!

Regards,
Doug

Let's Go Banqueting...

Spring is in the air (finally) and that means it is Banquet Season once again! Just a week away and we will be putting on our besties (that's French for really nice clothes) to celebrate a season of accomplishments: an out-right CAA Championship, a national ranking, an at-large berth to the Dance for the first time in 40 years, as well as the many individual accomplishments.

Can't make it you say, hmmm, well then we will bring a snippet of the banquet to you! That's the kind of guy I am (no, not the creepy guy with the sweet track-suit and serious handle-bar 'tache, but the kind that is going to allow you to participate in the festivities even though you can't get here). No closed circuit web-cams (that goes in the tracksuit/creepy 'tache category), just some online voting folks - Goal and Save of the Year voting is back!

New for this year (because we actually scored some goals), we added a third category - Assist & Goal of the Year! I am biased of course, but we play the ultimate team sport and therefore we must have a category that reflects the beauty of the orchestrated pass as much as the end product...don't you agree? So here they are folks, have a look at the links on our Youtube page and then click the link below to vote on our Survey Monkey:

1. Save of the Year
2. Assist & Goal of the Year
3. Goal of the Year


VOTE NOW - CLICK HERE!


Not only does spring mean banqueting, it also means a return to the field for our non-traditional season. The guys have been training hard for the last several months and we will be taking the field again today, Sunday, at the Jersey Shore against Monmouth University (I believe Pauly D. is going to be on the 1's & 2's for pre-game tunes - it's bound to be a blow-out...cricket, cricket...) for a 12 pm kick-off.


Harrisburg City Islanders 1 - Drexel University 1

A cool, crisp evening....perfect weather for a soccer game! So for our first time out, it was not a bad showing. There were definitely some cobwebs in terms of sharpness and quality, particularly in the final third of the field, but this is to be expected when you have a three month competitive lay-off.

Our opponents featured a couple of their signed players, along with many aspiring trialists...including one of our very own, Malcolm LeBourne. The game was a bit of the perfect storm - a college teams first game back paired with a group of starving-artists trying to get their first break in the form of a USL contract! Needless to say, the first 15-20 minutes were a frantic pace before the game actually settled.

The City Islanders struck first with an early goal inside the first 10 minutes of play. A turn-over on our part as we built out of the back and through the middle third, led to a quick counter by our opponent. Teachable moment though for us, as we preach against soft square balls in the middle third and unnecessary one touch turn-overs.

Again, while we were not at our sharpest it was clear that the competitive juices were flowing through our guys and they wanted to turn the game our way. As a coach you always want to see your team compete and play with intent to win, regardless of your opponent or circumstances. Our guys did just that and in my opinion, created the larger part of the chances through the game. In the 76th minute, their commitment to setting the game right paid off on a clever little back heel from Matt Didomenico.

It was our fourth corner of the half and we were really showing signs of pushing the game forward. A Michele Pataia corner found the head of Jarrod Neser at the back post. Nees headed for goal, it was blocked and Dido was there to pounce on the pieces with a nifty back-heel that froze the City Islanders' keeper.

A night of firsts - Dido's first collegiate goal and young Jameson Detweiler's first go at left back. Jame-o put a solid 65 minutes in patrolling the left flank and showed well; and Dido, well you can only score your first goal once...well done Deeds!

Hope to see you out on the fields through April!

All the best,
Doug