"...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
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
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!
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!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
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!
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!
Friday, February 4, 2011
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
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
Monday, January 10, 2011
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
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
Monday, October 18, 2010
Release Your Inner Dragon...
Mid-October and it's the final stretch with just 5 games to go...time to Release Your Inner Dragon!!! (saw this sign board in the airport when we hit Florida and I couldn't resist). I mean come on, is there a cooler mythical creature around than the dragon? Umm, no is the answer; a resounding no! I mean according to Wikipedia, the Dragon is a "legendary creature"...stay with me now, a bit of writers lib...apparently, in making one simple decision (to say yes to my bosses, Dr. Eric Zilmer and Nick Gannon, in accepting the position of Head Men's Soccer Coach at Drexel University) I reached legendary status... So Will "I Am Legend" Smith, move over bro, the new Legend is taking over West Philly ("Doug Hess, legend in his own bedtime"...a.k.a. dreams!)...you may have been born and raised, but I am now occupying your space on 43rd and Powelton! Perhaps there will be a made for T.V. movie (I'd even take an after-school special), called I Am Dragon in the near future...
Know what other time it is??? That's right, it's Unkempt October time as well! What is Unkempt October you say? So glad you ask, it's the time that you start prepping for No-Shave November... what is No-Shave November you say... well, quite simply it is the time you let it all go. The beard gets scraggly, side burns kicking, hair longer all in preparation for a strong finish. Why do we do that you ask? For added strength, duh...
Last week saw us split in the CAA, a loss of 2-1 to Delaware and a 2-1 win over Georgia State in the warm confines of Vidas Athletic Complex, a.k.a. 43rd and Powelton, a.k.a. The Dragon's Den, a.k.a. Legend's Corner...
Soccer is forever a game of chances and mistakes...we saw both down at Delaware last Wednesday night. We created three fantastic chances to score prior to the Hen's getting their first on a counter-attack. The first chance was a free header off a Mannny Cazares corner that Tal Bublil could not manage to get on frame...missed opportunity one. The second, a solid strike from 8 yards steered away by their goalkeeper. Manny takes the ball down the right side, splits two of their defenders to find Nathan Page inside their penalty box. Pagey does the business, turns their defender and takes the end-line. He pulls the ball back to an un-marked Malcolm LeBourne above the six yard box...missed opportunity two. Another attack down the right side, this time a Cazares pass splits their backline for an on-rushing Nate Baker, whose early service finds Malcolm at the back post for a tightly-contested header that goes just wide of the back post...missed opportunity three (fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice shame on me...fool me thrice...hmm, I guess you lose a soccer game).
So, the Hens do us up in a counter-attack off of our throw-in, in their half. A great finish on their part, but a cornucopia (an early Thanksgiving reference...I love Thanksgiving) of individual mistakes. The rest as they say is history...I have to think that more times than not, the team that scores first in college soccer wins...I'd venture as much as a 70-75% rate. In the scenarios that don't prove this to be true, I would venture that most of those games are won by the team that scores consecutive goals. We only had one game to disprove this theory this year (the Towson game...which has caused me to add a heavy dose of beta-blockers to my diet...). In such a low-scoring affair like soccer, it is so important to be the first to score.
Onto the Georgia State game and a return home to Philadelphia. We concede the first on a corner, but proving the latter theory true...we score consecutive goals and take all 3 points to put ourselves in the log jam which is known as the CAA Men's Soccer Table! True to our young team's mentality, we showed strong courage to pull the game right back level after going down in the 43rd minute with a strike of our own from the penalty spot. We put 6 passes together from the kick-off after the Panthers' goal that led to Pagey clipping a well-weighted pass over their left back to Manny Cazeres, who takes the ball down in stride and attempts to cross to Andrew Goldberg getting to the back post. The ball would have made it's way there, but the left centerback's hand restricted its movement...step in the cool-headed Page to level the game from the spot.
A level game as we go into half and some simple points to make to the team to gain the result we want (a level game = level headed coach at the half...I went a bit red on the Wednesday in Delaware and don't think I helped my team at all. Live and learn...what can you expect though from the Red Dragon...It's part of my name...I got excited sometimes...I am human...even legends make mistakes...). I thought the guys made opportunities and stayed with the game, despite not being able to finish a chance. Perhaps this stick-to-it-ness mentality is what allowed baby-faced assassin, Mark "Ole Gunnar Solskjaer" Donohue, to finish for us (for those that don't know, Ole was a tasty forward for Manchester United in the 90's into the 2000's that made a living on a substitute's role and late game heroics). It was a blustery day to say the least and when Tal Bublil's clearence off Georgia State's corner kick caught the wind current, causing their last man back to skim the ball on and engage their goalkeeper to make a play about 35 yards from his goal...a tempest that may happen only once in a century--a nor'easter created by so rare an occurrence... it was the Perfect Storm....
Donohue forced their goalkeeper to make a play and he miscued. Donohue collects, and then makes a near elementary mistake. He begins his dribble into the box and before he places the ball in the open goal, he raises both of his upper limbs (those are his arms) into a position of a winged vehicle capable of flight, despite being heavier than air but propelled by jet engines (that's an airplane)... Mark has only been in the country for a little while (he is originally from England...or is it Wales...I don't think Mark even knows), so a little benefit of the doubt in that he hasn't seen enough of ESPN's Not Top 10 which is riddled with similar plays of athletes celebrating prior to scoring a goal, a touchdown, basket, etc.... As he neared the six yard box, I think he recognized this himself and it became "wow I can't miss this, better put my arms down" time a.k.a. squeaky bum time. Well done Mark!
Time to get the band back together again and hit the road! At Hofstra on tonight (Wednesday, Oct. 20) for a 7 pm kick-off, then down to Richmond (which is in Virginia, and Virginia my friends is for lovers...) for a match-up with VCU on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 7 pm as well. Have a great week and hope to see you on the road...stay in touch!
Regards,
Doug
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
And the Red Dragon Returns...
So a bit of a lay-off since I last wrote—cricket, cricket... Well, we got through pre-season and life was grand and I was going to write while we were on that glorious four game stretch of wins, but I didn't and then we started to skid... and my computer broke... and I got sand in my eye in Florida... and I had a really bad hang nail that effected my typing fingers... oh, they're all lies (except for the computer broke one, hard drive did crash…gremlins in my computer)! What can I say, I missed my chance when times were good and I'm a sore loser so there was nothing to say during the skid. My mom always told me, 'if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all.' And so, there was silence...a couple of wins and the silence is now broken!
Well, it has only been a month (actually two...but who is really counting! Now you know what my time clock is like, very tough for my lovely wife Kristina who somehow deals with me—although, she knows that 'be home in 15' is really more like 30-45, sometimes an hour...I can't help it, no concept of time nor being on time...plus I get distracted easily...how ‘bout those Yankees?...Phills are keeping pace…hockey season is starting…I like blue…my A.D.D. has A.D.D. I think...perhaps this is a thing for me to discuss with someone in four years time, I'll be 40, laying on a couch...some Yanni on in the background...keys to my Mazda Miata in hand... hairline severely receded... kidding, no mid-life crisis here...just a mid-season crisis!).
Anyhow, on with it. The young Dragons have proven to be a bit of a formidable opponent this season. We are currently sitting at 6-4-1 overall, 2-2 in the ever-so-challenging Colonial Athletic Association (notice that we are an association, not a conference... there's a difference, we like to associate with one another, not confer...).
So 20 of 28 games played thus far in the CAA have been one goal differential or less affairs (if you are struggling figuring out the less part, it's because there are ties in soccer...get over it, it's part of our sport and it's beautiful). All but one of our four games have been decided by a goal, and the one that was more than a goal certainly didn't seem like it. While the two one goal losses to start the league (2-1 away at William & Mary and 1-0 home to UNCW) were respectable results against two teams that have been atop the league the last two years, they didn't sit well with us. We knew full well that we missed opportunities in both to collect points in the league. More importantly, I believe they solidified belief that when we play, we can play with anyone.
Good spot to take a breath and thank all of the Alumni that attended the UNC Wilmington game, and took part in the pre-game festivities. It was a barn burner in the alumni game that saw the Blue side take down the Gold's 4-2...goals galore and it's fare share of nutmegs (love it Thiago!). It was also great to spend a little time talking with all of you in our pre-match "chalk talk"...would have been even better if we actually implemented any of the things that we spoke about in Kopp Lounge...but as a good friend, Woody Woodruff once told me, “such is life when you choose a profession that rests on the decisions of 18-21 year old ‘men’ that run around in short pants”... Nonetheless, it was a beautiful day, that saw both of my predecessors, Johnson Bowie and Lew Meehl, honored for their service to Drexel. I was fortunate to take part in the day and certainly glad to meet you all!
The 4-1 win over George Mason last week was a tightly contested match, far more than the score line lends itself to. 0-0 at the half and then a wonder start for us in the 2nd stanza. Three goals in six minutes that started with a Malcolm LeBourne double—first one off a splitting pass from CAA Rookie of the Week, Ken Tribbett; and then off a splitting pass from CAA Co-Player of the week, Nate Baker. Then it went 3-1, and it did seem like either team could score the next goal. Thankfully young rookie, Mark Donohue, did the business to beat the goalkeeper and his fellow countryman, Nate Page, cleaned up the ball off the post to finish the game 4-1...Ryder Cup style on the alternate shot, 1 point for the Euros, and 3 in the ASSOCIATION for the Dragons!
Off to Baltimore we went, little did we know that we would be in for a gunfight at the O.K. Corral! An absolutely crazy game...we got pounded in the first 15 minutes, I mean punched and jabbed, left and right! Thankfully we were only down a goal when Nate "Doc Holiday" Baker entered the game (Nate is a Red Sox fan by the way...get ready for 86 more years of frustration...ha, kidding. Even though I am a Yankee fan—in October, when it actually matters—4 Days in October was an excellent 30 for 30 on ESPN). His first touch in the game was a sublime chip that did Towson's goalkeeper in off a well weighted pass from John "Wyatt Earp" Carroll in the midfield...1-1. Just 43 seconds later, the English Nate (that's Nate Page) gets on the board with a shot from 20+ out that beats the gk at the near post...2-1. Ten minutes later, Carroll is serving to Tribbett's head at the back post...3-1.
Half-time ends and I barely find my place on the bench...3-2. I get a drink, make my way back...3-3. Um, what is going on?!? Four minutes later we counter up the right side, Baker serves, Brandon "The Situation" Zeller collects calmly at the back post, squares to an on-rushing and very talkative, Tribbett (that's sarcasm folks, I think Kenny has talked to me one time since deciding to come to Drexel...that's an exaggeration, I do that like a million times a minute)...4-3 Dragons. So we left Tombstone wounded, but alive and with three points secured.
Last year's game was a 6-5 affair...10-8 aggregate for the two years...for all the nay-sayers that like to rip soccer for low-scoring games, hmmmm, you might want to put the Towson / Drexel game on your calendar for next year. For the record, I hate 4-3...I like 2-1, 1-0, 2-0. This 4-3 score, eh! I think I lost 5 years of my life during that game and at least an inch on my hairline (no Miata keys though).
It has been fun to watch this team develop over the past couple of months, as well as see different players step up at different moments throughout the first part of the season. To this point, we have had 20 different guys start at least one game, as well as seven different goal-scorers. Balance and competitiveness within the group is so important and I do believe that this will help us down the stretch.
Seven games to go and none more important than the two right in front of us. Down at Delaware this Wednesday, Oct. 13th for a 7 pm kick-off with the Blue Hens; followed by a return to Vidas Complex in Philly on Saturday, Oct. 16th for a 3 pm match-up with the Georgia State Panthers. I hope you will come out and watch us play. As always, drop me a line if you want to chat...have a great week!
All the best,
Doug
dfh25@drexel.edu
Well, it has only been a month (actually two...but who is really counting! Now you know what my time clock is like, very tough for my lovely wife Kristina who somehow deals with me—although, she knows that 'be home in 15' is really more like 30-45, sometimes an hour...I can't help it, no concept of time nor being on time...plus I get distracted easily...how ‘bout those Yankees?...Phills are keeping pace…hockey season is starting…I like blue…my A.D.D. has A.D.D. I think...perhaps this is a thing for me to discuss with someone in four years time, I'll be 40, laying on a couch...some Yanni on in the background...keys to my Mazda Miata in hand... hairline severely receded... kidding, no mid-life crisis here...just a mid-season crisis!).
Anyhow, on with it. The young Dragons have proven to be a bit of a formidable opponent this season. We are currently sitting at 6-4-1 overall, 2-2 in the ever-so-challenging Colonial Athletic Association (notice that we are an association, not a conference... there's a difference, we like to associate with one another, not confer...).
So 20 of 28 games played thus far in the CAA have been one goal differential or less affairs (if you are struggling figuring out the less part, it's because there are ties in soccer...get over it, it's part of our sport and it's beautiful). All but one of our four games have been decided by a goal, and the one that was more than a goal certainly didn't seem like it. While the two one goal losses to start the league (2-1 away at William & Mary and 1-0 home to UNCW) were respectable results against two teams that have been atop the league the last two years, they didn't sit well with us. We knew full well that we missed opportunities in both to collect points in the league. More importantly, I believe they solidified belief that when we play, we can play with anyone.
Good spot to take a breath and thank all of the Alumni that attended the UNC Wilmington game, and took part in the pre-game festivities. It was a barn burner in the alumni game that saw the Blue side take down the Gold's 4-2...goals galore and it's fare share of nutmegs (love it Thiago!). It was also great to spend a little time talking with all of you in our pre-match "chalk talk"...would have been even better if we actually implemented any of the things that we spoke about in Kopp Lounge...but as a good friend, Woody Woodruff once told me, “such is life when you choose a profession that rests on the decisions of 18-21 year old ‘men’ that run around in short pants”... Nonetheless, it was a beautiful day, that saw both of my predecessors, Johnson Bowie and Lew Meehl, honored for their service to Drexel. I was fortunate to take part in the day and certainly glad to meet you all!
The 4-1 win over George Mason last week was a tightly contested match, far more than the score line lends itself to. 0-0 at the half and then a wonder start for us in the 2nd stanza. Three goals in six minutes that started with a Malcolm LeBourne double—first one off a splitting pass from CAA Rookie of the Week, Ken Tribbett; and then off a splitting pass from CAA Co-Player of the week, Nate Baker. Then it went 3-1, and it did seem like either team could score the next goal. Thankfully young rookie, Mark Donohue, did the business to beat the goalkeeper and his fellow countryman, Nate Page, cleaned up the ball off the post to finish the game 4-1...Ryder Cup style on the alternate shot, 1 point for the Euros, and 3 in the ASSOCIATION for the Dragons!
Off to Baltimore we went, little did we know that we would be in for a gunfight at the O.K. Corral! An absolutely crazy game...we got pounded in the first 15 minutes, I mean punched and jabbed, left and right! Thankfully we were only down a goal when Nate "Doc Holiday" Baker entered the game (Nate is a Red Sox fan by the way...get ready for 86 more years of frustration...ha, kidding. Even though I am a Yankee fan—in October, when it actually matters—4 Days in October was an excellent 30 for 30 on ESPN). His first touch in the game was a sublime chip that did Towson's goalkeeper in off a well weighted pass from John "Wyatt Earp" Carroll in the midfield...1-1. Just 43 seconds later, the English Nate (that's Nate Page) gets on the board with a shot from 20+ out that beats the gk at the near post...2-1. Ten minutes later, Carroll is serving to Tribbett's head at the back post...3-1.
Half-time ends and I barely find my place on the bench...3-2. I get a drink, make my way back...3-3. Um, what is going on?!? Four minutes later we counter up the right side, Baker serves, Brandon "The Situation" Zeller collects calmly at the back post, squares to an on-rushing and very talkative, Tribbett (that's sarcasm folks, I think Kenny has talked to me one time since deciding to come to Drexel...that's an exaggeration, I do that like a million times a minute)...4-3 Dragons. So we left Tombstone wounded, but alive and with three points secured.
Last year's game was a 6-5 affair...10-8 aggregate for the two years...for all the nay-sayers that like to rip soccer for low-scoring games, hmmmm, you might want to put the Towson / Drexel game on your calendar for next year. For the record, I hate 4-3...I like 2-1, 1-0, 2-0. This 4-3 score, eh! I think I lost 5 years of my life during that game and at least an inch on my hairline (no Miata keys though).
It has been fun to watch this team develop over the past couple of months, as well as see different players step up at different moments throughout the first part of the season. To this point, we have had 20 different guys start at least one game, as well as seven different goal-scorers. Balance and competitiveness within the group is so important and I do believe that this will help us down the stretch.
Seven games to go and none more important than the two right in front of us. Down at Delaware this Wednesday, Oct. 13th for a 7 pm kick-off with the Blue Hens; followed by a return to Vidas Complex in Philly on Saturday, Oct. 16th for a 3 pm match-up with the Georgia State Panthers. I hope you will come out and watch us play. As always, drop me a line if you want to chat...have a great week!
All the best,
Doug
dfh25@drexel.edu
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
