Flames Engulf V-Hawks

Victory! The Flames put on a big show today in their opening game defeating the Viterbo V-Hawks 4-1. Melissa King led all scorers with 2 goals and one assist. As a matter of fact, King broke the game wide open in the 3rd minute with an unassisted goal smashed to the far post with her left foot. King didn't stop there. Nine minutes later she added her second goal with off an assist by Tiffany Reis who made a monster run forward from the back line. Melissa headed Tiff's cross, it bounced off the keeper, back to Melissa and she knocked it in. The first half ended with the score 2-0. CSM had 16 shots to the V-Hawks 2 at the end of the first period.

The Flames came out blazing again 15 minutes into the second half. Melissa King made her way down the right side and crossed it to Ashley Turco who headed it past the keeper's outstretch had to put CSM up 3-0. The Flames added a 4th when Katie Archibald beat her player on the left and dribbled deep in the box, she passed the ball across the goal mouth where it hit the far post and bounced right to Sara Berens who slotted it in.

Rita Rabb was able to score for Viterbo 8 minutes later on a long distance shot that just barely beat keeper Jackie Swanger's right hand.

Goalkeepers Mollie Jones and Jackie Swanger split time between the posts, Mollie beginning in goal the first half and Jackie finishing the game in the second. Jones had 2 saves and Swanger had 3. CSM finished with 29 shots to Viterbo's 7.

All in all, an excellent way to begin the season. The team is looking forward to the next game at Briar Cliff on Tuesday (By the way--that game time was changed to 6 PM.)

I told the players after the game that this game should make them hungry for more, hungry to keep improving and fighting to get ourselves to the next level. Speaking of hunger, I think I'll go get something to eat. Make a comment below!

Ready to Rock and Roll!

The season is about to begin and I am ready to rock and roll. Players come in this weekend and move into the dorms on Sunday from 1:30-3. At 3:15, its a meeting with our new AD, Jim Krueger. After that, the soccer team meets and at 4:30 it is time to eat.

This year ought to be incredible. We have added some exciting new players and everyone else has another year of experience under their belts.

Watch out! Here come the Flames.

Four More Join the Flames!

I would like to welcome 4 new players to the Flames! Sara Berens, Cindy Fibich, Courtney Pearcy and Jessica Caron.

Sara is a transfer student from Hastings College where she played mostly outside midfield. Sara will be joining our nursing program. She played her high school ball at Pius X in Lincoln.

Cindy is a transfer student from Briar Cliff and is also going to be a nurse. Cindy played at Gretna High School.

Courtney is not really a new face, she went through pre-season with in 2008 and then decided to not play for personal reasons. She is back and wants to prove to herself and her teammates that she can make an awesome contribution to the Flames. Courtney went to Lewis Central in Council Bluffs and then played 2 years for Iowa Western Community College. She is majoring in early childhood education.

Our final new player for CSM is Jessica Caron. Jessica hails from from Bryan High School and is just about ready to play again following an acl tear.

The above fab four join the following 2009 recruits
-Raeleigh Withey, Ft. Collins, Colorado--Rocky Mountain High School
-Allyssa Valquier, Sidney, Iowa--Sidney High School (played soccer for Glenwood)
-Megan Tuenge, North Platte, Nebraska--North Platte High School
-Ramsey Miller, Papillion, Nebraska--Papillion Lavista South High School
-Molly McNea, North Platte, Nebraska--North Platte High School/UNO Transfer

Our first adult league 8v8 game is this Sunday, June 7th at 6:45 on field 5 at the Discovery fields on 136th and Q. Also, we begin our Xplosive Edge training this Monday at 6 AM. Bright and early!

I can't wait for the season to begin.

(By the way, in a previous post I said that Jessica Nordlund was joining the team. Jessica changed her mind and is now going in a different direction.)

Former UNO Soccer Player SIgns with CSM

Molly McNea, a current freshman soccer player at UNO signed a letter of intent with the Flames, yesterday, March 12. Molly will be transferring to join the CSM nursing program in the fall. We are very excited for Molly to be a part of the Flames Family. She played indoor with us last Sunday and even scored a goal!

Molly is a 2007 grad of North Platte High School. Yep, that is the same school that current player Hillary Brown attended and the very same school that 2009 recruit Megan Tuenge attends. It seems that we have a NP pipeline going on at CSM.

Molly was a four year letter winner for North Platte and scored 13 goals and 6 assists as a senior. Molly's parents are Melvin and Michelle McNea and she has two brothers.

Welcome Molly McNea!

Papillion Lavista South Soccer Player Signs with the CSM Flames!

Ladies and gentleman, did you know that Ramsey Miller, a defender/midfielder signed her letter of intent with the College of Saint Mary Soccer team today? Ramsey plays soccer for Papillion Lavista South High School here in Omaha. She plays her club soccer with the Gretna Remix team. Ramsey's Remix team helped the Flames train in the fall season by coming and practicing with us in August.

Ramsey is excited to begin the occupational therapy program at CSM. A number of the soccer players at CSM are in the OT program. It is a great major where you can get both your bachelor's and your master's degree in only 5 years. Ya!

Ramsey will be a wonderful addition to the recruiting class of 2009 and the coaching staff looks forward to training her. Our recruiting class numbers a strong 4 right now and we are planning an signing a few more. Stay tuned to this space for more info.

Ramsey is also known to be a pretty good golfer as well as a good soccer player. Maybe she can take us all out to the course and show us her talents on the links?

CSM Winter/Spring Soccer

What is going on? Well, the CSM soccer players are training and playing. The training goes on every weekday except Wednesday at 6 AM at the Xplosive Edge training center on 147th & Giles. The playing occurs on most Sunday evenings at the same place as the Flames participate in the women's open soccer league.

The training is going well. Most of the players are gaining muscle and explosiveness. I am looking forward to seeing how much the girls have improved when they do their testing out on March 6th. When we first started training this year in January, all the players were tested on their vertical leap, pro agility drill, 10 and 40 yards dashes, et cetera. March 6th, we test them again to see if anyone got stronger and faster.

The playing is also going well in the women's open soccer league. The Flames are currently undefeated after 2 games but face an experienced and talented team this Sunday evening. We look forward to the challenge.

Last Sunday we had a potluck soccer banquet. We ate chicken, salads and great deserts. The evening was topped off with an awards presentation. The players won awards ranging from the "MVP" award to the "Biggest Crush on Zach" award. (Zach is one of our X-Edge trainers.) A good time was had by all!

Iowa Soccer Player Signs for Fall 2009

Allyssa Valquier, a senior at Sidney High School in Sidney, Iowa signed with the College of Saint Mary soccer team today. Coach Jim Homan and Coach Kim Matzen made the short drive to Sidney to witness the signing at Allyssa's high school. Present were her parents, the Sidney HS athletic director, her basketball coach and friends.

Allyssa plays soccer with the Glenwood soccer team because Sidney does not have a soccer program. She also plays basketball for Sidney, currently having a fantastic season at 11-5. They made it to the conference finals for the first time in 50 years--quite an accomplishment. Coach Dowling, (Allyssa's basketball coach) said at the signing, "You are getting a good soccer player but an even better person."

We are pleased to sign Allyssa. She is looking forward to contributing to our soccer program. She loves soccer and so does her dad who built a full-size soccer field on his property in Iowa. You can see the field just to the east of I-29 if you are traveling south, just past exit 15.

Allyssa works at Penn Drug in downtown Sidney. Penn Drug is said to be the oldest pharmacy in Iowa. At the signing--everyone said that Kim and I should check out their old fashioned soda fountain--so we did. Kim ordered the vanilla shake and I had the chocolate malt--both made by Allyssa (assisted by Holly's sarcastic comments--Holly works with Allyssa at Penn Drug.) I must say it was the best chocolate malt ever. If Allyssa's contribution to the CSM soccer program is as fantastic as her malt making skills, we are truly in for a treat!

North Platte Nebraska Soccer Player Signs with CSM

I am pleased to announce the signing of Megan Tuenge, a defender from North Platte High School. Megan signed her letter of intent yesterday, January 6th in the Alumni room in the North Platte high school office. Attending the signing were Coach Jim Homan from CSM (that's me,) Coach Janie McCarthy (NP coach,) Megan's parents and some of her friends as well as the school activities director.

Megan is a very solid defender who reads the game well. She is one of the captains of her high school team. Megan is a very committed player and as a matter of fact, right after her signing, she attended her high school soccer conditioning even after her coach told her she didn't have to come today. Yep, that shows commitment.

We are looking forward to having Megan play for us and we know she will make a significant, postitive contribution to the team. Everyone was very excited for at the signing and she was excited too!

I was impressed with the North Platte high school building--it is only about 5 years old. One thing interesting about the activities director that I learned is that in the summer, he is a rodeo clown. It is not everyday that you run into a rodeo clown. At least I don't. I also learned that Megan's father is a locomotive engineer--that is an interesting job.

Nebraska Volleyball Lesson

My wife and I watched Nebraska's volleyball team lose to a very good Penn State team last night. Penn State hadn't dropped a set all year but Nebraska took the 3rd and 4th set from them and had them down 10-8 in the fifth. Then Penn State rattled off a bunch of points in a row and just like that, Nebraska was toast. As Nebraska was winning its two sets, my wife was jumping around the room, living and dying with every point. At one point she looked over at me and said, "How can you just sit there?"

How can I just sit there? I was practicing.

Huh? What?

Let me explain...I tell my soccer teams that even off the field they should practice handling pressure situations. They should put themselves in a pressure-packed situation on purpose and rehearse being able to deal with the high anxiety of a big event. That is what I was attempting to do. Believe me, my heart was beating fast as Nebraska was coming back, but I was attempting to remain calm and trying to think what I would say to the Nebrasksa team at the next time out. Ya...I know that is kinda out there..but that is what I did.

My Packers Cannot Stop Anyone

In addition to being the coach of the awesomely cool CSM Flames, I also am a fan of the Green Bay Packers professional football team. I had high hopes this year for the Pack because, last year--they were within one game of the Super Bowl. I had hoped this year they would take the next step. Not happening.

With 3 games left in the season, the Packers are 5-8 and probably won't make the playoffs. They still have a slight chance (there is alway hope) but it is not a great chance. What went wrong? Defense, defense, defense. The defensive side of the team cannot stop anybody--a team that is 9-3 or a team that is 5-7. Doesn't matter, the Pack doesn't discriminate against who it can't stop. Injuries have effected their play but that is not the whole story. The coaches say it is a matter of execution. The players are not executing the game plan. What happens? In pressure situations, sometimes players brains don't work as well as they do in practice situations. Two things will help, repetitions during a pressure situation as well as training your mind to deal with pressure. I tell our team that you can do 2 things with pressure, you can feel it or you can apply it. (I got that from Jon Gruden, Tampa Bay Bucs football coach.) I take it a step further and tell the team if you are "feeling" pressure, then you should "apply" pressure to the other team and then you won't feel it so much.

The lack of success the Packers are experiencing just goes to show you how important defense is to a team. When people say that defense wins championships--they know what they are talking about it. I just wish the Green Bay Packers could play defense this year. When I coach, I really try to get the players to make a total commitment to defense. That is one road to success.

I Love Turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good feast! I just love eating turkey on Thanksgiving. My absolute favorite meal of all time. I can't tell you how much I love it (did I say I love it?)

What else do I love??? I love soccer and just can't get enough of it. I give thanks for Fox Soccer Channel which gives me the power to watch Manchester United on the Premier League review show on Sunday nights.

Can you tell that I already miss my CSM soccer team and the season has barely been over for 3 weeks? I want to thank the team for an enjoyable season.

I am rambling a bit but here on Thanksgiving eve I also want to give thanks for my family (my wife and 2 kids) as well as my CSM soccer family. We are all "there" for each other through thick and thin, victory and defeat, as well as getting stuck in the mud with a van or a bus (see past blogs if you want to know what that means.)

The next thing on the soccer team's agenda is to help out at CSM basketball games, taking money at the gate, selling concessions, taping the game, etc. One of our soccer players is also a basketball player (Kira Cross.) The manager of the b-ball team is also a soccer player--our own Mollie Jones (MoJo.) We are working the games on the 28th and the 1st. Come and support the b-ball team if you can and say "Hi" to both basketball and soccer players!

The team has a break from soccer and conditioning until mid January, when we start our Xplosive Edge training. There won't be much news in the next few months unless we have recruits sign. I am hot on the recruiting trail now and hope to sign a few more to bolster our talented team. Wish me luck!

End of the Line

One of our mottos for this year was "start fast, finish strong." We gave a good attempt to do that this season and to do the same in every game. Sometimes we did and sometimes we did not. Playing Park at Park for the second time in a week in our conference semi-final did not finish the way we wanted and we fell 1-3. We definately started fast in the second half but we did not finish strong.

Park opened up the scoring in the first half. A ball was sent into the box which we unfortunately headed almost straight up in the air and Park pounced on it. The first half ended with us down 0-1.

Second half we came out strong and were able to tie when Daniela Padilla dribbled half the length of the field and scored, beating 4 players in the process. I distinctly recall telling Daniela at halftime that she could dribble around their whole team if she wanted, and so she did. Park fought back bravely and we were able to make some key blocks and saves. Jackie Swanger got her fingertips to a great shot and knocked the ball wide enough to hit the post and rebound to the feet of Padilla. Daniela cleared it but it was intercepted and put right back into the box to an unmarked Park player who buried it. That goal shattered our hopes and we were unable to reply.

I told the players after the game that it has been such an honor and privilege for me to coach them this year. I know there were some frustrating times but there were also some great moments and I will remember those forever. One of the best things about this team was how well they got along on and off the field. They truly were family. I wish our record would have reflected our effort and our togetherness but it didn't. I thought we were a better team that what was reflected in our final record (7-9-1.) I look forward to next year, though. Our team was very young this season and took some time to figure out how hard and how smart they have to play. Next year--we don't have to go through those kinds of growing pains and there is no doubt we will achieve excellence. The future looks bright--the only one whose eligibility is up is senior player Daniela Padilla.

We will all miss "Dee" for sure. She had a great career at CSM and we wish her nothing but the best as she finishes up her nursing degree.

Watch out for the Flames next year!

CSM Signs Fort Collins, Colorado Soccer Player

I am very pleased to announce the signing of our first recruit for the 2009 soccer season, Raeleigh Withey. Raeleigh is a keeper that has had great success with her club team, ODP team as well as her Rocky Mountain High School soccer team in Colorado. Raeleigh's high school team made it all the way to the 5A state semi-final in May.

Raeleigh had a great visit with us in August. During her visit, she was able to practice with us, making a memorable save where she had to change direction in mid-air. She was even able to play forward on the field for awhile (Raeleigh is very fast!) The rest of her trip she attended a team dinner with us and spent the night in the dorms.

I personally like Raeleigh's commitment to excellence and her outstanding effort and hustle. She will bring a great attitude and work ethic to CSM and will definately contribute to the success of the Flames. Welcome to the Flames Family!

A Few Steps Back Before the Next Step Forward.

We have been taking steps forward recently but took a few steps back today. We were unable to deal effectively with Park's attack and gave up fairly easy goals to fall to the Pirates 0-3. Started strong but then failed to mark central runs sufficiently on a cross and Park's Chapman had a free shot and she made no mistake. Ironically, their goal came minutes after our best opportunity where we chipped the ball over the defense to King who headed it over the keeper but hit the crossbar. Their other goals again capitalized on some of our silly mistakes. We have plenty of time to clean those up this week and we know what we need to do.

Part one of the CSM-Park battle went to Park. We get to see them again this Friday, same place, same time (Park's Julien Field, noon) for the MCAC Conference Championship Tournament. We are looking forward to seeing them again.

Deja Vu All Over Again

Our next game is against Park at Park's Julien field located at the corner of Highway 9 and East 6th Street in Parkville, Missouri, Saturday, November 1 at high noon. It will be a forshadowing of things to come. And maybe you could say it is a bit eerie (see how I work in the subtle Halloween reference here on Oct. 31st?)

The next weekend (Nov. 7-8) is the MCAC Conference Tournament and we are playing Park in the first round of the tourney at Park. It will be deja vu all over again since we will be playing them two weekends in a row (almost like the movies Halloween I and the sequel, Halloween II.) Deja vu, of course is the feeling that you have been somewhere before (maybe we should call it deja boo? :) The winner of the conference tourney moves on to the National Tournament.

Make no bones about it, playing Park two weekends in a row will be a monster challenge for us. But as I told the players, if we can go up to South Dakota and play a D-I team in winds howling like a werewolf at 50 miles an hour and beat them--we can do anything. Nothing is scary anymore, we have banished all our ghosts back to the shadows of the graveyard. I believe next 2 weekends will be all treats for us and no tricks.

See you there.

Perseverence Paying Off Perfectly

A great weekend for the College of Saint Mary Flames. We defeated conference rival York 2-0 and the University of South Dakota 1-0. The York game was moved to Ralston High School's artificial surface after our game field endured a weeks worth of rain. Versus York, we played a complete game with both goals coming in the second half within minutes of each other. The first goal was created and finished by Daniela "D" Padilla and the second was finished by Melissa King from a cross by Daniela. That was Daniela's last regular season home game for the Flames--she is our lone senior. Molly "Mojo" Jones recorded her first solo collegiate shut out.

On Sunday we drove through gale force winds on the way to Vermillion, South Dakota to play the NCAA division one 'Yotes on their field in front of the Dakota Dome (see pic.) The trainer at USD told me that the winds were howling at 40 miles per hour with gusts up to 50 mph. In the locker room inside the Dakota Dome before the game I addressed their concerns about the wind. I basically said, yes--it is ridiculous that we have to play in these conditions but we don't have any control over the weather. However, we do have control over how we react to the weather. I told them not to freak out about it but play smart and remember there are advantages and disadvantages to having the wind at your back and in your face. They must have really taken it to heart cuz we went out there and won 1-0!

The local paper wrote about the game and even quoted me in the story. We didn't make the silly mistakes that we have made too often this season. We capitalized on our opportunities and remained mentally strong when experiencing adversity. Jessica Alexander had a great goal--she got the ball up into the wind and it was very difficult for the keeper to deal with. That is great for Jessica--she had been shooting some awesome shots in practice and it was good to see her get one on Sunday. Against the wind in the second half, we came out the first 5 minutes and played a little keep away with the 'Yotes in their half. I think they weren't expecting that and they became a bit disheartened. USD was able to get off 23 shots for the game, but nothing that Jackie Swanger and the defense couldn't handle. Jackie recorded her first solo collegiate shut out also.

We beat a good opponent at their place under extreme conditions and we did it not by being lucky, but by playing good, solid soccer. I am very proud. All we need to do is build on it, step by step.

Taking Steps

We made some progress today but didn't do quite enough on a 0-1 loss to cross-town rival the Bellevue University Bruins. Bellevue scored about 20 minutes in after a couple mistakes by the team left the ball sitting in the box and the Bruins were able to get a good shot off and put the ball in the back of the net. We had a bit of a lull the last 10 minutes of the first half and were back on our heals for awhile. We had 3 shots to Bellevue's 10 during the first half.

The second half we came out strong and had much more possession. The team got a definate lift from the sideline's enthusiasm and spirit. We fed off of that for a lot of the second half. We increased our shot total to 11 and let Bellevue have 8.

Our problem was when we got into the offensive third we weren't able to get that final killer pass or cross to get a good opportunity at the goal. We did have a free kick just outside the box but the kick went straight into the wall. Unable to capitalize on our possession, we failed to tie and the game ended 0-1.

We have been doing well in practice and just need to take that energy and enthusiasm, skill and smarts to the game. We played better and at times, out played Bellevue, but didn't quite do enough. I thought our team played very well on the defensive side of the ball for the most part and really didn't give BU any clear cut chances in the second half.

I believe we are a team about to catch fire. We had some sparks today. I saw improvement. We just need to stay positive, persevere and good things will happen. I believe that eventually our team will find its groove and shine. It has been quite a climb to get there, but we are almost there. Count on it.

Perseverence!

Tomorrow we play Bellevue University at 1 PM at our place. It is an important game for us (although they all are important, aren't they?) We have been a team that is inconsistent and that has hurt us at times and other times it hasn't. The only way to approach inconsistency is to keep working hard and persevere. We have had a great week of practice and I am looking forward to the challenge on Saturday.

How will we perform? What is my prediction? I predict that we will step up our performance and have moments of brilliance. I believe we are a team about to catch fire. (Get it--fire! We are the Flames. Fire and Flames, sometimes I just can't help myself.)

One exciting thing that happened recently at practice is I was able to purchase a big yellow wagon to cart our stuff from the Lied Center out the field. We can now pile up the big water jug, the cone bag, the penny bag and the soccer balls right on the wagon and wheel it out to the field. The players were very excited to use the wagon instead of hauling all the heavy stuff on their backs. It is the small things that make us happy.

We are in Pain

Can you give me another AAARRGH! We are trying to find a way to excel for 90 minutes and we are not there yet. Close enough to touch, but not there yet. We are inches away. Case in point: Central Christian College 3, CSM 1. We had 90% possession and 38 shots yet could not finish. We let CCC off the hook early by scoring but being in an offide position. The goal got called back. Moments later, CCC scored against the run of play. We fought back in the second half and got a goal back, but the thing that has been dogging us all season reared its ugly head. What is it you ask? We tend to let down when goals are scored. Happened again. Then we were fighting back and not paying attention, made 2 mistakes in a row and they finished again.

This place we are living in reminds me of that scene in "Any Given Sunday" when Coach Al Pacino give his famous speech. (Watch out, cuss words involved.)

What do we do? There are no instant solutions for sale at Home Depot (I know, I looked.) We just climb back in, inch by inch, step by step, degree by degree until we are there. And we will get there, we will. I believe we will rise again.

All Day Long I Sit by the River, Selling River Water

OK. Here it is. CSM lost to Rogers State University, 1-4. With the score tied 0-0 at halftime, RSU put 4 on us included 2 goals in the 70th minute within seconds of each other and the last goal with 12 seconds to go in the game. We scored off of a phenomenal free kick by Kaela Croushorn.

Our second half performance prompted me to prepare and give a long speech after the team had warmed down and taken off their equipment. A lot of things went through my mind about what to say. We have been talking a lot to the team about their performance and I really didn't know if more talking would have effect. But, I talked anyway. I sat down in the stands of RSU's Soldier field soccer stadium after the game and prepared my speech. I wrote down a lot of ideas. I was hoping to inspire the team to greatness.

My basic message was this team has untapped strength that we need to use. I challenged the players to dig deep and find it in themselves. I even told a story about how my daugher Alex was born.

We have had some moments of brillance this year, without a doubt. Our problem is that we mix in the gruesome with the great. We have peaks, but our valleys are too low and too often. Our team has all the tools they need for success--they almost don't need us coaches. They just have to step forward and take it instead of looking for someone else to sell it to them. Lately, our mentality is getting in the way. As a team, it looks like we are all just waiting for something bad to happen instead of playing to play great. I challenged the team to change the way they think and to begin believing. That is the first step. Time to rise.

Next game at home versus Central Christian College at 3 PM this Wednesday, October 6th.

Pulled Out in the Nick of Time

CSM defeated the Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles 2-1 on a goal by Melissa King. King scored off of a corner kick by Daniela Padilla with 17 seconds left in a windy game. We started off scoring in the first half with a goal by King but OWU equalized on a midfield shot about 2 minutes after we scored. The first half finished with the scored tied at 1-1.

The second half was dominated by CSM. OWU barely crossed the midfield stripe yet our shots were saved, shot wide or hit the cross bar. However, CSM won a corner with about 35 seconds to go. Daniela hurried up to get the corner off in time--but she paused right before she was about to kick it. A gust of wind came up and Daniela decided to wait until it died down. It was the right decision, because when she hit the ball--it was perfect. A lofted ball drew the keeper to the near post but it was too high for her. The ball bent to mid goal over the keeper and Melissa was there to finish. The OWU keeper had a very nice half, frustrating us by constantly cutting off our dangerous crosses with her long arms and well timed saves. She just came up 17 seconds short to our delight.

After the game-- we dicovered that after our driver returned from getting gas, he decided to back up into some shade and accidentally got the bus stuck. The parking lot was an uneven pasture and the driver high centered it. Deju vu all over again. Remember a couple weeks ago--we got our van stuck on the way to a game? It happened again. 2 pickups tried to pull it out and actually snapped a tow strap. Along came another pickup and all 3 were eventually successful in getting the bus unstuck. The third pickup got there in the nick of time and our final goal also showed up at the right time to pull out a victory in Bartlesville, OK.

OK here we are!

OK, we are in OK (Oklahoma) getting ready to meet the Oklahoma Wesleyan soccer team today at 1:00. We arrived at the sprawling metropolis of Bartlesville yesterday and ended up eating at the Oriental SUPER BUFFET! They had everything--a mongolian grill, every oriental dish ever invented and they even had crawfish, shrimp and alaskan snow crab legs. We chowed down, so to speak. Oklahoman oriental food seems to be pretty good.

If my wife and I have another kid, I think I will name him Okla (Homan.)

After dinner, back at the hotel, we commmenced our individual meetings. There is really nothing else to do--so why not? Actually, it is kind of a tradition that when we travel, the coaches meet individually with the student-athletes to see how they are doing, to comment on things they are doing well and go over areas they need to improve upon. It is also a great opportunity for the players to offer any suggestions. We didn't have a dry erase board or a chalk board to diagram formations so we ad-libbed by breaking out some change. The pennies were the opponents and the silver coins were the flames. We made a soccer ball out of kleenex and Coach Kim decorated it with her sharpie. Are we good or what? I think we started a trend. Perhaps I can sell this idea on ebay? Forget the dry erase board, the magnetic board! For only $19.95 you can buy our 11 pennies and 11 dimes to diagram your soccer formations. All you need is a flat surface! No more searching for dry erase markers, the whole system fits in your pocket. Act now and we will throw in a hand made soccer ball made out of kleenex for no extra charge.

We are going to leave in an hour to head over to OWU. Wish us luck.

Tomorrow we travel to Claremore, OK for a match with Will Rogers State. I never met a soccer team I didn't like.

A Tale of Two Halves

If only we could erase the first half of our game against Midland Lutheran. The second half, Midland scored early on a breakaway, but CSM controlled possession, had a lot of chances and scored 2 goals. Unfortunately, we gave up 3 goals in the first half to lose 2-4.

In the first half, we made silly mistakes and didn't defend very well 1v1. We did a lot of ball watching and reacting instead of anticipating. Midland did an excellent job of punishing us for our mistakes.

The second half we played more like ourselves and spent a majority of the half in the Midland side of the field. Hopefully we learn from our mistakes and move on.

Road trip next! We leave for Oklahoma on Friday. We play Oklahoma Wesleyan at 2:00 on Saturday and play Rogers State at 1:00 on Sunday. We hop to do well!

CSM takes Central

On Saturday, September 27, the Flames traveled to Pella, Iowa to take on the Dutch from Central College and came away victorius, beating the Dutch 7-1. Daniela Padilla opened the scoring in the first 5 minutes taking a pass from Kira Cross and dribbling deep in the box, beating the keeper with a rocket to the far post. Daniela added 2 more for a hattrick and Melissa King put in her 3 for another hattrick. The last 2 goals scored in the second half, one by Sara Schweiger and one by King were both from long distance and beat the keeper over her outstreched hand. It is good to see that we can score both from close range and from far away.

In the second half we worked on maintaining our discipline and after a slow first few minutes, we were able to impose our will, keep possession in the opponent's half and finish strong!

Before the game, some of our wacky players engaged in some shenanigans. On the way to the game, we stopped in Des Moines for an early lunch and a Subway/Kwik Stop. Kira Cross and Mollie Jones decided to try on some hats (see pic.) Also, Ashley Turco wondered if she could fit one of the lockers in the locker room at Central College. Well, the proof is right before your eyes...a perfect fit!

Our next game is on this Wednesday, October 1 at Midland Lutheran, 4 PM. Be sure to come out and root on the Flames!

A Tie and 3 Days Off

After our game on Saturday, I gave the team 3 days off. We have been going strong for quite awhile and I felt like we needed rest. I also took 3 days off and didn't post anything here after the game--so I better tell you about it.

We tied MNU (Mid-America Nazarene University) 1-1 last Saturday in the final game of the NMU Tournament. We scored on a short shot by Daniela Padilla after a nice set-up by Melissa King. King was at the top of the box and played a ball across the goal. Daniela sprinted after it, all the time saying to herself, "Xlposive Edge, Xplosive Edge!" She was able to catch up to it and slot it in to break open the scoring. By the way, Xplosive Edge is the company we hire to do our weight training and conditioning. Unfortunately for us, MNU tied the game a couple minutes later on a corner kick. We didn't mark up very well and an MNU player had a free header that she knocked down. The ball then bounced high over our heads and went into the upper 90.

The game went into overtime and we had a number of chances but nothing went in. We will work on that.

Next game is Septmember 27th @ Central College in Pella, Iowa at 2:00 PM.

CSM Stuck in the Mud and Mire. Baker overtakes the Flames.

On Friday in Baldwin City, Missouri, the Flames lost their 3rd game of the season at the MidAmerica Nazarene Tournament. CSM fell to an excellent Baker University team 0-3. Baker controlled most of the possession and had some good chances on goal. Perhaps our poor performace can be blamed on the rain (it has been raining all day and continues to rain.) Maybe it was the fact that we left at 6 in the morning to get to the game, or perhaps it was the fact that we got one of the vans stuck on the way to the game and showed up pretty late. Whatever the reason, we played at times like our feet were stuck in the mud.

I was talking to Kim (our trusty assistant coach) during the game about our struggles and she said if we counted how many players were on the field at that time that played college soccer before--the number would be 4. I do forget at times how inexperienced we are as a group. I don't want to use that as an excuse, but our lack of "speed of play" really showed up today. I usually tell people that ramping up their speed of play is the biggest adjustment new players have to make. We spent too much time reacting instead of anticipating. When we did get in a rythym, then we would make a couple silly mistakes and get scored on. The second goal that Baker scored--I think we whiffed three times in attempting to clear it. Crazy.

Most of our chances came toward the end of the game when we won a few corners. We put a lot of pressure on Baker during those corner kicks, and we kept the ball alive in the box--but were unable to capitalize.

If we learn the lesson that we really need to play quickly as well as play together as a team, it should really help us down the road.

How did we get the van stuck? It was a series of misshaps. First, I thought we missed a turn and had to go back. OOPS, first mistake (we didn't miss the turn.) So, I pulled into a long driveway and everyone followed. I went up the driveway a bit, stopped, backed and turned to face the other direction. As I started to creep forward, one of the other vehicles pulled in at the end of the driveway, so I paused. Unwittingly, my pausing made Kim's van stop on a little incline. She had pulled the van into the grass and was turning around when I halted. When she tried to get the van going--it just sunk it the muddy quagmire of death that was masquerading as the side of the road. The wheels of the van went round and round, round and round, round and round (you get my meaning.) The team got out to push. The pushing didn't go very well. I thought with our X-Edge training--that the players could show off their muscles and push an itty, bitty van out of the mud--but NOOOOOOO!

So...we all PANICKED and ran around aimlessly, wondering what to do. Actually, what really happened is few of the players went up the the house located at the end of the long driveway, to ask for help. Thank goodness a man was home who had a chain and a big pick-up truck. That nice man hooked us up to his truck, pulled us out and we were on our way to the game. Late, but better late than never.

You could say the theme of the day (or moral of the story) is "Stuck in the Mud." Stuck before the game and unfortunately during the game.

We are in Kansas--and the tornado sirens just started going off as I write this. That is all we need :} Get to shelter immediately! (Actually, I checked with the desk here at our hotel and they said we are safe--the twister is way north of us. Ya--that is what probably what they told Dorothy.) Wait a minute, is that a cow flying by my window?

Aarrgh. CSM falls to Hastings

Our team lost a close one to the Broncos from Hastings on Sunday. CSM started strong witha blast from Daniella Padilla at the top of the box with an assist from King. However, we made a couple of silly mistakes and gave up a little breakaway and a penalty kick because of a handball in the box.

In the second half, Amanda Brabec scored in her second game in a row from an assist by Melissa King. Amanda scored 28 seconds into the second half. I can't really tell you more about the goal because I wa in the bathroom. My ten year old daughter told me that I need to go to the bathroom more often in games.

Hastings scored an a breakaway with about 10 minutes to go. That seemed to really take the wind out of our sails and we ended up falling to the Broncos.

I told my coach after the game that if we just clean up half of the errors that we made today, we will dominate our opponents.

Next game is on Friday in Olate, Kansas against Baker at 10:30 am in the MidAmerica Nazarene University Tournament. We then play MNU at 2:30 on Saturday.

Flames Tripped Up by Graceland

The CSM Flames experienced their first loss of the season to the Graceland Yellowjackets from Lamoni, Iowa 1-2. We came out strong the first 15 or 20 minutes of the match, getting a lot of possession and some early chances. Katie Archibald had a shot that just barely went wide in the first 10 minutes. After the first part of the game we struggled to keep our shape and keep possession and were back on our heals for a time.

Graceland was able to score their first goal on a miscommunication between defenders. We just kind of let the ball hang out in the box and a Yellowjacket swooped in, shot and scored. Graceland added to their lead a few minutes later on a corner kick.

Again, we struggled coming out of the gate in the second half. The Yellowjackets had a lot of possession but not tons of chances. We were unable to find the ball. Then, on one of our few attacks, we were able to win a corner. Abbey Arlt played the ball into the box with the corner kick and Amanda Brabec climbed a ladder and got a head on it to score. An awesome corner kick and an even awesomer goal.

After that, everything changed. Graceland was back on their heals and we were attacking hard and creating chances. We won another 3 or 4 corners and kept the pressure on. We played extremely hard and a lot smarter the last 15 minutes but were unable to convert.

If we just took the first and last 15 minutes and look at that--we are a heckuva team. Unfortunately, in between those times--we struggled. I think if we learn from this game, be more consistant and step it up, this experience will really make us a strong team. We are currently 3-1.

Thanks to all who came out and supported us! Next game is Sunday vs Hastings at home at 2:00 pm.

We are the Champions! CSM Rules in Indiana

CSM Soccer won its first tournament of the season by defeating Missouri Valley and Rockford College over the weekend in Schererville, Indiana at the Crimson Wave Invite. The invite was sponsored by Calumet College of Saint Joseph and this was the first time that we have participated in that tourney.

Missouri Valley was our first game and we started kind of slow, to be honest. Mo Valley hustled a lot and put a lot of pressure on the ball. It seemed like we didn't have very much time to do anything with the ball. After about 20 minutes, Daniela Padilla played a ball into Amanda Brabec who shot and scored her first collegiate goal. Missouri Valley bounced back about 10 minutes later with a goal of their own on a long shot that caught our keeper out of postition. We responded with a nice goal by Melissa King 12 minutes later in the 42nd minute with an assist by Kira Cross. We played better the second half and created fantastic chances--2 breakaways by Melissa King and an open goal opportunity for Sara Schwieger, but were unable to convert. The game ended 2-1 and we advanced into the finals to play Rockford College.

Rockford had beaten the hosts of the tourney 7-1 in their first game. They were staying at the same hotel that we were and I was able to talk briefly to the coach. Anyway, we started fast and finished strong in the final. Melissa King scored 5 minutes into the game (Schwieger with the assist) on a breakaway and that just opened the flood gates. Get ready...Daniela Padilla scored in the 22nd minute (assist by King,) and again in the 33rd minute (assist by Cardenas.) Ashley Turco scored her first collegiate goal on a nice cross by Kira Cross in the 42nd minute. Half time came and went and we just kept on scoring. Sara Schwieger scored in the 51st minute (Padilla assist,) and Daniella scored again (hatrick) 3 minutes later (McLaughlin with the assist.) Kira Cross finished the scoring with 2 long shots from the midfield (her first collegiate goals) that beat the keeper just under the crossbar (assists by Padilla and Arlt.) Final score 8-0.

The trophy we received was very nice--carved out of wood. Daniela Padilla was named the tournament's most valuable player. Kira Cross was voted player of the game by Rockford College. Melissa King, Tiffany Reis, Katie Archibald and Daniella were all named to the Crimsom Wave Invite All Tournament Team. I have to say it was fun winning our first tourament of the year. However, we still have a lot of work to do (coaches like to say stuff like that!;)

After the game we drove to downtown Chicago and spent time walking around, shopping, eating and talking. Coach Kim and I ran into the former AD at CSM, Kevin Lein. Kevin had just taken his son out the Cubs ballgame and was having dinner at the Navy Pier. Talk about a small world. Daniela ran into her brother and Alex saw a friend who was in the Navy. We also saw Forrest Gump. We got home safe and sound last night about 6. Leon was our bus driver and he drove good. A good trip for all.

Next up--Graceland at home, 4:00 PM on Friday, September 5 and Hastings at home, 2:00 Sunday, September 7th. Hastings and Graceland play each other on our field on the 6th at 2:00 PM.

Great Start for CSM Soccer as the Flames beat Briar Cliff

Our CSM Flames beat Briar Cliff in our first game of the season, 4-1. Hoo-Rah! Goals were scored by Melissa King (2,) Daniella Padilla and Katie Archibald. All in all, it was a good outing. We got stronger as the game went on for the most part. The first half we struggled a bit against the wind and were outshot 4-12. A set of nerves plagued us a bit the first 20 minutes. For a number of our players it was their first collegiate game at this level. However, we got things straight at halftime and came out guns blazing and scored 3 goals. I was pleased that after we gave up a goal (to make the game 2-1,) we came right back and scored to make it 3-1. And then added one to put the game out of reach. Briar Cliff played extremely hard and I feel fortunate to get a few past them. It was fun to finally get out there and play after 3 weeks of pre-season.

We even lit a torch and put it behind the bench (we are the flames!) We truly burned bright at times! We were on fire. We were burnin' it up! We just lit up the scoreboard. We were hot. (OK, I'll stop now.)

After the game when I went home I turned on the TV and the Democratic National Convention was on and Joe Biden was giving a speech. I am not much into politics but he said something that I thought applied to our quest for a great season. He said, "Failure is inevitable but giving up is unforgiveable." I think that can really relate to soccer. There are many times that we make mistakes and fail on the field. I make mistakes coaching and managing the team. It happens. What really make a difference and what defines the team in the long run is how you deal with the mistakes. Do you freak out and stop playing? Do you stop hustling? Or do you keep on keeping on no matter what? Our team needs to have persistance as one of its main values. We need to be relentless no matter what is happening and persevere.

We took a step toward that tonight. There is nothing that bugs me more than people giving up on a play or in a game. At the beginning of the game--we made a lot of silly mistakes. Passing to the other team, stabbing at the ball and things like that. We were in an uncomfortable place. But we shook off that funk and were able to persevere. I like that and hope that we continue to grow in that way.

I remember back in the day watching the movie, "The Outlaw Josey Wales." Chief Dan George says something in that great Clint Eastwood movie that for some reason I have always remembered: "Endeavor to Persevere." Ya, it sounds like it applys here. What do you think?