October 31
Tomorrow’s game against Cortland will be our “Senior Day,” where the other seniors and I will play our final home game at Vassar. Our class started with ten players but that number has dropped down to six going into what will be our final game together unless we win and get selected for the ECAC tournament.
Kevin Goldberg, in his second year as captain, has been a four-year starter for us. He originally played outside back and defensive center-midfield, but has started the last two seasons at center back. His importance to our back-line has been greatly underestimated as he rarely stands out in games, but this is because he never makes mistakes at the back. Kevin has not yet been selected for the All-Liberty League team but if he does not get picked this year it will be a huge oversight by the other Liberty League coaches.
Our other captain is Danny Kadishson, who has played all over the field for us, beginning as a winger, then starting last season as a defensive center-midfielder, then moving to outside back this year before starting at center back in our last game against New Paltz. Danny has been hampered by injuries this season but has still provided the energy and tough, physical play that this team sorely needed at times.
Jason Cetel was our starting goalkeeper since we arrived here at Vassar. Though he was beaten out for the number one job this season by junior Jake London (who worked extremely hard all year to put himself in that position), he leaves Vassar on the all-time records lists in multiple goalkeeping categories. His biggest strength has been his acrobatic saves, which have kept us in many big games over the past four years (such as a 1-1 draw with Merchant Marine when we were freshmen, and 1-1 and 0-0 draws with Liberty League powerhouses Hobart and Union last year).
Jon Hootnick has been our top striker this year, and has been playing up top since freshmen year. In past years, he was a very complete player who just couldn’t translate his ability into goals. That has changed dramatically this season, as he is currently tied for second in the Liberty League with 8 goals. A strong, fast striker, Jon has been a good target man this season which has allowed us to run our offense through him.
Matt Belli has been a wild-card player for us over the past four years, a guy who can line up in almost any position on the field and routinely switches around between outside back, center midfield, and wing, often within the same game. He is lightning quick and has the rare ability to control the ball at speed, making him one of the most difficult players in the league to mark. He also has a cannon long-range shot, and has scored multiple goals from 40+ yards out over his career, while also tallying two Liberty League goals this season.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Tough Loss in League Finale
We lost 5-1 to Hobart on Sunday, eliminating us from Liberty League playoff contention, although we would have been out anyway due to RPI defeating Hamilton and Union beating Clarkson. It is still disappointing for the senior class to end our Liberty League careers like that, along with the fact that a victory over Hobart would have given us a very convincing profile for ECAC selection. The game was a disaster from the start, as Hobart's early 3-goal barrage was followed by a scary injury to our captain Kevin Goldberg that delayed the game for over twenty minutes (luckily he’s doing better now and can hopefully play this week). We briefly made a game of it when Matt Belli scored early in the second-half, but Hobart responded right away with a fourth goal and was able to cruise to an easy victory.
This year’s Hobart squad was probably the strongest Liberty League team in my four-year career and it would not surprise me if they won the National Championship this year. I thought they were stronger than defending National Champions Middlebury (although we played them in pre-season), and they are currently ranked 4th in the nation. I saw the nation’s #1 team (Trinity, TX) on television in the national championship game last year and their standard of play was on another level, but Middlebury was still able to shut them out and win in a shootout, so you never know what will happen in this year’s knockout tournament.
Tomorrow we take on New Paltz, a team that has given us a lot of trouble in recent years. While not traditionally one of the stronger teams in the area, they had a run of four straight victories over us, including a 3-2 overtime victory my freshman year and a disastrous 5-4 overtime win in 2006 when they played down a man the entire game after an early red card. We broke that streak last season, but it wasn’t easy, as we scraped out a 3-2 victory. New Paltz is also much stronger this season than they have been in the past. They defeated Bard 4-0 (a team we beat by five goals), beat a good Fredonia team 2-1, and only lost 1-0 to nationally-ranked Stevens Tech (who beat us 3-0). It will be a very tough match-up for us. A win will make us eligible to be selected for the ECAC playoffs, but we’ll probably need to win both of our remaining games to be chosen.
This year’s Hobart squad was probably the strongest Liberty League team in my four-year career and it would not surprise me if they won the National Championship this year. I thought they were stronger than defending National Champions Middlebury (although we played them in pre-season), and they are currently ranked 4th in the nation. I saw the nation’s #1 team (Trinity, TX) on television in the national championship game last year and their standard of play was on another level, but Middlebury was still able to shut them out and win in a shootout, so you never know what will happen in this year’s knockout tournament.
Tomorrow we take on New Paltz, a team that has given us a lot of trouble in recent years. While not traditionally one of the stronger teams in the area, they had a run of four straight victories over us, including a 3-2 overtime victory my freshman year and a disastrous 5-4 overtime win in 2006 when they played down a man the entire game after an early red card. We broke that streak last season, but it wasn’t easy, as we scraped out a 3-2 victory. New Paltz is also much stronger this season than they have been in the past. They defeated Bard 4-0 (a team we beat by five goals), beat a good Fredonia team 2-1, and only lost 1-0 to nationally-ranked Stevens Tech (who beat us 3-0). It will be a very tough match-up for us. A win will make us eligible to be selected for the ECAC playoffs, but we’ll probably need to win both of our remaining games to be chosen.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Coming Off One Big Win, Looking For Another
With pouring rain and blasting winds, it would have not been a surprise to anyone if our game with Hamilton ended up being a high-scoring affair. And while the 4-3 scoreline did not surprise me, it was shocking how much of a roller-coaster the match ended up being. We have had a tendency to give up goals early, so when a 3rd-minute cross from Ben Scaglione skipped through the Hamilton defense to Brian Bianchetti, it was a pleasant change to have an early lead. Scags then found Jon Hootnick for his second assist of the game, and when Matt Belli tallied in the 60th minute it appeared we were cruising towards an easy win. Less than fifteen minutes later the game was tied as Hamilton pounded three goals home, two in the span of one minute followed by a fantastic free kick from Frank Campagnano. But before the feeling of “oh god, not again,” had finished running through my head, our starting freshman midfielder Ross Macklin saved the day. Macklin sent a curling shot off the post into the net, an amazing shot that ranks up with the best collegiate goals I have seen over the last four years. The 4-3 victory is probably our best win of the season in the eyes of selection committees, and puts us in the running for an ECAC bid (one more win will make us eligible to be selected). It also means our Liberty League playoff hopes are not completely dead either.
The good news is that we are still mathematically alive for a playoff spot, though we do need all of the Liberty League games to go our way tomorrow. If we can win tomorrow against undefeated Hobart, we’ll root for Hamilton to beat RPI, St. Lawrence to beat Skidmore, and Clarkson to beat Union. This will get us into a tie for the final playoff spot, and although the tie-breakers are complicated, I interpret them to mean that we would get the spot if these results go through. And while it seems a lot to ask for an 0-6 Clarkson to beat Union, we can’t forget two years ago when an 0-6 Clarkson team pounded us 6-2 on the final day of the Liberty League season. This is proof that they won’t take a game lightly even if they are eliminated from playoff contention, and with star forward Scott Desmond I believe they can get a result at home against a solid Union squad. Score checks will be for after the game though, our only focus until 3 PM tomorrow must be to defeat Hobart. Anyone back on campus should come by the fields at 1 PM for the game.
The good news is that we are still mathematically alive for a playoff spot, though we do need all of the Liberty League games to go our way tomorrow. If we can win tomorrow against undefeated Hobart, we’ll root for Hamilton to beat RPI, St. Lawrence to beat Skidmore, and Clarkson to beat Union. This will get us into a tie for the final playoff spot, and although the tie-breakers are complicated, I interpret them to mean that we would get the spot if these results go through. And while it seems a lot to ask for an 0-6 Clarkson to beat Union, we can’t forget two years ago when an 0-6 Clarkson team pounded us 6-2 on the final day of the Liberty League season. This is proof that they won’t take a game lightly even if they are eliminated from playoff contention, and with star forward Scott Desmond I believe they can get a result at home against a solid Union squad. Score checks will be for after the game though, our only focus until 3 PM tomorrow must be to defeat Hobart. Anyone back on campus should come by the fields at 1 PM for the game.
Friday, October 24, 2008
The Playoff Picture
With two games left, we are not mathematically eliminated from a top-4 league finish and a playoff spot, however if that is to happen we will need some help in addition to two victories this weekend. The league table currently looks like this:
RPI (5-0-0, 15 Points)
HOBART (4-0-1, 13 Pts.)
ST. LAWRENCE (3-2-0, 9 Pts.)
UNION (2-2-1, 7 Pts.)
HAMILTON (2-3-0, 6 Pts.)
SKIDMORE (2-3-0, 6 Pts.)
VASSAR (1-4-0, 3 Pts.)
CLARKSON (0-5-0, 0 Pts.)
We know a few things:
- To have a chance to make the playoffs, we must win both games, which would put us at (3-4-0, 9 Pts.) We could conceivably tie Hobart and beat Hamilton and find ourselves in a tie for fourth-place with Union or Union/Hamilton at 2-4-1, but due to Union’s victories over both us and Hamilton, we would not win the head-to-head tie-breaker.
- Clarkson is eliminated from the playoff race (so any victories by them this weekend will help us).
- We cannot catch RPI or Hobart, so again, victories by them should help us.
- We also cannot catch St. Lawrence. While we could tie them, their victory over us gives them head-to-head. We could beat Hamilton and then be in a three-way tie with Hamilton and St. Lawrence, but St. Lawrence also beat Hamilton, so they would still take the head-to-head tie-breaker. Any other teams that could join this theoretical logjam at 9 points (Skidmore with a win and a loss, Union with two draws) have already beaten us, so that would only push us further down the table on head-to-head tiebreakers.
So, with RPI, Hobart and St. Lawrence out of reach and Clarkson eliminated, our goal this weekend is to beat out Union, Hamilton, and Skidmore. These are the remaining fixtures for these three teams:
Union (at St. Lawrence, at Clarkson)
Hamilton (at Vassar, at RPI)
Skidmore (at Clarkson, at St. Lawrence)
We can help ourselves by beating Hamilton, which would insure we win a two-way tiebreaker if we beat Hobart even if Hamilton then beats RPI. As far as I can figure it out, these are our scenarios to grab a playoff spot (all of these assume that we defeat Hamilton and Hobart):
- Skidmore loses or draws against both St. Lawrence and Clarkson, and Union grabs only one draw from both games.
- If Hamilton beats RPI and Skidmore gets one win this weekend, but Union gets no more than one draw, there will be a three-way tie for fourth place at 9 points between Hamilton, Skidmore and Vassar, with all three teams at 1-1 in head-to-head. Then I assume the final spot would come down to goal differential, which is still very tight at the moment.
That’s it, as far as I can figure it. I cannot guarantee these scenarios are completely correct, as I came up with them all myself. Obviously, this is asking a lot, including results from Clarkson and a winless weekend from a very strong RPI team. Perhaps the biggest ask here however is for us to get two wins against some very strong teams from Hobart and Hamilton. This has to be our only focus as we take on Hamilton on Saturday. But if we can manage to upset Hamilton, we’ll know that we head into Sunday still alive if Union doesn’t beat St. Lawrence, which is all we can ask for at this point.
RPI (5-0-0, 15 Points)
HOBART (4-0-1, 13 Pts.)
ST. LAWRENCE (3-2-0, 9 Pts.)
UNION (2-2-1, 7 Pts.)
HAMILTON (2-3-0, 6 Pts.)
SKIDMORE (2-3-0, 6 Pts.)
VASSAR (1-4-0, 3 Pts.)
CLARKSON (0-5-0, 0 Pts.)
We know a few things:
- To have a chance to make the playoffs, we must win both games, which would put us at (3-4-0, 9 Pts.) We could conceivably tie Hobart and beat Hamilton and find ourselves in a tie for fourth-place with Union or Union/Hamilton at 2-4-1, but due to Union’s victories over both us and Hamilton, we would not win the head-to-head tie-breaker.
- Clarkson is eliminated from the playoff race (so any victories by them this weekend will help us).
- We cannot catch RPI or Hobart, so again, victories by them should help us.
- We also cannot catch St. Lawrence. While we could tie them, their victory over us gives them head-to-head. We could beat Hamilton and then be in a three-way tie with Hamilton and St. Lawrence, but St. Lawrence also beat Hamilton, so they would still take the head-to-head tie-breaker. Any other teams that could join this theoretical logjam at 9 points (Skidmore with a win and a loss, Union with two draws) have already beaten us, so that would only push us further down the table on head-to-head tiebreakers.
So, with RPI, Hobart and St. Lawrence out of reach and Clarkson eliminated, our goal this weekend is to beat out Union, Hamilton, and Skidmore. These are the remaining fixtures for these three teams:
Union (at St. Lawrence, at Clarkson)
Hamilton (at Vassar, at RPI)
Skidmore (at Clarkson, at St. Lawrence)
We can help ourselves by beating Hamilton, which would insure we win a two-way tiebreaker if we beat Hobart even if Hamilton then beats RPI. As far as I can figure it out, these are our scenarios to grab a playoff spot (all of these assume that we defeat Hamilton and Hobart):
- Skidmore loses or draws against both St. Lawrence and Clarkson, and Union grabs only one draw from both games.
- If Hamilton beats RPI and Skidmore gets one win this weekend, but Union gets no more than one draw, there will be a three-way tie for fourth place at 9 points between Hamilton, Skidmore and Vassar, with all three teams at 1-1 in head-to-head. Then I assume the final spot would come down to goal differential, which is still very tight at the moment.
That’s it, as far as I can figure it. I cannot guarantee these scenarios are completely correct, as I came up with them all myself. Obviously, this is asking a lot, including results from Clarkson and a winless weekend from a very strong RPI team. Perhaps the biggest ask here however is for us to get two wins against some very strong teams from Hobart and Hamilton. This has to be our only focus as we take on Hamilton on Saturday. But if we can manage to upset Hamilton, we’ll know that we head into Sunday still alive if Union doesn’t beat St. Lawrence, which is all we can ask for at this point.
Previewing The Weekend's Games
This weekend we take on Hamilton and Hobart in our final two league games of the season. Last year, we could have won against both of these teams, but left with only a point from both games. Against Hamilton, we achieved our main goal of shutting down their star midfielder Max Akuamoah-Boatang, but conceded a goal two minutes in that we never pulled back, losing 1-0. The next day we were out-played by Hobart but defended valiantly after Alex Freund found Ben Scaglione for a first-half goal. We very nearly held on until Hobart grabbed a heart-breaking equalizer with 36 seconds to go. We had two great chances to win the game in overtime, but were forced to accept a draw when it looked like we had the game won.
This year, the Hobart Statesmen have been on fire, sprinting out to an undefeated 13-0-2 record and the number four ranking in the country. With victories over some of the top teams in the region, including Rochester and Oneonta, they could be a national championship contender this season. Hobart is led by star goalkeeper Pete Van Dellon and league-leading scorer Dan Riso (7 goals, 3 assists). Hamilton are the defending Liberty League champions, and although they’ve struggled a bit in league play they head into this weekend right in the mix for a playoff spot. Hamilton still have midfielder Akuamoah-Boatang, who is probably the best all-around player in the league. They also have the league’s second-leading scorer in sophomore Jesse Aroyave (7 goals).
Both games are at home. We play Hamilton at 3 pm on Saturday and Hobart at 1 pm on Sunday.
This year, the Hobart Statesmen have been on fire, sprinting out to an undefeated 13-0-2 record and the number four ranking in the country. With victories over some of the top teams in the region, including Rochester and Oneonta, they could be a national championship contender this season. Hobart is led by star goalkeeper Pete Van Dellon and league-leading scorer Dan Riso (7 goals, 3 assists). Hamilton are the defending Liberty League champions, and although they’ve struggled a bit in league play they head into this weekend right in the mix for a playoff spot. Hamilton still have midfielder Akuamoah-Boatang, who is probably the best all-around player in the league. They also have the league’s second-leading scorer in sophomore Jesse Aroyave (7 goals).
Both games are at home. We play Hamilton at 3 pm on Saturday and Hobart at 1 pm on Sunday.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Soccer 24-7, Even On Break
With no class because of October break and no practice until today, a lot of the team has been able to hang around campus without any real responsibilities for a few days, which has been nice. One of the best things about not having class on Tuesday was that we were all free to watch Champions League soccer on ESPN all day.
After watching Manchester United beat Celtic 3-0 at my house and before heading to a teammate’s place to watch TIVOed recordings of two other games (Real Madrid-Juventus and Arsenal-Fenerbahce), a group of us went up to the gym to kick a ball around. We ended up getting challenged by a group of Poughkeepsie residents who were there playing, and found ourselves in a hard-fought scrimmage with them that lasted an hour and a half.
These guys were pretty good and were clearly competitive as well, yelling at each other after every mistake and flying in with hard slide tackles whenever one of our guys held the ball too long. While we had come to the gym just expecting to fool around for a bit and go home to watch more soccer, it was good for us to be tested like that and to get such a workout after a few days off. I think we ended up winning 9-5, thanks to some great defending by senior Matt Pavlich and the goal-scoring prowess of Matt Belli and Noah Mosher. Today we begin real training again, in anticipation of our final weekend of Liberty League games.
After watching Manchester United beat Celtic 3-0 at my house and before heading to a teammate’s place to watch TIVOed recordings of two other games (Real Madrid-Juventus and Arsenal-Fenerbahce), a group of us went up to the gym to kick a ball around. We ended up getting challenged by a group of Poughkeepsie residents who were there playing, and found ourselves in a hard-fought scrimmage with them that lasted an hour and a half.
These guys were pretty good and were clearly competitive as well, yelling at each other after every mistake and flying in with hard slide tackles whenever one of our guys held the ball too long. While we had come to the gym just expecting to fool around for a bit and go home to watch more soccer, it was good for us to be tested like that and to get such a workout after a few days off. I think we ended up winning 9-5, thanks to some great defending by senior Matt Pavlich and the goal-scoring prowess of Matt Belli and Noah Mosher. Today we begin real training again, in anticipation of our final weekend of Liberty League games.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Final Four Game Push
With the entire Vassar campus on October break, our team has been given a few days off to rest up for the final four games of the regular season. Some players went home, a group of guys went camping, and some of us have just been hanging around campus. We start practicing again tomorrow in preparation for our weekend showdown with Hobart and Hamilton. We’re fighting for the playoffs after a 1-0 loss to RPI this past weekend, although a surprise victory by Skidmore over Union means we are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yet.
Even if a Liberty League playoff spot doesn’t happen for us, qualifying for the ECAC championship is still a goal we want to achieve. With a 6-6 record, we’ll need at least two wins from our final four games (or a win and two draws, or even four draws) in order to be eligible for selection. It’s possible we might need more than that to actually be picked though.
The loss to RPI was extremely disappointing, and was a microcosm of what has gone wrong for us over the past few seasons. While we matched RPI in shots and possession, we couldn’t score a goal and we fell behind in the first half on an own goal after a miscommunication between our goalkeeper and one of our defenders.
We know we need to move on. If we can earn a win on Saturday and hope other results go our way, we can stay alive in the playoff race. The weekend games are at Gordon Field at 3:00 pm on Saturday and 1:00 pm on Sunday.
Even if a Liberty League playoff spot doesn’t happen for us, qualifying for the ECAC championship is still a goal we want to achieve. With a 6-6 record, we’ll need at least two wins from our final four games (or a win and two draws, or even four draws) in order to be eligible for selection. It’s possible we might need more than that to actually be picked though.
The loss to RPI was extremely disappointing, and was a microcosm of what has gone wrong for us over the past few seasons. While we matched RPI in shots and possession, we couldn’t score a goal and we fell behind in the first half on an own goal after a miscommunication between our goalkeeper and one of our defenders.
We know we need to move on. If we can earn a win on Saturday and hope other results go our way, we can stay alive in the playoff race. The weekend games are at Gordon Field at 3:00 pm on Saturday and 1:00 pm on Sunday.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Taking on Rival RPI
October 17
Tomorrow we take on RPI, one of our biggest rivals in the Liberty League. RPI is our “travel partner,” meaning it is the closest team to us geographically and we face off against the same Liberty League teams each weekend. Because of this, tomorrow’s game will be our only league contest this weekend. Although the RPI Red Hawks lost this week to Keene State, they have been on an impressive run of only 5 losses in 23 contests that dates back to last October when they defeated us 3-0 at their home field.
That win avenged a great Vassar performance from my sophomore year, where we erased a one-goal halftime deficit to storm back and take an emphatic 3-1 victory. While RPI did not make the Liberty League playoffs last year, they did manage to earn an ECAC birth and were the shock victors of the tournament. Playing as the eighth and final seed, RPI shut out top seed Oneonta State and 4th-seeded St. John Fischer before grabbing a 2-1 victory over Liberty League rival Union in the championship game. This would have been an even bigger surprise if RPI had not done the same thing in 2005 (my freshman season), rallying from the lowest seed in the ECAC playoffs to win the title. This season, RPI has finally translated this playoff form into Liberty League success and has become one of the dominant teams in the region. They are a perfect 4-0-0 in the league with no goals allowed, and will definitely present one of our toughest tests of the season. Goalkeeper Alex Penny has already been selected as Liberty League Defensive Player of the Week three times, and the fact that no one on their team has more than four goals is a testament to their depth (an amazing seventeen different RPI players have scored a goal so far this season).
Everyone who has not yet left for October break should come out to Prentiss Field at 2 PM for what should be an exciting match-up.
Tomorrow we take on RPI, one of our biggest rivals in the Liberty League. RPI is our “travel partner,” meaning it is the closest team to us geographically and we face off against the same Liberty League teams each weekend. Because of this, tomorrow’s game will be our only league contest this weekend. Although the RPI Red Hawks lost this week to Keene State, they have been on an impressive run of only 5 losses in 23 contests that dates back to last October when they defeated us 3-0 at their home field.
That win avenged a great Vassar performance from my sophomore year, where we erased a one-goal halftime deficit to storm back and take an emphatic 3-1 victory. While RPI did not make the Liberty League playoffs last year, they did manage to earn an ECAC birth and were the shock victors of the tournament. Playing as the eighth and final seed, RPI shut out top seed Oneonta State and 4th-seeded St. John Fischer before grabbing a 2-1 victory over Liberty League rival Union in the championship game. This would have been an even bigger surprise if RPI had not done the same thing in 2005 (my freshman season), rallying from the lowest seed in the ECAC playoffs to win the title. This season, RPI has finally translated this playoff form into Liberty League success and has become one of the dominant teams in the region. They are a perfect 4-0-0 in the league with no goals allowed, and will definitely present one of our toughest tests of the season. Goalkeeper Alex Penny has already been selected as Liberty League Defensive Player of the Week three times, and the fact that no one on their team has more than four goals is a testament to their depth (an amazing seventeen different RPI players have scored a goal so far this season).
Everyone who has not yet left for October break should come out to Prentiss Field at 2 PM for what should be an exciting match-up.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Film Sessions, Evaluate and Learn
October 15
As a team, we generally hold film sessions approximately once a week, where we watch some game footage to help reinforce concepts that we work on in training. We usually watch one of our own recent games, although a few times we have watched some tape of an upcoming opponent as well. We will also occasionally watch clips from professional games that Coach Jennings puts together to demonstrate some of the key concepts he is trying to impress on us, such as how to defend with shape or how to move the ball up the field.
This year, our film sessions have generally been on Monday nights (although before playing St. Lawrence this weekend we also met on Saturday morning to watch some of our Friday afternoon match with Clarkson). These film sessions are a great way to evaluate our performance and to see a visual of how well we are executing the things Coach Jennings works on in practice with us. Watching the second half of our 2-1 loss to Skidmore a few weeks back, I was surprised to see just how much possession we had despite giving up two goals. While this might be somewhat expected as Skidmore have been a counter-attacking team this season, it was still surprising to see how good we looked on film and what we could have done in that game if we had avoided some breakdowns both on defense and around our opponent’s goal. This past Monday we watched tape from our 1-0 loss to St. Lawrence. Again, there were a lot of positives to take from the game, along with examples of some of the things we can still do better as we head into the final five games of the regular season.
Today we have a day off as everyone attempts to get through midterms and papers before next week’s break from school. We want everyone to be rested in order to have two more good days of practice in preparation for our matchup against RPI on Saturday, a must-win game.
As a team, we generally hold film sessions approximately once a week, where we watch some game footage to help reinforce concepts that we work on in training. We usually watch one of our own recent games, although a few times we have watched some tape of an upcoming opponent as well. We will also occasionally watch clips from professional games that Coach Jennings puts together to demonstrate some of the key concepts he is trying to impress on us, such as how to defend with shape or how to move the ball up the field.
This year, our film sessions have generally been on Monday nights (although before playing St. Lawrence this weekend we also met on Saturday morning to watch some of our Friday afternoon match with Clarkson). These film sessions are a great way to evaluate our performance and to see a visual of how well we are executing the things Coach Jennings works on in practice with us. Watching the second half of our 2-1 loss to Skidmore a few weeks back, I was surprised to see just how much possession we had despite giving up two goals. While this might be somewhat expected as Skidmore have been a counter-attacking team this season, it was still surprising to see how good we looked on film and what we could have done in that game if we had avoided some breakdowns both on defense and around our opponent’s goal. This past Monday we watched tape from our 1-0 loss to St. Lawrence. Again, there were a lot of positives to take from the game, along with examples of some of the things we can still do better as we head into the final five games of the regular season.
Today we have a day off as everyone attempts to get through midterms and papers before next week’s break from school. We want everyone to be rested in order to have two more good days of practice in preparation for our matchup against RPI on Saturday, a must-win game.
Monday, October 13, 2008
A Tough Loss
October 11
We lost 1-0 to St. Lawrence on Saturday, putting us on the brink of elimination from the Liberty League playoffs. In the end, St. Lawrence was just a better team, and while we fought hard and played well, it wasn’t enough to steal the points that we desperately needed. We suffered a big hit before kickoff when our starting striker Jon Hootnick was forced to sit out with a knee injury. Without Jon, our regular target man and leading goal scorer, we lacked bite up front and didn’t create many chances despite some periods of good possession.
The first period was fairly evenly-matched, and we went into halftime with high hopes that we could emerge with a victory. As the second half progressed however, St. Lawrence grew more aggressive in going forward and we were forced to defend more and look for a counter-attack. Twice St. Lawrence hit the crossbar, but the game remained scoreless until the 70th minute, when a great individual effort by St. Lawrence striker Kiel Dwyer broke the deadlock. With a burst of speed, Dwyer beat our defense to a through ball and sent a shot low to the far post. For a third time the ball hit the woodwork, but we didn’t get the lucky bounce we needed as it rebounded into the net, giving St. Lawrence the lead it needed. While everyone on the field gave their all for 90 minutes, we were unable to score and now go into our RPI game next Saturday needing a result to stay alive.
With three league games to go, we sit tied for sixth place with Skidmore at 1-3. The final playoff place is currently held by Union, 4 points ahead at 2-1-1. We’ll need at least two wins and a draw from our final three games, and possibly three wins, in order to make the playoffs. Given that we play the top two teams in the league (undefeated Hobart and RPI) along with defending champion Hamilton, this is a huge task, but until we are actually eliminated we need to continue believing in ourselves
We lost 1-0 to St. Lawrence on Saturday, putting us on the brink of elimination from the Liberty League playoffs. In the end, St. Lawrence was just a better team, and while we fought hard and played well, it wasn’t enough to steal the points that we desperately needed. We suffered a big hit before kickoff when our starting striker Jon Hootnick was forced to sit out with a knee injury. Without Jon, our regular target man and leading goal scorer, we lacked bite up front and didn’t create many chances despite some periods of good possession.
The first period was fairly evenly-matched, and we went into halftime with high hopes that we could emerge with a victory. As the second half progressed however, St. Lawrence grew more aggressive in going forward and we were forced to defend more and look for a counter-attack. Twice St. Lawrence hit the crossbar, but the game remained scoreless until the 70th minute, when a great individual effort by St. Lawrence striker Kiel Dwyer broke the deadlock. With a burst of speed, Dwyer beat our defense to a through ball and sent a shot low to the far post. For a third time the ball hit the woodwork, but we didn’t get the lucky bounce we needed as it rebounded into the net, giving St. Lawrence the lead it needed. While everyone on the field gave their all for 90 minutes, we were unable to score and now go into our RPI game next Saturday needing a result to stay alive.
With three league games to go, we sit tied for sixth place with Skidmore at 1-3. The final playoff place is currently held by Union, 4 points ahead at 2-1-1. We’ll need at least two wins and a draw from our final three games, and possibly three wins, in order to make the playoffs. Given that we play the top two teams in the league (undefeated Hobart and RPI) along with defending champion Hamilton, this is a huge task, but until we are actually eliminated we need to continue believing in ourselves
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The First Liberty League Win
October 11
Halfway through our second Liberty League weekend, and we are injecting new life into our season. While we risked a great overall performance with a lack of composure around the net, we were able to grab a 2-1 win over Clarkson, our first league victory of the season. It was a great effort by the entire team, as we came out firing with three shots off the crossbar in the first half. Clarkson keeper Mike St. Croix also made some fantastic grabs on crosses to keep the game scoreless and when Clarkson went ahead midway through the half, it was starting to look just like so many other games in my career where we let opportunities slip away. But late in the first half, Brian Bianchetti produced the play of the year as his 40-yard blast tied the game 1-1. He was booked for taking his shirt off in the ensuing celebration, but it was well worth going into halftime with the score level.
We had a host of chances early in the second half, and a breakaway goal by Jon Hootnick gave us our first Liberty League lead of the year. After Hootnick’s goal, the attacks continued as Jake Weiss hit the crossbar from nearly 30 yards out and Jimmy Worboys was set to finish from close range before being taken down from behind as the official missed an egregious penalty. Clarkson was also lucky not to go down to 10 men as Vassar freshman Brett Anker worked hard to rob the defense of the ball and was taken down by the last defender, generally a red-card offense. While we feel the scoreline could have been more impressive, it was great to get a win before we turn our focus to St. Lawrence.
While we are still in seventh place, we now sit 3 points out of the final playoff spots currently held by Hamilton and none other than St. Lawrence. While a loss would not mathematically eliminate us from the Liberty League playoffs, there is no question that we need to treat today like a playoff game. Based on our performance today, we can certainly play with St. Lawrence; the question will be whether we can finish the chances that come to us (and there may not be a lot of them). Our proficiency around the net today will go a long way toward determining whether this weekend ends in triumph or disappointment.
Halfway through our second Liberty League weekend, and we are injecting new life into our season. While we risked a great overall performance with a lack of composure around the net, we were able to grab a 2-1 win over Clarkson, our first league victory of the season. It was a great effort by the entire team, as we came out firing with three shots off the crossbar in the first half. Clarkson keeper Mike St. Croix also made some fantastic grabs on crosses to keep the game scoreless and when Clarkson went ahead midway through the half, it was starting to look just like so many other games in my career where we let opportunities slip away. But late in the first half, Brian Bianchetti produced the play of the year as his 40-yard blast tied the game 1-1. He was booked for taking his shirt off in the ensuing celebration, but it was well worth going into halftime with the score level.
We had a host of chances early in the second half, and a breakaway goal by Jon Hootnick gave us our first Liberty League lead of the year. After Hootnick’s goal, the attacks continued as Jake Weiss hit the crossbar from nearly 30 yards out and Jimmy Worboys was set to finish from close range before being taken down from behind as the official missed an egregious penalty. Clarkson was also lucky not to go down to 10 men as Vassar freshman Brett Anker worked hard to rob the defense of the ball and was taken down by the last defender, generally a red-card offense. While we feel the scoreline could have been more impressive, it was great to get a win before we turn our focus to St. Lawrence.
While we are still in seventh place, we now sit 3 points out of the final playoff spots currently held by Hamilton and none other than St. Lawrence. While a loss would not mathematically eliminate us from the Liberty League playoffs, there is no question that we need to treat today like a playoff game. Based on our performance today, we can certainly play with St. Lawrence; the question will be whether we can finish the chances that come to us (and there may not be a lot of them). Our proficiency around the net today will go a long way toward determining whether this weekend ends in triumph or disappointment.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Crucial Liberty League Weekend
October 10
After four second-half goals to clinch a 5-0 victory over Bard on Tuesday, Vassar soccer heads into its most important weekend of the season so far, as we resume our Liberty League campaign at home against Clarkson and St. Lawrence.
This afternoon we take on Clarkson at 4 PM. Clarkson was our only league victory last season, and currently sit in last place at 0-3. They are also currently the only Liberty League team (5-5-1) to not have a winning record overall. However, we have heard that they are a tough and hard-working team that will bury you if you don’t come out focused and ready to play. We learned this lesson all too well my sophomore year, in our final league game of the season. While Clarkson came in at 0-6, we had just been knocked out of the playoff race the day before and the disappointment clearly caused us to come out flat. Clarkson ran away with a 6-2 rout. Last season was much better, as we won 2-0 in a game that possibly could have been worse if not for a fantastic performance by Clarkson goalkeeper Jonathon Rushing. It will be difficult to keep them off the scoreboard this year however, as striker Scott Desmond is second in the league with five goals and has twice won Liberty League Offensive Player of the Week.
On Saturday at 2 PM we play St. Lawrence, historically one of the top teams in the league and the region. They won the National Championship in 1999 and the Liberty League championship in both my freshman and sophomore year. They also made the NCAA tournament every year from 1998 to 2006. Their absence from the tournament last year was somewhat perplexing after holding the top seed all season before losing in the league championship game to Hamilton. Despite this daunting record, we’ll have to find a way to win this game and we’ve had some success against St. Lawrence in the past. Vassar has a 2-4-2 all-time record against the Saints despite a 4-1 loss last season. My freshman year we tied them 2-2 after managing to score two own goals on ourselves, a game we absolutely should have won. St. Lawrence has some good upperclassmen, including goalkeeper Emilio Coletta and leading scorer Emmanuel Mbong. They also have a host of young players who contribute, including freshman Brendan Gorman (5 goals, 5 assists). It will be a tough weekend for us, but we need points to stay alive in the playoff race, and we may very well need all 6 points from these two games.
After four second-half goals to clinch a 5-0 victory over Bard on Tuesday, Vassar soccer heads into its most important weekend of the season so far, as we resume our Liberty League campaign at home against Clarkson and St. Lawrence.
This afternoon we take on Clarkson at 4 PM. Clarkson was our only league victory last season, and currently sit in last place at 0-3. They are also currently the only Liberty League team (5-5-1) to not have a winning record overall. However, we have heard that they are a tough and hard-working team that will bury you if you don’t come out focused and ready to play. We learned this lesson all too well my sophomore year, in our final league game of the season. While Clarkson came in at 0-6, we had just been knocked out of the playoff race the day before and the disappointment clearly caused us to come out flat. Clarkson ran away with a 6-2 rout. Last season was much better, as we won 2-0 in a game that possibly could have been worse if not for a fantastic performance by Clarkson goalkeeper Jonathon Rushing. It will be difficult to keep them off the scoreboard this year however, as striker Scott Desmond is second in the league with five goals and has twice won Liberty League Offensive Player of the Week.
On Saturday at 2 PM we play St. Lawrence, historically one of the top teams in the league and the region. They won the National Championship in 1999 and the Liberty League championship in both my freshman and sophomore year. They also made the NCAA tournament every year from 1998 to 2006. Their absence from the tournament last year was somewhat perplexing after holding the top seed all season before losing in the league championship game to Hamilton. Despite this daunting record, we’ll have to find a way to win this game and we’ve had some success against St. Lawrence in the past. Vassar has a 2-4-2 all-time record against the Saints despite a 4-1 loss last season. My freshman year we tied them 2-2 after managing to score two own goals on ourselves, a game we absolutely should have won. St. Lawrence has some good upperclassmen, including goalkeeper Emilio Coletta and leading scorer Emmanuel Mbong. They also have a host of young players who contribute, including freshman Brendan Gorman (5 goals, 5 assists). It will be a tough weekend for us, but we need points to stay alive in the playoff race, and we may very well need all 6 points from these two games.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Showing "Prospies" A Slice of Vassar Life
This past weekend we had our annual “Recruiting Weekend,” where high school students (usually seniors) who are interested in playing soccer at Vassar come and stay with a player for the weekend and watch a game or two. This is a great chance to see if Vassar is the right choice for the players in respect to the program, the academics, and the social scene. We have prospective students (“prospies”) visiting all year, but our coaches pick a weekend each fall where a whole group will come and stay. This past weekend we had over a dozen students from all over the country, including distant states like Arizona, Texas, and California. Our coaches generally begin with hundreds of potential student-athletes from each class, a number that is whittled down due to a players’s ability, academic qualifications, and interest in the school.
Coming on recruiting weekend is a great chance to get acclimated to life at Vassar and to meet some potential future teammates. I remember four years ago, on my recruiting weekend, meeting for the first time some of the other seniors here who have been among my best friends at Vassar. It’s also very important to get a feel for the school first if a prospective student is going to apply early decision in November, which many athletes do. Our job as hosts is to make sure these students feel comfortable at Vassar and have a great time, which they almost always do. We have good team chemistry right now and everyone on the team gets along great, which hopefully contributes to how much fun our visiting high school students have while they are here.
Coming on recruiting weekend is a great chance to get acclimated to life at Vassar and to meet some potential future teammates. I remember four years ago, on my recruiting weekend, meeting for the first time some of the other seniors here who have been among my best friends at Vassar. It’s also very important to get a feel for the school first if a prospective student is going to apply early decision in November, which many athletes do. Our job as hosts is to make sure these students feel comfortable at Vassar and have a great time, which they almost always do. We have good team chemistry right now and everyone on the team gets along great, which hopefully contributes to how much fun our visiting high school students have while they are here.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Halfway Point, 9-1 Victory
Vassar got back on track yesterday with a 9-1 victory over Green Mountain College, the most goals we’ve put past a team in my four years here. We knew that Green Mountain (coming in at 0-13 with 8 goals scored and 78 allowed) would not be the toughest team on our schedule, but we still needed to make sure that we came out focused at the start and put the game away early. Two goals each from our starting strikers Jon Hootnick and Ben Scaglione gave us a 4-0 lead and when we added five goals in a five minute stretch from the 31st- 35th minutes we were able to ride out a comfortable victory, despite Green Mountain pulling a goal back with a good long-range shot in the second half.
The victory puts us at 4-4 as we hit the halfway point of our season. While we’ve been able to put away teams like Green Mountain with a barrage of goals, we haven’t been able to translate this into goals against tougher opposition, as we have scored only once against our four toughest opponents this year. Our goal differential of +15 despite a .500 record reflects our inability to prevail in close games. We’ll face Bard on Tuesday before resuming our Liberty League campaign next weekend. While it was good to get some confidence on the offensive end this weekend, we need to translate that into goals against tough opposition next weekend in order to stay in the playoff race.
The victory puts us at 4-4 as we hit the halfway point of our season. While we’ve been able to put away teams like Green Mountain with a barrage of goals, we haven’t been able to translate this into goals against tougher opposition, as we have scored only once against our four toughest opponents this year. Our goal differential of +15 despite a .500 record reflects our inability to prevail in close games. We’ll face Bard on Tuesday before resuming our Liberty League campaign next weekend. While it was good to get some confidence on the offensive end this weekend, we need to translate that into goals against tough opposition next weekend in order to stay in the playoff race.
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