HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A JOYOUS TIME OVER THE HOLIDAY SEASON AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

CAC's Finest!

Well we did it! We were able to defeat Frostburg for the second time this year sealing our spot as both the regular and post season CAC Champions. The game was exactly the fight we knew it would be with both teams playing their hearts out. It was extremely physical and there were some terrifying moments when Frostburg almost scored, but the girls held strong. After ninety minutes of play the score still remained 0-0 as we entered overtime. At the end of the first overtime since we were still scoreless I started thinking about Penalty Kicks. I hate when a game is decided by PK's but luckily so do our girls! Just 38 seconds into the second OT Senior Allison Humphries volleyed a ball over Frostburg's defense that found Freshman Jamie Matlock's foot. Jamie gave the goalie no chance as she blasted the ball into the side netting. The feeling was unbelievable as the girls rushed the field I fell to my knees and just cheered. As all the girls finally came over, our trainer Greg was dancing with his daughter Emma, and we all joined in the fun with dances of our own. Frostburg has scored 72 goals this season and we were able to shut them out! Victory sure is sweet and as it said on our pre-game scouting report "Everyone on a championship team may not get publicity, but everyone can say she's a champion."

This morning we all got together for breakfast and to watch the NCAA drawing's. The NCAA's had some technical difficulties but the girls, coaches, and many members of the athletic department enjoyed each others company while we waited. Now that the bracket is finally posted we play Rowan in the First Round. We are very happy with this pick and we know we can win. However, win or lose just having made it here we reached our team goal for the season and can hold our heads high! I am so proud of all my girls.

CAC Championship Game TOMORROW!

The semi-final game vs. Salisbury was a battle. At half time the score was 0-0 and neither team had much luck going to goal. It was a physical match throughout and one of our top defenders Taylor Zimmerman took a cleat to the head early on. She played brilliantly the remainder of the game, but is now unfortunately out with a concussion. That being said the girls played their hearts out and about 20 minutes into the second half, Allison Humphries was able to get a head on another one of Julie Dempsey's perfect corner kicks. This goal counted unlike the one about 5 minutes before that the linesman called back because we were offsides. With Alli's goal, Salisbury started to come harder and harder. The suspense was intense and the clock couldn't tick fast enough as we sat on the bench watching and hoping the girls would remain strong. Steph Eyler finally gave us some breathing room when she was able to challenge Salisbury's Keeper on a 50-50 ball. She deflected the keepers kick and with the goalie out was able to finish from a tough angle giving us the 2-0 lead. The girls managed the clock beautifully and much to Salisbury's frustration we came out victors once again. We are now heading into the post season championship. Tomorrow at 1pm here in Owings Mills we will take on Frostburg University for the second time this year. It is going to be the hardest game of the season. The girls are prepared mentally and physically and I know they are as hungry as I am for the title. If you have any free time tomorrow come support our women as they fight for the Championship! If we win we get an automatic bid into the NCAA's which will be quite an experience for our ladies. Wish us the best and I will keep you posted!

CAC Regular Season Champs!

One Step Closer to our Goal! This is our second year in a row ending the year as regular season champs. Last year we were tied with Salisbury and had to share the title, but this year it is us at the top! Our next game will be the CAC semi-finals Tuesday Nov 2, against the winner of Salisbury vs York's quarter final match.
Our game against Frostburg was exactly the battle I knew it would be. They have two deadly scorers but our girls were able to stand strong defensively and we found the back of the net twice on offense. Heather Redding and Jamie Matlock both hit side netting with perfectly placed shots. It was a fight the entire 90 minutes and so exciting to seal the victory. After so many hard fought games in a row the girls came out flat against non-conference rival Swarthmore and ended up losing 2-0 in a pretty uneventful game. We talked about how it is hard to be great everyday but if we want to be the best we need to expect that of ourselves at all times. Even when playing out of conference games, they are still in our region and we should have played with much more intensity. That being said the girls brought the intensity against Mary Wash and Marymount. If we lost either game then we wouldn't have been the regular season champs. Against Mary Wash, freshman Amanda Marston score her first collegiate goal. Later, however, we were actually losing 2-1 the girls battled back and senior captain Allison Humphries was able to tie the game 2-2 with a header from Julie Dempsey's beautifully placed corner kick.
Our bus ride to Marymount was a disaster. We hit multiple accidents, were basically sitting on the highway parked and arrived to the field with little time before kickoff. We started the game 15 minutes late, but the girls still were able to get the job done, winning 4-1.
As Playoffs approach we are going to have a fun but intense week of practice. We are trying to line up an extra game to break up the week and keep us playing our best. Keep your fingers crossed that the ball bounces in our favor and we play to the best of our ability in the Semi-finals. Becuase we want to win the CAC championship completley, regular season and playoffs! That has been our goal from day one and I know we can achieve it.

Victory is so Sweet!

Just like I knew they would, the girls have banded together and are playing better then ever. We have won the last 4 games in a row since my last post! Our goal keepers Brittany Ross and Lauren Weitzman have both been playing so well that they have been splitting time equally and have not let in a goal in any of these games! Three of these wins were in conference games, which sits us currently tied for first in the CAC.

We stormed out against Hood College on their home field in Frederick, MD. Freshman Dani Pulliman scored her first collegiate goal, and junior Sam Novy finished a beauty off an assist from another freshman Catherine Madden. Then came Wesley and our scoring continued as we defeated them 3-0 on our home field. Heather Redding netted another beauty to start us off with an assist from defender Brittany Bangert. Steph Eyler scored the second and Freshman Jamie Matlock got her first collegiate goal. I guess Jamie decided she loved the feeling, because she scored the game winning goal the next game against Gettysburg. The Gettysburg game was a battle throughout the midfield they only got 9 shots on goal to our 7 and we both only had 1 corner kick attempt. However, the girls came out completley focused and fought hard all over the field. Steph Eyler found some room and ripped a shot that the goalie was able to block, but Jamie showed incredible hustle and beat everyone to the ball for the rebound!

All of these wins have felt wonderful, but by far the best feeling came this past Saturday. We traveled three hours to Salisbury University to play a team that our women's soccer program has never beaten in the schools history. We have tied but never conquered...until now! 90 minutes in we were clearly the better team but we could not find the back of the net. Two minutes into overtime play Sophmore defender, Taylor Zimmerman lofted a beautiful free kick into the box where sophmore Kayla Curry headed the ball perfectly down to Allison Humphries left foot. Alli struck the ball one touch, and launched one of the prettiest goals I've ever seen just out of Salisbury's Goal Keepers reach for the win. I nearly had a heart attack as the entire team rushed the field! Afterwards we sat on the field and basked in the moment :0).

I can't believe we only have 4 games left in regular season play. This is Frostburg's first season in the CAC and they are tied for first in the Conference with us...this is a MUST WIN. Two local area highschools are coming to support us so hopefully we will show up and play our best. When we do this, no one is better. I'll keep you posted.

Our Season to Date

My last post was after our preseason tournament. We are now a little less then half way through our season and our record does not even begin to represent the talent we have on our team. After the frustration of the Gettysburg tournament the girls banded together and came at McDaniel with vengeance. Our senior captain Allison Humphries netted two goals, a freshman Catherine Madden had her first goal of her collegiate career off a beautiful long ball from Julie Dempsey in the Back, and Steph Eyler was able to get her first goal for this season. Overall, the teams spirits were high, everyone was communicating and enjoyed the game. This energy carried over into our next game vs conference rival York College. The battle with the Spartans was by far the most exciting game so far of our season. They came out extremely intense but our girls stood strong. After two halves of physical, exhausting play the score was tied 0-0. Just three minutes into the first overtime freshman midfielder Mackenzie Calhoun made a beautiful over lapping run and Steph found her feet splitting the defense for the game winning goal. We all cleared the bench in celebration of such a hard fought victory. I was extremely proud of my girls as they were of themselves. This game truly showed us how good we are when we play as a unit.


Next came #6 Nationally Ranked Johns Hopkins University. We had a couple great opportunities to score one on one with their goalie that we could not quite finish on hence we ended up losing two nill. We however, were happy with our play and came into our next conference game vs St. Mary's overly confident and asleep. Even without the necessary intensity we still battled and had many quality attempts to score, but the Seahawks played hard and got the best of us.

The girls were frustrated and took time to themselves to figure out what was missing from the game. Once again we were faced with knowing that we were the better team and had just not done what was necessary to win. In true Mustang style, however, the girls came out on fire against Catholic possesing the ball beautifully and finishing three golden opportunites. Heather Redding found the back of the net twice, and Freshman Shannon McGuire hit a 30 yard bomb to the far post scoring her first collegiate goal.

This past Saturday we suffered a heartbreaking loss to Elizabethtown. I have a hard time finding words to describe this game as we possesed the ball again far more then they did. They scored off of breakdowns on set pieces and we once again just did not finish our opportunities. We have to keep our spirits up and remember that yes every loss hurts and should not be taken lightly. However, if we can figure out our issues now and come together in time for post season play, the playoffs are all that truely matter in the end. Our girls spirits are still high and they are determined every day to work hard and continue getting better. I'm positive they will come out against Hood on Wednesday and perform.
On our last bus ride the girls made signs with their names in the middle. Each player signed everyone elses sign writing their favorite thing about their teammate or even just a funny memory. I must say the signs were hilarious and something I'm sure the girls will treasure forever. I recently read a quote that I loved that says "A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are." And while our record today is currently who we are I hope I've done my job showing the girls that they can and should be 2010 CAC champs, so let's see how things turn out!

THE MAKING OF OUR TEAM

It has been a while since I last posted but I think the time could not be more right to talk about our team. We are now three weeks into the season since preseason started on a wet Wednesday morning on the Owings Mills Turf. After three games, we are at point where we must come together as a team. We have felt heartbreak and disappointment early in the season but we must not dwell on the past. No offense to Susquehanna or Bridgewater but if you were at any of these game you would realize the better team lost on both occasions. As a coach and a great supporter of the beautiful game, we play the game the right way. We possess the ball, we pass and move, and we attack as a team with creativity and skill. We do not 'bunker' in and just defend in numbers and hope for a counter attacking goal by just kicking the ball up the field, that is boring soccer but can be successful if the team your playing against is struggling in front of goal. That is the story of our season so far.

I hate losing but even worse is knowing that the better team lost. I am not going to make excuses, I take full responsibility for our 1-2 record to date. I will though make a promise that you have not seen the last of the Stevenson women's soccer team this year. We will work even harder to get better and I know that every player on our team is ready to step up and rise to the challenges ahead. We do not give up, we support each other and we will overcome adversity. We are ready for the games ahead and one game at a time, we will battle for every minute of every game.

"Our greatest glory consist not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."