Our 2008 season is off a a very good start. We opened up this past weekend at the Rochester Institute of Technology Memorial Tournament. Rachel Miller, a former player at RIT, tragically lost her life during the soccer season a few years ago. The tournament is in her honor and they host it every year.
Our first opponent of the weekend was RIT. Out of the four teams who played, ONU was the only team which does not play regularly on field turf. We arrived on Friday for a quick session on the turf. Saturday was the opening match for both teams. It took our girls a few minutes to get themselves accustomed to the atmosphere and field. Once we settled in, we played very well; moving the ball across the field and creating a lot of good scoring opportunities. We went up 2-0 by the half. Katie Kinkelaar, a freshman from Bay Village, got us on the scoring sheet from a loose ball in the box. This was the 1st year player's first collegiate goal. Katie then assisted on the 2nd goal of the match to Natalie White, a sophomore from Columbus, IN. It was a great counter attacking goal and really showed how explosive our attack can be. After the half, we conceded 2 goals which brought the game to a 2-2 tie. The girls battled back and got 2 more goals, 1 from Junior Jamie Eiben and the fourth from and second of the game for Katie Kinkelaar.
Saturday afternoon, the Reininger's were nice enough to open their home to our team. We enjoyed an afternoon of great food, conversation and story telling, with a little Wii in there! The Reininger's were great hosts to our girls and it really shows how supportive our group of parents are for the team. Thanks!!!!!!
Sunday was an important match for the team. We played Allegheny, a member of the NCAC, to a 1-1 tie. I felt we dominated every aspect of the game and it was really unfortunate we didn't get a win from the game. We out shot and out played our opponents for a majority of the game, but some big time saves from Allegheny's goal keeper kept us from getting the win. Allegheny was a very good team and in a tough conference. That game was important for our regional ranking and allowed us to see what really works for our team and what areas we need to polish before we get into the heart of our non-conference schedule. We stopped at the Spinaris's on our way back through Buffalo for some grilled burgers, hot dogs, and just about anything you could ask for. It was a really nice gesture to invite the girls for lunch on the way home. It was greatly appreciated!!!!
This past Tuesday, we traveled to Anderson University in Anderson, IN. We dominated every aspect of the game and won 3-0. We were able to get almost all of our players some key experience for the upcoming season and I was very pleased with our performance after the long weekend of travel and a bus with NO AIR CONDITIONING on the ride home!!!
We are off until next Tuesday as we travel to Ohio Wesleyan University, back to back NCAA Division III National Champions in '01 and '02, for our first evening game of the season. The OWU women's soccer team is a top program and I am anticipating a very tough match next week. The following weekend we travel to Hope College on Friday and then play at Calvin College on Saturday before we open up at home with Wittenberg College. We have 3 very tough games before Wittenberg and all of them will be a real challenge for our players. We hope to see as many of you at our upcoming games as possible!
-Coach Batman
No comments:
Post a Comment