Nov. 5
The season ended a week ago and I have been thinking a lot about what went wrong. We are all very disappointed with our results this year and things certainly did not turn out the way we had hoped for. It is hard to analyze the season that we just had and I don’t have any right answers for why it turned out the way it did, only speculations.
First of all, we lost a lot of players and also got many new ones this year. Only three or four starters came back and it is never easy to rebuild a team in a couple of weeks of preseason. It didn’t help that a lot of the potential starters came late and missed a major part of preseason. The players who left had important roles on our team and I don’t think that the players who came in were ready yet to fill their roles.
We switched our formation from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 and, even though we all believed in this system, we never felt comfortable on the field and we ended up switching back to 4-4-2 the week before conference started. We started playing better in our old formation, but we were never able to find a line-up that could produce day in and day out. We were too inconsistent and only won two games in a row once during the whole season.
This year, our forwards scored nine goals all together compared to last year when our forwards scored close to 30 goals combined. That is huge difference and obviously something that will affect the results.
All these things that I have mentioned are possible reasons, not excuses, for why we failed to achieve our goals of winning the conference championship and to make it back to the NCAA tournament. However, in my opinion, the main reasons for our failure were the lack of commitment and the lack of winning mentality. We failed to create a winning mentality on and off the field and there are so many things that we probably should have done differently. It is not a coincidence that five out of our six losses in conference were one goal games. We weren’t mentally strong in crucial situations of the game.
Even though my last season in my college career was a huge disappointment, the four years that I have spent here have given me memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Winning the regular season in 2007, the conference tournament in 2008 and playing and winning a game in the NCAA tournament last year are special moments that are the highlights of my career.
I want to take the opportunity to thank my coach Mike Johnson, my teammates, and everyone else who has been involved in the program over the four years that I have been here. You have all helped me to become a better player and a better person. I have had a great time and I am proud to have been a part of Jacksonville University men’s soccer.
The End
Oct. 29
We had the chance to secure a spot in the tournament against Mercer tonight but we didn’t take it. Both teams had nine points before the game so we all knew how much this game meant.
Although we had talked about their long throw-ins before the game, we let them score on one early in the game. Like so many times before this season, we took a play off and gave up an easy goal and I can’t even describe how frustrating that is. We created a few pretty good chances before half time but they had the best chances in the first half. Second half was similar to the first half. We tried to play soccer and they just kicked it long when they won the ball. They are good at their style of play and scored another goal about 15 minutes into the second half. I think we played hard, created some chances and were able to cut their lead in half with 20 minutes remaining. After the goal, we tried to get the equalizer and we were close a couple of times, but ended up on the losing side.
It was a tough loss, one of the toughest all year to be honest. The effort was good and we battled for 90 minutes, but made a couple mistakes and we didn’t find a way to come back. We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves as we are travelling to North Carolina tomorrow to play Campbell on Saturday for our last game of the regular season. It is never easy to go up there and get a win. Last time, we played them was in the (A-Sun) championship game last year and I think all of you know how that game ended. We need a performance on that level to get a positive result.
I can’t believe we have put ourselves in this situation and I think every person on this team feels like the season has been disappointing so far. We haven’t played to our potential except for a couple of games here and there and we are now in very deep water. But in saying that, we still have to remember that if we win on Saturday nothing in the past matters anymore. A win will give us a spot in the tournament and a chance to start over from scratch.
Oct. 27
We played for our survival in the games against USC Upstate and ETSU and we are still alive. We knew that we needed to come out of this weekend with two wins and we did. The team performance against Upstate on Friday was possibly the best performance we have had all year. Everybody worked hard and we played well together as a team. The preparation in the locker room before the game was more focused than in a long time and I think we all felt the urgency of the game we were about to play. We took the lead in the first half off a corner and created a lot of chances to score more goals, but the final score was 1-0. It was a nice confidence booster for us to be able to hold on to a 1-0 lead since we lost to both UNF and Belmont after having scored the first goal.
Sunday’s game against ETSU was our last home game of the regular season and therefore Senior Day. We have never lost a senior game during my first three years here and we didn’t lose this time either. Even though we struggled a little bit in the beginning, we took over the game and scored three first half goals to secure the win. We didn’t play great soccer, but we scored goals and kept a clean sheet for the second game in a row.
Senior Day always brings back memories from previous years and other senior games. One thing I always will remember is when Greg Roytman, a senior in 2007, played his senior game. Greg was not the greatest soccer player, but everybody liked him and he is still a good friend of mine. The senior game was Greg’s first start of his career and he also scored his first and only goal ever in that game. This goal changed Greg’s plans for the future. Originally, he was going to go to Law school, but after his performance in his last college game he wanted to play professionally. However reality caught up with Greg and he is today a law student at Dayton University.
Against ETSU, we were able to play everyone on the bench, except the keepers, which was nice to see. Players like Isaac Kinman, Nick Amy and Erik Sheppard usually don’t get a lot of playing time, but they always come to practice and give 100% so it was good to see them get on the field.
This week we have our last couple of games in the regular season and we still need to win one more game to be guaranteed post season play. We play Mercer on Thursday and Campbell on Saturday at the field where we won the championship last year. All our focus right now is on Thursday’s game against Mercer. We know that a win in that game will give us a spot in the tournament and we will do everything we can to make it happen. Coach has been talking about the games against Upstate, ETSU, and Mercer in terms of a three-round fight. We have won round one and round two, but everyone knows that the first two rounds don’t matter if you get knocked out in the third.
Oct. 22
By this time last week, I was saying that the upcoming weekend was one of the most important weekends for the program in a long time. This week, we have an even bigger weekend in front of us since we lost both games in Nashville. We have to win both games to even have a chance to play in the conference tournament. To me this weekend is just as big as when we played Campbell in the A-Sun Championship game last year or when we played Louisville and North Carolina in the NCAA tournament. Getting positive results this weekend means everything to me and the other five seniors on the team. Losing this weekend means not only that our season is over, but our college careers have come to an end as well. That is a fact that I don’t even want to think about, but it is almost impossible not to being this late in the season.
There is really not that much more to say about the situation we are in now. Bottom line is that we have to win three of our four last games and finish top six in the conference. Three more wins will give us a total of 12 points and if we aren’t able to get that then we don’t even deserve to play in the tournament.
Our opponents this weekend are USC Upstate and ETSU, two teams that we beat last year. I don’t know much about them, but there are no easy games in conference and both of them are looking for a spot in the tournament. If we come out with the same energy and intensity as we have the last few games, I am sure the goals are going to come as well. It has been very frustrating to create a lot of chances and not score, but I really think it is going to turn around this weekend.
For the seniors on the team, these two games are the last opportunities we will ever get to play at home for JU. I can guarantee that we will give everything we got and do our best in order to get a pair of wins. Come out and support us as we play USC Upstate on Friday at 8pm and ETSU on Sunday at 2pm at Ashley Sports Complex.
Oct. 20
We are back in town after the weekend in Nashville and we have put ourselves in a very hard situation by losing to Belmont and Lipscomb. Our losing streak is now four games long, but to be fair, I think we have played good enough to win the last three games.
Against Belmont, we played really well and dictated the game and we took the lead early in the first half. We kept possession and they sat back and countered, which they did a good job with. Their two front runners worked hard off the ball and were dangerous when they got the right balls to work with.
In the second half, we dominated even more and I felt like it was a matter of time before we were going to score. However, I was wrong and we ended up losing the game in overtime after a mistake in the back. I really think that we deserved a better result and our performance was good or even very good at times. The main thing we could have and should have done better is to finish our chances.
The story repeated itself against Lipscomb. Once again, we created quality chances, but we were unable to score. Nobody can say that we didn’t give enough effort or that we played bad, but the sharpness in front of goal isn’t good enough at the moment. Some people would say that it’s bad luck, but to me there is no such thing and I think that you get what you deserve. We are simply just not good enough at the moment. As I have said several times in the blog, we know that we can be a good team, but good teams score goals and win games. We are doing neither of those things right now.
We are now last in the standings with only three points in five games and every game from now on is “do or die”. With four games remaining in the regular season, we cannot afford to lose another game if we want to make it to the conference tournament. After having lost four games in a row, we now need to win at least three games in a row to extend our season. It is not going to be easy, but we have to believe that we can do it.
Oct. 15
The upcoming weekend in Tennessee is the most important pair of games for this program in a very long time. Right now, we are not only fighting to win the championship, but to make the conference tournament. This is a new situation to the players on our team since we always have a good start in the conference. We are playing Belmont and Lipscomb, which are two teams that also in great need of points so we know it won’t be easy and we have to be at our best to get the results we want.
Last year, we lost to Belmont, but won against Lipscomb. We also played Lipscomb in the conference tournament, for the second time in the last two years, and were able to beat them on penalty kicks. Belmont is not the most skillful team, but they work very hard and they never give up - very similar to UNF. Lipscomb is a team with more skill and some very good individual players. They have had a rough start just like us, but we know they have a good side.
The intensity in practice has been very good this week and we have been sharper than the previous couple of weeks. Almost half the team had some kind of sickness last week, but everyone is feeling better and is back in training. Even though we lost to FIU on Monday, I feel like that game gave us confidence and we proved to ourselves how good we can play when we come out with energy and everyone is on the same page.
We are sick of losing and it is time for us to turn things around this weekend. I feel like we have been saying that after pretty much every weekend, but now it’s time to put words into actions and really do it. I am tired of telling people that we lost when we come back after a weekend. It has been a very frustrating season so far, but great teams find a way to overcome hard situations and I still believe that we can be a great team.
Oct. 13
Once again the River City Rumble turned out to be a one goal game, unfortunately in UNF’s favor. We started off good, controlled the tempo of the game and were up 1-0 at halftime. Coach warned us at halftime and told us that if we don’t put this team away, they are going to see their chance and bad things might happen.
Like so many times before this season, we came out flat in the second half and UNF equalized after only five minutes. The goal gave them momentum and they pressured us all over the field. Our lack of energy in the second half was obvious and we couldn’t respond. They scored another goal with less than ten minutes remaining and were able to keep the lead to get the win. We knew that three points in this game was crucial to put us in a good position to win the regular season, especially since we already lost a game in conference.
With two losses in the first three games, it is going to be tough to win the regular season title. The conference tournament is setup differently this year so to be honest I don’t think it matters if we finish first or sixth, we still have a good chance of winning it. I feel like we need to focus on what’s next and not look beyond it. People have been talking about winning six games in a row and finishing at the top of the table; however I feel like we need to be realistic and take one game at the time from now on. I am not saying that we can’t win all these six games, but we should have in mind that we haven’t won two games in a row yet this season. Our next game is against Belmont on Friday and all our focus needs to be on that game and that game only.
The day after we lost to UNF we left for Miami to play FIU on Monday. I know that a lot of people, including myself, didn’t get much sleep after the tough loss against UNF and it was nice to get away and get something else to think about. We didn’t talk a lot about the UNF game, which I think was a good thing. We all know what we did wrong and that our performance was unacceptable.
The game against FIU was a non-conference game and we played almost everybody on the roster. We lost 1-0, but no one should be ashamed over their individual performance. At times, we played the best soccer we played all season and we just got to be sharper in front of the goal. We were clearly the better team and played with a lot of energy and intensity. With only minutes remaining, they got a penalty kick to get the victory.
Since it was a non-conference game, it allowed us to try some new things. Chris Helms played at left back and had a great performance. He was great in offense and also improved our defense significantly. Hopefully, he is the missing piece we have been looking for.
With only six games left in the season, we need to understand that we have put ourselves in a very difficult situation and it is going to be hard, but not impossible, to reach our goal of winning conference and playing in the NCAA tournament again.
There is no doubt that there is potential in our team, but we are running out of time and we must play with more urgency the last couple of weeks. It is not too late to make this season special and what matters is not how you start the season, but how you finish it.
Oct. 8
It is always a special feeling to play UNF. Even though we want to give 100% in every game, it is easy to find a little bit of extra energy when we play our in-town rivals and I am sure that they feel the same way.
During my time here at JU every time we have played them, the games have been close. My freshmen year we won 1-0 and I scored my first career goal. The year after we lost a heartbreaker in overtime at home and last year we were back as winners as we beat them 1-0.
There are always a lot of emotions involved and both teams are ready to do whatever it takes to get the win, which can lead to some dirty tackles and lots of arguing between the players. In the game during my freshmen year for example, four players got sent off after a brawl with almost everyone on the field involved.
The game against UNF is our only game this week so we should come out well-prepared and with a lot of energy on Saturday. Two years ago when they beat us for the first time in years, they went crazy and celebrated like they had won the World Cup. For the players on our team that witnessed it, there should be no problem to find motivation to win the game.
UNF has been struggling so far this season and they are 1-8 right now. However, they won their last game upsetting Stetson, 2-0, which was a very good result for us. We respect UNF and we know that they can beat any team in the conference on a good day, but we believe in ourselves and, if we play to our potential, it won’t matter what UNF does. We are yet to win two games in a row this season and this is a great opportunity to start a winning streak as well as keep the Dennis Viollet Cup at JU for another year. For you out there who don’t know, Dennis Viollet Cup is the trophy that the winner between JU and UNF get to keep for a year.
The game on Saturday is at our home field and hopefully we will have a lot of people coming out to support us. Playing night games at home is always exciting and when UNF is the opponent. it makes it even better. We are looking forward to the game and we will do our best to gain a point in the River City Rumble.
Oct. 6
The JU men’s soccer team has always been a slow starter and we have been struggling at the beginning of every season I have been here. However, we usually do well once conference play begins and I have never lost a conference opener - until last Friday.
I really believed that we were going to win the game and I had a good feeling before it started. Unfortunately, we gave up a goal less than 10 minutes in the game and another one right after that. We were down by two at halftime, but I think we played pretty well and probably deserved a better result than the scoreboard showed. We had talked a lot about their right midfielder before the game. Not necessarily because he is a great player, but because he is the only player on their team who can create something on his own with his pace. Even though we knew that he was dangerous, we gave him a lot of room and, for some reason, didn’t do what we talked about before the game.
He scored the second goal when we once again gave him space and time on the ball and let him cut inside way too easy. We made some personnel changes at half time and controlled his involvement in the game much better. We reduced their lead in the middle of the half, but just a few minutes after our goal they scored their third and later on a fourth. The game was over and, even though we scored a goal in the last minute, we were never really close to win the game. We definitely played good enough to get a positive result, but we keep giving up easy goals at crucial points and you can’t expect to win against a team like Stetson if you allow them to score four. We outshot them, 24-14, and had most of the possession but our efficiency wasn’t what it needed to be that night.
The loss was a huge disappointment, but there was no time to feel sorry for ourselves and we started to talk about Sunday’s game against Florida Gulf Coast almost immediately after the loss. We knew that we had to beat them and coach (Mike Johnson) was telling us that this was one of the biggest games for this program in a long time. They got on their score board first, but we responded and scored twice before half time and then another two in the second half. It was a comfortable win and I think we were more relieved than happy over the win.
After the game coach gave us two days off which is something that happens at least once a year. We don’t play again until Saturday and it has been nice to rest our bodies for a couple of days.
We made some changes in the starting lineup this weekend and I think that the players who got the chance to start really took advantage of it. Andy Mikeska started his first game of the season against Gulf Coast and had a goal and an assist. Nate Binkley made his first start in his college career and played very well. He’s a smart player and good on the ball and he gave us what we expected from him. Johnny Foley got the chance in goal on Sunday and he played solid and made a good impression.
I’m looking forward to this week of practice and to prepare for one of the biggest games of the year on Saturday against UNF.
Oct. 1
The time is flying by and we are almost halfway through the season already. Conference play finally starts tomorrow against Stetson and there is no more room for errors or mental mistakes. We all know that we had a rough start, but I think we have gotten better each game and it feels like we have something going now. As I have mentioned before, we have a large group of new players this year and I finally think coach has found the right players for the right roles and we are starting to look more and more like a team on the field.
We are going into this weekend with a big win from last Sunday and it is important that we keep our feet grounded and understand that we need to do the same job that we did against College of Charleston in order to get a win on Friday. Stetson is a solid team that we know very well by now since we have been playing alongside them in the same tournaments for the last two weekends. They are still undefeated (6-0-1) and has been getting some really good results against teams that we have lost to. However, I think we have a good chance to win because I believe that they have played at or near the top of their capacity, while we have a lot more to give than we have showed so far.
Last year’s game against Stetson ended in 4-1 win for us and Tony Taylor scored twice. He is currently in Egypt playing in the U-20 World Cup for the U.S. team and had a goal and an assist in their win against Cameroon earlier this week. The JU men’s soccer team is supporting him in front of our TVs and we wish him, as well as the team, the best of luck.
We are excited to open up conference play at home against an undefeated team tomorrow and I hope a lot of people will come out to support us. The game on Friday against Stetson starts at 8pm and the girls play right before us at 6 p.m.
The girls have gotten some great results lately and are in the middle of a four-game winning streak. Good job! Hopefully, both of us can extend our winning streaks tomorrow with the help of an amazing home crowd. See you all there.
Sept. 29
One of our goals for this season was to go undefeated at home, but since we lost against Alabama A&M on Friday that goal is not going to be achieved. Although we lost, I think we played pretty well and could have won the game. We were winning all the offensive statistics except the most important one - goals. We took the lead with only a minute remaining in the first half. On a cross from Eddie “Danny Mills” Munnelly, Nedim (Hrustic) found the back of the net with a nice header.
In the second half, we came out flat-footed and gave up the equalizer less than ten minutes into the half. Not long after their first goal, something bizarre happened as their goalkeeper stepped up on a free kick and shot the ball hard right through our wall in the goal. It was almost embarrassing that we let their goalie score a goal that was the eventual game-winner. We tried to come back, but even though we gave a lot of effort, we were never really come close to tying the game.
Alabama is an interesting team with a very rare playing style. They came to Jacksonville and played two games in three days with only one sub. When they had the ball, they tried to slow the game down and keep the ball and they are good at it. In defense, they sat back and waited for the other team to make a mistake. We were disappointed that we lost, but we had to look forward and focus on Sunday’s game against Charleston.
#26 College of Charleston is probably the best team on our schedule this year and we knew that we had to be at our best to have a chance to beat them. Everyone was excited about this opportunity and we couldn’t have gotten a better start as we scored after only 40 seconds. That was the first of eight goals to be scored in the game.
At halftime, we were down, 3-2, after a few individual mistakes in the back but we thought that we had played well and deserved a better result. We really believed that we could turn the game around and we equalized almost right away in the second half when I scored my first goal of the season on a penalty kick. I actually had to shoot it twice as one of our players went into the box too early on the first one. The goal gave us energy and they started to look tired.
We created chance after chance - hitting the post twice but the ball wouldn’t go in the goal. In the 85th minute, we finally scored the game winner. I got the ball in midfield and passed the ball to Nedim up front, who held the ball as I made a run in to the box. Nedim flicked the ball perfectly over a defender back to me and I hit it with my left foot (!) in the bottom right corner. Only a couple of minutes later, JJ (Jonathan Jackson) finished the game off with our fifth goal of the game.
Beating a ranked team like College of Charleston was big for us, especially after the rough opening of the season that we have had. This win gives us some well-needed confidence and we showed everybody that we are a team to count on going into conference play this week. We went back to our “old” formation and it worked out well. I feel much more comfortable in this formation and I know my role like the back of my hand.
After my two goals on Sunday, I was named Atlantic Sun Offensive “Player of the Week” and I would like to dedicate this honor to a good friend of mine, who before the game gave me a very inspiring quote about what it means to be a leader and a difference maker on a team.
You know who you are and I really appreciate it.
Sept. 24
This weekend’s pair of games against Alabama A&M and College of Charleston is our last two games before we start conference play. We played both these teams in our last non-conference weekend in 2008 as well at a tournament in Charleston. I don’t have any good memories from that weekend as we lost both games and I injured myself and was to play in only one of these games.
College of Charleston was a solid team, who gave us a good match. We had chances to win the game, but they scored the lone goal of the game in second overtime. In the game against Alabama A&M, we were winning 1-0 with less than 15 minutes remaining, but ended up losing after two late goals from the Bulldogs. Conner “Simba” Vogel scored our goal on his only shot of the season and must have had the best shot percentage in the nation last season.
This weekend is a good test for us as well as the last chance for the team to prepare for our first conference game against Stetson next week. We know that we are facing two quality opponents and we need to have our best performances so far to be able to win these two games. College of Charleston is ranked 26th in the nation by CollegeSoccerNews.com this week and have only lost one game so far. We are excited to play opponents of this caliber at home and we all believe that we can get positive results in both of these games if we play to our capacity, which we haven’t done much this season.
The intensity in practice has been good this week and everyone is always in a better mood after a win. The practices have been a little bit different and we have worked on some new stuff which I really believe is going to help us. What we need to work on is to find the right system so we can get the right players for the right positions. We want to get out as much as possible from every individual, but also get them to work as a unit. It has been an ongoing process, but I feel like we are making progress and that we will get better for every game from now on.
Come out and support us on when we play Alabama A&M on Friday at 7pm and on Sunday against College of Charleston at 2:30 p.m.
Sept. 22
We finally won our first game. We beat St. Joseph, 4-0, but we should have scored at least 10. We took the lead early in the game and scored another one before the first half was over. In the second half we created even more chances as they got tired, but we were only able to score two more.
I missed a penalty kick and a free kick and it’s getting more and more frustrating not having scored yet this season. Even though the team’s performance is what matters, I feel like I should contribute more being a senior and the team captain. I am still trying to find my role in this new system and I don’t feel as comfortable as I did in last year’s formation. I know that some of the other players feel the same way, but we still have a couple of games to work out our kinks before conference starts in about two weeks.
Our first game of the weekend was against Hofstra and there wasn’t much good to take out of that game. Once again, we lost to a team that we should be able to beat and we gave up three easy goals. In my opinion, we have better players than all the opponents we have lost to, but they have been better organized and played better together.
It is never a good feeling to lose a game, and after the Hofstra loss, we felt like we had to do something. The seniors including myself, Eddie (Munnelly), Joey (Sanchez), Riley (Butler) and JJ (Jonathan Jackson) had a meeting and made a list of things that we needed to change or improve both on and off the field. The day after we had a meeting, everyone got the chance to say what they thought we could do better. It was a very productive meeting and we all agreed that we needed to make some changes for the game the day after. We went to the practice field to work on some tactical changes and I think that we all felt that we were more of a team and that we had clearer roles when we stepped on the field on Sunday.
Our first win gave us some well-needed confidence and hopefully this was the start of long winning streak. Even though we lost one of the games, I think we can learn a lot from this past weekend and it is better that we lose now than when it really matters.
Some other positives notes from the weekend are that Eddie and Matt (Wallace) were back from injuries and three players (Tyler Williams, Casey Tafuri, and Kyle Johnson) scored their first collegiate goals.
Sept. 17
We have had a good week of practice and I have a good feeling about the upcoming weekend. The guys that have been injured and missed the start of the season are back on the field, which gives us better competition for the starting spots as well as improved quality and intensity in practice. I feel like the pieces are falling in place and we are starting to come together as a team.
Last year, we were in a similar situation. We lost some games early in the season against teams that we should have beat and we gave up a lot of goals. Just like this year, we had a lot of new players in the program and we felt like we didn’t play to our potential. After couple of weeks into the season, our team chemistry improved and we started to play better to get good results. I hope for something like that to happen this year as well and I believe that we can do even better than last year if we keep working hard and believe in what we are doing.
This weekend, we are travelling to DeLand, Fla. to face Hofstra and St Joseph in a tournament hosted by our conference-rival Stetson. We play Hofstra on Friday and St. Joseph’s on Sunday. I have never played against any of these two teams before and therefore I know very little about them. We are all excited for these two games this weekend so we can try to get our first win. One of our biggest problems so far has been inconsistency. We have played good and showed how good we can be in periods of each game, but we have yet to play good for all 90 minutes.
This weekend is a great opportunity for the team to turn things around. If we make sure that we don’t take any plays off or have any mental mistakes, I am sure that we will get positive results.
Sept. 15
Our home opener against UCF lasted for 70 minutes before it got called early due to unplayable field condition. A couple of weeks ago our game against FAU got cancelled because of lightning and this time it was rain.
It rained a lot towards the end of the first half and it kept raining during halftime. When we came back for the second half, the field was thoroughly wet and it was impossible to dribble or pass the ball on the ground. After about 25 minutes into the second half, the ref decided to shorten the match and the game ended in a scoreless tie.
Judging from our performance in first half, I don’t think we played much better defense than we did the previous weekend, but we were able to keep a clean sheet which is good for our confidence. We allowed UCF some good chances and they had two balls off the post. Even though we didn’t manage to put the ball in the back of the net, I think our offense keeps getting better and we created a lot of scoring opportunities. The game could have gone either way and, in my opinion, a tie was a fair result.
Eddie Munnelly played his first minutes of the season and will hopefully be back in the starting line-up soon. Eddie is a leader on the field and will be very important for our young backline once he is back at 100 percent. Our latest addition to the squad, Davide Faga, will be available for next weekend and it is going to be interesting to see what he can do.
Lastly, but not least, I want to thank all of you who came out to the game on Saturday. Even though the weather was bad, we had a good crowd and I know the team really appreciates the support.
Sept. 10
The focus in this week’s practices has been defending. We gave up six goals last weekend and lost two games so the attitude in practice has been more serious than before. We have worked on our organization when we defend. We are looking for better team chemistry and we are still in the process of learning our new formation which makes our organization even more important.
Every year since I came here, we have always had great offense with a lot of individually skilled attacking players scoring a lot of goals for us. This year’s team is different and we can’t expect to give up three goals a game and still win like we did against Campbell and Louisville last year for example.
The start of the season could definitely have been better, but there is no time to look back and we have to focus on this week’s game against UCF on Saturday night. It is our first home game so everyone is excited and hopefully we will have a big crowd supporting us to get our first win.
This is the first time we are playing UCF in season since I came here, but we know that they are a solid and physical team. Our losing streak needs to end and we are going to do whatever it takes to get our first W.
Sept. 8
We are back from our first road trip of the season with two losses and a lot of things to fix until next game.
Our first game against Winthrop was a game with two faces. We were the better team in the first half and created a lot of chances. Nedim Hrustic put us in front in the 25th minute and also had a good chance to score another one, but hit the post. The score at halftime was 1-0 us and it could have been more.
The second half was a different story and the Eagles came out as a different team. They high-pressured us and gave us no room or time to play which led to technical mistakes and lost balls from our side. We weren’t strong enough, physically or mentally, to match their intensity. Within a six minute span early into the second half, they scored both the equalizer and the eventual game-winner. Only a couple of minutes before the goals we were close to going up 2-0 as I hit a free kick off the crossbar. Instead, they scored on a free kick at the end of the game to secure their first win of the season.
Two days later, we played Gardner-Webb which is a team we should beat, but we didn’t play to our potential and lost the game, 3-2. We were trailing 3-0 with ten minutes remaining and scored two late goals, including a potential third one in the last minute.
The results from this weekend were very disappointing as we played two teams that we really believed we were going to beat. We gave up goals at crucial times in both games and instead of responding to them, we gave up another one. All teams on this level want to win, no doubt about it, the difference is how bad you want it and how much you are willing to give to get the win. We have a full week of practice in front of us before the game against UCF on Saturday. We have to fix our mistakes and keep building on the few things that were good from this weekend.
Jonathan Jackson, Nedim and myself were picked to the all-tournament team. Nedim played good throughout the weekend, scored a goal and maybe should have scored a couple more. JJ has conserved his good form from the FAU game and showed how important he is for our offense with his technique and creativity. When it comes to my own performance, unfortunately what I remember the most are a couple of missed free kicks.
I am going to end with a quote that I think our team needs to learn from.
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
Sept. 2
Our trip to Boca Raton to play Florida Atlantic ended in a slight disappointment as the game got cancelled at halftime due to lightning.
We were winning 3-0 at halftime and was totally dominating the game. We had most of the possesion, controlled the tempo of the game and created a lot of chances. We could have (and probably should have) scored a couple more goals in the first half. We were just about to start the second half when the lightning struck. We went inside and waited for the weather to get better, but the cancelled the game after more than a two-hour delay.
It was frustrating to have to wait that long and even more frustrating when we found out that the game got cancelled, but you can’t account for thunderstorms sometimes. Even though the score won’t count, we should be proud of the way we played in the first half. Although it was a team effort, I think that JJ’s (Jonathan Jacokson) performance deserves to be mentioned. He was the creator behind pretty much everything we did offensively and it wouldn’t surprise me if their right-back has nightmares about JJ ’s dribbling skills for weeks to come.
As I have mentioned in the blog before, I have never beaten FAU nor won a season opener and after four tries of both, that is the way it is going to stay. Last night was the closest I have ever been, but I guess it is just not meant to be.
The seven-hour bus ride last night will be followed by antoher one tomorrow (Thursday) as we travel to Boiling Springs, NC to face Winthrop on Friday and Gardner-Webb on Sunday. We know that Winthrop is a very good team who, just like us, had a great year last year by winning its conference and playing in the NCAA tournament. Last time we played them was in my freshmen year with JU soccer legend Tommy Krizanovic scoring twice in a 3-3 game. We played Gardner-Webb last year in a close game at Ashley Sports Complex. Depsite getting two red cards early, we were still able to win the game against the Bulldogs, 3-2.
I am looking forward to the weekend and these two games. Hopefully, we will have a successful weekend without thunderstorms.
Aug. 31
Pre-season is officially over and we have finished the first week of school as well. We got Tuesday (Aug. 25) off after the game against Flagler, which well needed. For the rest of the week, we worked on our game-fitness by playing two scrimmages. We haven’t had the opportunity to play 11 v. 11 the previous weeks since we have had a lot of players missing practice for different reasons. We are getting sharper for each day. With all the new players we have this year, we are still in the process of getting to know each other on and off the field.
Two new players arrived during the week; Filip Terland, centre back from the wrong coast (east) of Sweden and forward David Santamaria. They have both made good impressions during their first week here and I am sure that both of them are going to help our team. Filip is a solid defender, excellent in the air, has a good understanding of the game and comfortable on the ball. The second newcomer, David, is an attacking player who can play both as a forward and on the flank. His technique and creativity is going to help us in the offense and hopefully provide a lot of scoring opportunities and goals.
Our season opener is just around the corner now and we are leaving today for tomorrow’s game at Florida Atlantic. We have been waiting for this game ever since the final whistle in Chapel Hill almost nine months ago. The tough lost against UNC is history and we are excited for a new season to begin and hopefully achieve even greater things this year!
Aug. 27
Last Wednesday was our first preseason game of the year against Tampa. Everyone was excited to finally get the chance to play a game after almost three weeks of just training. As I have mentioned before, there have been a lot of changes in the squad and we only started two players from the starting line-up from 2008 season’s last game in Chapel Hill – Myself and goalkeeper Joey ”Sloppy Joe” Sanchez.
In the first half, we played pretty good at times for being the first time out and the overall effort was good, but we made a lot of technical mistakes. For example, we had an open net on an excellent pass, but were unable to score the goal.
Shortly after the miss, we had two players going for the same shot on our goal.
The second half was not as good as the first one. We played good for the first 15 minutes before our lack of game-fitness became a factor. We were tired and Tampa started to dictate the game. In the middle of the half, Tampa’s forward wins the ball off one of our guys and finds the back of the net. Only a coule of minutes after their goal, we are able to bounce back and once again take the lead after Nedim Hrustic’s second goal of the game. We won the game 2-1. We didn’t play good, but a win is always a win!
For our second and last exhibition we went down to St. Augustine to face Flagler College. Flagler is a team that we have played every year since I came to JU and we know exactly what type of team they are. They might not have the most skillful players but they are hard workers and they never give up. We started off good and got on the scoreboard first with myself as the scorer after a great ball from German newcomer Chris Helms.
Before the half was over Flagler had tied the game and then early in the second half they took the lead after a counterattack. We created a lot of oppurtunities to score the equalizer but former JU goalkeeper Matt Gilman played well to keep us from scoring.
These two games have showed that we still have a lot to work on and we need to understand that we aren’t better than any other team on our schedule unless we give 100% for 90 minutes. Although we had hoped for better results there were some positive things we can take out of these games.
• Sophomore Kelly Gill played solid at center back and might have been our most consistent player over these two games
• JU’s own Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Nedim Hrustic scored two goals and hit the post 100(?) times.
• Edward ”Munnen” Munnelly was back on the field after his groin injury that he picked up last year and played very well in his comeback.
There are now only five days remaining to our first game against Florida Atlantic. During my three years here at JU, we have never beaten FAU and have never won a season opener so it is about time for both these streaks to come to an end.
Aug. 25
Welcome to the 2009 JU men’s soccer blog. Last year, my fellow swede and former teammate Sebastian Lindholm did a great job as the author of this blog. I can only try to make this year’s blog as interesting and entertaining as last year.
The men’s soccer team had a great season in 2008. We brought back the Dennis Viollet Cup by beating UNF,won the conference championship and advanced to the second round in the NCAA tournament. Seven players, including myself, were selected to the all-conference team, while a couple of guys from last year’s team are now playing soccer professionally.
To try to repeat what we did last year (and hopefully top it), the team decided to come back two weeks before preseason started to get even better prepared for the 2009 season. We have practiced twice almost every day and have been practicing more than 20 times before preseason has even started. Many other teams dread preseason, but we were looking forward to it. We know what it takes to be a championship team and we don’t complain about it.
We are currently in the middle of preseason and have another week to go until season starts on September 1 at Florida Atlanic. We have lost a lot of players who had a great impact on last year’s team and I think it is fair to say that we have been struggling a little bit so far. We need other players to step up and take over for the guys who left. Some of the new players such as Matt (Wallace), Casey (Tafuri) and Toby (Hottner) have already showed us that they are great additions to the squad. We are getting two new players this week and once they are here, our squad will be complete and we will be ready to take on FAU.
I strongly believe in our team this year and I think once we get all the right pieces in the right places then we will be even better than last year.
