Guilford College Men's Soccer

Guilford College Men's Soccer Newsletters

Hello everyone...I wanted to let you all know that Guilford College has set up this blog for me to use for the weekly (or so!) Newsletter I've been sharing with many of you. As we get more and more used to the blog we will be adding pictures and videos when available.

I look forward to keeping in touch with everyone through the GUILFORD COLLEGE MEN'S SOCCER BLOG...so make sure to bookmark this page - as well as www.guilford.edu/athletics/OnDemand.html for more exciting Quakers Sports information!

-Jeff

The Home Stretch of the Season

It’s been a long and strange last three games. One thing I’ve always wanted in a team is a group of good young men who compete every day, stay as positive and levelheaded as much as possible and who enjoy being around each other. That’s exactly what we now have with this group.

Don’t get me wrong, the past 3 games (6, really) have been difficult, but the focus still remains the same – 1. Keep getting better each day, even when others may not see it from the outside looking in; 2. Stick together at all times, because that’s what good teams (& teammates) do; and 3. Make the ODAC tournament each year. So far, this team is on the right track for all three.

As you can probably tell from our results the past three games, we’ve hit a scoreless streak (0-4 to Lynchburg; 0-2 to G’Boro; & 0-3 to H-S). We’ve also, as I heard it put so well, sprung a leak in the back. However, I think we have finally found the right tools to fix that leak. Through the past 6 games we’ve dealt with many injuries – some minor, day-to-day things, and some major, season ending injuries. However, as we’ve known all year, we are deep in talent, but not necessarily in game time. So, through the past 2-3 weeks we’ve become stronger on that end, preparing us for the final stretch of the season…Roanoke tomorrow night, VWC on Saturday and finishing off the regular season with Emory & Henry.

Instead of recapping the past, I’ve decided to give you a look into the future. As I said, tomorrow night we finish out home schedule with a very talented Maroon team coming to Armfield. We certainly welcome this challenge as we look to right the ship and come out with a favorable result. It won’t be easy, but the guys are certainly ready for the challenge…and are ready to dish out some of their own surprises and relentless play.

On Saturday we have the difficult road trip out to Virginia Wesleyan. Although it’s not an easy trip to make, it certainly is a great atmosphere to play in, against an always-good team/program. We haven’t played well against VWC lately, but the last time we were at their place we lost and OT thriller in the 1^st round of the ODAC tournament. We’ll look to put on another great performance this coming Saturday.

And then on the 28^th we travel to Emory & Henry for our final regular season game. Emory & Henry came here and beat us in OT last season and I’m sure they’ll be looking to duplicate that effort. We, on the other-hand will be ready to play and look to avenge last season’s loss. It’s our first time playing in their new football/soccer stadium, but fortunately we, too, have turf of our own and it shouldn’t be much different for us.

I have really enjoyed coaching this team this year. We’ve definitely had our up-and-downs but it’s been a joy to go out to practice each day knowing that they are ready for whatever comes up next. I think we need at least 3 more points to get us a bid to the ODAC tournament and with this group, I certainly feel like that’s possible…and more.

 

Wish us luck…Jeff & Co.

What a week...the Grind of the Season.

Hey everyone. I hope everything is good and this post finds you and your families doing well. We’ve been through quite a lot the past few 10 days or so. We’ve traveled to W & L, hosted EMU on the weekend and then played host to Randolph just last night. We are 0-3 in those games, but have ridden quite a roller coaster through it all.

 

As I said, it all started at W & L, a place I hear not many teams play particularly well. We certainly held up to history in the first 20 minutes or so. After just 16 minutes into the first half we found ourselves trailing 3-0 on three poor defensive errors. The good thing (strange to say there was one) was that no one seemed overly panicked. That type of start to a game is not easy to over come and many teams would simply pack it in and call it a day. However, as this team has done all season, the players amazed me with their resilience. We came out in the second half with emotion I haven’t seen in a long time. Not to say that W & L didn’t have some chances around our goal, but we had them on their heals from the start. We stormed back – almost literally – to tie the game at 3-3 with about 10 minutes left in the game. However, with 7 minutes left they received a corner kick, which eventually found it’s way to their left-winger who hit an excellent shot, just beating Jon Shine (SO, K) to his left. That being said, though, we had some chances to tie the game back at four all, if not for some very good saves by their keeper.

 

When is a loss a win? When your team does something like that. They came back out and should have rightfully won the game. I’ll certainly give credit to W & L for finding the last goal, but it was either team’s game with only minutes (seconds?) remaining. It was an emotional game and trip, but one we could leave with our heads held high.

 

Four days later we found ourselves facing an EMU team looking to move up the ODAC standings. They are always a good match for us and it has been a good game the past three seasons, two of which have gone to OT. This year looked to be no different. We got ourselves on the board first with a cracking goal by Ronal Castellanos (FR) from about 25 yards out…beating probably the best keeper I’ve seen at this level of play. He definitely hurt us on the evening. EMU came back to take a 2-goal lead by scoring from two free kicks to end the half.

 

EMU got a third free-kick goal not too far into the second half, but once again, like at W & L, we did not seem too flustered by this. Jordan Alexander (JR) got us back on the board with 15 minutes remaining in the game. Ten minutes later EMU again went up 2 goals only to be countered by Ronal three minutes after. Down 4-3 with 7 minutes left we kept at the goal and registered some great looks at goal…only to be turned away by the keeper. Another 3-4 loss left us feeling like we let a possible 6 league points go by the wayside…and it would come back to bite us.

 

Last night the emotions from having to mount two ferocious come-backs bit us bad. Randolph came in with a great game plan and an eagerness to move ahead of us in the ODAC. Their good play and our lack-luster performance left us with a 0-3 defeat. It wouldn’t have been so bad (tongue-and-cheek) had the past two games gone better for us.

 

We’re now on a 3-game slide and heading into a tough patch of games. We’re @ Lynchburg Saturday evening, host Greensboro Monday and still have to play H-S, Roanoke & VWC. It is certainly not an easy schedule, but as I said previously, this group of young men has not yet ceased to amaze me this season. We may be young, but we’re talented and loaded with players that don’t give up and don’t like to lose. We’re going to get back to some basics the next few days at practice and will look to do to others what has been done to us this past week.

 

Thanks, again, for all the support and nice emails (I make sure to pass many of them on to the team).

 

Until next time,

Jeff & Co.

Alumni Game2009...THANKS!

I wanted to make sure to say THANK YOU to all of you that were able to attend the 2009 Alumni Game last weekend. We had 24 alums attend and play in the game last weekend & I certainly hope the game continues to grow each time we play. So you can all plan ahead, I'd like to make this a semi-annual event. I will be in contact with our Alumni Association here in campus and will work with them to make sure everyone gets all of the proper soccer/homecoming/alumni information.

(Make sure to follow us on-line using these links: http://www.guilford.edu/athletics/OnDemand.html)

Thanks, again,

Jeff & The 2009 Quaker Soccer Team

Methodist & Bridgewater Games

(NOTE: I'm looking for the recap on the Ferrum, R-M & Emory games. I'll post them once I find out where I put them!)

Here's the newest from Zane & I...W & L report to come as soon as I can get my thoughts together on that one! We type this letter as we are on the way to Lexington, VA to play against Washington & Lee. I thought I’d share with you the recap of the past two games – Methodist & Bridgewater - in the mean time.

METHODIST UNIVERSITY – 9-23-09

 As we traveled to Methodist on Wednesday afternoon the thought of us not have beaten the Monarchs since 2002 was on our mind. Those that we here last season also don’t put our game against them in good light. We did not play well and it was also a “turning point” in the ’08 season.

 The first half saw us play pretty well, possessing the ball through the midfield and getting in behind their back line a few times to be dangerous inside their penalty box early. After a couple of corner kicks and some shots at goal we were not able to break the goal line. By not ceasing that momentum we allowed Methodist to gain more and more possession of the ball and begin to chip away at our defense. About 15 minutes on or so Jon Shine (SO) came off his goal line and denied Methodist a possible shot on goal. By doing so he gave us the chance to being a quick counter-attack. We knocked the ball down the field, beating their two center backs and bouncing towards their keeper. As he came out to collect it, Freddy Gomez (FR) pounced on the second bounce, kept with the deflection off of his own chest and put the ball neatly away for a one-goal lead.

 Momentum continued our way and just a few minutes before half time we were smothering their defensive third. As the ball bounced from player to player, Tom Crowley (JR) coolly collected the ball atop the 18, beat an on-coming defender to the right and bent the ball past their keeper, making it 2-0 in favor of the Quakers. It was a fantastic finish to say the least.

 The second 45 minutes saw the Monarchs out-work us a bit, doing everything they could to get back in the game…or at least I thought so. Perhaps it was just the untimely heat and humidity, but they just kept getting to more loose balls than we did. Fortunately they weren’t able to find the back of the net. Their inability to score combined with Jon’s fantastic goal-keeping gave us more and more energy as the half wore on. About half way through, Jordan Alexander (JR) combined with Ronal Castellanos (FR) on top of their 18, beating first their center back, and then their goal keeper to seal a 3 goal victory over Methodist University.

BRIDGEWATER COLLEGE 9-26-09

 Going into the weekend, and our second ODAC game, we were not going to be satisfied without maximum points.  We knew that Bridgewater was itching to get back in the win column and that it was going to be tough match up.  It was Homecoming Weekend, and we wanted to make a good impression on our Quaker Alumni and show them that the soccer team is moving in a positive direction.

 The first half was a bit frustrating for us.  Bridgewater was playing a man-to-man style defense; something that not many of us had ever seen before.  It took a little while for the team to figure it out; however, we managed to out-shoot them 12-1 in the half.  We had plenty of opportunities to score; we just couldn’t find the back of the net.

 At halftime, we made a couple of adjustments that seemed to pay off because we got the important first goal less than 2 minutes into the second half from a volley that found the back of the net by Jeff Floyd (SR).  After we got the first goal, the team settled down a little bit and started to play our game again.  Our second goal came off a corner kick that Chris Day (SR) kept alive by heading back into the box that was put away by Ronnie Castellanos (FR).  By now, all of the momentum was on our side. 

 In the 80^th minute, Freddy Gomez (FR) added to our lead with the assist going to Ronnie Castellanos (FR). Now the score was 3-0 and we were well on our way to our second consecutive ODAC win.  Two minutes later Hugh Griffis (SO) scored a beautiful goal from the top of the 18 after receiving the ball from Chris Mateo (SO). 

 In the last 2 minutes of the game our back four suffered a little blunder by giving up a goal to make the score 4-1.  However, we will take that goal and use it to learn from because our back four have been playing well the past few games.  Overall it was a great effort from everyone on the team, and a great result to get an important 3 points in the conference.

Averett, Marymount & Wesley Games

(These posts are courtesy of Zane Campbell & Peter Deng)

AVERETT - 9-9-09

  On Wednesday September 9, we traveled to Averett University for our forth game of the season.  Going into the game we didn’t know what to expect from them.  They brought in 22 new players from last year, so we knew it was not going to be the same team we had played in the past.     

 From the start we put pressure on them and worked hard to get an early goal.  Ronnie Castellanos did just that, opening up the scoring for us in the 8th minute from an assist by Tamer El-Amoor.  This was certainly the start we were looking for…until Averett responded only a few minutes later. Now, in the past, that kind of response may have shaken us up, but not this season (as it appears)

  We responded to their goal by getting back into their half as quickly as possible. In doing so, Ronnie scored his third goal of the season in the 15th minute, making the score 2-1 in favor of the Quakers.  We stretched our lead to 3-1 in the 30th minute when Jeff Floyd scored his second goal of the season from a near post header that was served in by Hugh Griffis.  Jeff’s goal was an excellent display of leadership and effort. He could have given up on the play, but instead kept working hard and beat the keeper to the ball. In the 38th minute, Averett was awarded a penalty kick, which they converted to make the score 3-2.  The scored remained 3-2 going into the halftime break, and we knew that we weren’t satisfied with a one-goal lead. 

 For the first 15 minutes of the second half we were all over them. We were switching fields, playing in behind their backs and really making life difficult for them. However, it wasn’t until the 67th minute that we were able to stretch the lead back out to two with Jeff Floyd’s third goal of the year from an assist by Ronnie Castellanos.  It was a great goal that put us into a bit of a frenzy (in a good way)…and frenzy may explain the next two goals. The 72nd minute was a bit of a wild one.  We gave up a goal from a crossed ball that was quickly and unknowingly (?) restarted which was then headed home by Averett. However, diectly off the kick off Chris Matteo dribbled down the field, made a defender fall down with a quick left-to-right move and hit a well struck ball from about 30 yards out that ripped past the keeper to make the score 5-3. His goal halted any and all momentum they may have gained from their last goal.  Henry Cordeal put the icing on the cake with his 2nd goal of the season from a low, hard, near post shot that found the back of the net, making the final score Guilford 6, Averett 3.

MARYMOUNT - 9-12-09

 Coming of a great win against Averett University on Wednesday the 9th, we were looking forward to big weekend at the Hampden-Sydney Soccer Tournament. The team looked at this tournament as another great opportunity for growth against two very good soccer programs - Marymount University (VA) on Saturday the 12th and Wesley College (DE) on Sunday the 13th.

 Marymount University was an opponent that we knew little of as the Guilford soccer program has played them in quite a while (if ever). This match seemed like a true test for us. It was a test that will really show what type of team we are and where we see ourselves heading into the rest of the season.

 From the opening whistle we picked up from where we left on Wednesday against Averett. The team came out with high pressure on the ball, high intensity, switching the point of attack from left to right (and back again) against Marymount. We were dangerous enough to earn two dangerous corner kicks within the first ten minutes, which could have easily given us the lead.

 As the game progressed the play on the field was becoming more and more physical as both teams were trying to establish ‘field dominance’. Despite the physicality of the game we continued to go forward and create chances in front of goal. Midway through the first half Marymount began to disrupt our flow by getting little flicks on the ball and being more patient with the ball themselves. They began to move the ball around fairly well, making us chase the play too much. Marymount was able to combine going forward and get themselves some dangerous chances against our defense. Unfortunately, in the 22nd minute as Marymount connected two passes between their forward and midfielder, the ball seemed to get tangled up between one of our center backs and Marymount’s forward resulting in a 1 versus keeper goal for a 1-0 Marymount lead. That goal held up for the rest of the first half. Despite us continuing to play well and match the intensity and the physicality that Marymount was playing with, we went into half time trailing by a goal.

 Three minutes into the start of the second half we were able to earn a free kick outside their box. This was a really good sign for the team because we continued to push forward in search of the equalizer. Although the free kick didn’t connect we continued to push forward, looking for the equalizer. Mid way through the second half we started to get out of our team shape while looking for that equalizing goal which in turn resulted in us breaking down defensively earning Marymount a two goal lead on the 66th minute. Now we had no choice but to push forward to try and get back one of the two goals we had given up. It wasn’t to be for us on the day as Marymount slipped in a third goal late in the game. At the end of the game, however, we realized that there is more room for improvement in preparation for the next game. Each game is a learning experience…how do we respond?

WESLEY - 9-13-09

 After our loss in the Hampden-Sydney Tiger Classic to Marymount, we made a commitment to ourselves that we will not be satisfied going up there and leaving 0-2.  Our goal scoring came from three players, all recording their 4th goals of the season.  The scoring started with Ronnie Castellanos netting his 4th goal in the 27th minute from a pass from Sam Huff. That was the second time this year that Ronnie and Sam have connected for a goal.  We took that 1-0 lead going into the half, but once again we were not going to try and sit on a one goal lead, we needed to keep getting wide, and to the end line. 
The Wolverines tied the game up in the 50th minute that resulted in some mis-communication between our goalkeeper and defense.  A few minutes later, Hugh Griffis took a shot from the top of the 18 that hit off the crossbar and landed directly on Freddy Gomez’s foot, where he took a touch and slotted the ball into the back of the net for a 2-1 lead.  Our defense played a great second half while holding on to our one goal lead.  It wasn’t until the 82nd minute that we got that third goal that clinched the game for us.  Freddy Gomez had the ball out wide and he beat his defender down to the end line and served a beautiful ball into the box, where Jeff Floyd buried a header near post past the goalkeeper.
We are now looking forward to taking our 3-2-1 record into Wednesday where we will take on Ferrum at home @ 7:00 pm. We hope to see as many of you all as possible.


Until next time…Jeff & Co.

Milligan & Gallaudet Games

MILLIGAN & GALLAUDET

 Well...what a great weekend for us. We played Gallaudet University (DC) & Milligan College (TN) at out inaugural Guilford College Soccer Classic.  On Friday night we opened up with a decisive win against Gallaudet. For those of you that don't know, Gallaudet is a world-renown school for the deaf. We were all very amazed how well they played despite their verbal communication deficiencies. I thought we played very well, passing, moving and learning the difficult 1-4-3-3 system. It was a good confidence builder for the second game of the weekend against Milligan.
 

 Saturday afternoon was much warmer than the night before, but it was obvious that both teams were ready to play beyond the weather. The first half saw both teams possess the ball well and create some excellent chances on goal. Peter Truitt (So) made a HUGE save towards the end of the half, deflecting it wide of goal. However, it took an extra effort from senior captain Sam Huff to clear it from danger. As the half ended in a 0-0 tie, each team went into their half-time meeting with a few specific points for the second half. Ours was to keep our backs behind their two dangerous "twin strikers" and to try and get our outside backs into play in the attacking half. 
 

 Milligan's was fairly obvious...play directly into out half and move us closer to our own goal. And it worked for them. Around the 60th minute one of their forwards was taken down in the box creating a PK for them...unfortunately for us, it was the correct call. For as nervous as I was before the PK, Peter Truitt looked very calm and collected. Milligan's player stepped up to take it, shot it low and to the right...right into the waiting hand to Peter. GREAT SAVE once again! You could actually see his (and ours) confidence rise after that.
 

 With some more back-and-forth play, Milligan finally struck first on a deflected. Their #7 picked up the ball about 30 yds out and drilled a shot low tot he far post. 1-0 Milligan at the 75th minute. Now this is where we may have collectively sat back in the past and tried not to give up another goal (or two). But not this team...not this year. The guys rallied and put pressure on their keeper straight after their goal. A scramble in front of the net nearly tied the game and another shot from outside the 18 was saved by their keeper. It wasn't until the 85th minute that our "Alligator Blood" showed up. After a quick restart and some good passing, Sam Huff broke around the corner on the right side, served a great ball into the box, finding the head of freshman Ronal Castellanos. All 5' nothing of him rose up and placed the ball over the keepers out-reached hand in the top right corner. All tied up and feeling great! (Can't tell you how excited I was for the team at that point!)
 

 So far this year this team has yet to cease to amaze me...and you will once again read about that when I get my thoughts together about the game at Averett last night. Truly awesome!

 Until then...
Jeff & Co.