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Kickin' It with Becky Iwanicki as she blogs about the 2009 Bison soccer season.
Entry #12 - November 24, 2009 Well this is my final note to you all and what a fun run it was. We attended the conference tournament a couple weeks ago in Brookings, SD. We got there early on Thursday afternoon, headed straight to the field for a light practice then back to the hotel to get dolled up for the conference banquet that evening. It’s always a sight to see when a bunch of soccer players put on normal clothes. I hardly recognized any of my opponents in that banquet room, which may have been a good thing because we were all gearing to get after each other. We had a wonderful pasta dinner, watched a picture slide-show of the four teams from the season, listened to Mindy K from the Summit League speak about taking things into our own hands, and had the awards for the season given out. Our game wasn’t until later on Friday so we woke up that morning and just tried to go about our day as we would for any other night game of the season. Some did homework, others napped or watched TV, and some watched the live stats for the SDSU-Western Illinois game. There certainly wasn’t any need for external aids to get us motivated, we were all extremely excited to get out there and play in our first Summit League tournament game; it was what we had worked toward all season. And for anyone who watched the semi-final game versus IUPUI, I believe our hard work and determination came to light in every minute of play. We charged forward firing off multiple shots while denying the Jaguars any solid chances. Their only true opening came late in the first half on which they capitalized and went up 1-0. The goal didn’t weaken our stride, however, and we continued to push forward for the remainder of the game. They were forced to clear a ball off the goal line and defend dangerous crosses, shots and corners but by the final whistle, we simply hadn’t managed to get a goal of our own despite outshooting IUPUI 21-8. The loss was devastating considering the hard-fought game we had played. We knew that was a game we definitely could have won and to think we would be going home that night rather than staying to play in the final on Sunday was a hard fact to face. The Jaguars ended up beating SDSU in the final game 4-1. Many of you probably know that I am a 5th-year senior due to an injury last season that forced me to redshirt. At the time, it was a tough decision whether to come back for one more season or to graduate in May and move on to med school in the fall as I had planned. After completing this last season though, I have realized that coming back was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I don’t know if it’s just my old age talking but I truly believe the cohesiveness of this team is unlike any other I’ve played on at NDSU. We had much of the same personnel this year as we did the last but what took us from a 7th place team to regular season champions is not only a year of experience, but also team unity. I can only imagine what sort of things these girls and coaches will accomplish next season with yet another year of invaluable experience under their belts. Prior to a phone call from John Ross my senior year of high school, I had never heard of NDSU. And now, just over four years later, this school has provided me with a college degree, the best years of soccer I’ve ever played, and lifelong friendships. I know I speak for the other seniors as well when I say thank you to my teammates for making my final year at NDSU the best one yet, not just in terms of soccer but off the field too. I also want to thank the coaches for helping to turn me in to the player and person I am today. Thanks to the athletic department staff for always remaining accessible and providing your support. Lastly, thanks to the parents and fans that are out in the stands regardless of the weather, cheering us on unconditionally. No matter where I end up, I’ll always be a Bison cheering on the soccer team until my face turns blue...or green? To the team: keep that hard work going throughout the spring and go kick some booty next season! I’ll miss you all and I can’t wait to hear all about your success. I’ll end my final blog by sharing my personal mantra with you: “this too shall pass.” What does that mean exactly? Well, it implies that all things, good or bad, have an end. So if you are struggling through a difficult time in your life, you gain reassurance in knowing that a time will come when everything is alright. On the other hand, when things are going really well, you know that you have to take advantage of every second because all good things come to an end. Being a Bison soccer player was one of the best experiences of my life and although it has reached its end, I will carry memories from these past four and a half years with me forever. Entry #11 - November 5, 2009 Hey everyone! I don’t have a lot of time to report...we leave in about an hour for Brookings! It’s that time of year, conference tournament time baby! We finished our regular season play in a three-way tie for first with SDSU and IUPUI. Last Saturday we played in Brookings against SDSU and despite finding equalizers after being down a goal three separate times in the game, we were unable to respond to the bunnies’ fourth goal and fell to them 4-3. If nothing else, the game gave us some added ammunition for if we face them again this weekend. On Monday, we had our make-up game against Centenary. We spent our Halloween night on the bus for a 7 hour drive from Brookings to Kansas City, no dress up for us. Then on Sunday night the coaches took us to dinner to celebrate the achievement of our first goal: to make it to the conference tourney. The field at UMKC was amazing; it was field turf with lights and brand new locker rooms. We got a taste of it on Sunday night where we practiced under the lights and had a really good time. Our game was early on Monday and we came out strong by scoring two goals in the first half. They were out for blood and got two yellow cards as a result but we held our own and kept them off the scoreboard for a hard-earned shutout. That brought us to the end of regular season and we go into the tourney as the third seed and play IUPUI on Friday at 6 p.m. in Brookings. So...if you have nothing to do this weekend and enjoy short road trips, come out and cheer us on. SDSU is the first seed and will be playing Western Illinois, who is the fourth seed. The winner of each game will play in the finals on Sunday at noon. This is it! It’s our opportunity to get at the only two teams that beat us during conference play; we couldn’t have a better line-up. Our first goal was to make it to the tournament and our next one is to win it. Time for the Bison to dominate!
Entry #10 - October 28, 2009 It’s crunch time ladies and gentlemen! We recorded two wins this past weekend to maintain our first place spot in the Summit League and hit the road this weekend for our final two regular season games. After a really wet week in Fargo, Friday provided a surprisingly beautiful fall day. The sun was shining, the wind was sleeping, and the skies were clear. We got out to a bit of a rough start as Southern Utah had a couple charges in the first five minutes. But after that it was our game straight through to the final whistle. We were playing some of the best soccer we’re played yet this season; our attack was really varied, we were stringing multiple passes together and generating really good scoring opportunities. In the 19th minute we finally put one of our chances away. Quin Ryan took a corner kick for us that found Abbey Stratton’s head before sailing in to the back of the net. We continued firing shots off but they either went wide or over or got caught up in the clutter in front of the net. There was one particular scramble in their box for what felt like a minute where I’m sure most of us registered a shot. We wouldn’t get our next goal until the second half however, when one of my shots from the right side of the box hit the cross bar and Quin Ryan kept it in and sent it across to Danielle Boldenow who put it away. We finished the game with a 2-0 victory and our first shutout in conference play. There were a lot of recruits in this weekend so our apartments were packed with luggage, futons, and high-schoolers on Saturday night. We showed them all that NDSU has to offer by taking them to the football game and then intended on going to the haunted corn maze, but rain forced our festivities indoors where some of the girls carved pumpkins instead. Sunday was a sad day...for me at least, my teammates were probably happy to get rid of my crazy self haha. Yes folks, Sunday was the much dreaded senior day in which Laura Murphy, Lorraine Thompson, and this girl would play our last game at home as a Bison. Unfortunately, I was unable to play due to some swelling in my knee after Friday’s game but my teammates made sure to get me a solid victory. With the win, we secured our spot in the conference tournament next weekend at SDSU. It’s true, we’re vacationing to Brookings for two weekends in a row...one weekend just wouldn’t be enough for all the fun things we have planned. We started out the game against UMKC with a lot of energy by firing off a bunch of shots, the first of which to go in was a shot by Quin Ryan in the 23rd minute. She challenged the keeper to make her bobble the ball and then put it away. Our second goal came just a couple minutes later and provided some déjà-vu for us all. Quin Ryan took a corner kick that Abbey Stratton headed in, very similar to last game. Michelle Gaffaney got her first goal of the season off a pass from Shannon Brooks and a shot from the center of the box. Our final goal of the first half was by Danielle Dement off a rebound. It was so nice to see goals from so many different people in the game and to see our team put away chances. That’s such a valuable skill to have when you play in games where you don’t get a lot of opportunities. A lot of Bison recorded minutes in the game and it was nice to see the caliber maintained even while we subbed. We gave the Kangaroos a goal in the second half but fought back to get one of our own from Danielle Boldenow. The game finished out at 5-1, a decisive victory for the Bison. This week, we’ve been practicing on the turf and getting pumped up to play SDSU on Saturday. These games are always full of emotion, we just have to be sure to keep our heads and remember that at the end of the day, it’s just another game of soccer.
Entry #9 - October 23, 2009 After a weekend on the road, we came away with a win and a loss. Not a bad result considering how much of the weekend was spent on a bus. The time went relatively quickly though because of how much of it we spent sleeping peacefully on the soft floor of the bus. We left Fargo at 10pm on Wednesday night for Indianapolis and arrived around 1:30pm on Thursday afternoon, factor in the time change and a lunch break and it was a solid 14 hour trip. But we got all Thursday afternoon and night to rest it away and get settled in. We had a light practice on Friday morning at the goose-poopy field close to our hotel (don’t worry, it wasn’t the game field). Some girls were weirded out by it, but I reassured them that it’s pretty much just straight up vegetation; like stepping in gooey grass! Ok gross, sorry. The field conditions were pretty wet and slippery for our game on Friday night as well, where we got to play under the lights. We had a hard time sorting out our marks against a new system in the beginning and as a result, were down a goal just three minutes in to the game. About midway through the first half we realized it would take some speed and composure from our defenders, tight man-to-man marking from our midfielders and discipline from the forwards in following their backs. Once we had it figured out, it was a close battle and we were getting our share of opportunities. We finally got our goal early in the second half off a strong shot from the top of the box from Lorraine Thompson. The goal gave us some energy and we continued to push but were getting pretty stretched out defensively and not always keeping our feet. About midway through the half, the Jaguars regained the lead so we were forced to push people forward in an attempt to equalize. They got another goal towards the end while we were pushing people to the front, it was really more of a 2-1 game. As soon as the game was over, we knew we had to put it behind us and realize we’ll likely get another opportunity to play them in the conference tournament. And when that time comes, we’ll be more than ready. We left Indy on Saturday morning and made the 4-5 hour drive to a small town 25 miles away from Western Illinois. It was WIU’s homecoming weekend so Macomb’s couple of hotels were all booked up. We found a piece of grass to get a light practice in on Saturday afternoon then went to a tiny but delicious local pizza place where we took up over half of their tables. We then took over the town’s restaurant for breakfast the next morning where they handled our large group like champs. Sunday was Quin Ryan’s 21st birthday and she was feeling either generous or ruthless, depending on what team you were on. She gave the Bison the gift of two goals and the Leathernecks the disappointment of a loss. We came out really strong, possessing the ball in their end right of the bat and firing off shots continuously. Our first goal came off a corner kick by Abbey Stratton to the far post where Quin Ryan one-timed it in. It didn’t seem like Western Illinois really wanted to be out there; they were playing very low pressure, wouldn’t challenge us until we crossed half and their keeper would hold the ball at her feet even when we had the lead. However, in one hard charge, they got the ball in our box and bobbled it around quite a bit before putting it in our net. We went in to halftime tied to a team that we should have been beating. We knew we had to score quickly to put this team away and that is just what we did. Candice D’Arcangeli dribbled the ball up the side of the field then played it across the box to Quin Ryan who shot it in. The rest of the half was spent mainly on our side as the Leathernecks came out as a very different team, completely unlike the one we saw in the first half. They switched from a two-front to a three-front and got a lot of free kicks around our box. Our defense held strong though and we maintained our lead. It was a great win, after which we are now tied for first place in the Summit with IUPUI. We have our last bout of home games this weekend starting with Southern Utah on Friday and ending with UMKC on Sunday which also happens to be senior day. It’s weird to think us seniors will be playing our last game on that field but that just means we’ll all have to come out with a lot of hunger and energy. See you out there folks!
Entry #8 - October 15, 2009 After a weekend of games we’re still undefeated in the Summit League! We’re currently 3-0, tied with IUPUI in first place, and get the opportunity to take them on this Friday at their field. It’ll be a good game folks and will be followed by another rockin’ game on Sunday at Western Illinois. We hit the road on Wednesday night and plan on making the bus our hotel room for the night as we travel about 14 hours to Indiana. Some of us have devised a system of using inflatable pool rafts on the ground as mattresses, it makes for a surprisingly restful sleep. Anyway, enough chatter, time to talk soccer. Despite the freezing cold weather, I knew the game on Friday was going to be a good one as soon as the song “I Got a Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas came on during warm-up. It happens to be the pump-up song of choice in our team van when we’re on the road. Although IPFW scored early in the game, we battled back and tied it up shortly after off a goal from Lorraine Thompson. Abbey Stratton sent in one of her long throws and it was flicked by Michelle Gaffaney before LT headed it in to the back of the net. But IPFW wanted to play a little game of ping-pong as they scored just two minutes later. Little did they realize, we happen to be ping-pong masters and found our equalizer shortly before half-time. Marissa Wolfgram sent in a cross and Shannon Brooks fired off a shot from the middle of the box that was deflected off one of their defenders into the net. We went in to the wind the second half...sort of; Fargo winds are a little rebellious in that they aren’t unidirectional, but it was going against us most of the time. After fifteen minutes of battle, Danielle Boldenow passed the ball to Candice D’Arcangeli who took a touch past her defender and found herself almost on the end line to the right of the goal. She fired a shot off from a near impossible angle that snuck past the goalie and slid across the goal line...just enough to put us ahead for the first time in the game. From that point on, we defended like champions as Laura Wagner saved a ball with her head after a corner against us and on a separate occasion, Kalani Bertsch made a huge upper 90 punch save just before the end of the game. That’s what it takes to win a game ladies and gents. With the win, we cut IPFW from the undefeated list and reaffirmed our position on it. On Saturday we got decked out in our winter-wear for a short practice then had the privilege of attending our first Bison football game of the season. Our team was introduced on the field after the first quarter and we got some pretty big cheers after they announced that we were undefeated in the Summit League. At half time we signed posters on the main concourse. It’s fun to interact with all the kids that come through and personally promote the program. On Sunday it was pretty chilly but it didn’t feel as cold because the wind wasn’t out...I know, very rare in Fargo. After a rough showing against the Oakland Grizzlies last year, we really had it out for them this year. From the first whistle, we didn’t give them a chance to breathe as Candice D’Arcangeli charged down the left side and sent a pass across the box to Brooklyn Dyce who fired a curve ball past the keeper to put us up 1-0 in the fifth minute. It was apparent that one goal simply wasn’t enough for us since it only took about six minutes for us to score another. I took a pass from Danielle Boldenow, dribbled to the end line then sent it across the box to Quin Ryan who placed it perfectly to put us up 2-0. About fifteen minutes later, Oakland managed to get a goal of their own but it wasn’t enough to bring the Bison down. We fought hard to defend our lead for the majority of the game and apart from about ten minutes at the beginning of the second half, we dominated them by applying hard pressure and winning almost everything in the air. Our forwards gave their defense very little time so that it was pretty easy for our team to win any ball that came out of their end. We finished the game with a 2-1 win and a 3-0 record in conference. We have some territory to defend this weekend! Oh and we got some good news today as we got to film, Pete’s wife Babette went in to labor this afternoon! I’m sure his experience with a bunch of girls over the years will be all the training he needs to be an excellent dad to his new baby girl. Congrats Pete!
Entry #7 – October 9, 2009 Hello faithful readers! I know...it’s been a while and I apologize. We had a weekend without games followed by a week with three games, we’re all about balance. This first game came last Tuesday afternoon against Mary and what a wonderful homecoming it was. After four weekends on the road, it was a nice change to get to suit up on our home turf. Despite our efforts in the first half, we went in the halftime with a 0-0 score. I know a lot of us were replaying previous games in our minds thinking that we’ve failed to score against other opponents when we knew we should have won. It was time to change that and take matters in to our own hands. Brooklyn Dyce put us up on the board about 15 minutes in the second half off one of Kristen Whipple’s rocket throws. The goal marked two firsts: Brooklyn’s first career goal for the Bison and Kristen’s first game back after her knee injury last season. It was a special moment J Brooklyn must have caught fire because she scored our second and final goal of the match off a cross from Danielle Boldenow in the 79th minute. It was so nice to see the team put forth our effort and get a good result; it was the first time in a while that everyone wore smiles in the post-game huddle. Our bliss at home was short-lived since we only got one practice in on Wednesday before hitting the road again and boarding the plane to Tulsa, OK on Thursday. Due to rain delays, it took us three planes and over 12 hours to get there but the hotel had some really comfy beds so we got to sleep the travel-fatigue away. The Oral Roberts campus is home to some of the most beautiful and unique architecture I have seen at any of the schools we visit. We didn’t have much time to take the scenery in though, we were on a business trip and had some things to take care of. We had a light practice on Friday morning to test out the field then sported our wicked yellow jerseys for the game at 5 pm. To outsiders, we may look like bananas, but we happen to be fierce and fully capable of running, unlike any banana I know. Going in to our first conference game, we knew it was a fresh start and everything up until this point really didn’t matter anymore. Now was the time to prove ourselves and make our mark. We charged forward from the first whistle and generated a lot of quality scoring opportunities. Just a short eleven minutes in to the game, Candice D’Arcangeli scored from the center of the box off a deflected shot from Brooklyn Dyce. I think I speak for the whole team when I say it was an amazing feeling to be up a goal so soon in a game. We had multiple other chances in the half but didn’t put any of them away. Our lead was maintained through most of the second half, but just a few minutes before the final whistle, Oral Roberts scored an equalizer and the first 90 minutes ended with a 1-1 tie. Needless to say, our team has had our fair share of overtime experience so there was nothing new about the whole routine. In our huddle prior to the first OT period, we committed to each other that we would end this ASAP to keep ourselves fresh. And that is exactly what we did. Brooklyn Dyce took our commitment seriously by scoring less than a minute in. I thought we were a happy team after the Mary game, but that didn’t compare to the excitement we felt after that game. Our goal this season is to first to make it to the conference tournament and eventually to win it all. One game down, eight to go. Our Saturday morning was spent on the bus driving on the winding roads en route to Shreveport, LA. Upon arrival, we went for a light jog and stretched out our legs then headed to dinner to fuel ourselves for the next day. I don’t know what happened to Mother Nature over the course of the night, but she wasn’t happy in the morning. It started raining overnight and it wasn’t slowing down as we woke up, or as we went to breakfast, or as we headed to the field for the game against Centenary. We got to the field and had our pre-game meeting and put on out equipment on the bus. Pete told us to wait on the bus for a couple minutes before heading outside to warm up as he ventured out to talk with Centenary’s coach. The field looked a little “lakey” but it wasn’t anything we haven’t seen before. In fact, just last season we played Centenary at home in similar (but colder) conditions. All of us girls started going a little stir-crazy as our wait went from 10 minutes to 30 and finally to about 90 minutes before the deliberation was over and Pete returned – soaking- to the bus. We had seen him and the other coach, along with the officials scoping out the field and the other men had come to the decision that the conditions were unplayable. For the next hour or so, our coaches were on their phones non-stop trying to find us all flights out the next afternoon so that we could reschedule the game for the next morning. But trying to change flights last-minute for 24 people is not an easy task. The earliest we could all get out was Wednesday or Thursday at an extremely large cost so we had no choice but to board our plane home that afternoon and leave the outcome of the game hanging. Never fear, we have options to replay that game if we need to toward the end of the season but I think we should just take care of business before then so we don’t have to worry about it. Everyone agree? Great. We have another couple conference games this weekend versus IPFW and Oakland, let’s see how they cope with the imminent Fargo cold. I know we’re ready to take it to them but I’m not so sure that they’re ready to handle what we’ve got!
Entry #6 - September 22, 2009 It is 4:15pm on Tuesday afternoon and in any other week during season, I would be in practice right now. This week is different, however, because we don’t play this upcoming weekend...which means we have three much needed days off. It will be extremely weird being in town this weekend after spending four weekends in a row on the road, but it’ll be really nice as well. I think all the traveling started to take its toll on our team as a lot of girls and coaches were getting sick. On the plus side, it has forced us to reevaluate our hand hygiene practices and turned us into rampant hand sanitizers. Sorry germs, today is not your day. The weekend in Boise, Idaho was full of beautiful scenery. On Saturday the coaches took us on a self-guided tour of the nearby mountains where we took lots of pictures and rested our legs in the cool river waters. We even succeeded in spelling out the word BISON on the concrete using, not chalk, but eleven NDSU soccer players. On Friday we played a solid game against Boise State and came away with a 1-1 tie. It was nice to see the team’s perseverance in coming back from being down a goal (since the Broncos scored first) and battling back to get a goal of our own (from Lorraine Thompson off a corner). The frustrating part was that we had a goal called back and multiple other calls that didn’t go our way in a game that should have reflected us on top on the score board. We can take positives from the game though in that we rebounded well from a poor game the previous Sunday and it was a full team effort. The challenge now is to execute two quality games in one weekend because we didn’t see that same fight in our game on Sunday, or at least not in the first 60 minutes of the game. We came out pretty flat against Portland State and they made us pay with just 30 seconds left in the first half. They were up 1-0 going in to the second half and it seemed that as the clock ticked down, the quality of our play went up. By the end of the game we were dominating and charging forward but were never able to settle the score. What always happens after any loss is the process of evaluation where everyone tries to analyze what went wrong, and determine what we can do to fix it. I can’t tell you what the magic solution is, but I think we just need to get back to the basics. We have to go out there simply to play soccer, to have fun, and possess the same sort of confidence that we had in the beginning of season. It’s time to turn things around!
Entry #5 - September 14, 2009 Another entry and another 3 games down. My spirits won’t be as high this time around as they were last time. I wish I could just say that we tallied 3 losses and leave it at that, but I will go in to more detail for my faithful readers out there J Last Sunday we played at the University of Minnesota. Although the Gophers had their fair share of fans, it was nearly a home game for us too because of how many Minnesotans we have on the team. Family members, alumni, and friends alike gathered to cheer on the Bison...your presence was definitely felt. We started the game out really strong by battling back and forth and getting our fair share of chances. We were playing really solid defense and showed that we could not only compete with a 19th ranked team, but could put them on their heels as well. The 43rd minute of play was when things really turned around for us. There was a penalty kick called on us and the U of M converted. Questionable? Yes, but as is much of the reffing you receive on the road...gotta get used to it. We let that goal get to our heads too much and went in to retreat-mode, which I will tell you now is not the way to go against a good team, or even bad team for that matter. They charged forward and scored a goal from outside the box just 30 seconds later. The first half ended with us down 2 to 0...and it didn’t any better from there. The game was a tale of two teams as we went on the defensive in the second half and rarely got the ball out of our side. We had trouble composing the ball and maintaining possession whenever we won it back. They got two more goals in the second half to end the game at 4 to 0; a very poor result for us considering the team we brought in. It would have been lovely that day if the game was only 43 minutes long, but in the game of soccer you need to show up for 90 minutes or more and the U of M taught us that lesson the hard way. Following that game we had a really short week of school since Monday was Labor Day and we boarded the bus to Wisconsin on Thursday morning. A two day school week is so bittersweet in a sense that it goes by fast and you don’t have much class, but there’s a lot of catch up to be done as well. We arrived in Madison a solid hour and a half earlier than expected and had an evening practice on their near-concrete practice field to work out our bus-legs. It was intense and fun and we were feeling pretty good afterwards. We played on Friday night under the lights against UW-Madison and came out with something to prove. The game was very fast-paced with the ball traveling from end to end and us following closely behind. The effort was there but yet again we were struggling to finish our chances. We had some good opportunities in front of the net that we sent wide or over the crossbar. In the 30th minute we had an episode of déjà-vu as we got a penalty kick called against us for our second consecutive game. They seized the opportunity and got the goal...now was our time to prove that we could rebound with intensity rather than fear like we had the week before. From there on out we fought but simply could not finish the ball, and in the game of soccer, a well-played game does not reflect in the history books unless you score. The game ended at 1 to 0 for the Badgers. I feel like it almost hurts more to lose a game that’s so close than to get blown out because you know that if you had just taken advantage of one opportunity, it would have been a different result. The lesson here was that we are a good team that is capable of competing with other good teams, but we won’t prove that to anyone until we can score...simple as that. After the game we boarded the bus with numerous pizzas in tow to make the 2 hour trek to Green Bay. Our hotel there was nothing short of amazing, I’d say it would rank as the nicest hotel I’ve stayed at in my tenure here...and trust me, that’s a lot of hotels. We practiced at the game field on Saturday to familiarize ourselves with the size and surface. The game was on Sunday at 1pm and the sun was beating down. Unfortunately, you could tell pretty early on that our team was just not all there that day. Our warm-up was sloppy and even after acknowledging that fact and trying to fix it, something just wasn’t right. We got scored on early in the game as we got beat multiple times down the line and players were not marked up in the box. We managed to rebound back with a goal about 20 minutes later off a corner kick by Aubrey Bot. Abbey Stratton headed the ball across the box to Holly Christian who put it over the keeper at short range. The tie didn’t last long however as the Phoenix scored again just before half. The most upsetting thing about the game was that in the past the effort has usually been there, we just haven’t finished. But in this game, we didn’t have that fight that we’ve displayed in other games. We battled back for short segments in the second half, but it was scarce and certainly not enough. Green Bay slotted in another goal near the end of the game to cap it off at 3 to 1. I think it’s fair to say that this was one of the worst results of the season against a team that we should have beat. We can try to overanalyze the game all we want and try to detect what went wrong, but I think it simply comes down to a mentality. On any given day you can make countless excuses and tally the factors working against you, but that gets you absolutely nowhere. We can talk all day and night about the fact that we have a good team, but until we pair our skills with a winners mentality, we haven’t proven a thing...and it’s going to take 26 players and 4 coaches being on the same page to accomplish that. It all starts now. We have our goals set, and an early morning Monday practice under our belts to get us on the right path. We hit the airways to the Boise State Invitational this weekend; it’s one of our last chances - prior to conference - to show what we’re made of. Let’s go Bison!!
Entry #4 - September 3, 2009 We are now three more games in to the season since I last wrote and I have good news to report. Last Thursday we traveled to Waco, Texas where we battled not only our opponents but also the heat and swarms of black crickets. Funny how when you go to warm places, the insects seem to get larger in both body size and in numbers. We flew in to Dallas then made the 2 hour drive in our rental vans to Waco. The Baylor campus was very pretty; all red brick buildings and their field was adorned in green and yellow...just for us J. At least that’s how I looked at it, they happen to rock the green and yellow school colors as well. We practiced shortly after arriving on Thursday to work out our travel legs and get acquainted with the heat. Playing at 7pm on Friday wasn’t that bad actually. By then the sun had gone down and it made for a very nice evening of soccer. The game was a physical one and our team played extremely hard. It was so nice to see the depth in our team as we rotated through 20 players and never saw a drop in the pace. We went in to double overtime but neither team was able to register a goal. We may not have gotten a victory, but we did gain an extra 20 minutes of experience.
On Saturday we had a light practice in the morning then went to experience a Waco original: the Dr Pepper Museum. We learned all about how the name came to be, what the suspected 23 flavors really are, watched old commercials from the 50’s, and picked up some souvenirs at the gift shop. By Sunday morning though, we were ready to take on our next opponent, Lamar. We started out a little slow as Lamar got on the board first, but we were not going to let that get us down. Megan Dean made a long run up the middle from stopper and scored with only 5 seconds left in the first half. The game was tied at half and we went in to the second half ready to show the south what North Dakota State is made of. The coaches switched up our formation so that we could better defend their apparent four forwards which gave us an opportunity to exploit the space on the wings. The game continued to be scrappy but we were controlling the pace of the game. We got a late goal in the second half by yours truly and that was what we needed to put Lamar under. It was so nice to get our first victory of the season, and on the road nonetheless. We went home in high spirits with only one day to recover before playing Creighton at home. Home games are always a little different because you go about your day as usual in the morning. You wake up in your own bed, go to class, and eat at home whereas on the road you’re in a hotel room with hardly anything but the game to preoccupy your thoughts. A lot of us just had a good feeling that day that things were going to go our way: one of those things you just can’t explain. Creighton has come to be somewhat of a rival to us with games going back and forth in previous years. We were getting texts from lots of graduated players to take it to them and show no mercy. And that is exactly what we did. Creighton came in to the game undefeated without a single goal scored on them yet this season and with a goal by Morgan DeMike only 19 seconds after she was subbed in to the game in the second half, we dealt them both their first loss and first goal against. We were getting hit and beaten up all game but we beat them where it counted: on the scoreboard. We were wearing our new yellow jerseys for the first time. I like to think we introduced them to the program in style. We are now 2-1-1 and are looking ahead at the U of M on the road this Sunday. Let’s keep it going strong!
Entry #3 – August 25, 2009 I can finally say that we have come to the end of preseason, and oh how sweet it feels. The team is coming together very nicely; we even got our international player (Shannon Brooks) back from Guatelmala midway through our first season game last Friday against Drake. I must say that I feel better with the team at this point than I have typically felt in the past after completing preseason. The work ethic is there in practice, as is the competitiveness: both of which are vital to improving as a team. The game on Friday started out in favor of the Bison as Lorraine Thompson scored our first goal of the season with a shot from the top of the box. Drake rallied back within 10 minutes to tie the game up before half. The second half was a major battle with our shots rocketing off the crossbar and a break-away save by our keeper, Kathy Kelsey. Toward the end of the game there were plenty of intense moments where fans were jumping out of their seats, but somehow the ball just didn’t find its way in the net. The positive thing to take from that is that we did generate quality chances and with some work in practice on finishing those chances, we’ll capitalize in the future. Somehow, the second half was a scoreless one which meant we’d be heading in to overtime. Drake got their golden goal just a few minutes in to the first overtime period and that was game. Looking back on the game, we could have been more effective if we would have switched the point of attack more often and exposed their lack of outside midfielders. It’s something that’s very easy to fix and we certainly have the skill to do it. The important thing to remember about a loss is to learn as much as you can from it, fix the mistakes and then forget about it because we have a lot of soccer left to play this season. We’re leaving for Waco, Texas bright and early this Thursday morning for a two-game tournament at Baylor. Prepare yourselves for a heat wave!
Entry #2 - August 17, 2009 The end of preseason is in sight. We had our green and yellow inter-squad scrimmage last Wednesday which went really well. All the girls played a full 90 minutes, including our coach Christie [Chappell]. The green team finished the game up 3 to 2 with goals from D-Bo [Danielle Boldenow], Gaff [Michelle Gaffaney], and Candice [D’Arcangeli], the yellow team had goals from Brooklyn [Dyce] and LT [Lorraine Thompson]. We did a round of penalty kicks at the end of the game for practice and the yellow (actually white) team got their edge with a 5-4 victory. On Friday we all got to rest our weary muscles with a team day in Detroit Lakes. It was nice to spend time together off of the soccer field and attempt to even out our soccer tans. We all showed off our skills in other sports like volleyball and football...as well as Frisbee toss, we have some all-around athletes on this team! The coaches kept it pretty light for us on Saturday in preparation for our first and only exhibition game against Augustana on Sunday. The excitement was evident, we couldn’t wait to get decked out in full gear and finally beat up on someone else for a change. We started out really well with two goals in the first half from Candice and Quin [Ryan]. Our team was confident and composed; we connected passes on offense and communicated well on defense. Much of our attack came from the width with combo plays and crosses from the outside midfielders. The defenders did a great job of playing the ball out of the back while maintaining possession. The coaches were happy with the result but stressed that it is only a start. We still have things we need to work on such as playing quicker and varying our attack by playing more through balls up the middle. It felt good to get a win and it was a great way to prepare for our first season game this Friday vs. Drake at 1 p.m. Hope to see you out there! Entry #1 - August 11, 2009 Hey everyone! My name is Becky Iwanicki and I’m a super-senior this year J I’m excited to say that I will be doing the blog for our team this fall. I’m a midfielder from Calgary, Alberta, Canada and I am majoring in biology and looking to continue on to medical school once I’m done at NDSU.
We are on Day 5 of preseason and I think there’s a common sentiment amongst the group...confidence. All the returners would agree that this squad has come out the gates with something to prove and the skill to prove it. We’ve been going from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. pretty much every day doing fitness testing, conditioning, practice, strength training, eating, meeting, and most importantly...ice bathing. We’re being extra conscious to take care of our bodies and get in the best shape possible, both physically and mentally, going into the season. Only through preparation before the game can we gain the confidence to beat our opponents in the game.
One thing that has really stood out is everyone’s voice on the field; the communication out there has been great, we have a lot of leaders on the team. With all that said, a good start is just that...a start. We need to continue to work hard and build on all the effort we’ve put in so far because our task is LONG from over (that task being to win the Summit League of course!). We will keep pushing through preseason with our eventual target in mind. We have a great team that’s getting ready to do great things! |
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