Ponderings from the Pitch with Head Coach Phil Wheddon
9/6/2010 9:50:03 AM | Women's Soccer
Well, we are now in the airport waiting for our 9.50 p.m. flight to board and, whilst the weekend didn't quite go as planned, our spirits are high. Actually, the players are now catching up on homework. Some would say that they have been procrastinating over the last four days, I like to think of it as the team being focused on the task at hand :-). Either way, our students have been exceptional throughout our trip.
While the result on Friday against Washington did not display the improvements that the team has made, the game against Portland today clearly showed that we are on the right track. In fact, the opposing coaches both commented on how close we are and how well we played. The only thing is, as I discussed with them, we now need to be consistent for 90+ minutes.
I couldn't be more proud of the effort and discipline that our team showed today. Playing Portland, which is #4 in the country, was a huge test for us. We took the lead through a well-struck free kick by Megan Bellingham (Thank goodness she had her coffee in the morning). Her goal moved her to No. 10 on the Syracuse career goals list - congrats Megan. We fought hard against a very good team and stayed organized and battled for the entire game. While, honestly, they were overall a more experienced team, we showed great class and put together some of the best soccer I have seen this season. Well done ladies!!! Kayla Afonso hit the crossbar with 3 minutes left and, had that gone in, it would have been a fairer result as our players really gave their all.
So now we are going to board the red-eye to JFK and then connect to the land of Orange. It is my hope that we now move forward from here and play the way we played today against our remaining foes. If we can eliminate some miscues and mistakes and play with the passion, commitment and discipline that the ladies displayed against a top five team, we will indeed reach our goal of being in the top five in the BIG EAST.
To all the parents that made the trip, we sincerely appreciate your support. It is awesome to have your support 3,000 miles from home. With that said, I encourage you all to come and cheer us on next weekend as we have two local games that are against regional rivals. The game at Albany has been changed to a 4 p.m. kickoff and is two hours from Syracuse. We then play Binghamton on Sunday at the Syracuse Soccer Stadium. We are passionate about these games and it would be amazing to have all of your support.
Oops, time to board. Judging by the looks in the players' eyes I would say that they will definitely be red when we land in New York.
Just in closing, our team has done us proud this weekend. Today's game has shown that we can compete on a national level and, with the continued hard work and dedication that the players are showing we will reach our goals soon enough.
Got to fly (excuse the pun)
Phil
