Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Mid-Season Reflection
It's been a while since I last updated this blog, but wanted to take a moment and reflect on the 1st third of our season.  The title of this is a little off, because I feel that we have still 2/3 of a season in front of us.  The first 1/3 of non-conference play has left us at (7-2) for the first time in our programs history.  The second 1/3, and most important portion, begins this Saturday where we play Centre College to continue SAA play.  

Our season kicked off with a solid win over Huntingdon College where we hosted the Hawks and defeated them 20-6, and then traveled to in-state opponent Piedmont College for a Friday night tilt.  Atlanta traffic was tough and we arrived with only 45 minutes to game-time, but were able to walk away with a win 14-8 over a much improved squad.  We then hopped back on the bus and drove into the night to Charlotte, NC where we stayed at a Hilton for the weekend.  On Sunday we played Hampden-Sydney College and should have won the game.  We went neck and neck for 50 minutes, but for a 10 minute spell in the 3rd quarter we stopped sliding defensively and gave up some points.  Equally frustrating on the day were the 8 pipes that we hit.  Statistically, their Goalie was credited with 12 saves (4 saves, 8 pipes) and we lost by a slim margin of 14-11.

After suffering our first loss of the season, it was also our first opportunity to really grow and get better and attacked our approach to Colorado College with determination.  We flew out to Denver, CO and then bused it to Colorado Springs on Thursday and played them at 6,107 ft of elevation on Saturday at 1:00 RMT.  It was a great game and we had the JUICE in the 4th quarter that was hard to match.  For a look at our highlights click HERE for our YouTube.

After the Colorado College game we trounced through Oglethorpe and hosted NCAA Tournament qualifier Otterbein University.  Alum, Jordan Boreman is an Assistant at OTU and it was great to beat him in Valhalla 13-8.  YouTube highlights can be found HERE.  We then tried to focus on Wittenberg the following Friday at 4:00 but found ourselves already on the bus to Florida for Spring Break and lost a very winnable game 15-12, before leaving at 8:00 a.m. for Spring Break.

Our Spring Break 2017 featured what you have come to expect in nice locations, good competition, bowling, and 'High Roller' fun.  This year was no different as we face NE opponent Salve Regina in Tampa University's stadium and won convincinly 17-8.  We then trained a couple more days before playing another NE foe in Nichols College and won 16-7.  Click Here for YouTube Highlights.

So as you can see, we have been working hard, but not hard enough, and have won some games, but not the ones that will get us in the NCAA tournament....yet.  Our goal is to win the SAA conference and get the Automatic Qualifier to the Tournament where we can really make some noise.

And I know we are going to do just that!
Talk again soon.
-Curtis Gilbert