Oct. 24, 2008

Alumni Blog #7

Dear Flyer Faithful,

All I can say is `what a great weekend for the Flyers!!!' Every sport playing this weekend with a Dayton jersey had winning success. We were very excited to do our part as well with one of the best weekends in the history of the soccer program.

Our first match-up was against nationally ranked Charlotte. They had just come off an overtime loss to Maryland and apparently had the lead all the way to the last minutes of regulation. They are under new leadership- Coach Gunn. He coached at Fort Lewis for several years when I was at Incarnate Word where we experienced some of the best college soccer battles between both sides. I knew we would again be in a similar battle with our new teams. I had the opportunity to catch up with him at Starbuck's and reminisce about the old days of Division II. We are fierce competitors on the field with a lot of mutual respect off the field.

The day started off nice in Charlotte but we could see some storm clouds approaching. As the day rolled on, the clouds became darker and the temperature severely dropped. By game time, the winds were howling, the rain was steady and the temperature seemed frigid. You never know how a team will react to tough conditions but our last game in poor conditions was in 2007 against Duquesne where we prevailed 6-1. The team seemed pumped.

Charlotte was ranked 4th in scoring offense and we were ranked 6th in scoring offense prior to the match. Both coaches assumed it would be a high scoring game. Little did we know that the game would go 110 minutes without a goal. Both defenses were superb on the night. The team with the wind always seemed to have the advantage in offensive pressure. In overtime, we found a few dangerous chances through some great individual effort on Jeff Popella's part but we could not find the needed goal to win the game. The draw earned us a point and we were off to face St. Louis. With Charlotte and St. Louis paired as travel partners this year, it may be one of the hardest road trips for any team.

I considered St. Louis my home town. We moved there when I was very young. It is a city rich in tradition in the game of soccer. I got started playing at eight years old and fell in love with the sport. At 12, I joined Scott Gallagher who was considered the best team but a year later, I decided to join the enemy- Busch Soccer Club. At that time, Busch and Gallagher was considered one of if not the best rivals in club soccer. When I returned home from college, I started my first coaching experience at Harris-Stowe State College which is located directly across the street from St. Louis University. I just turned 22 years old and the Athletic Director, Tim Velten, told me five coaches applied since it only paid $500 a year. The position was offered to the other four candidates and sure enough they turned it down. By a process of elimination, I was named the coach. Ha. The team had not won a game in over three years so a tough task was at hand. Over the next nine years, the program grew into one of the best NAIA schools in the country and we competed at the National Championship tournament several times earning our way into the final four in 2000. Robert Herrmann Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Billikens, sits 800 yards from Harris-Stowe and as I watched the game, it was within eyesight of my roots.

St. Louis is a very possession oriented team coached by one of my mentors, Dan Donigan. Although we have been scoring many goals this year, I knew we had to be careful going forward. Our block of eight played very compact against Charlotte and we would have to accomplish a similar defensive posture if we were to defeat SLU. In the first half, our main chances came on the transition with periodic presses. We informed our team that our best chance to beat them would be on a transitional goal or set piece. In the 20th minute of the game, we had our first set piece. Simeon Zaprianov has been serving well all year and we have many threats in the air due to our size. Normally when we attack the space in behind the defense, we tend to get a good look on frame. Simeon served it with perfection and our freshmen, Jack Pearson headed it into the back of the net. It was Jack's fourth goal of the season and his fourth goal from his head. Jack has been a valuable asset in the air for us this season. With 70 minutes left in the game, I felt we would need a second goal. St. Louis knows how to put the pressure on the opposition. True to form, they maintained most of the possession for the rest of the game. However, upon winning the ball, we showed several excellent transitional plays through our front two runners which created a few chances. Jeff Popella continued his good play and has been unfortunate not to score this year. Ben Murray had a long range shot that glanced the post. I felt certain we may get that goal that would put the game out of reach. It never came but the defense never let down. My former boss at Harris-Stowe, Ms. Beeson was at the game and she wrote an email to me the next day that stated, " When your guys on the field started yelling "let's keep it together, only 15 minutes to go" I got goose bumps. I kept remembering the games in New Mexico when HSSC was competing for a national title and how I felt then; for some strange reason, I felt the same way today even tho' I didn't know a single player....". We kept the ball in front of us and tightened up even more when some of their most dangerous attackers would get the ball. St. Louis would threaten late in the game but it was cleared away and the clock ticked down to zero. The upset was complete and the team was excited. We were close to knocking off a nationally ranked opponent in 2006 when we faced SMU who was number in the country at that time but we could not complete the victory. The win against St. Louis is monumental considering Dayton has not defeated them in the program's history (0-11-1 prior to the game).

It was great seeing my parents across the field at the end of the game. My mother was extremely emotional and my father was his usual calm, cool and collective self. A play by play recall of the entire game was being channeled back to my family in Dayton. I couldn't wait to speak to my wife but there were so many people to see after the game. A collection of Harris-Stowe players came to support- Pat Covert, Tom Iffrig, Steve Conway, Brian Adams, Scott Hartwig and Tom Brinker. My old high school coach, Rusty Ryan came to the game. Ms. Beeson, my former boss and mentor was there along with my old coaching friend Carl Hutter. It was also great to see Ian Mulligan, a former UD alumni and his new fiancée. I took my last glance over at Harris-Stowe from the field and rushed over to the parking lot to call my heroes- my wife and two girls. It has to go down as one of my best days ever as a Dayton Flyer.

Last game, next game- there are still five critical games ahead of us. Anytime you come off an emotional weekend of success, you have to take great preparations in getting the team back in focus. This is the first time our team has played with a target on our backs. We are in first place in the A-10 and Fordham and Lasalle will be coming in here to take that away from us. We have put ourselves in a position to compete for a league title and we must do everything in our power to capitalize on that.

Go Flyers!