Caught both of the soccer games this weekend.
As another thread noted, our girls dominated Montana. 26 shots on goal by us versus only three by the Grizzlies. Other than our control of the game, what really stood out to me was the crowd. Over 2800 in the stadium. Standing room only. And the grass slope was also packed with another 400-500 attendees. Another couple hundred were located in the outdoor dining area overlooking the field and in the dormitories with sight of the game.
The Sunday game versus James Madison was a bit strange. Final score was 6-3 in favor of the Cougs but that does not reflect how the game really went. We were ahead 5-0 after 27 minutes-a goal every five minutes or so- and Shulenberger started putting in the reserves. And by reserves, I mean the deep reserves. Freshmen/freshwomen. Kids only a couple of months from high school and not yet really in sync with the rest of their teammates. The mass influx of new blood showed and the Cougs seemed to lose their mojo a bit. JMU scored 3 out of the final 4 goals but the outcome was never in doubt after the initial 27 minute onslaught.
The Coug ladies are going through their non-conference schedule like a hot knife through butter. That will come to a halt when they enter a grueling conference schedule but so-far-so-good. Our girls are good, really good. Prior to the weekend they were ranked #12 or #13. Do not have any idea how the teams ahead of them fared but they are awfully close to being in the top ten nationally.
Another note- Some of the new first year recruits look quite promising. I think that Shulenberger and his staff have an excellent eye for talent and have done well recruiting so far.
As another thread noted, our girls dominated Montana. 26 shots on goal by us versus only three by the Grizzlies. Other than our control of the game, what really stood out to me was the crowd. Over 2800 in the stadium. Standing room only. And the grass slope was also packed with another 400-500 attendees. Another couple hundred were located in the outdoor dining area overlooking the field and in the dormitories with sight of the game.
The Sunday game versus James Madison was a bit strange. Final score was 6-3 in favor of the Cougs but that does not reflect how the game really went. We were ahead 5-0 after 27 minutes-a goal every five minutes or so- and Shulenberger started putting in the reserves. And by reserves, I mean the deep reserves. Freshmen/freshwomen. Kids only a couple of months from high school and not yet really in sync with the rest of their teammates. The mass influx of new blood showed and the Cougs seemed to lose their mojo a bit. JMU scored 3 out of the final 4 goals but the outcome was never in doubt after the initial 27 minute onslaught.
The Coug ladies are going through their non-conference schedule like a hot knife through butter. That will come to a halt when they enter a grueling conference schedule but so-far-so-good. Our girls are good, really good. Prior to the weekend they were ranked #12 or #13. Do not have any idea how the teams ahead of them fared but they are awfully close to being in the top ten nationally.
Another note- Some of the new first year recruits look quite promising. I think that Shulenberger and his staff have an excellent eye for talent and have done well recruiting so far.
