Closing out the regular season...

Friday was our final regular season home game and it was senior’s night. Sperl’s mom came prepared and filled the stands with pictures of each of the seniors’ faces on popsicle sticks. The game got off to a bit of a rocky start when Detroit nearly scored in the opening minutes. Mary slid in to clear a ball off the line and deny Detroit a goal. From there, we picked things up and took control of the game. In the 10th minute Apple opened the scoring. Helen played a ball in behind the Detroit defence which Hirsch won and played across the top of the box to Apple, who then finished on the ground far post. We scored another late in the first half to go into half time with a 2-0 lead. Helen played another good ball through, this time to Stern. Stern beat the keeper with a great finish in the far post. We locked the game up in the 55th minute when Apple scored her second goal. Sperl played a great ball in off of a corner kick and Apple was able to jump above her defender to head it in. The game ended with a 3-0 score and we secured at least a share of the Horizon League regular season title.


Saturday morning we had a training session and then left for Dayton for our game against Wright State on Sunday. We woke up Sunday and went for a team walk and stretch before breakfast and then headed over to the field. This was a big game. It was our final regular season game and an opportunity to claim the right to host the conference tournament. We held a majority of possession throughout the game but weren’t able to come back from a goal late in the first half. Wright State was able to score off a corner kick in the 41st minute. We outshot Wright State but just didn’t have that extra bit of something in the attacking third to get the goal we needed. With the loss, we share the regular season championship with Butler but they have the number one seed in the tournament and get to host.

Thanks to Jerry and Roadie’s mom for the treat bags on the bus ride home. We were able to eat our feelings after the loss and the glow sticks were put to good use in some quality team bonding. After the bonding and a good talk, we’re ready to put this last game behind us and focus on taking advantage of a clean slate that the conference tournament provides us. We have two weeks to put in some good, hard training and to prepare to make a statement in the tournament.

Back in first...

Last Friday we played Green Bay for our final in-state rivalry game. After losing to Butler last Sunday we wanted to make sure we came out with a good performance and came away with a win. Earlier in the day Butler lost to Loyola so we knew we were back in a very good position to host the conference tournament, as long as we took care of business on our end. We controlled the game and held a large majority of the possession. It was difficult to generate a great deal of offence at times because, for the most part, Green Bay was playing with nine players behind the ball, right in front of their box. We were unable to convert the chances we did create and regular time ended in a scoreless tie. We were headed into overtime for the first time in conference play. During the first overtime period we continued to dictate the game and, finally, with 46 seconds left on the clock, we got the goal we needed. We were given a free kick out wide when I was fouled just outside the box. Sperl played a perfect ball across and I was able to redirect it past the Green Bay goalie.

Sunday started with a trip to the Pancake House for a team breakfast and then we were back on the road for a short trip to Loyola. This was a huge game. If Loyola managed to beat us, they would be ahead of us in the standings with just one game left to play. We would have two more games which would both be must-win games. We came out and, in a welcome change from Friday’s game, scored early. I played a cross to the far post and Apple headed it into the back of the net. Then, we scored again early in the second half to increase our lead to 2-0. It was a very similar style goal to the first one, with Apple finishing a cross from Ashley on the back post. Loyola then got one of their own, scoring off a misplayed ball back to Deebach. It was an exciting finish to the game as Loyola pressed hard, trying to get a second goal. They had one quality chance and Deebach made an amazing save to preserve our lead. It wasn’t our prettiest or smoothest performance but we were able to earn a win and we moved into first place in the Horizon League standings.

Thanks again to the parents for the treat bags on our bus ride back. We’re back at home Friday against Detroit and then at Wright State to finish up the regular season.

Home at last...

This week we were able to practice on campus for the first time! Our new turf field is finally done so no more travelling to Bradley Tech for practices. We can sleep in a little bit later before morning practices and can go out there anytime for additional individual training.

Friday’s game against Valpo was the first game on the new Engelmann Field and we couldn’t have asked for a better opening game on the field. We completely took control of the game and came away with a 5-0 win. Apple opened the scoring in the 21st minute with a diving header to score her record-breaking 58th career goal! I beat a Valpo defender wide, served it into the box, and Apple laid out to send it into the back of the net. Kenzie made it 2-0 in the 28th minute when she headed in a cross from Helen and in the 42nd minute I scored off a loose ball just outside the box. We headed into half with a 3-0 lead. We had dictated the play in the first half but knew that we still had to make a statement in the second half. We made sure we did just that by adding another 2 goals. First, Helen played a great ball over the Valpo backline for Apple to run onto. She beat a Valpo defender and finished. Then, Meghan converted the final goal of the game in the 83rd minute off of a cross from Hannah Kaul. First game on the new turf field, first win on the new turf field.

Sunday was parent’s day we were back on our new field to take on Butler. We had a great performance against Valpo and really wanted to build on that during the Sunday game. We came out flat in the first half and just didn’t play with the same energy that we did on Friday. We got down in the 17th minute when Butler scored off of a deflection in the box. We held a majority of the possession and generated numerous chances, especially in the second half, but couldn’t break Butler’s 1-0 lead. Apple hit a free kick off the crossbar and Hirsch nearly scored in the final five seconds but, despite creating several scoring opportunities, we were unable to finish our chances. The game ended 1-0 for Butler.

It was a very disappointing loss against Butler but, fortunately, it’s one that we can recover from. All the other teams in our conference also have at least one loss. So, if we can close out the rest of games with wins we can still win the regular season. It is something that will take a lot of work and focus, but it’s also something that we are definitely capable of. The first step will against Green Bay on Friday and then Loyola on Sunday.

Soccer and Swimming in Texas...

This weekend we travelled to Austin, Texas to play the University of Texas for our last of three straight weekends on the road. The good news, this week we didn’t have to drive all the way in bus. The bad news, we had to leave campus at 4:30 am for our flight, inevitably resulting in a group of twenty crabby girls. Our mood improved significantly when we arrived in Austin and went to an old friend of Mike and David’s for lunch and some pool time. Pool is definitely an understatement though. Any home pool that has a lazy river needs a much more elaborate name. Thanks to our hosts for having all of us and if you ever need a live-in maid or nanny, I’m available.

Once the coaches were finally able to drag us away from what we all wished could be our new home, we headed to hotel to check in and then over to the Texas campus for training. Afterwards, we had dinner back at the hotel. After David finally let Talbert take her cookie (and gave her all the extras) we headed to bed to get some much needed sleep. Friday morning, after breakfast, we went to downtown Austin to walk around and stretch our legs.

Though a number of girls on the team were sick, we were ready to go come game time. We got things started when we scored in the 13th minute. I played a ball over the Texas backline and, after the keeper mishandled it, Apple slipped it in. Unfortunately we allowed Texas to tie it up only a minute later. The scored stayed at 1-1 for the rest of the first half. In the second half Texas took the lead twice but both times we responded really well and worked to tie the game back up. First, Demi finished a ball from Apple in the box in the 77th minute for her first career goal. Then, Apple tied it up for the second time when she slotted in the rebound after I hit the post (typical). Regular time ended in a 3-3 tie, sending us into overtime. Going into the first overtime period there was a definite sense of confidence within the team. We had really started to take it to Texas in the last part of the game and had started to break them down. Things started off well again in overtime, but unfortunately just before the end of the first period, Texas scored off a corner kick.

It was a really disappointing loss, but we had a lot of good play to build on. Next week is finally our first home game on the new and improved Engelmann Field. We’ll break in the new turf against Valpo on Friday for the annual Pink Out game and then against Butler on Sunday for Parent’s Day.