Well, our season has come to an end with a 1-0 loss to Texas in the Sweet 16. The first loss of the season is a bitter pill to swallow seeing as how we controlled most of the game and only gave up one chance on goal. The lone Texas chance came only a minute and a half into the game when Texas was able to win a 50/50 ball and counter attack finding a wide forward who hit the ball off of the far post and in for the only goal of the match. We controlled most of the possession and spent much of the game in their half but we could only create one solid scoring opportunity as Texas defended very well.

The scene after the game was an interesting one though. In years past, when we have been knocked out early there are typically a lot of tears. There were tears today but there was more of a sense of disbelief than anything else. The girls know they played hard and left everything on the field. 

We say goodbye to three seniors this year. Two captains and one that always acted like a captain showing leadership throughout the season.

Forward Mackenzie Fleischer worked very hard on and off of the field. Mackenzie was responsible for all of the team apparel and fan apparel that so many of you took advantage of. She has been a committed, hard working player for the past four years and her leadership will be hard to replace.

Forward/Midfielder Michelle Mirasol was one of more versatile players we have had. She allowed us to have a very flexible line up as I could move her from position to position and always get a high level of play. A very determined and skillful player who always had a smile on her face. 

Outside Back Blaire Wolski, our first Alabama girl showed strong leadership throughout the season and provided us with strong play as a tough outside back. Blaire's goal celebration after scoring against Michigan this year will be one that stays with me for a long time it was pure joy and a true celebration befitting an outside back who doesn't score much.

The girls had a great season and have really helped take the program into a new era. No longer is just getting to Nationals a good season. We have set a standard and an expectation that we will make it past the Sweet 16 and compete for National Championships on a yearly basis. We fell short this year but I know that these three seniors have left us in a place where a second national championship is not far off.

We finish the season with only one loss. A very cruel loss in that we were the better team but we are headed home having fell short of our goal this year. I am excited to see what this young team will do in the next few years. The have been shown a great example of leadership this year. They have seen that the standards and expectations here are very high, and they have felt the sting of falling short of our goal.

We end the season with a record of 11-1-3 and as one of the top 16 teams in the nation. Not too shabby.

As coaches, we always tell our players that "you can't flip the switch and player hard, play with passion and desire when you decide to. It is a habit!" Then, when they prove you wrong it's an odd feeling. On the one hand, they are finally giving what you always thought they could, but on the other, now they think they can just flip that switch! It's an odd feeling to be sure.

So, UNC game in having tied Cornell 0-0. We had pretty much controlled the game against Cornell and I don't think the 1-0 result really showed the disparity in the two teams. Don't get me wrong, Cornell was a good team but for the amount of time we had the ball in the final third of the field, we should have scored more goals. A two or three to nothing win would have been more representative of the game. BUT...UNC game out on fire! They were all over us and kicked our tails for the first 10 minutes. We couldn't get out of the back for more than one clearance which was shoved right back down our throats. We were flat and really struggling to connect passes and maintain any possession. Full credit to our back line of Meg Galea and Knar Topouzian at centerback and Blair Wolski (Sr. from Vestavia Hills, AL.) and Nancy Krutty (So.   from Plymouth, MI.) for not allowing the sustained possession to create any dangerous attacks as we struggled to find our legs and our way.

Right about the ten minute mark we were able to put together a few passes and create an attack down the right side. We talked before the first game about how the wide spaces would be valuable during this tournament...Forward Michelle Mirasol (Sr. captain from Rochester HIlls, MI.) crossed a ball that found Center Mid) Makenzie Williams (Jr. from Plymouth, MI.) at the top of the box. Mack took a touch and then drove a ball to the far post. The UNC keeper dove to her right at a full stretch and just missed pushing it wide...but the ball hit the post and bounced across the goal mouth where it snuggled nicely into the side netting for a 1-0 MSU lead! Against the run of play we had taken the lead!

The goal got us settled down and the remainder of the half was played out mainly in the middle of the field with both teams defending very well and not allowing the other to spend much time in their final third. We took a 1-0 lead into the half even though we were not playing our best soccer. the start of the second half saw a rejuvenated UNC start just like the began the first half and about three minutes in one of UNC's better attackers took a ball down the right side, cut it back and curled a ball in towards the far post that beat our keeper, Katie Foss (So. from Farmington, MI.) and then made a beautiful sound, the sound of a ball hitting a post! We stay ahead 1-0! The ensuing scramble for the ball off the post was finally cleared by us and found forward Grace Noyola (So. from DeWitt, MI.) who was able to get past the UNC center back and in behind for a breakaway! She carried the ball into the box and slipped the ball past a sliding UNC keeper...only to hear the worst sound in the world, the ball hitting the post! UNC was able to clear the ball and thwart the threat.

The game settled back in to the midfield and each team was able to create a few half chances but no goals came from any of them. With about 8 minutes remaining we dropped into a 4-42 instead of our typical 4-3-3 formation to play a little more defensively. We were able to maintain our 1-0 advantage and win the group with a 1-0 win over UNC! 

Tonight we got a great performance from our midfield group and the depth that we have there. Makenzie Williams, Sam Chouinard (Fr. from Metamora, MI.), Morgan Schalm (So. from Flat Rock, MI.), Steph March, Erika Tvedten (Fr. from Redington Beach, FL.) and Emmalee Skorich (Jr. from DeWitt, MI) are asked to do a lot of work as a group of three in the midfield. Being able to rotate six players through those three positions was a huge factor in our win tonight. UNC had a very strong midfield and we were able to gain an advantage there due to our depth. Their work ethic, heart, passion and desire were absolutely outstanding tonight and a huge reason for our win.

We will take on Texas tomorrow at high noon in the Sweet 16. Texas beat us two years ago here in Memphis in group play before we made our run to the National Championship.

With the late schedule change last night that moved our first game from 3:00 pm to 9:45 am I was concerned how the girls would respond. Yesterday was a long day for them and a good nights rest and a chance to sleep in was something all of them were looking forward to. To their credit, they were wide awake when they got on the bus at 8:00 am and excited to get the championships under way!

Nationals is a difficult tournament in that there is no way to know what your opponent is all about. In a way, it is a tournament for the players to showcase their ability to recognize and adapt their game to the opponent as the game unfolds. As a coach I can try to make changes from the side but the girls have to come out sharp and be ready to immediately recognize any threat that the other team might pose and exploit any weakness that the opponent might have. so, as a coach, you always worry when things are out of your control...probably the hardest part of coaching soccer over most other sports. Once that whistle blows your impact is minimal.

Fortunately the girls came out flying and put Cornell on their heels immediately! Over the past two weeks we have worked on trying to get our opponents under more pressure  both by staying more connected as a team and working harder than our opponent. We have an extremely deep team and can throw 20 field players at any opponent through the course of any game. With that, I asked the girls not to pace themselves. Go out and give it everything you have for as long as you can and then get a sub. The work ethic I saw today was very impressive! They played with a heart, passion and desire that I haven't seen from them all year. We kept the ball in Cornell's half of the field for much of the game with a few counter attacks by them and a few moments of sustained possession in our half thrown in. In the end, it was a Stephanie March (Jr. midfielder from Chino Hills, CA)  toe poke past the keeper from in close that wins the game for MSU 1-0! 

In a game where work ethic was at an all time team high Steph also stood out in this category. Her work rate today was off the charts! As a midfielder she was up with the forwards pressuring their back line and then getting back to support our back line and bring double teams against their forwards. Centerbacks Meg Galea (Jr. from Grosse Point Park, MI) and Knar Topouzian (Fr. from West Bloomfield Hills, MI.) and Annie Waldoch off the bench (Fr. from Geneva Hills, IL.) were also dominant in back not allowing any balls through or over the top and winning every head ball that was possible.

We still don't know if UNC has made it to Memphis so our 8:15 pm game is scheduled. I hope to know more soon and will update everyone via Facebook and Twitter.

Thank you for all of the support!

Hello Everyone!

I wasn't able to blog as I had hoped this year but as always, I make sure to find the time to keep you all up to date while at nationals. It always blows me away how many people ask me to make sure to send them the game write ups before we leave. The support for the girls is very much appreciated and something that I always pass along to them.

We left EL last night at about 10pm, had an uneventful trip down (thanks Dean Transportation!) and arrived at our hotel at about 10am. The hotel was not able to get us into any of our rooms early so we headed to downtown Memphis to go to the National Civil Rights Museum and...wow. Words cannot explain how powerful of an experience that was. All I can say about it is that if you are ever in Memphis, make the time to go and leave yourself 2-3 hours to take it all in. Very impactful. (Vern, I thought about your dad many, many times while we were there.)

After lunch we were able to get into our rooms and gt ready for practice. We headed over to the Mike Rose soccer complex and had a nice, light practice to get the girls stretched out and moving after the long bus ride (our starting goalkeeper, sophmore Katie Foss was locked in!) After a team dinner at a local Italian place it was back to the hotel for an early bed time. No fighting with the girls tonight after having to sleep on the bus last night!

Two of the captains and I had to attend a registration meeting. Typically boring and mind numbing but at the end they asked our team to come speak with them. We had heard that the Cornell men's team hasn't been able to get out of the East Coast and with their women's team being our first opponent I figured it had something to do with that. Instead, it is the UNC women's team, our second opponent tomorrow who is stuck in the Raleigh-Durham airport. So, our first game has been moved from 3pm to 9:45am. Obviously the girls are not happy about the early morning, but the long break between games will be nice. Our second game, assuming UNC can make it in tomorrow morning will be at 8:15pm.

More tomorrow!

Typically I am not a fan of having formal team captains. While the idea of team captains and leaders is valid, I don't think the process often concludes with the naming of the strongest leaders but rather, the more popular people on the team. However, over the past several years I have begun to change my stance on the issue, at least with this program. After my first few years with the MSU club team we had more drama surrounding the captains vote than filling those positions was worth. In fact, I think it was in my second year as head coach when I almost resigned the position due to the problems surrounding the voting of captains. It wasn't the captains that were chosen, but rather how their teammates handled the situation that almost drove me away.

So, each year I am very skeptical about having the team vote for captains. Last year, our captains were named by me at the end of the previous year, and with them all being seniors the issue came up again this year. I decided we would try the voting process again this year. We altered the process slightly though and did not vote until after our second weekend of games. I thought that allowing the new players to get more comfortable with everyone and spend some time getting to know each of their other teammates might allow for a much more thoughtful vote. I also felt that we had several girls who would make strong captains and that each deserved the chance to show their leadership ability for the first few weeks. It also allowed me the time to talk about what the expectations are for our captains, and what I feel makes a good captain.

I was very impressed with the vote. First and foremost, I was impressed that we had seven different players receive multiple votes, and that each player receiving votes was someone I would have been happy to name as captain. In the end, three girls were named captain and we have left room for a fourth to be added at some point during the season.

Meg Galea will be our speaking captain. Meg is a junior centerback who helped us to our first National Championship as an outside back in 2012. Meg is also a "legacy", coming in a few years after her sister and former captain Liz Galea helped to elevate the program to the point it is today. Meg received a vote from 2/3 of the team.

Seniors Michelle Mirasol and Mackenzie Fleischer have also been named captains. Both received 50% of the teams votes. Michelle is a senior forward/midfielder and Mackenzie is a senior forward. Both players were part of the National Championship team and have shown a strong passion for our program and the desire to help take the team back for a title defense (we are still the reigning National Champion by the way!)

I look forward to working with these three in shaping this years team as well as setting a precedence for the standard we will hold all future captains to.