The Big Weekend

Last night I found myself watching an MLS (major league soccer) playoff game New York red bulls v Houston Dynamo.  After losing interest in the playoff race partly sure to DC United not qualifying I was interested in watching NYRB and if the team with the best record in MLS this season and winner of the supporter shield would finally get their hands on the MLS Cup after years of promise playing in one of the biggest soccer markets and being backed by endless cash streams from Red Bull it has again came up short.  Despite the likes of Henry and Cahill the Houston dynamo franchise knows how to win in the playoffs and once again as a so called underdog they won to advance to the next round.  Happy to see my old housemate Bobby Boswell still playing for Houston and what could be another trip to MLS Cup for him and Houston.

Last session today before our must win game tomorrow v St. Joes.  Scouting reports seem to have gotten shorter at this stage of the season as we know teams have changed and will be doing anything they can to win games so very often how you want to play and how you play are two different things when winning is the only thing that matters.  The league is so open right now that one thing i can guarantee about games this weekend is that we will not know the 8 teams going to the A10 tournament until after all the games are played on Sunday.  Some teams will know before Sunday but no matter what our result on Friday we are going to be in that pack that will be waiting until the final ball is kicked on Sunday so cant get anymore exciting than that.

Back to practice and what started out to be a fun day of shooting and crossing was spoiled at the end with one of our guys getting injured with just a minute to play.  A sad ending to what was a up lifting session and I hope they players can put that disappointment behind them and use it to fire them up for the game tomorrow.

A while back after chatting with a good friend of mine Bill Kelly watching some soccer games over a beer he began to tell me about his involvement with the Arlington Veterans of Foreign Wars.  Seemed a perfect way for me during Veterans Day Weekend to recognize all our veterans and the numerous student Veterans at GW and other local colleges at our game tomorrow.  If you are at the game tomorrow and see me wearing a poppy and camouflage OHT baseball hat then its just a small way to show my and the programs appreciation for all those who served, currently serve and all those who we have lost in the call of duty in our armed forces.  Thank You.

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Feeling the build up for the game tomorrow within the group.

Big Weekend Coming Up

Just 2 days away from our biggest weekend of the season so far and it was back to practice after our off day yesterday.  I thought it was a good time to remind everyone what being a teammate is all about as we'll need everyone pulling in the same direction this weekend and everyone will play their role whatever that may be for each individual.  So, we started with a brief video "anatomy of a teammate" which after learning about it this week seemed something we could relate to as we plan for both games this weekend. 

Onto practice and after a team warm up we were into a 11v11 game.  Feeling we just needed the guys to play freely we let them go with no stoppages just letting them play and enjoying doing so.  After the first 20 minutes players started to settle down and we saw some moments of attacking quality that to be honest we've lacked the past 2 games.  It was nice to see the guys playing freely and creating chances but also we had the intensity that showed me players are pushing each other for starting spots and playing time this weekend.  We finished the session with a shooting competition hopefully to encourage us to do the same this weekend.  As I always say, if you don't shoot you don't score and if you don't score you don't win.  

Heading home early today to watch some champions league football and working from home, honest, my boy Dylan was there to greet me.  Unfortunately he's sick and has been really uncomfortable the past few days with a virus so sleeping is at a minimum but I guess I'm used to that by now with young children and going through this season.  

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The DC weather, what a beautiful day today. 

Monday Blues

It was tough getting up today a very cold morning and still feeling the loss from yesterday but today's another day and I knew this week was important to get us mentally and physically back on track as we push to qualify do the A10s.  For the players it was a recovery session for most with a little soccer olympics and a little harder session for the guys who didn't get the playing minutes this weekend.  For me it was our final meeting of the semester for our coaches leadership academy so missing most of the session I was able to catch the end of the lift as the guys were put through a tough workout finishing with an intense core workout.  Tomorrow we will be off so treatments only for the guys and no blog.  

Tonight was also the last of my u10 girls clinic that I have been doing the last couple of weeks.  How different thy are from the ODP and college players I work with but certainly a lot of fun.

Lastly wanted to wish and pray for the continued improvement and recovery of Dan Black.  A part of our GW Athletics Strength and Conditioning staff and family he was involved in a traffic accident last week and has been hospitalized since.  He really is a atrong character and will need all his strength and our support as he continues his fight. 

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Game Day

With a chance to go one step further toward making the A10 championships with our game against Mason today we unfortunately came up short.  Goals in both halves would give the patriots a 2-0 win and put them tied for first place in the standings.  

After a good week of practice I was really looking forward to the game today as the players seemed sharp te past few days.  It wasn't the case on the field as we struggled first half playing against a strong wind and a fired up Mason team that started strongly and put us on the back foot.  A couple of defensive mistakes gifted Mason their opener and despite not playing that well first half at 1-0 we were still very much in the game if we could play better and settle down a bit.  

We did just that second half with a better performance and sparks off the bench from our underclass men helping us rally and go in search of the equalizer.  It was not to be as we pushed numbers forward for an equalizer we conceded a second goal in the last minute to lose 2-0.  

On a positive note our women's team got the win they needed to qualify for their A10 championships and we will look to follow suit at home next weekend for our final 2 regular season games. 

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Women's team win over Richmond

Saturday Practice

After attending the GW volleyball game and win last night with Cerys it started the weekend off right.  A Colonials win on what is a busy sports weekend, as I mentioned in yesterday's blog, made me excited for practice today.  Watching the first half of Chelsea v Newcastle before I left the house I already had Dylan kicking the ball around before 8am much to my neighbors annoyance I'm sure.  Anyways, it was off to Mount Vernon and onto practice. 

Usual team meeting in our locker room before we got on the field to go over some final details for the game tomorrow.  A warm up by yours truly including a freshman dance off was followed by a shooting competition with the squad splitting into 2 groups.  How appropriate that we had a tie with 2 pairs of seniors going into sudden death in my group.  Shooting from outside the box on the dribble Solorzano started the sudden death shootout with a goal followed by Ranalli then Sandland then Hinners.  All 4 scoring taking it into round 2 of sudden death.  With someone blasted high into the tennis courts (you know who you are) it was left to Ranalli to just get in on target to win but he finished in style curling one into the upper 90.  To finish we ended with a 11v11 game and as we've down so many times this season we made it OT 20 mins or first team to score. After a entertaining 5 mins it was left to freshman Grevelink to get the winner and not sure if that's gonna count toward shaving off his beard as he waits for his first goal this year but it was awesome to see him score and the celebration that followed. 

After practice it was back home for arsenal v Liverpool and more exciting for me a late afternoon with the family and the mall.  After a power nap from both kids starting our adventure the afternoon became  early evening and then dinner before Dylan and Cerys started to get a little cranky (and me for that matter) it was time to go home.  

Southampton tied their game but gw volleyball won again to continue their great A10 season campaign so hopefully all teams participating tomorrow can continue the winning ways tomorrow.  Kick off High Noon hope to see you there

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Freshman forward Jopus Grevelink's winning goal, the first of many as a Colonial 

Friday almost the weekend

Upon waking this morning my bedroom was still dark and for a moment I thought it was still the middle of the night.  With Dylan running around and a quick look at the clock I knew it was my normal wake up time but the rain and mist outside had brought a dark start to the day.  It reminded me of when I was a kid and hated getting out of bed in the ose dark wet winter mornings in Wales.  Once I got up I was looking forward to getting to practice but bad weather usually brings bad traffic even so the morning commute couldn't bring me down as it's Friday and the weekend is here.  More importantly the weekend means game days and it's a busy weekend at GW. 

Women's soccer has 2 games and on Sunday playing at 3pm after our game at noon the chance to qualify for the A10 tournament.  With 6 games left Volleyball has 2 home games and has its destiny to qualify in their own hands (no pun intended) as they entertain Dayton and Duquesne.  Women's and men's basketball opens their seasons with scrimmages on Saturday and Sunday respectively and last but not least our game v Mason at noon on Sunday as part of a soccer doubleheader.  These are just the home games so good luck to all the teams competing this weekend. 

By the time practice started this morning the heavy rain had stopped and the temperature was nice and cool as we started our warm up.  With the surface slick from the rain it was a great day to ping the ball around and after some possession we did just that in our 11v11 game.  Building on yesterday we wanted the guys to get the ball moving quickly and enjoy the running and supporting each other as we look to improve our fluidity and communication.  It's great to have the numbers for a full 11v11.  This time last season we didn't have enough fit players for a 7v7 so it certainly helps the group as we set up or team for the game this weekend.  My worry for Sunday is still our reluctance to take shots and being decisive in front of goal.  We are getting into good spots and now I want to see players taking decisions on themselves and getting into the stats column and box score.  One more session tomorrow before the game and we'll be making some tough decisions with the starting line up for Sunday after tomorrow and seeing some guys come through a full session.  

Just as important as winning games to me and the program is our performance in the classroom.  I'm pleased to say that senior forward Tyler Ranalli was named to the Capital One Academic All-District first team and now qualifies for the national ballot and possible Academic All American.  My first official recruit to come to GW seems so long ago but kudos to Tyler as he continues his great Fall season.  The article can be read here

http://www.gwsports.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/103113aac.html

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Team Co-Captain Tyler Ranalli