Buffalo/Fredonia

As a four year player here at Plattsburgh, I have never lost 3 regular season games. It was inconceivable to think that I would lose 3 conference games in a season but it is now a reality. It is hard thing to take for some of the seniors. I am not saying that the younger players aren’t hurt by the defeats but the teams that they come from or the teams that they have friends on are ok with 3 losses. To most teams 3 losses is still a good season, not this team. By no means are we having a bad season as all of our goals are still attainable but we are not having the season we are capable of.

The Buff State game was not as easy as the score line suggested because of the weather. It was a blustery day there, as per usual, and it was hard to play to play the ball around but we tried to keep it on the deck as much as possible. We went into the break up a goal after Shaughnessy deflected Erik’s shot in. After the break we got one from Lojo with a nicely timed header and then Byrnes finished it off late with a rare goal. His was actually nice a one as he chipped the goalie from outside the box. I am still unsure of where the goalie was standing and it was a bit of a gift that most people wouldn’t even count but Byrnes will take it.

The next day we played Fredonia who are a very good team and have played a very ambitious schedule. This is why they are below .500 overall but they are a much better team than that record suggests. Their whole field/complex is a joy to play at. The surroundings are amazing and it’s a lovely pitch with a great stand. We played well in the first half and Hamilton finished a one on one that he created all on his own. His hard work closing down the defender resulted in him blocking a clearance and then he knocked one in off the post. We felt somewhat comfortable at the half and felt we could slip one or two more in before the end. Unfortunately we had gotten ahead of ourselves again and Fredonia came out with an intent and purpose. Our team defending was poor and their forwards are very dangerous. When you don’t defend them properly they will punish you and they did just that. At 1-1 I wasn’t overly concerned and thought we could go back ahead but a long hopeful ball from them caused havoc in our defense and one of their players headed the ball over Andy. I think on behalf of everyone I can say that they were two goals that were extremely preventable just by keeping good habits and doing the right things. We can get a bit complacent and take shortcuts with our team defending sometimes and in the past we have gotten away with it but a lack of communication and closing down really hurt us yesterday.

After that we lost two players to injury that list is an ever growing one as, and we had to make some changes. It is hard for some of us to play two games in two days. I certainly took a while to adjust to it and it still takes a huge toll on your body. There are a few of us who play almost every minute and we can’t sustain a high level for all of it unfortunately. I don’t care what anyone says, you will get tired at some point. The changes kind of made us unorganized but they were changes we had to make. To sum up our second half performance we took too many touches on the ball, didn’t look to pass to feet and didn’t keep good habits.

We now are looking at a play in game for playoffs which is something I have never experienced. It is not as bad as it seems though. When you get a bye for playoffs you are looking at 2 weeks without a game, now with a play in game we can keep playing. With a 2 week layoff we tend to over analyze ourselves and practice too much. Without games I don’t think it helps.

We go back to work on Monday knowing we have a huge game on Wednesday against St. Lawrence. They are a team that I respect more than most because of their style of play. They pass the ball around beautifully and play the way the game is supposed to be played. If we are still in contention for an at-large bid into the NCAA’s then this is a must win game. They have a great record this year and it will go a long way to making people forget our losses if we can get a good result. With all of our injuries there will be a lot of people needing to make a statement in practice this week because they will have a legitimate shot at playing.

One last thing, I know Liverpool lost the derby against Everton but we are officially under new ownership and that means we can move on from the terrible few years under those cowboys. I now all of you who are Red Sox fans will now convert to Liverpool fans now, do the right thing.

Oh and here is Dinho, he's back!


Til’ next time,

Taylor