Team Awards and End of Season Banquet

Last week the team got together for our end of season "banquet" (too grand a term) at Joe's Pizza in the Depot District in Richmond. The Charlie Matlack Award for Most Valuable Player was won by Irhad Strika, a senior from Bosnia whose Senior Day heroics were chronicled in an earlier post. Irhad played mostly in midfield over his four years and ended up an important contributor going forward from the middle. His free kick goal against Franklin sealed an important win and his earlier goals against good teams (DePauw and Transy) proved his quality as a threat to score in a big game.

To no one's surprise, the award for Most Valuable Attacking Player went to Ameer Yusuf, a sophomore from Palestine. Ameer attracted the attention of every opponent and one of our major tasks in the upcoming year will be to find ways of creating chances and scoring that come from other directions and lessen the load on him to create and finish our attack.

The Most Valuable Defensive Player Award was shared by Yamukumba Frank Mbaya and Mike Nsoesie. At the beginning of the year we were challenged to rebuild our defense, especially the middle, where we tried multiple combinations until we settled on Mike and Frank. Easily the smallest center back pair we saw this year, these two held their own in the air and kept us compact in midfield, making the game easier both in attack and defense.

The Lauren deCou Award for Most Valuable Firstyear was won by Ibrahim Diarra, the youngest of the 3 Diarra brothers who have come to Earlham. Ibra shows promise as that presence in front of goal we have lacked for many years. Case was forced to foul him, leading to the penalty we scored in that game and he had chances in the Thomas More game and the final against Rose that show us promise.

The Coaches' Award went to Endalkachew Demise. The award, in my mind, goes to the player that best demonstrates love for the game for its own sake. Demise "get's it"; his participation in every practice is marked by a smile and full commitment.

Two things to know about the pictures: Logan Murphy is pointing at a girl going by the window and notice how quickly the second year letter winners got those jackets on.

Multiculturalism: First Names and Ham Sandwiches

Every day you should learn something new and this year was no exception. Right at the beginning of the year we encountered an issue we might have anticipated. As Rob was taking down names for one of the reams of preseason paperwork he asked (as any Englishman would) for players to list surnames and Christian names. Back came the reply from some (Irhad, Shvan, Iqbal, others) that they didn't have "Christian" names so what should they put down. OK, first names and last names then. Easy enough.

Later, for one of our midweek road trips, I ordered some box lunches from the food service. Since I was a bit late with the order (my usual procedure), I didn't make any special requests. Half or better of the boxes come out with ham sandwiches. Alright, subtract the Muslims and Jews and I should still be OK. What I hadn't considered was that Muslims and Jews aren't alone in avoiding pork products. For example, Ethiopians don't eat ham. In the end I must confess to the deity that it was I who was the cause of sinning on the the part of some of my players.

Right, next time out it's PB&J's for all. Peanut allergies anyone ?

Recruiting for Earlham Soccer

Sometimes I refer to a quote from a 1975 movie, The Wind and the Lion, when I describe recruiting for Earlham:

The Raisuli to Theodore Roosevelt: You are like the wind and I like the lion. You form the tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place while you, like the wind, will never know yours.

Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the
Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates

Earlham is like the wind; we have no place, no recruiting homeland, no favored precincts. Many of the teams we play don't list state next to names on the roster---it's just assumed as almost everybody on the team comes from a relatively small (100 miles ?) radius. We, Rob and I, end up blowing through towns far away. Recently I've been on the phone to Turlock, CA and Jerusalem and many points in between. Between Teddy R and us there is this difference: We get it, he never did (in the movie, anyway).

Post Season Reflections

All the field equipment is put away, the first snowflakes have fallen, and the guys play indoor pickup every day at 4:30---it's late November and time to think back on some aspects of the year.

The schedule we played was set about this time last year and it was based on some assumptions I made about the team that would take the field this past fall. Unfortunately, and for a variety of reasons, that team never got to play. In the 2010 year there were 50 "starts" for graduating players out of a total of 198 possible (11 players starting 18 games) and that was a substantial, but not overwhelming turnover. What we never anticipated was that further attrition would eliminate players who made 42 starts last year, meaning we lost 92 and retained 106 starts. Apart from mere statistics, the loss of personalities was massive. This year we lose 18 starts to graduation and pray to lose no more than that.

I devised a schedule to challenge a veteran team in 2011. Teams we played this year outside of conference included:

Thomas More: Presidents Conference champions: 16-1-1: NCAA bid
DePauw: NCAC champions (beat OWU 4-2 at OWU) 16-2-1: NCAA bid
Ohio Northern: OAC champions (beat John Carroll 5-0 in title game) 18-2-2; NCAA bid
Case Western: UAA champions; 14-4; NCAA bid
Centre: SCAC runners up (beat #4 Trinity in semifinal) 14-5-1

That group's overall pre-NCAA tournament record: 78-14-5

No other team in the region played as many conference champions or NCAA teams. Can we be proud of starting the year 0-8, no, but we always knew we could play and eventually we were able to show people who we really were.

2012 Schedule

2012 Schedule (tentative)

Report Date: August 15

Aug. 25, Saturday Centre A 4PM (Scrimmage)

El Rodeo Raven Quaker Classic:
Aug. 31, Friday Cincinnati Christian H 6PM
Sept. 1, Saturday Millikin H 3PM


Sept. 8, Saturday DePauw H 2PM


Sept. 9, Sunday Wabash H 2PM


Sept. 12, Wednesday Oberlin H Freedom Trophy game 5PM


Sept. 15, Saturday Wilmington A 7:30PM


Sept. 18, Tuesday Thomas More H 5PM


Sept. 22, Saturday Wooster A 1:30PM


Sept. 26, Wednesday Wittenberg A 7:00PM


Sept. 29, Saturday Franklin* A 7:30PM


Oct. 3, Wednesday Defiance* H 4PM


Oct. 6, Saturday Bluffton* A (DH) 3:30 PM


Oct. 10, Tuesday Hanover* H 4PM


Oct. 13 Saturday, Anderson* H (DH) 3PM


Oct. 17, Wednesday Transylvania* A 4:00PM


Oct. 20, Saturday Manchester* H (DH) 3PM


Oct. 24, Wednesday Rose Hulman* A (DH)


Oct. 27 Saturday, Mount St. Joseph* H (DH) 3PM


Oct. 30-31 HCAC playoffs



*HCAC games

(DH)=Doubleheader, men and women

HCAC Final vs Rose Hulman

Another glorious fall day in Terre Haute and we play Rose for the championship. They have won 10 games in a row and have always looked to us like the best team in the conference despite having finished second to Transy. We start what has lately been our best lineup: Marshall in goal, Ferreira, Mbaya, Nsoesie, Kabeya in the back, Elko, Carroll, Strika, Campbell in midfield and Buitrago, Yusuf up front.

Though the early game is even, they break through in the 16th minute with a goal from distance that gets past Chris low to his left. Things get worse as Mike Carroll has to go off with a high ankle sprain after 22 minutes and cannot return. David Jones comes on and we settle a bit until late in the half when Rose scores again in the 32nd. We get to halftime down 0-2 and with more injury problems as Felipe is limping with a knock to his leg.

We get some good possession in the second half and are rewarded after 61 minutes when a Rose defender blocks a shot with an apparent arm (maybe a soft call). Corey dispatches the penalty and we are in it again. Our momentum doesn't last as they score 5 minutes later and then twice more before the end to make the final score look a bit worse than the game (shots was 13-8 them). I was pleased that we battled to the end and had late chances for Ameer and Iqbal Banwal stopped. Rose are deserving champs and go on the NCAA's along with 5 of the first 8 teams we played this year. A later post will talk about our schedule---this year and next's.

The guys were upbeat despite the loss; we have an appreciation for the challenges we were handed this year and how we dealt with them. A later post will also deal with how we were "a brick short" and the specific needs we must address in recruiting in the near future. I wish I had a photo of 5'8" Frank Mbaya marking 6'8" Clint Vaterrodt from Rose on corners.

This week is transition for all of us here. The players still have injury situations to rehab and should begin to establish momentum with offseason work. If we retain 80% of our fitness level, which was considerable this year, we'll be far ahead in the spring season. The coaches prepare for the dash to admissions deadlines and the dozen or so tournaments we'll be seeing. Rob is the "cold weather specialist", going to Jersey and New England tournaments generally, where as I have the task of pursuing these young men down in North Carolina and Florida...grueling. I'll post again with specifics so that if we're in you neighborhood, drop a line and say 'hi'. We'll both be aound NYC for Thanksgiving.

HCAC Semifinal vs Transylvania

Perfect weather day in Lexington for our semifinal with Transy. As usual, we're missing players, this time regular left back Arsene Kabeya (card accumulation) so we have Corey Campbell at left back and David Jones at left midfield. Another really tight game where we are defending in depth and looking to counter through Ameer Yusuf and Felipe Buitrago. David, a center midfield player normally, has a bit of trouble with their right mid in the first half but there are few chances and they are banging shots from distance and flighting all kinds of balls in creating a statistical advantage.

Second half we're better, Dave adjusts against the Transy player's threat and we get some more possession and a few chances. Chris Marshall makes a good save on his right and the game moves on toward OT where we're 0-5 this year. We use only one substitute (Scott Lawrence) on the day but we are finishing stronger than them despite their advantage in depth. Both 10 minute OT periods pass without major incident. To penalties we go...

We've practiced in anticipation of this eventuality but I'm not totally confident since some of our shooters have a tendency to go for highlight reel shooting in this situation. We go first and Corey slots it confidently. Chris (GK) helps us enormously by saving their first PK down to his right. Irhad Strika, Ameer and Mike Carroll follow with exemplary finishes, none more than knee high and their keeper is nowhere close to any of them. They score numbers two and three but Chris goes to his left to save #4 and it's over. Pandemonium...people running all over, hugs, group hugs, fist pumping drama.

We were so excited that when we got out to the bus I told the driver we were ready (counted 20 players) without realizing we didn't have an assistant coach aboard. Bus went around the block and we picked Rob up back at the field where he sat bemused. We went on to the Jones' house (see earlier Transy blogpost) where Paula Hollis had arranged a dinner for us (photos). We got back home to ring the bell about 12 midnight to find our locker room decorated by the women's team (who have a home semifinal vs. Bluffton today--Weds.). Ceremony: we ring the bell and cease to be conquering heroes and are now kids with homework to do and a short night to do it.

Post script: Rose Hulman beat Mount St. Joseph 8-0 in the other semifinal. Many ways to look at that; most impressive semi winner often loses the final but Rose are really good, well coached and have great character so we still have a mountainous task in front of us. HCAC final at Rose Hulman at 1PM Saturday.

Conference finale/Senior Day/Franklin

We're at home against Franklin for an absolute "must win" game. Franklin has a remote chance of getting into the playoffs but we're in with a win and two other matches going according to form: Transy (#1) must beat Anderson (#4) and Rose Hulman (#2) must beat Defiance (#5). The training room and Bill Kinsey, head trainer, have done an amazing job with Felipe Buitrago, whose knee looked really bad (pregnant with twins) after the Rose game. In a furthercomplication, Felipe has to go to Indy Saturday morning to take the TOEFL to go on the London program next term. Why? Do they think his English has gotten worse after being at EC ? Ameer Yusuf looks like he's coming out for the 15th round against Apollo Creed after the collision in the Rose game. Nonetheless, one of the 3 recruits I have on campus for the game tells me the locker room is "amped" before the game.

It's Senior Day for Irhad Strika, Pablo Hernandez Romero, and longtime scorekeeper Spencer Smith (subject of a later post). Rob Richardson has gone behind my back to make the day special. He dug up a Bosnian flag from the International Programs Office and found a rendition of the Bosnian national anthem on line to play before the game. I'm worrying how our guests might react to the idea (we had previously played our anthem before the women's game) and I'm worried about flag etiquette until we place the US flag up on the video tower. Frank Carr (AD) is in on the plan and it comes off nicely and everyone is pleased, Irhad most of all:

The game is very tight, both sides very careful until we break through in the 39th minute when Felipe's chip releases Ameer who beats the onrushing keeper with an excellent touch over him. The game remains very close with few chances for either team (7-5 us in shots on the day) but we've lost many leads late in matches this year so the tension is high. In the 87th minute we get an indirect on the top of the box and Corey Campbell touches it for Irhad to slam into the net over the wall. Relief !! Irhad seals it 2 minutes later by beating a defender on the right and playing across to Ameer for the finish. 3-0 doesn't reflect the closeness of the game. Our biggest win in quite some time. Later we learn that results have gone our way and we're in a conference tournament for the first time since 1999 and in the HCAC for the first time.

Stellar performances from Irhad, Ameer, Felipe, David Jones (90 minutes at center mf), Our back four and Chris Marshall in goal. I can tell you that if the locker room was "amped" before the game, it was tumultuous and triumphant after. Irhad got a bath from the water coolers from the team. In a later post, I'll tell how this team is special---they really are. We play Transy Tuesday at 2PM.

My only worry is that we may have set a precedent with the anthem thing: next year when I have 2 seniors from New Jersey will I have to play Born To Run (Springsteen) ?

Rose Hulman Game

A rainy night in Terre Haute and we travel with the women (2-0 winners) to play Rose. They're coached by Sean Halliwell, a Brit (Huddersfield) who played and assisted at Western Kentucky for a college teammate and classmate of mine, David Holmes. Both Rob and I have great respect for Sean who produces classy, ball-playing sides that are very difficult to break down. We begin well enough through about the 25th minute when Ameer collides with one of their players and has to go off with a concussion and some cuts. He couldn't return. Rose had scored a goal early when a pass split our central defenders. In the 40th minute, Clint Vaterrodt (#3), their 6'8" striker got to a corner and made it 2-0. Chris Marshall in goal for us was very good and made a couple of good stops. We had some chances but their keeper was sharp, too.


The rain continued in the second half and we got some good possession but we couldn't make an impact. Ibrahim Diarra had a header well-saved by the Rose keeper and they scored again with about 12 minutes left for a 3-0 scoreline. Overall a nice match of real football, only 11 fouls between the teams and we all think this was the best team we saw in conference. We were missing Mike Carroll and Tamru Taye and we picked up an injury to Felipe Buitrago that might prove costly as we head to the last regular season game needing to win and get help in other matches to make the tournament.

Manchester Game

Traveled with the women to play Manchester on their Senior Day. Lovely day and a lovely field to play on; Manchester head coach Dave Good also runs the grounds department at the college and it shows---a beautiful campus and playing fields. We're missing top scorer Ameer Yusuf to card accumulation so we're playing with former right back Tamru Taye as striker.



We start brightly (as usual), dominant in possession and territory and Evan Elko gets down the right and plays a super ball across that Irhad Stika somehow plays against the post and then wide on the rebound. Tamru has a chance from an angle that goes wide. The opposing coaches are yelling at their team for being 'too casual' which usually mean they're trying to play soccer against us and losing the battle. Half ends 0-0.


At halftime I warned that Manchester would come out and try to deal with us directly and physically, which has been the normal response of our opponents all year. We're caught napping by a long ball over the top in the 47th minute to their #10, Dion Radev, who finishes. Less than a minute later we're still stunned when they run a ball through our backs and finish for 2-0. We do recover and resume playing until Mike Carroll gets a second yellow for a bad challenge and we're down to 10 men. Still, we play and Alex Ferreira finds Tamru with a ball over the top which Tamru finishes with an impressive left foot volley lob for 2-1with 12 minutes left. We get some more pressure on them and Tamru has a chance in the 89th minute which goes just wide. Half chances for Irhad and David Jones follow but the game ends 2-1. Stats show the teams level on shots with us having the edge in shots on target despite playing a man down for 25 minutes-
but another frustrating result.





We're still alone in 4th in the HCAC and in control of our destiny but we face 2nd place Rose Hulman this Wednesday with conference leading scorer Clint Vaterrodt who stands 6'8' tall. Both our central defenders are a foot shorter. Wins in our 2 remaining games will see us into the conference tournament but less than that ?





When I sum up the season in this space and with the guys I will certainly discuss the problem we've had with cards this year. Far too many important games missed. We get Ameer back this week but we lose Mike Carroll for both remaining regular season games. Improvisation will be the word this week.

Woolly Hat Practice

This past Thursday was dubbed a "woolly hat practice" by Rob Richardson, our assistant coach. Strong words from someone who grew up a few miles from the North Sea. Unless you live here in the great Midwest, you may not really get the meaning of Rob's pronouncement or how it defines soccer season hereabouts. Our season began in August with a record dry summer and temperatures over 100 for our first game. The weather has changed in fits and starts since but this day was the first cold enough to make you look for your woolly hat. Intermittent rain

in

and spray, winds of about 30 mph with higher gusts and a temperature of 42 at the start of practice: kind of like playing in a carwash, a very cold carwash.

The first cold practices force decisions; traditionally the old match warmups are used for practices but Rob found only 10 or so. Justice in cases like this demands equality, but how ? Rob did find about 10 years worth of old keeper jerseys so we handed them out to everyone. The practice that followed can really only be appreciated by those who've been there and experienced the luxury of a hot shower after it's done---memories.

Tomorrow (Friday) we'll work on defending set pieces, have a team pizza dinner at Spanish House and go bowling. Saturday's game is a huge opportunity for us to get our place in the postseason

.