TicketsAug. 9, 2006
Throughout the 2006-07 school year, select UC student-athletes will share their experiences on and off the field with Bearcat fans through CATSblogs. These student-athletes will take you in to the life of a Bearcat and share their struggles and triumphs. Fans can email their favorite CATSblogger here! Be sure to include your name and hometown.
Mike Vessells is a senior goalkeeper on the men's soccer team. He is a third-year captain, majoring in marketing. Mike Dwyer is a senior midfielder on the men's soccer team. The finance major spent a quarter studying in Chile with Vessells last winter.
Difficult games - Sept. 21
Sometimes the games that should be guaranteed wins end up being the hardest games. Whether the problem is underestimating the other opponent, or not being as mentally prepared and excited to play as the other big games. This happens in every sport and at every level. The difference between good teams and great teams is their ability to overcome the mental lapses and get the job done regardless. Specifically in the game of soccer, the scores are usually small and one mistake here and a missed chance there can leave your team dumbfounded in the end. That has been a problem for our team in the past. Beating a highly ranked opponent one night and then playing someone that we know we should beat the next game is a difficult situation. Last night we played an opponent that we all knew that we needed to beat and should beat. The first half was a little suspect but we had our chances and ended the half at 1-1 and the reality of the score sank in, we came out blazing in the second half scoring two well earned goals. I am very proud of our team, working hard, winning 50-50 balls and not giving up till the end. Last night was a critical game in our season because the win was needed and we came out and got the job done. We need to continue the hard work and passion to win in every game for the rest of this season regardless of the opponent in order to achieve the success we are looking for.
Vessells
Back on the winning track - Sept. 19
After a few setbacks and disappointments this season, our home stretch has already proven to be to our advantage. After our a good win in our BIG EAST home opener Friday against Marquette and a big win against No. 12 Notre Dame at home, things are beginning to turn in our direction. We look like a completely different team between the team last week and the team this week. Everything now seems to be flowing like we had planned and we are all on the same page. I can't say what caused this sudden change, but I am glad that it happened when it did. Losing the first two BIG EAST matches really put us in a vulnerable situation. With high expectations for our team this year, things were looking cloudy on the direction our team was headed. Now with three more critical home games, two in the BIG EAST, our future is in our hands and we determine how we will finish in the conference and the rest of our season. Our next match is tomorrow, Wednesday the 20th, when we take on , then Saturday we play against . Personally, the game on Saturday has an extra importance due to my poor performance last year at and I am sure that the team will agree that was witness to our worst game last year and we are going to make sure that doesn't happen again.
Preseason Recap - Aug. 21
We opened our exhibition matches first against IUPUI in . It was our first time playing a real game against another opponent and we had only been practicing together for a week but the outcome came in our favor 1-0. Kenny scored the game's only goal in the second half. The next morning we were supposed to have something known as the breakfast club for those who did not pass all of their fitness test, but to everyone's enjoyment the coaches gave us the morning off because of the hard work that we put forth during the game and the recovery that we need for our next match to be played in a few days. The next exhibition game was played in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the IPFW soccer showcase. We played on Thursday, the 17th and other college teams from all over the country came in to have a game as well. We ended up on the better side of the result once again with Kwame scoring a header goal off of a restart towards the end of the game. We felt that this second match was a better played match on our part then the first one. We got back onto campus around one in the morning and we were able to sleep in until lunch which everyone enjoyed. Our last preseason match was against the on our home field on Sunday, the 20th. The match started out in our favor with us having the majority of the offensive threats. Then one breakdown in our defense ended up with a goal making it 1-0 at half time. Going down a goal was nothing new to our team, we had the ability to turn it on when our backs were against the wall but in the second half scored again, they were now leading 2-0. At this point you could tell that everyone was getting a little nervous. Playing our first home game and going down two goals was no way to start, so we fired back. First a great run from Noah through the midfield and a pinpoint finish gave us our first goal. Soon thereafter Kevin hit a miraculous goal from 40 yards away evening the score at 2-2. Then Kwame smashed home the third goal, giving us the lead. We scored again with another blast from Kenny making the score 4-2. Then we fell back on our heels and scored two more in the closing minutes of the game making the end result a 4-4 tie. We were surely not happy with the way the score ended up but had to commend our team resolve to come back from the deficit. There were a lot of things that we learned from this last game that I feel will make our team stronger heading to the season.
Aug. 19
Greetings to all fellow Bearcats!
I know you have all been waiting for the next episode of Mike'd up, so here it is.
Preseason hell has finally come to an end. All the pain, all the sweat, all the tears. All for one purpose--Kotahitanga! (the fusion of all necessary elements in order to obtain true unified strength) and an essential step towards a spot in the 2006 NCAA tourney. After exposing ourselves through countless hours of training in the hot sun, gushing blisters, broken toenails, sub-zero whirlpools, duct tape engineering, getting past 25 in Bizz Buzz, conquering I SO CO and Ensley jokes, I can honestly say that we are ready for battle (lets just hope it's not the battle of Bizz Buzz...in that case we might have to put 25 on the seven chain if we want to compete...again Lionel...start over!).
Anyways, back to the tears of preseason... I don't think anyone really cried except for Kwame when we all made him go down the 100ft water slide during one of our team building activities. Good job Kwame. You did it. In the words of Joe Rogan, "Fear is obviously not a factor."
Mike Dwyer's Deep Thoughts: "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." Well Mr. Dickens, which one was it? Was it the best or was it the worst? Or was it last Sunday's match against ?
Aug. 9
Preseason started on Tuesday the 8th at noon when we reported to the soccer office to check in that we were in town. The next step was to move our belongings into the dorms and then meet in the locker room to begin our long day of meetings. Once we finished our compliance and academic meetings and took care of a little testing in the training room it was off to dinner, then to sit and prepare ourselves for the mental and physical challenge of the cooper run at midnight.
Around 11:00 pm most of the guys headed to the locker room. Some went to the whirlpool to loosen up and some just prepared by listening to music. Our patience was running thin, everyone was antsy to get out on the track and see how fast they could run the two mile. When we got out there the lights got turned on and everyone started to feel their nerves begin to shake. We were split into two groups, the excitement and motivation by the other group really helped as people started to tire out there on the track. A good majority of our team made the cooper run which is impressive for standards. Then we all got in the cold tank after practice, and then headed to the dorms. Around 1:30 a.m. we all took a few snips at the freshmen and eventually feel asleep around 2.
31
Aug. 8
At the very stroke of midnight the madness of preseason had begun. There were no slam dunk contests or three point shot competitions. Although that would have been fun, especially if we added a little soccer flavor to it...bicycle kicks, 3 v 3 competitions, juggling tricks etc. But no, it was real midnight madness, or insanity rather--a 2 mile Cooper run. For fear of this midnight madness all summer, most of us escaped unscathed. The lucky few who passed avoided, for the time being, the ever dreadful "breakfast club." The breakfast club is, of course, much like detention however there is no hanging out in the library with Emilio Estevez. `You mess with the bull and you get the horns'...and a private membership to Curtis Bostic's get-fit-quick club. Bring on the pain!
After the Cooper run, we knew preseason had officially kicked off. In less than six hours we were chowin' down breakfast and lacing up our boots for the second practice of the day.
Right now, most of us are taking a much deserved siesta or playing PS2. Me, however, I'm off to do a little hydrotherapy to speed up the recovery process and then its back out to the field this evening.
Mike Dwyer's Deep Thoughts: Some call preseason hell. I call the most important element to becoming what it takes to become contenders at the national level. It is not easy, but it is essential. It also reminds me of a great country song by Rodney Atkins,
If you're going through hell
Keep on going, Don't slow down
If you're scared, don't show it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there
Keep on keeping on. Life is a garden, ya dig?
Mike D