We miss 100% of the shots we don't take

The team walked away with a disappointing 4-0 loss to conference opponent Cardinal Stritch last night. Giving up an early goal in the 14th minute, the team was able to generate some offensive attacks for the last 17 minutes of play in the first half; however, could not put a shot on goal.

Stritch came out hard in the second half and found the back of the net again in the 61st minute. For the second straight game we gave up an own goal (in the 71st minute) and allowed one final goal in the 79th minute.

While we improved our speed of play and were able to attack more in our offensive third, we simply lack the confidence to shoot the ball within our range (recording only two shots all game). Instead we constantly look for the "perfect shot"!

Remember the Titans

A lesson on success

It's easy to have faith in yourself and discipline when you're a winner, but if you want to be a winner you must have faith and discipline even when you're not a winner.
- Vince Lombardi

Another bump in the road

Over the weekend, the team faced Robert Morris, another tough conference opponent, and suffered a demoralizing 10-0 loss (including scoring an own goal).

Finding the Positives:
- Kari Stanley playing consistently on offense AND defense
- Linda Munoz for her effort in goal
- Brenda Ramirez for challenging 50/50 balls

Facing the Giants

A tale of two halfs

Give your best. Play with heart. Build us a stone wall. Don't defeat ourselves. Those were the coaching points given prior to our Judson game last night. And after the first 45 minutes of play, the team did just that. We improved our defensive shape, got behind the ball and were able to play a higher line of confrontation. We frustrated Judson's attack and came out 2-0 at halftime.

However, the second half we defeated ourselves conceding four goals in 11 minutes and losing 8-0. Despite the fact that our reliable defender, Angie Malinowski, was out injured, we lacked the mental toughness needed to play our game, to drown out our own perceptions of our opponent.

Conference play starts today

We open our tough CCAC conference play with Judson (4-2-1) on the road today. And just when we figured out our starting 11, we lose one of our key defenders to an injury (from last Saturday's match against Goshen). Can we shut down CCAC Player of the Year, Christina Thornton and the Eagles?

Focus on the destination, not on the obstacle

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. - Henry Ford

Have you ever noticed that sometimes you catch yourself focused on the problem instead of looking ahead to your goal or destination and figuring out how to get there?

If you focus on the fact that you don't have any willpower to stick to your eating plan, or you have bad habits, or you don't think you can find exercise that you enjoy, you will hit those barriers and probably not pass them. You must be aware of the challenges you face in order to navigate past them, but don't make your obstacle the focus.

Your focus should be on where you're going next and how you're going to get there!

Goshen loss prepares team

Despite losing last night 3-0 to Goshen, the team continues to show improvement. In our last non-conference, match we made some changes to our line-up in preparation for our remaining 10 conference matches. Since the beginning of the season, the goal has always been to use our non-conference games as an opportunity to work out the kinks before we play against our CCAC opponents. And we've finally found our starting 11!

Linda Munoz came up with some big saves, tallying 9 for the night, to keep us in the game. Amanda Churilla has added some consistency to our defense for the past two matches and Brenda Ramirez proved to be a tough nosed defender after being moved from midfield to defense last night.

If we can play with consistency each game for 90 minutes, we will be able to hold our own in the CCAC. We've improved a lot already since last since and our stats prove it!

Goshen Highlight Video

Calumet College dedicates activity center

It has been nearly 40 years since Amoco donated a six-story building to the Missionaries of the Precious Blood to establish a main campus for Calumet College of St. Joseph. And while enrollment has grown since then, the campus hasn't -- until now.

Hundreds of students, faculty, alumni and residents gathered Thursday afternoon on the Robertsdale campus to dedicate the college's Student Activity and Community Center. College President Dennis Rittenmeyer said the $4.5 million building is a testament to the dedication of the college community.

Read Complete NWI Times Article

Other Articles:
New facility at Cal College long overdue
College dedicated $4.5M gymnasium

Defensive breakdowns costly against Taylor

In a 10-minute span we defeated ourselves on mental breakdowns suffering a 4-1 loss to Taylor Upland yesterday. Taylor capitalized on goal scoring opportunities in the 37th, 42nd, 44th and 47th minutes of play. Late in the second half, Kari Stanley, scored our only goal on a penalty kick; however, it wasn't enough to get us back into the game.

We have one more non-conference match on Saturday against Goshen to prepare for our conference play which kicks off next Wednesday against Judson.

Taylor's upcoming game .

This week, in my perspective, has been the most effective since the season officially started. Although our fitness should be at a high level at this point, we still need some work on it. In the past couple of games, we came to the conclusion that we have many things to work on, such as team shape and change of pace. Consequently, we focused on running these past two practice days. I believe it helped us out in our confidence level of play. Now it is time to focus on tomorrow's game. Team shape will be essential to bring a win to the house. After Ashford's game, we noticed some points that will be fix in this next game. Showing up to the field in a positive way will determine our success. Go wave!. Lets bring it.
Gabriela Rodriguez #10

Week off to a good start

After a slow start to our training session this morning, I think we may have finally tapped into our "competitive edge". Very pleased with the way we finished today! Let's hope that we can continue with the same intensity tomorrow as we prepare for Taylor on Wednesday.

Something to think about

Failure happens all the time. It happens every day in practice. What makes you better is how you react to it.
- Michigan recruit favorite quote

Disappointing loss to Ashford

The team traveled back to Iowa yesterday to face Ashford who was coming off a 1-0 stunning victory over nationally ranked Trinity Christian earlier in the week. Playing with only 11 players, the team suffered a disappointing 5-0 loss.

After giving up 4 goals in the first half, the team fought through the second half and conceded only 1 goal. Solid defensive play by Evelyn Morales and Angie Malinowski. Miriam Ojeda came up big with two defensive saves.

With only two non-conference matches remaining before facing our tough conference play, can we dig down deep to play consistent soccer for 90 minutes? Do we believe that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE?

Encouraging words

Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. - Galatians 6:9

Success at Crimson Wave Invite

The team ended the program's losing streak by defeating Waldorf 2-1 in overtime on Saturday in the Crimson Wave Invite. Gaby Rodriquez scored both goals, including the game winning goal 2:53 into overtime.

In the championship game on Sunday against the University of St. Mary's, the team fought a tough battle; however, came up short 2-1. Gaby scored the team's only goal, adding three goals to her name in two days.

Gaby along with Linda Munoz and Lesly Cuadra were named to the Crimson Wave All-Invite Team.

In one short week the team has seen many small victories and a dramatic improvement from our 0-2 start. We are now 1-4 overall and hope to continue our forward progress as we prepare for our match against Ashford!

Soccer , Thursday

Yesterday we had our soccer game at Iowa against William Penn University. Although we took a loss, our team has improved dramatically over the past few days. It feels like if we have finally found players' positions on the field. We are getting closer to scoring and i am positive that we will take a win this upcoming game on Saturday. There is nothing in this world better than to stay positive:)
Gabriela Rodriguez #10.

Positive 4-0 Loss to William Penn

Despite losing 4-0 yesterday against William Penn, the team's shape and ball movement improved from our last two games in Omaha. We had great defensive plays by Angela Malinowksi and Alejandra Cuadra, both of whom were coming off of injuries and Kari Stanley and Amanda Churilla were able to generate some shots up top.

We are taking a day of recovery today before preparing tomorrow for our first home game against Waldorf on Saturday at 9 am in the Crimson Wave Invite. Depending on the outcome of the game we will face either Mountain State or University of St. Mary's on Sunday.