Tears On The Road

This past Tuesday Milwaukee men’s soccer team played its last game for the 2012 season as they went down 1-0 to Valparaiso.

It was also the end of an era for the three senior players; John Shakon, Jamie Bladen and Cody Banks, who saw their collegiate soccer career, come to an end in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament.

The Tournament birth came on the back of a hugely successful career under first year Head coach Kris Kelderman. Kelderman steered the Panthers to an overall record of 8-8-2 and a formidable home record of 6-1-0. However despite the home of the panthers being a fortress it would be another away day blue that brought an end to the season.

Having beaten Valparaiso the previous Saturday 2-1 to clinch a sport as the fifth seed in the tournament we headed into Indiana with optimism tat we could collect a win and see our selves progress to the tournament finals being held at number one seed Detroit.

The game itself was not one of particular flair and skill. It all came down to a mistake from our back line in which Valparaiso were able to capitalize on and record the victory that left us down and out. At the end of the game a lot of emotion was spilt as many of our players were reduced to tears seeing the programs most winning record since 2007, come to an end.

“I’m proud of every single one of you,” Kelderman said. “You’ve fought like dogs all season and worked your butts off. I believe I have made the best decision in my career coming to work with you guys and help rebuild that program. You should all leave here with your heads held high.

On a personal level the season for me has been a memorable one. I was a part of a team that has been on both sides of buzzer beaters. The highs have been high and the lows have been low. But if I could replay the whole season all over again I wouldn’t change a thing. 

Coming To A Close

The last couple of games in the regular season always leave a lasting mood on how the season as a whole has been. It doesn’t matter how well you have been doing throughout the year or how good of a season you had, you are only as good as your last game.

That being said we may have had our biggest amount of season wins since 2005 we still hadn’t clinched a seat at the Horizon League conference tournament table.

Wed, 24, we took on Detroit at Engelmann stadium. Engelmann has been somewhat of a fortress this season, helping us post a 5-0 record. This record came to and end, after the tie finished in a 1-0 loss, Detroit’s winner coming from a dubious penalty decision in the 46^th minute. Senior Jamie Bladen saw a red card after conceding the penalty kick.

Down to 10 men for most of the second half I felt we dominated though as the statistics would show. We out shot Detroit 14-4 and had 7 more corners. With all our pressure though we could not seem to make it pay and unfortunately came out of the game with nothing.

“I am more proud of you tonight than I have been all season,” coach Kelderman said. “You battled liked dogs out there and can leave here as proud as a peacock.” 

Friday we took to the road again, travelling to Ohio. Our fourth trip this year to a state where we haven’t had any success. This time we were heading to Wright State in our final road game of the 2012 regular schedule knowing that a win would guarantee us a place in the post-season tournament.

The brave battling performance of Wednesday against Detroit had long passed, as in the first 45 minutes of soccer there was only one team on the pitch. That unfortunately was Wright State. With a firm and necessary warning from our coach to step up our performance in the second half didn’t help us play any better. We went down 1-0.

There game itself wasn’t one that would be remembered for any soccer talent or moment of magic. It was a simple case of Wright State wanting it and having the will to win more than we did. Perhaps the whole of the raiders team was buoyed be their senior night. Whatever the case was we had left our true selves behind in Milwaukee and didn’t do the great soccer program that we have at UWM any justice.

We head into our game against Valparaiso at the weekend needing a win to make the conference tournament.   

On The Road In Ohio

When it comes to being a division one-student athlete there are many things that one must learn to deal with; practice, lifting, game days and of course school. Many people admire and look up to what these athletes can achieve, and rightly so. Working at the level which most professional athletes do in terms of practice and games is a lot to ask, and then there is the matter of juggling school work along side that too. Here is just a preview into the daily life of a division one soccer player.  

When it comes to match days we unfortunately aren’t able to play every game at Engelmann field in front of our terrific home support. This year sees us host only eight of our 17 regular season games so adapting to being on the road is something that our very young team is starting to learn.

Our second trip to Ohio out of four in the space of five weeks saw us leave for Bowling Green State University on a Monday afternoon for a Tuesday night game. This meant some classes would be missed and many of the players were glued to their laptops on the coach trying to catch up on homework or readings that would be missed.

The normal match day routine consists of spending all the time on the bus before we arrive at the hotel for the night. Once at the hotel we pick a restaurant to go and eat at, usually something that can provide a good supply of healthy food loaded with carbohydrates in preparation for the game itself. The sleeping arrangements are then two to a room, there are no set room mate as the coach believes that each player should build a rapport with each individual team mate, so team chemistry can be improved. The mornings are then complied of breakfast at the hotel, a jog and stretch before a pizza and pasta based pre game meal at a local restaurant.

The game itself was one that we dominated from start to finish. All of the statistics were in our favor; possession, corners, shots on goals. This was probably one of our better performances this season. However the most important statistic is the score, and this is the one area we lost in. A 2-1 victory to Bowling Green State was a bitter blow for the effort we had but in and the nine-hour drive back from Ohio felt a lot longer.

Teams experience a lot of emotions throughout the season. It truly is a rollercoaster ride in terms of highs and lows. We will learn to bounce back from this defeat. I’m a person after all who goes by the motto “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”.

Our next game is on the road again to Loyola University Chicago. Hopefully the team can learn from this tough pre conference schedule and begin the Horizon League on the right foot, with a win.

Bright Future For Revsbeck

The last time a goalkeeper for the UWM men’s soccer team kept a clean sheet in the first start was in 2003 that was until Connor Revsbeck broke this record on Wednesday night October 10^th against Wisconsin Badgers. The freshman from Lakeville, Minnesota made a string of saves for the Panthers in helping them to a 1-0 victory over the badgers. This performance helped Revsbeck pick up the defensive player of the week award from the Horizon League, the first of his collegiate career.

“I felt honored and really appreciated it,” Connor Revsbeck said when asked about receiving the award. “I was thankful to get the start and luckily enough it seemed to have paid off. I didn’t expect to see plenty of playing time this season but hoped to see the field eventually. I managed to get an award in my first start so I can’t complain.”

Revsbeck is use to success though, as in high school he picked up multiple awards for his performances between the goal posts. Named to the 2011 MSHSSCA Boys All-State the two-year captain lead his Lakeville Panthers to their first state appearance in his junior year. The accolades don’t stop there for the young freshman he was also a starter for the U-18 Minnesota Thunder Academy as well as having over a 92% save average.

Revsbeck then followed up this award with another clean sheet in just his second collegiate start against Nebraska-Omaha this Tuesday afternoon. The panthers now go on the road this Saturday taking on Cleveland State Vikings in League play before hosting Detroit Mercy on Wednesday afternoon at Engelmann Stadium.

Battling Against the Badgers

When it comes to sporting contests every athlete knows that they should treat each game as big as the other.  However, everyone looks at the schedule to see when the so-called bigger match ups are, and in-state rivalries are one of the biggest fixtures on the schedule.

Madison Wisconsin has always been a big fixture and on Wednesday night this was no different. We hadn’t beaten them since 2005 so to say this was a big game was a little bit of an understatement. With the financial wealth that Madison has it is fair to say that travelling to McClimon soccer complex is probably one of my favorite trips to make. The field is one that truly is a pleasure to play on, especially as there isn’t that many grass pitches in the Northern states of America. The surrounding and the wonderful campus also add to the occasion of playing in the state capitol.

The game itself was a bit of a dogged affair. The badgers at times were playing some attractive soccer, especially around the edge of our penalty area. However this is not a game of who has more territory. The key statistic is who has the most goals. Jamie Bladen’s second goal in as many games gave us the victory that I would say our gritty performance deserved. The senior from Doncaster, England scored the goal on what could be seen as against the run of play.  In the first half admittedly Wisconsin where the better team, they had a lot of possession but couldn’t turn it into anything. We managed to get to half time with the score at 0-0 and at the break Coach Kelderman said that we were doing fine be patient and we will win. As long as we stay solid at the back the goals will come.

The second half we showed the grit and determination that you need sometime in every aspect of life. There are times when you have to roll your sleeves up and just get on with the job in hand and this game was the case. Perhaps at times we were lucky to keep a clean sheet but I believe that luck evens itself out over the season and perhaps we were getting some good fortune from previous games where it hadn’t quite gone our way. All the boys stepped up to the plate and showed their metal, so to come away with a 1-0 victory was the least we deserved for our defensive efforts.

Our streak is now extended to being unbeaten in four games. This is now a crucial part in the season, we could either build on this and accelerate to try and become a potential force in the Horizon League, or we take our foot of the gas and see the potentials of a great season wither and die. It’s in our hands we just have to ask ourselves how much do we want it