October 27, 2014

Entering this past week, we as a team had one thing on our mind. That one thing was playoffs, and we had our sights set on them since August 15 when preseason training began. This week saw us have two opportunities to take a step closer to clinching a place in the playoffs as we currently occupy the sixth and final spot. On Wednesday, we faced first-place Elms College which was an undefeated 3-0 in conference play. Though we played exceptionally well, threatened Elms’ goal for 90 minutes, and arguably deserved a result, we were unable to keep them off of the scoreboard and suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat.

The week was not over, however, as we would be on the road on Saturday to face Regis College in a game that could put us in the driver's seat for that last playoff spot. We did not play with the same conviction as we did against Elms College and Regis made us pay for it as they earned a 3-0 victory on their Senior Day.

We have only one game remaining in the season against Newbury College. Should we win, we will earn our spot in the 2014 NECC playoffs. If we lose however, Newbury College would move into the final playoff spot. This final-week showdown (also our Senior Day) is on Saturday, November 1 at 1 p.m. on Everett Field.

October 20, 2014

This week was a big one for the team. With two very winnable games this week we, as a team, had to be in tip-top shape to take the wins and keep our conference playoff hunt alive.

October 7, 2014

This week was a tough one for the boys and I, and not one that we are particularly proud of. Wednesday saw us face Sage College in non-conference competition where we were downed by six goals, five of which were scored in the first half. The first half was not one of our better showings this season as there was an apparent lack of interest and focus which was taken advantage of by the Gators. The second half was a much better story that saw us battle for 40 scoreless minutes, allowing the sixth goal of the game with only four minutes left down to 10 men due to injury. We took it as a learning experience and looked forward to facing Daniel Webster College on Saturday in our second conference game of the year.

A slow start saw us fall behind 20 minutes into the game, and we struggled to gain momentum early on. DWC would fire in two more goals on its way to defeating us 3-0 as we would fall to 0-1-1 in conference.  As we continue to hunt for our first win of the season, we also search for some form of consistency in our matches. We are hoping to take some strides forward against Castleton State College in one of our last non-conference games of the season to re-gain focus as we move closer to full-time conference competition.

September 29, 2014

This past week saw us play only one mid-week game against Norwich before heading into conference play on Saturday against Lesley.

On Wednesday, we faced a disciplined Norwich side that took advantage of our mistakes and fired four goals past us. While this was no doubt a disappointing result, we did take some positives and some comfort in knowing that we played well at times in the game and knew what needed to be tidied up in the days leading up to our first conference game against Lesley University on Saturday. 

Saturday came quickly, and we were determined not to disappoint our packed stands on Homecoming Weekend. We did not, as we held the projected No. 2 ranked team in the conference 0-0 through the half with some threatening moments in the attack. Our work was cut out for us three minutes into the second half when starting left-back James Tschinkel was given a questionable red card. After some tactical changes out of necessity, the work of our ten men along with some spectacular goalkeeping by freshman Cody Gross contributed to keep Lesley off the board through regulation and both overtimes.

We start off conference 0-0-1 and gain some confidence heading into our next week where we face The Sage Colleges on Wednesday, and then we are back to conference play with Daniel Webster College on Saturday. As always, I’m Marc Massena and this has been 'The Mind of Massena.'

September 22, 2014

Following up after a tough week that saw us play two high quality teams: Middlebury College (#7 in New England by the NSCAA poll and #2 in the nation by the TopDrawerSoccer poll), and the University of Maine at Fort Kent which was coming off a 2013 USCAA National Championship appearance.

The week started off with our matchup against Middlebury. Focused, determined, and disciplined, we set out to frustrate the Panthers. We played very defensively and compact and it worked until about seven minutes from the half when Middlebury broke the deadlock and took the 1-0 lead heading into the break. The second half was a much more open game that saw the Panthers fire three more goals past us to finish the game 4-0.

Only two days later, we faced another well-respected opponent, University of Maine at Fort Kent. We were unable to replicate the razor sharp focus that we showed against Middlebury and that showed when UMFK opened the scoring just 12 seconds into the game. Stunned and in disbelief, everyone in attendance at Everett Field was silent. The quietest I had ever heard our usually-rowdy and enthusiastic crowd. The pressure remained for 90 minutes and they would go on to score four more times. There were positives that could be taken from the game, though, when Erik Argueta scored off of some well-facilitated passing and a great cross from freshman midfielder David Ganter. The games finished 4-0 and 5-1, respectively, but there were things to be learned from this week. With these games now behind us, we look forth to a positive performance at Norwich as our last game before conference competition begins. As always- I am Marc Massena, and this has been 'The Mind of Massena.' 

September 16, 2014

As we push forth toward the middle stretch of the season and approaching conference play, we, as a team, have found many small victories in the previous games. Firstly, we have not allowed more than three goals in any of our games, nor have we lost by more than one goal. These small successes, however, did not satisfy the desire for wins in any of us at the time as we strived to end a tough week - that saw us drop games to Green Mountain College 3-2, and Bard College 1-0 - on a positive note when we faced Pine Manor.

Despite our best efforts and 90 minutes, plus overtime, of nonstop work, we were unable to get the result we had hoped for as we fell 3-2 in overtime. This disappointment left our locker room silent in the moments following the game. The heartbreaking defeat seemed to be exactly what the team needed as we seemed to rally around each other with a conviction and commitment that had not been exhibited before. We vowed to each other that this game and the games that preceded it would not define our season or us as a program.

Through the loss to Pine Manor, we, as a team, have found a re-focused motivation and drive to push forward. We have found a new beginning in the wake of a tough loss; however, we must now focus on the future, and that is exactly what we intend to do.

September 8, 2014

We are back in the full swing of things. The season has begun, the newcomers have settled in, and the injuries are starting to disappear. Injuries have been the main topic of concern for us as a team the past few weeks as we have been bitten hard and often by the proverbial, “injury bug.” It first started with some sore legs and backs, a regular occurrence for the grueling expectations of a college soccer preseason, but it soon became serious when more than half of our team was nursing some type of muscular injury. The main culprits: groins and hip flexors had eight of our-then 14 players in the athletic training room prior to practice, and our amazing athletic training staff, Ashley Hodges and Alyssa Diamond, struggling to keep up. The injury bug was not finished with us, however, and it bit once again when we lost junior forward Matt Snow to an injury that threatens to end his season. Despite the setbacks, we have been able to push through and compete.

Some new and exciting news on campus comes by way of the NCAA’s new consortium ruling that allows athletes at neighboring Bennington College to play for Southern Vermont teams. We received two new players with the ability to contribute to our program. With a small squad for the year, these two newcomers are a welcoming sight. Until next time, I’m Marc Massena and this has been the Mind of Massena.

August 26, 2014

It’s that time of year again… as the summer ends and the leaves begin to change, any soccer player or fan knows that the season is right around the corner. We, as players, began a vital part of the season this past week - preseason. Following a tough 2013 season, the team and I were determined to make some changes. That of course would not be too difficult due to the coaching staff change that was made over the offseason. The main question was: would these changes make enough of a difference, and would we, as a team, respond positively to them?

Throughout the past week, both of those questions were answered. Our new coaches, Joe Baia and Greg Caproni, set up a culture of pride, respect, discipline, and excellence. We, as a team, have responded well to this new team philosophy, and it has shown in our preseason scrimmage results. The squad lost a very respectable 1-0 game to MCLA and played to a hard-fought 0-0 draw against SUNY Cobleskill. Considering that the team was reduced to 10 men due to injury on both occasions, those are very decent results.

Decent, however is not a word we will be comfortable with this season, and that was stated by one of our captains, Brendan Shea, in a team meeting when he said, “We, as a team, are night-and-day from last year. We cannot get complacent, though, and we need to stay hungry throughout the season with the goal of playing in mid-November.”

Mid-November, of course marks the beginning of the NECC Playoffs, an event we did not take part in last year and one that we have our sights set on for the 2014 season. The general consensus around the team is: if we stick to Coach Baia and Coach Caproni’s plan, we shouldn’t have a problem achieving this goal. Until next time, I’m Marc Massena, and this was the Mind of Massena.