Oberlin 1 Muskingum 0

A quality display earned us a victory at the friendly confines of Fred Shults Field. Some good possession led to a slew of chances throughout the match. Spurred on by tremendous crowd support, we were unlucky not to post a few more tallies. Looking forward to our conference schedule we hope to have your continued support. Here is a quick review of the match just incase you missed us.

The first taste of defeat

Hey everyone, Well, last night was not the Yeomen's best effort. I was worried about the game all week because BW was 0-5, but three of those losses were in overtime, and two were to nationally ranked programs. It was also their first home game, on turf (which isn't our favorite surface). BW came out of the gates hard and fast and it took us some time to wake up and match their intensity. We have talked a lot this season about setting the tempo and making teams adapt to our style and we did not do that last night. BW scored in the 18th minute on a corner kick and we wasted a couple of chances quickly afterwards. In the 36th minute there was a scramble in our box and Zach Lipshultz bravely tried to smother the ball at the six yard box, but the ball was poked away from him and a BW player slotted it home for a 2-0 lead. Our intensity level was much better in the second half and we had several chances. Skyler had three good strikes on goal but their keeper was up to each challenge. In the 75th minute our fate was sealed when Wyatt Hayman played a back pass a little too high and hard to Zach, and he tried to volley it out and miss kicked for the dreaded own goal. Our goal now is to put it behind us and prepare for Muskingum on Saturday night at home. We have to get back to our winning ways and I am confident the boys will be ready!....Go Yeomen.....Blake

Adidas Invitational

This past weekend the Yeomen traveled to fellow NCAC school Ohio Wesleyan University to participate in the Adidas Invitational with matches against Alma College and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. You could say that we were a little Jeckyl and Hyde on the weekend. In Friday's match we were not at our best but managed to salvage a draw off a spectacular free kick from Skyler Dum.

The rest in the hotel, pregame meal from Olive Garden and some retail therapy at the mall must have put us back on track. Saturday evening we were focused and ready to play. Rose-Hulman was a much stronger side than Alma and the two teams went back and forth. A couple of near misses and another Dum free kick which came back off the crossbar left us even at the end of regulation. The team put forth a good effort and persevered through to the 108th minute when Dan Jaffe was able to redirect a Drew Williamson service for the game winner. Here is a bit of match footage for you to enjoy.

Coach Davis

2 Week Review

Hey everyone, I thought I would check in and let you know how our first two weeks of the season have gone. I am always nervous before the first game of the season. I thought we were pretty good but you never know until you play another team. We opened the season with a decent performance against Heidelberg College, not great, but not bad. We were all a bit jumpy and our spacing on the field suffered but we worked our way to a 2-0 win. Our second game four days later we were much better against Albion college in a 3-0 win, but we still have to work on imprinting our attacking possession style on the game. The boys worked hard on Monday and Tuesday as we added in some important fitness and functional work. We are looking forward to a weekend away down at Ohio Wesleyan where we will play Alma, and Rose-Hulman, two very good regional opponents. Hopefully next time we will have some video or pictures to share. Thanks and GO YEOMEN!

Coach New

OC Soccer Kicks Off 2009 Season

The Yeomen got the ball rolling with a solid effort in the first contest of the season. The team played Heidelberg College on September 1 at home on Fred Shults Field to a 2-0 decision. The field is in great shape, the grass is green and flat and plays fast. The boys were able to string together some fairly impressive possession and we capitalized on two set pieces. Skyler Dum, 2008 NSCAA Great Lakes All-Region 3rd Team Forward, used his head on both goals. Oliver Miller-Farrell, sophomore MF and Wyatt Hayman, Junior CB were each on the opposite end of Dum's goals.

The coaching staff is optamistic about the 2009 season. We have incorporated 7 first-year guys into the squad and seem to have the depth to turn in a good season. The non-conference portion of our schedule is challenging and should prepare us well for the demanding North Coast Athletic Conference matches. The returning players are poised to improve upon the 9-8-2 performance from a year ago and the quality of the new players will help to raise the bar.

The players have all settled in and are nearing the end of the first week of class. The training through preseason was intense and competitive and has hopefully laid the ground work for a good season. The team is in good spirits and looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead.

We hope that you will follow us closely this fall. From time to time you should find actual game footage, player interviews and other interesting Oberlin Soccer tidbits. Wish us luck as we take on Albion College Saturday, September 5th.