In my last entry, I made references to soccer being a fluid game, water-like. Well, our team is slowing beginning to learn how to navigate the waters of this season and perhaps even stand up on this wave that's starting to form!

This past weekend, we hosted the First-Knox Cougar Invitational tournament, which featured Bluefield College, Spring Arbor University, Campbellsville University, and MVNU. The stage was set with Spring Arbor University knocking off Campbellsville with a 1-0 win in the first semifinal: this was going to be a competitive and close tournament. Our match against Bluefield was very entertaining featuring some great offensive and defensive plays from both teams. One complaint I often hear about soccer is that games are too low scoring and almost none-existent is the ever thrilling "buzzer beater" featured in basketball or football. Well, fans who checked out early in our semifinal match missed out on a fantastic "buzzer beater" header by Chris Allen (sophomore from Jamaica). It was a great deciding goal with a service from Steve Armstrong (junior from Mansfield, OH, and MVP of the tournament). It was a hard fought 1-0 win, with some last second dramatics just to make the fans want to come back Saturday for more.

Saturday's game against Spring Arbor University had a little bit different feel with both teams demonstrating their ability to posses the ball and mount well-planned attacks. Again the game was scoreless late in the match until Brian Petak (freshman from Bedford, OH) cashed in on a cross with a full volley (meaning the ball never hit the ground--taken straight out of the air) into the back of the net. This goal was the way soccer was supposed to be played. If every goal looked like this, soccer would be the most watched sport in the world....oh wait...it is! Chris Allen added some icing to the cake by out-dribbling his defender and the goalie in the last minute of play to secure the 2-0 victory.

The weekend was spectacular and exciting on the pitch, but probably my favorite part of the weekend was eating pizza with all four teams in the student union. It was cool to spend time with the guys (yeah, they are real people) laughing, sharing stories, and eating. A player from each team took a few minutes to share about their faith and what God has been teaching him lately. Coach asked me to share a little bit as well, and I took the opportunity to share about my summer in Sports Ministry and maybe plant some seeds for future sports ministers as well!

Before I take off for my Culture of Latin America class, I would like to ask you all to be praying for our coach. He checked into the hospital on Sunday with some concerning complications and symptoms. Due to the fact his family has struggled with heart disease, this was a very smart move on his part. The good news is that he is in good spirits and cannot wait to be back on the field with us, but we want to make sure he is as healthy as possible and that no more of our late-game heroics will adversely affect his blood pressure!