I specifically waited to update this week's blog, because we had three games spaced so evenly out that I didn't want to write too much or too little to cover each game. So, I just decided to wait and give a "Saturday-to-Saturday" highlight clip at the end of the week (or beginning of the next week - it's all based on perspective).

Two Saturdays ago saw one of the dreariest games we have played yet this season: chilly temperatures, a lot of rain, and a few lightning bolts all added to the atmosphere. Luckily for us and the fans, the only thing dreary about the game was the weather! We finished the match the victors over Daemen College by a 6-0 score featuring goals from Scott Forester, Brady Swanson, Scott Spangler (left), and myself. The game was slick and a little crazy, but it served as a great second conference win and boost into the game against Rio Grande.

For any of you who have watched a Rio/MVNU game, you understand how much this game means. It's one of the most physical, most exciting, and most important games of the year. Even with Rio not being a part of our conference this year, we wanted to play our best and hopefully come away with a tough road win against an NAIA Top 10 team. Unfortunately, we missed a few chances early and had one breakdown in the back and that's all they needed to score the only goal of the match. It's always tough losing to Rio Grande, especially since the last three years i have been here, we have played five times and lost 2-3, tied 0-0, won 1-0, lost 0-1 (national semi finals), and now lost 0-1. Looking back at the game there are a lot of things we wish we had done differently that might have altered the outcome, but the bottom line is we have to take care of business the rest of the season to secure a chance that we might see them again...in California...where this time we'll win the important one.

To finish off the week, we played at Urbana on Saturday afternoon. This was a really windy game, and our fourth outing on turf for the year. Urbana has had a little bit of a rough season, but none-the-less they have been solid competitors in every sport not losing by much. They are also an NCAA II school, in the league we hope to join in the next few years. So, we wanted to come out and play well and get the momentum going again after the Rio Grande game.

As a whole, I thought our team played very well in this match. The turf gave us the opportunity to test out the foot skills and our ability to move the ball on the ground, and it proved to be our advantage as we won 3-0 thanks to a hat trick performance by Christ Mast (assists to Jake Reber and me). Chris (right) consistently plays well, and he really came up big on all 3 goals during this game, scoring with both feet and his head! This game also really meant a lot to me, because I got to play against one of my teammates of four years, J.P. He and I played club ball freshmen-senior year of high school together and it was great to see him again after three years.

After our teams circled up to pray, we gave each other a hug, smiled, and secretly agreed to get better so we can battle it out again next year. It's a lovingly competitive relationship you build with opponents. You do your best to get better so you can beat them the next year, but you're hoping all along that they are improving too, so you can see who has improved the most and who can push the other further. I love hearing about friends on other teams scoring big goals, signing contracts, and succeeding in life on and off the field. Because at the end of the day, we're all brothers in Christ! We're all running the same race, and running and competing is so much more fun when done alongside a friend.

Check back soon for a brief post with some more player profiles. Some awesome action is coming up this weekend in the world of Cougar Soccer! HUGE weekend with Houghton and Roberts Wesleyan matches for the men's and women's teams, you won't want to miss next week's update inside the post!