Can you believe there are only three more games left in the regular season?!?! I know I can't...this season has absolutely flown by! I guess if there is good news in those last two statements it's that THE SEASON ISN'T OVER YET! We've got three more games and then some postseason providing we keep playing better today than we did yesterday!

After the crazy weekend with the New Yorker's, we settled back into the Ohio school system and squared off with Shawnee State last Thursday. We were lucky enough to play on a high school's turf field because both our home field and their home field were quite disastrous after a raining week. Honestly, practices had been more like mud-running while kicking rocks than soccer! But like I said, we were able to play at a local high school with a beautiful turf stadium under the lights. The game went well seeing us the 1-0 victors (thanks Scott Spangler for passing me the ball) and other than that not too much to say about the game. We definitely could have scored more goals than we did - we just were a step off in the final third. Fortunately our defense and midfield played a great game and one goal was all that we needed!

We got to rest a little bit over the weekend for fall break, but not too much because Tuesday was the Notre Dame game - a game we wanted to be rested up for but also mentally and physically sharp and ready to go. Notre Dame is currently No. 6 in the nation and first in the conference, and they are always a great team to play especially up at their place! Great atmosphere, loud fans, and good soccer. The game was pretty intense and physical. Both teams had a few chance in the first half, but Notre Dame was the only one to capitalize on an opportunity. Their forward got in behind the defense, placed a good shot off the post, off our defender and in. It was a bit lucky on their part and unlucky for us. Our right back was doing the right thing by covering for the goalie, but the ball bounced the wrong way and put Notre Dame up 1-0 going into the half. I can't honestly say we played our best 45 minutes in that first half, we didn't play poorly, but we definitely had room to step it up.

And step it up we did. Our defense played great all night, but I think the big push came from Scott Spangler and Chris Mast. They work so hard continuously for us in the middle of the park, and you could tell they wanted to equalize and win this game and everyone else elevated their game to match them. Unfortunately we didn't win, but we did manage a strong equalizing goal, starting with Scott Spangler, played through me to Chris Allen, and finished by Kyle Maxam for his first goal of the season. Great timing for a first goal. Two overtimes later the game ended in a 1-1 tie.

We were glad to tie a team of Notre Dame's caliber, but at the same time we know that we've got that game-winning goal in us somewhere. A few times, I thought it would come last night, but if we had to save an overtime game winner I'd much rather accept the tie now and spend our overtime winner in a few weeks during the postseason hopefully bettering our chances at going to the NAIA National Tournament.

I want to take a few minutes to introduce a few others of our players moving out of the defense into the midfield and starting by seniority.

Chris Mast	Scott Spangler

Chris Mast is a third-year player from northern Ohio. He serves as one of our captains and one of our most creative players. We often joke about how many times Chris gets confused on the practice field, but that's the only time we can joke with him about being a little slow...because in a sprint he's second to none, in the classroom he excels and continues to appear on academic award lists, and in the game he has a finger on the pulse of the game and feels the flow better than anyone else I know. Chris is a great guy and a wonderful friend. He's got great taste in music and I'll let him DJ anytime, and he is always ready for a good joke. I've really enjoyed getting to know Chris over the years, and I'm incredibly grateful to have one more year to play with him next year. He's an excellent leader and continues to elevate his standards for himself, personally, and us as a team. Chris is studying business and I know he will have a big impact on the world he chooses to influence.

Scott Spangler is another crucial part of our midfielder and the skipper of our crew. Scott is the final captain I am introducing to you, but by far one of the most influential leaders on our team. Scott served as captain last year as well, and it's clear that this team means a lot to him. He leads by example first and foremost, and he is never afraid to verbally motivate us to the level of play he believes we can produce. I had the privilege of working with Scott off the field last year in a local elementary school. We would go once a week to a second grade class and teach some basic Spanish to about 20 kids. It was truly an enjoyable and rewarding experience, providing us with a lot of laughs and good memories. Sometimes, I think Scott is one of the most serious and intense people I know, then other times I think he is the kid who tried to raise a goose last year, dawns his raccoon outfit for basketball games, and chases the groundhog who plagues our field every chance he gets. Did I mention he's getting married in the spring? Couldn't be more happy for him and Emily, and I, on behalf of the team, wish them all the best!

Well, that's it for now, Cougar Soccer fans. Tune in next week for updates on the Walsh game, Senior Day, and a few more player intros!