Against Bradley, we knew that we had to start getting points in our remaining MVC games in order to put ourselves in a good position for the conference tournament. The Bradley game was a tough loss, and the bus ride home definitely added insult to injury. It was raining the whole way back, and the bus had a leak. Approximately every thirty minutes, water would drop on someone's head or lap. Erik Johnson undoubtedly got the worst of it by getting dumped on several times. Although humorous (he was in the seat in front of me), I couldn't help but feel bad for the guy.

After the Bradley game, I know that everyone couldn't wait to get back to playing on Black Beauty Field in front of a home crowd. We would soon get our chance when a very good Eastern Illinois team came to town. Eastern Illinois is a team who has had a lot of success this season, and also a team that we have struggled with in the past. Last season they embarrassed us pretty good at their place, so naturally this was a game we have had circled on our calendar for quite some time. Thanks to an outstanding team effort, we were able to return the favor and get an extremely crutial win. This win puts us at a 2-2 conference record, and put us back in a great position where we control our own destiny in the MVC.

While it was great to get a conference win against a quality opponent, the celebration didn't last long because we knew that we had to focus on our next opponent - IU. This game means a lot for not only our squad, but for everyone who has ever supported or been involved in Aces Soccer. The IU - Evansville rivalry dates back to times before some of us were even born, when the two teams used to battle each other for national titles and bragging rights. As you can tell, this game held a great deal of significance for everyone. Going into the game we wanted to play our hearts out for all the alumni who did the same before us. Although we came up a goal short (losing 2-1), at the end of the game you could look everyone in the eye and know that they gave it everything they had. We wouldn't have been satisfied with anything short of a victory, but it was reassuring to know that your teammates will always be there to fight for 90 minutes with you when you need them most.

Posted by Dustin Awe at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Missouri Valley Conference play thus far has shown ups and downs for the Aces. Coming off of two emotional overtime wins against UMKC and Butler, we had all the confidence in the world going into our first conference game against Western Kentucky. Western Kentucky is a team that we have always had tough battles with. In fact, a late overtime goal at their place last year put us in the MVC tournament. Knowing that, we had no doubt that they would love to come to Black Beauty Field and return the favor.

We had the majority of the play in the first half, but were unable to finish our scoring chances and went into halftime tied 0-0. Halftime proved to be our biggest friend because we came out in the second half on fire. We were able to score three unanswered goals to give us our first conference win of the season. What I was most impressed about in this game was our team defending and how we fought and played 'Aces soccer' for 90 minutes.

It was great to get conference play off and started positively, but we knew we had a very tough Drake team coming up. This game unfortunately was played in Des Moines, which meant an extremely long bus ride had to come first. The funny thing about our road trips is that no matter how many different buses we take, all of the TV's never seem to work. Although frustrating at times, we all managed to all get their safely (which i suppose is more important). Although the bus situation could have been improved, I have to admit that the food was on point - while we were all questioning Coach Miller's decision to eat at the hotel's restaurant, once again he proved us wrong and was able to put together a brilliant pasta dinner.

While the hotel and food were quality, our performance Saturday night was anything but. While the cold, rainy weather probably didn't help, our play was uninspiring and disappointing. Everything we did well in the Western game, we failed to do against Drake. The good thing about conference play is that you don't have time to dwell on a loss, because your next opponent is only a few days away. For us the opponent is Bradley, and it is a great opportunity for our squad to get back to playing Aces soccer.

Posted by Dustin Awe at 2:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)