Austin College 1 - 0 Birmingham Southern

The team was looking to bounce back after the game Friday. We came out focused and ready to play. It took us the first few minutes to get into the game, but we soon found the net. After a scramble back and forth in the box, freshman Chris Stein found the ball and tucked a goal away into the far post. Chris has really come on strong in creating offense production.

We played well in the first half, with a mixture of possessing and playing direct. Senior Matt Dickinson made a big time save when he came out on a 1v1 at the top of the box. He kept us in the lead going into the half.

The first ten minutes of the second half would be crucial for us. We came out strong and won a corner kick within a minute, and would continue to press for those ten minutes. Our defense was tested today, but we earned the shutout. Junior Nate Noel came into the second half in goal, and kept us in the game when he stopped a shot from close range. He blocked it with his foot and covered it up. Our boys were very positive on the sidelines and their encouragement helped bring in the win.

We will be working this week for a couple of big games next weekend...starting with Trinity on a Friday night. Congrats on the win boys, lets get some more. Go Roos.

Austin College 2 - 4 Millsaps

We had a tough game on Friday. We went up early when Chris Stein found Alex Dawson on a corner kick. Millsaps answered with two goals, but Tommy Haney sent a through ball to Sam Temple for the equalizer into half-time. We saw some good things in the second half, but Millsaps came out a little stronger and put in 2 more. We were very upset with the game, but we knew what needed to be fixed for our next game.

Austin College 2 - 2 ETBU

Tuesday was a long day for all of us. We left campus and headed for the 3 hour bus ride around 3 pm. Game time was set for 7:30, and we were ready to finally play a match.

We started the game strong and played well in the first half. Captain and Senior, Miles Vaughn put a goal away from beyond the 18 to give us a 1-0 lead into half time. The second half proved to be a test for us. ETBU scored 2 goals on us in the second half. The game ended in a 2-2 tie. We thought we should have won that game, but ETBU played well and was a good opponent.

Our freshman have proven to be a great class. Chris Stein served a corner and found Kyle Fitzpatrick for the game tying header. The goal went into the statistics as :07 seconds after ETBU scored on us. Coach Hudson checked the NCAA D-III records, and that goal puts us into the record books!!! Austin College and ETBU will go into the books as second fastest consecutive goals scored by opposing teams. Awesome.

We open Conference play this weekend with Millsaps on Friday at 2pm. Go Roos.

Austin College 0 - 5 UT Dallas

Tough game. We drove down to UTD yesterday after the players got out of class. Training was good this week leading up to the game, and we felt confident in what we could do.

We went down early in the first half when UTD hit a good free kick around our wall. A few minutes later one of their midfielders dribbled through our defense and put one away in the corner. Although we went into the half down by 3 goals, we came out fighting. The resilience of our team is something to be proud of. We came out hard and never gave up. The final score was 5-0, but we walked away knowing what we need to work on. We played a good opponent in UTD, but we know we can play better.

We will take this and put it behind us and move forward to training this week. Our match against ETBU has been scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 23rd. We are 2-2 this year, and in a better spot than we were a year ago today. We thank those of you for coming out to support us, it helps us stay positive and look at the coming potential in the team.

GAME POSTPONED!

Due to the threat of Hurricane Ike, the game at ETBU has been postponed to a date yet to be determined. It is disappointing news, but the conditions would definitely not be ideal for soccer. We wish for the safety of all in the path.

The team will continue to practice this weekend and prepare for a strong UTD squad on Tuesday.

-Nathan

Austin College 1 - 2 Texas Lutheran

We experienced a loss for the first time this season. It's difficult to write this blog about a loss. We knew coming in, that it would be a tough game. Although we could have played better, TLU is a good team and has shown good results the last couple seasons.

The first half was a struggle for us. We went down early when a foul was called in the penalty area. After the PK, we were down 1-0. Towards the middle of the half, a TLU forward turned and beat 3 of our players to put another goal in, and put us down 2-0. We never found good momentum offensively, and only had 3 shots the first half, with 0 corner kicks.

We played much better in the second half and picked up the intensity. Our defense held strong and GK Gosselin made some saves to keep us in the game. Offensively, we were better and we finally got a couple corner kicks. Senior Ian Keeble took a short corner and got it back to find Freshman Luis Castillo's feet in front of the goal. 2-1. We controlled the last 10 minutes of the game, pressing and trying to tie it up, but the final whistle blew.

We look to take what we learned and move forward in training this week to prepare for East Texas Baptist on Saturday.

Austin College 1 - 0 Condordia

We arrived in Austin last night after a nice drive from Sherman. We were able to get a light practice in at school, eat a good dinner, and avoided Friday night traffic through Dallas. It is good to get away and go on the road here. We expected a tough game against Condordia, and that's exactly what we got.

Since Condordia is in transition and building a new campus, we played at the Cedar Park High School in NW Austin. We were on a new turf football field, which was literally 58 yards wide...quite short of the 65 yard minimum. We knew the narrow field would make the game a battle, and it was.

We started the game with a goal in the 3rd minute, by Alex Dawson. He received the ball off a throw in near the corner of the box, settled and turned, and tucked it away far post. The team used that moment to pick up the level and controlled the game for most of the 1st half. The second half proved to be a test. Concordia never let down, field conditions were not ideal, and with some inconsistent officiating, we had to overcome all of it. Freshman defender Landon Bowersock cleared a ball off the line late in the second half and showed great composure as a center back. GK Grant Gosselin came up big again this game, coming out for a 1v1 and just touching the shot past the post. We were able to avoid some close calls, got the clean sheet, and the result we wanted.

Concordia Game

Just trying to clarify things about the game on Saturday, Sept. 6. The new Concordia Campus is in NW Austin, near the intersection of 620 and 183. We will be staying in the Comfort Suites off 183 on Friday night. The game will be played near there at Cedar Park HS, off Cypress Creek Rd. at 1 PM. So for all you fans coming out to support us...Be loud, Be proud.
-Nathan

Austin College 1 - 0 University of Dallas

We started things off on a good note Sunday. The team had breakfast as a team and walked the field in the morning. The players were focused and ready to do work. Coach Hudson reminded the team of the preparation they had put out during camp and how that effort would pay off.

From the National Anthem, to the end of the game, the energy at the game was high. Five freshman started their first collegiate game yesterday and performed at a high level. From the opening whistle, we dominated possession the first 15 minutes of the half. Although Dallas out shot us in the first half, freshman Goalkeeper Grant Gosselin was able to hold strong with senior defender Tommy Haney leading the defense. We went into half time 0-0.

We came out strong the second half with two quick corners, and things looked good. The game went back and forth until the 81st minute when Chris Stein assisted fellow freshman midfielder Luis Castillo on a corner kick. Castillo beat two defenders in the air to finish a header in the top corner, back post. With big time saves from Gosselin, we were able to hold and keep the clean sheet.

It was a long time coming for this team, and we look forward to next weekend in Austin to continue our success.
Congratulations to seniors Tommy Haney - Miles Vaughn - and junior Alex Dawson. They were voted Captains by their teammates for their leadership on and off the field.