Rhodes Game Location Change

Our game against Rhodes College has been moved due to poor playing conditions of their home field. The game will now be played at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex in the Stadium Field. Info on directions and links to live stats and video can be found on the Rhodes Men's Soccer Home Page. That link can be cut and pasted below.

http://www.rhodeslynx.com/index.aspx?tab=soccer&path=msoc

See Game Live

See our game against Hendrix College live online. Game time is set for 6:00pm CST. You can see live video and stats here...

Cut and paste to your browser:

http://www.hendrix.edu/athletics/content.aspx?id=37746

Melton Named SCAC POTW

Melton Named SCAC Offensive Player of the Week


SHERMAN, Texas – Austin College men’s soccer player Chris Melton has been named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for games played from Monday, October 19 through Sunday, October 25, the conference office has announced.



Melton, a sophomore from Sherman, scored three goals during the week to lead the ’Roos to a 2-0-1 mark with wins over Concordia and the University of California-Santa Cruz as well as a tie against the University of Dallas. Melton scored both of Austin College’s goals in the 2-1 upset win over No. 6-ranked UC-Santa Cruz to close out the weekend, and for the year the second year forward leads the ’Roos with six goals scored.

AC 2 - UC Santa Cruz 1 (Senior Day)

UC Santa Cruz came into the game ranked #6 in the nation. They are a quality side with good talent everywhere on the field. Our guys were looking forward to the challenge.

Both teams came out sharp early. Just a minute and a half into the game, UC Santa Cruz took the lead off a negative ball through the box. AC, however, came back strong and got an equalizer only 30 seconds later. The ball was played down the line to Jason "Jamaica" Campbell (Kingston, Jamaica) who crossed the ball towards the middle of the field. Luis Castillo (Kingwood, TX) fired a shot that the UC Santa Cruz keeper couldn't handle and Chris Melton (Sherman, TX) was there to slam home the rebound. After the goal both teams were going back and forth at each other with each looking very dangerous and creating good opportunities. With 18 minutes to play in the first half, AC would strike again. Luis Castillo (Kingwood, TX) took the ball through the midfield and slotted a through ball to Chris Melton (Sherman, TX) who calmly beat the keeper for his second goal of the game. Both team would create chances near the end of the half, but neither were able to finish them. The score would remain 2-1 going into halftime.

During halftime we talked about staying organized defensively all over the field. We knew that UC Santa Cruz would create some chances, we just had to be up to the challenge. We also talked about attacking them offensively to keep them on their heels.

The second half started the same as the first. Both teams went back and forth creating good opportunities to score. Our whole team did an excellent job of working up and down the field. The guys pressed forward when we were on the attack and did their jobs defensively when UC Santa Cruz had the ball. The second half would continue to be a back and forth struggle. With about 10 minutes to play UC Santa Cruz would press hard to get the equalizing goal. However, AC's defense would deny every chance that they created to give us the 2-1 victory on senior day.

This was an incredible game to be a part of. Our guys played fantastic for 90 minutes. It was a great way to send off our seniors on their last game on the home field. Thanks to all the fans who came out to support the game. You created an awesome atmosphere for the guys to play in. Now the team looks to continue our hot streak as we get back into conference play this weekend. GO ROOS!


-Matt Dickinson

AC 0 - University of Dallas 0 (Overtime)

Like our field, UD's field has been put through a lot over the past few weeks in regards to the amount of rainfall its had to withstand. The guys knew this going into the game and tried to make the best of it.

We started off the half slowly. The guys couldn't get into a rhythm and UD came out and pressed hard. However, our defense was up to the challenge. As the half continued we got down to our game and did a better job of possessing the ball. The first half didn't yeild many chances for either side as both teams spent most of the half getting adjusted to the playing surface. The score would stay 0-0 through halftime.

At halftime we talked about how we wanted to do a better job of pushing the issue offensely and take their players on 1v1. We knew that we could create some good opportunites if we did this.

The second half was more of a back and forth battle. Both teams looked dangerous and had some good oportunities to take the lead. Grant Gosselin (Phoenix, AZ) came up big for us all game. Roughly halfway through the second half Grant made a great save to keep the scores level. Like the first half, neither team was able to take advantage of the oportunities. The score stayed 0-0.

The first overtime didn't produce many chances for either team. However, the second overtime would. With less the five minutes to play, both teams went back and forth at each other desperately trying to get the winning goal. AC had several corners late in the game, but couldn't put the ball in the back of the net. With under 15 seconds to play, UD would start a counter that ultimately resulted in a 1v1 with Grant with less than five seconds to play. Grant charged out and denied the UD player to keep the final score level at 0-0.

The team was disappointed that we didn't extend our winnning streak, but were glad that they were able to keep the shutout. The guys knew they had a big game coming up on Saturday, and wanted to keep our unbeaten streak going. Thanks to all the fans that came to the game to support the team. GO ROOS!


-Matt Dickinson

AC 4 - Concordia 1

The guys followed up their weekend victories with another strong performance on Tuesday. The team is really upbeat right now, and we hope to keep riding this momentum from one game to the next.

We started the first half extremely well. Only three minutes into the game, Sam Temple (Paris, TX) took a through ball, touched the ball around the charging keeper, and placed it into the back of the net to give AC the early advantage. Less than 10 minutes later, Chris Melton (Sherman, TX) beat the keeper on another 1 v 1 to increase our lead to 2. Despite the 2 goal lead, the guys continued to push the tempo to increase the lead further. They would be reward for the efforts later in the first half. Freshman Guillermo Allande's (El Paso, TX) shot was blocked by the Concordia keeper, but Jason "Jamaica" Campbell (Kingston, Jamaica) was on the spot to put the rebound away to give AC a three goal advantage. The score would stay that way through halftime.

During halftime we talked about keeping our intensity up and putting the game away. We wanted to put Concordia under pressure early in the second half, and keep the pressure on them the rest of the game.

The team did a good job of keeping the pressure on Concordia early in the half. We created several great opportunities to increase the lead even more, but couldn't manage to put our shots away. After the first 10 minutes of the half, we let our intensity level drop, and Concordia took advantage. They would take a shot just outside the box that found its way into the back of the net to make the score 3 to 1. After their goal we made some changes to try and get our energy back. Freshman Shedrick Davis (Rockwall, TX) provided the spark. Ryan Elias (Garland, TX) lobbed the ball over the Concordia defense to Shedrick who tucked the ball away side netting to increase AC's lead back to three. The score would stay the same the rest of the game to give AC a 4-1 victory.

Despite the small let down in the second half, the team was pleased with their performance. We got the win and that is the most important thing. Now the team looks ahead to our game against University of Dallas on Thursday. We hope to keep things going in the right direction as we finish up the season. Thanks to all the fans that came out to support the guys. GO ROOS!


-Matt Dickinson

AC 2 - Sewanee 1 (Overtime)

After our win on Friday, the guys got a short workout Saturday morning. On Sunday, the team woke up for team breakfast then got ready for the game with a weekend sweep on our minds.

We started off the game very strong and created a lot of chances early. 18 minutes into the game, Alex Dawson (Spring, TX) found Chris Stein (Allen, TX) off a free kick from the right side of the field. Chris put the ball in the back of the net to make the score 1-0. After the goal the guys continued to push to get another goal, but we didn't do a good job of putting away our opportunities. 10 minutes after our goal, Sewanee would equalize off a shot from the right side of the box. AC almost took the lead as time expired in the first half, but the referee ruled that the ball hadn't crossed the goal line before the clock hit zero, so the score would remain 1-1.

During our halftime talk we talked about sharpening up offensively and putting our chances away. We didn't want to let the game slip away.

In the second half we continued to dominate the game offensively, but our finishing continued to struggle. We created several one on ones with the Sewanee keeper, but were couldn't get the ball into the back of the net. Both teams pushed very hard for the last 15 minutes to try and steal the 3 points, but neither we able to do so. We would go into overtime.

In the first overtime, as during regulation, AC dominated offensively. We created a few good chances to score but weren't able to score. We would go into a second overtime.

Before the second overtime started, we brought the team together and regained our focus and tried to relax. We knew we would get our chances to win the game, we just had to take advantage of one of them. Sewanee came out strong in the second overtime and had control for the first five minutes. However, AC would come on strong in the final five minutes of the game. The guys pushed hard and created several more good chances to win the game. With less than 30 seconds left in the game, it looked like we would have to settle for a 1-1 draw. Conrad Osborn (St. Louis, MO) took a throw-in right at midfield on the left side and found Luis Castillo (Kingwood, TX). Luis beat one defender and fired a shot on goal just outside the top of the box. The Sewanee keeper bobbled the initial shot, and Sam Temple (Paris, TX) took the rebound and slammed it into the back of the net with just 13 seconds left to play. The whole team, bench included, sprinted across the field to celebrate with each other. A great way to end the weekend.

The guys played great this weekend and were rewarded for their hard work. Now we look to ride the momentum of this weekend as we continue on the rest of the season. Thanks again to everyone who came out to support the team. GO ROOS!


-Matt Dickinson

AC 1 - Oglethorpe 0

Despite the weather showing us no mercy last week, the guys still had a good week of practice. The team was upbeat all week and was looking forward to the weekend.

The first half was a defensive struggle. Defensively we did a good job of not allowing Oglethorpe to get very many good looks at goal in the first half, but we weren't able to take advantage of the opportunities we created. We went into halftime feeling good about our chances to win the game. We knew when we got an opportunity we had to put it away, and above all we wanted to keep the shutout.

The second half was much more open with both teams pushing to win the game. We created two very good chances to score, but couldn't quite put the ball in the net. However, with roughly 20 minutes to play, Jason Replogle (Denton, TX) played the ball to freshman Ryan Elias (Garland, TX) turned left and fired a left-footed shot that beat the keeper to give AC a one goal lead. Oglethorpe fought hard for the last 20 minutes of the game, but the guys were able to hold them off for the 1-0 victory.

The team felt really good about getting our first conference win of the year and our first shutout. We knew our hard work would pay off and it did so in this game. Thanks to all of the fans, alumni, and former players who came out to the game to show your support. It was a great atmosphere to play in. GO ROOS!


-Matt Dickinson

KOMEN GAME III

This post is long overdue, but it no doubt extremely important. As everyone knows we lost to Centre College on October 2 by a score of 3-1. However in our effort to raise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Austin College beat Centre by raising nearly $3,700.00. Centre would be close to that total and, with donations that were given after the game, both programs raised nearly $8,000.00 for the cause. What a great effort on the part of both programs. This puts our total over a 3 year period at nearly $19,000.

We as a program are extremely privileged to be a part of this game. Thanks to everyone that donated on our behalf or at all. It is truly a wonderful cause as we work to beat breast cancer forever.

AC 0 - Colorado College 4

This is not the outcome that it needed to be in Colorado Springs on Saturday. Despite cold weather that some of my guys have never had to deal with, this result should have been different. Austin College came out to start the game with an energy to attack and get forward like we have not all year. AC had four corners and several good opportunities in the first 15 of this game, but did not take advantage of this.

Following a foul just outside our 18 box, CC would get on the board with a free kick goal. Not how we wanted to start. CC would then roll off 3 more goals, 2 in the first half and 1 in the second to win 4-0.

This team has talent, but lots of youth. This youth, and essentially, a lack of maturity, is what is keeping us from getting over the hump. As I have told the boys, its all right there, but we have to learn from our mistakes. We will and are looking forward to the next half of the season.

Thanks to everyone for their continued support. We will, as always, continue to work hard and represent Austin College Soccer the best we can.

Training in Colorado

We flew out of DFW this morning and arrived in Colorado Springs shortly after noon. We went directly to Freshman GK Russell Pompea's house and were served a great lunch by his parents. Always nice to get a nice meal on the road. After that we went to CC for a light kick around and to stretch our legs.

The weather was about 35 degrees and overcast. We are supposed to get some snow showers this evening and in the morning with the weather around kick-off to be 32 and snowing. Should be fun.

See the Colorado Game Online

Our game on Saturday at Colorado College can be viewed online with both live stats and live video streaming. The links can found on Colorado College Athletics website or you can cut and paste the links below. There is a cost for the live video stream...$7 I believe.

http://www.b2livetv.com/partner_members.asp?id=14&s=1196&stype=Sports%20Soccer%20Men%27s

or on the Men's Soccer homepage:

http://www.cctigers.com/index.aspx?tab=soccer&path=MSOC

Stay tuned as I plan to update the blog with pictures as we travel this weekend. Weather right now at kick-off is set to be 32 degrees with possible snow showers.

In addition, as was done last weekend, our game on Saturday should be updated on Twitter. Our twitter account can be found at www.twitter.com/acsoccer.


On a final note, I just wanted to say how proud I am of the boys and our result in our fundraiser against Centre in benefit of Susan G Komen for the Cure. We beat Centre by raising $3,600 prior to game time and with both reaching a total of nearly $7,000. More to come on this next week!

Thanks for everyone's continued support. This is a great group of young men and we will continue to push forward with a passion and desire to get things done.

~ Coach Hudson

AC 0 - DePauw 1

After the Centre game we traveled to Indiana to rest up for the game against DePauw. The team had a fun kick-around Saturday afternoon and then went out for a nice dinner that night. On Sunday, the weather couldn't have been better to play soccer. The field was in great condition too, so the boys were excited to play.

Both teams looked very sharp early. We talked about the importance of work ethic and winning 50/50 balls before the game, and our guys did a good job of taking it to heart. Stephen Crisco (Weatherford, TX) was strong in the air and won most of the 50/50's in the middle of the field. Edwin Cole (El Paso, TX) was also strong for us controlling the defenders. Towards the end of the half both teams created a few chances to take the lead, but the defenses would hold to make the halftime score 0-0.

In the second half the team continued to have a good work ethic. We made some great runs out of the midfield and our movement off the ball was good. The game continued to be a defensive struggle for much of the half until DePauw was awarded a very questionable free kick. The DePauw player placed the ball over the wall and just out of the reach of Grant Gosselin (Phoenix, AZ) to make the score 1-0. The boys never gave up and worked extremely hard to get the tying goal. We had a great chance to equalize late in the game, but the DePauw goalkeeper came up big. The game would end 1-0.

It's tough to lose the way we did, but despite the loss, we were really pleased with how the guys played. Thanks to all of the fans who were at the game on Sunday to cheer the team on. GO ROOS!


-Matt Dickinson

AC 1 - Centre 3 (Komen Game III)

This is always a special game for the team. What the guys do for the fight against breast cancer is one of the best things the team is apart of. This year, as in the past, both teams did a fantastic job of raising money. Combined, Austin College and Centre raised almost $7,000 for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure! Our guys ended up raising about $3600 to make us the winner.

We knew going into the game that we would have to weather an early storm from Centre. They came out very quickly and created some chances, but the team handled it and go into a rhythm. Chris Stein (Allen, TX), Robert Lamilla (Coppell, TX), Andy Johnson (Tulsa, OK), and Linc Kendall (Houston, TX) all had great games for us at the outside midfield position. About midway through the first half, Centre would take the lead off a shot from the top of the box to make the score 1-0. The game continued to be back and forth for the rest of the half but no other goals would be scored.

Going into the second half we felt confident about our chances to win the game. The boys came out strong and produced some good opportunities. However, Centre would increase their lead to 2 after a rebound from a free kick with 34 minutes to play. The Centre player hit a great free kick, but Grant Gosselin (Phoenix, AZ) made a great save to keep out the first shot. However, another Centre player was waiting for the rebound and managed to put the shot away. Grant played well in goal and came up with a few other great saves. With about 20 minutes left in the game, we had some fantastic buildup. Chris Stein (Allen, TX) would take a pass from the left side and take a fantastic shot outside of the box and put the ball over the Centre goalkeeper and into the back of the net to make the score 2-1. The team created several other chances to equalize, but couldn't put one away. Centre would increase their lead to 3-1 with 10 minutes to play. The game would end 3-1.


I'd like to thank the Hudson family for having the team over for pre-game lunch before the Centre game. The food was awesome and the guys really enjoyed it. Also, thanks to all the other fans who came out to support the team. We had a good amount of supporters despite being so far from home. The team really appreciated it. GO ROOS!



-Matt Dickinson