Lobo Faithful:
The sun is shining, the air is crisp…beautiful mountains to the east of us….life is good….trying to see the bright side of a very challenging season and the disappointment of not being selected for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008. Humbling, frustrating, disappointing, sleepless nights, questioning of oneself, a lot of reflection…..what if I/we had done this or done that? We finished the regular season with a record of 11-5-1, #22 national ranking by the NSCAA and a RPI of 30. Very good numbers considering our up and down conference results. The goal going into the season was 13 regular season wins. In retrospect, achievable and at a minimum, what we should have accomplished. Several brief moments, both offensively and defensively, defined our season. With this record, we entered the Conference Tournament on the bubble. A first round win would ensure an at-large NCAA birth and a loss would put our fate in the hands of others. A very disappointing 1-2 loss to Old Dominion on their home field, sealed our fate (our final RPI 34). We were without the services of Ben McKendry (punctured lung in final regular season match vs South Carolina) and captain, Mattie Gibbons, who couldn’t make it to the game due to severe flu-like symptoms the morning of the match. Despite being down two key starters, we scored the first goal of the game and played quality soccer. The loss, coupled with some key upsets in conference tournaments (very low seeds received automatic NCAA bids), put us out of the NCAA Tournament. I think we were the next team in. We have only ourselves to blame!
Old Dominion Conference Tournament Match Recap: click here
Not sure if you’ve watched any episodes of “Fish Off The Pitch”. I put my heart and soul out for all to see in the final episode and I think it gives a good perspective and re-cap of the season. Don’t be alarmed by the beginning, make sure to watch it through. 11 minutes and it’s tough for me to see myself being so transparent. Have a look and you will get a good feel for the team and for me.
“Fish Off The Pitch” : click here
Individual honors are still coming in and I will keep you posted. The following two releases are from Conference-USA.
Conference-USA All-Conference Teams: click here
Conference-USA Academic All-Conference: click here
If you want to follow the NCAA Tournament, here is the interactive bracket with updated results. Tough to follow!
2014 NCAA Tournament Bracket: click here
Thanks for your incredible support all season long and I wish we were still playing for all of you. Some important lessons were learned and we will continue to strive for EXCELLENCE in everything we do. Our six seniors will be missed and all have made a tremendous impact on our program. Patrick Poblete, Riley McGovern, Mattie Gibbons, James Rogers, Oniel Fisher and Nick Miele are on their way to great things! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I will be in close contact. GO LOBOS!
FISH