This season, University of Evansville men's soccer players Dan Gibson and Tom Irvin will share a blog about life on and off of the pitch with the UE men's soccer team. To comment on Dan and Tom's season blog, please click here. To follow the "G-I Report" throughout the year, click on the "Soccer Blog 2008" link on the men's soccer home page, or click on the "In-Season Blogs" link on the lower right-hand portion of the website.
Blog Entry #1 - August 22
As the summer started to wind down, the Aces soccer team slowly started returning to Evansville with high hopes for the upcoming season. Everyone was very excited to return and get started, and had clearly worked hard over the summer. As we all shared stories of our summer vacation, we knew that fitness tests were looming.
Our first fitness test was the infamous 6-minute run, gauging how far we can run over 6-minutes. Once finished, the results led us to believe that this team was fitter then any other in recent memory. Led by Robby Lynch, the entire team passed the standard and most players recorded their best times. We had a series of meetings with trainers, doctors, NCAA compliance, and team psychologist over the next couple days, culminating at 12:01 AM Wednesday morning with the Beep Test.
Once the fitness tests were over, two-a-days started and presented different challenges. With the upperclassmen preaching to the newcomers about the Indiana heat, we were fortunate enough to string together a week of low-80's and overcast weather. We didn't have long to prepare for our first test of the 2008 season, which came at the University of Louisville (the pre-season 21st ranked team in the nation) about three days into pre-season. The UL game gives everyone a quick chance to showcase their talents right off the bat. Although the game was a 2-0 loss, there were many positives to draw from. We had over 20 players see action in the exhibition match, giving us the chance to see how our new incoming players could mesh with our returning nucleus.
A few days later, a different but equally challenging task awaited. The high intensity of the “Mayor’s Cup”, which pits us against cross-town University of Southern Indiana (USI), provided us an opportunity to see the kind of game with a playoff atmosphere – showing us that we need to push through a variety of distractions. Whether it be the crowd (1,000 fans for a mid-week exhibition game), the weather, or the physical play, Coach Jacobs made sure we all stay focused on the things that we are able to control. The game ended in a 3-0 victory, with goals from Sam Bornstein, Jarrett Robbins, and Mike Luttrull.
We have our last pre-season exhibition match up against Bellarmine this Sunday, the 24th of August, at Black Beauty Field.
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