Post by elon_phan on May 21, 2007 22:01:47 GMT -5
Darren Powell Reviews Spring Men's Soccer Season
5/21/2007
How did the spring season go?
The spring season was very productive this year and allowed us to work on some key points with our team. We were able to play eight fixtures and compiled a 5-2-2 record. We played three ACC teams in Duke, North Carolina and Virginia Tech. For the first time against professional opposition, we gained valuable experience against the USL Champion Richmond Kickers plus we played several other local universities. We were able to give a good account of ourselves every game we played.
The 2007 schedule again appears to be very difficult, why do you choose to play such an ambitious schedule?
The team likes to play a tough schedule. The Southern Conference is one of the top conferences and every game is going to be tight in the league. In order to better prepare for that, we like to go up against the top teams. We are fortunate to have two teams from the College Cup Final Four in 2005 and 2006 (Clemson and Wake Forest) on the schedule next year. We also host North Carolina in the Jimmy V classic game in Rhodes Stadium. Playing top teams will help us continue to attract good players.
What are your team’s ambitions for this fall?
We are all very excited about this fall. Our ambition here has not changed; we want to make the NCAA tournament. We have positioned ourselves with our schedule, both in conference and out of conference, that if we perform and get the right results that goal is very attainable.
How do you think the recruiting class of 2007 will fare?
We expect this year's class to come in and compete right away. We will have nine newcomers this fall who all come from winning backgrounds at all levels whether high school, club or ODP State and Region teams. All these players have good attitudes and strong character. If they have prepared themselves correctly and come into the preseason fit, they should make the transition into college soccer smoothly. The team is looking forward to their arrival in August.
With the loss of KiKi Willis early to the MLS, will the Phoenix have a different look or style in the fall?
We are excited for Kiki to be given an opportunity to play in the MLS and hope that he can be successful at that level. His opportunity should encourage other players to aspire to keep getting better. In college soccer you lose players every year and it is always a new team from season to season. In 2007, we plan to continue moving forward with our program. We will require all the players to step up and contribute, and judging from the spring, the coaching staff is going to have to make some tough decisions. That is good. We would like to think that our team will play hard and organized and give their best effort in every game while representing Elon University. If we do that, we think we can use that as a platform to make things happen when we get on the ball. The team is hungry for success and hope that if we can keep developing our style we can achieve it.
5/21/2007
How did the spring season go?
The spring season was very productive this year and allowed us to work on some key points with our team. We were able to play eight fixtures and compiled a 5-2-2 record. We played three ACC teams in Duke, North Carolina and Virginia Tech. For the first time against professional opposition, we gained valuable experience against the USL Champion Richmond Kickers plus we played several other local universities. We were able to give a good account of ourselves every game we played.
The 2007 schedule again appears to be very difficult, why do you choose to play such an ambitious schedule?
The team likes to play a tough schedule. The Southern Conference is one of the top conferences and every game is going to be tight in the league. In order to better prepare for that, we like to go up against the top teams. We are fortunate to have two teams from the College Cup Final Four in 2005 and 2006 (Clemson and Wake Forest) on the schedule next year. We also host North Carolina in the Jimmy V classic game in Rhodes Stadium. Playing top teams will help us continue to attract good players.
What are your team’s ambitions for this fall?
We are all very excited about this fall. Our ambition here has not changed; we want to make the NCAA tournament. We have positioned ourselves with our schedule, both in conference and out of conference, that if we perform and get the right results that goal is very attainable.
How do you think the recruiting class of 2007 will fare?
We expect this year's class to come in and compete right away. We will have nine newcomers this fall who all come from winning backgrounds at all levels whether high school, club or ODP State and Region teams. All these players have good attitudes and strong character. If they have prepared themselves correctly and come into the preseason fit, they should make the transition into college soccer smoothly. The team is looking forward to their arrival in August.
With the loss of KiKi Willis early to the MLS, will the Phoenix have a different look or style in the fall?
We are excited for Kiki to be given an opportunity to play in the MLS and hope that he can be successful at that level. His opportunity should encourage other players to aspire to keep getting better. In college soccer you lose players every year and it is always a new team from season to season. In 2007, we plan to continue moving forward with our program. We will require all the players to step up and contribute, and judging from the spring, the coaching staff is going to have to make some tough decisions. That is good. We would like to think that our team will play hard and organized and give their best effort in every game while representing Elon University. If we do that, we think we can use that as a platform to make things happen when we get on the ball. The team is hungry for success and hope that if we can keep developing our style we can achieve it.