Summer break is finally here!

Both the Men and Women's team will be heading home for the summer next week. Both teams are given workout books to keep them on track during the long 3 month break. Both teams will be back in action August 10th to begin preseason. I want to wish both teams best of luck!!

To follow Tiffin Dragon athletics just log on to http://www.tiffin.edu and click the athletics tab and choose which team you would like to read about!

Great weekend for the Dragons

The men and Women's soccer teams both hosted Findlay and the Alumni this weekend. The women played Findlay in the early morning and ended up with a 0-0 tie. The women had a few chances on goal but could not find the back of the net. As always Findlay was a rivalry game and consisted of a physical match between the two teams. The lady dragons went on to play the Alumni and came out with a 4-1 victory. The Alumni came out buzzing but seem to grow tired quickly. Erin Thomas knocked in the first goal to give the Dragons a 1-0 lead going into the half. Hannah Stevens knocked in a goal off of a great cross to put the Dragons up by 2. Felicia Ruiz of the Alumni scored soon after to make it a 2-1 game. The Dragons answered right back with another goal from Hannah Stevens. The Alumni worked hard but could not come back from the deficit. Victoria Evans went on to score a header goal off of a corner kick with only a minute left in the game.

The Men's team posted a win and loss this weekend. They played Findlay first and won 3-0. Michael O'Neil, Rhys Cannella, and Ashton Campbell all put in goals for the Dragons. On the defensive end the Dragons had their best game yet. They locked Findlay's offense down and came out with a shut-out. The second game that the Dragons played was against the Alumni. Coach Brownell, who was on the Alumni side, decided to rest his starters for this game. He obviously knew that the Alumni would not have a chance if the starters played. The Alumni went on to win 5-1. Mike Rutkowski had 2 goals, Rudy Brownell had 2 goals, and Byron put up one goal. Mike Skelly scored the lone goal for the Dragons. This was a very fun and interesting game to watch. It is always fun to watch a soccer match when there is a lot of scoring involved. Alumni weekend is a very relaxed and fun atmosphere and has been a pretty good success the last four years that I have been here. I know from being an Alumni that is always fun to see how the team is and to come back and play again. There was a good audience for all the games, which is nice to see fellow students and parents coming out to support their school.

Alumni Weekend is here!!

The Alumni are back in town! The men and women's team are both playing in an Alumni game this Saturday, April 10th. The Alumni games are very exciting and interesting to watch. It is always a fun atmosphere and interesting to see players that have not been around for a while. The women's alumni will have all of their players back together from the 2006 National Championship team and the NCAA team from 2008. The men will be playing at 1:00 PM and the women will be playing at 3:00 PM. Both games are at Paridiso Fields so come out at support your Dragons and Alumni!!!

Opening Weekend for TU Soccer Teams!

The Men's team had their first of two games against Bluffton University. The came out with the win of 6-1. The play of game was dominated by the TU Dragons squad. The game was controlled from the forward play between Ashton Campbell and Rhys Cannella all the way to the defensive end with Adam Fussell, Rabii Karanouh, Steve Morris, Matt Moceri, and Jeff Frisch in goal. The game was very high tempo and fast paced for the Dragons. With a lot of goals made the game very entertaining and enjoyable to watch. Campbell and Cannella both contributed with two goals, Bluffton defender knocked the ball into his own net while trying to clear the ball, and Mike Skelly helped secure the victory with a header goal late second half.

The Dragons played their second game against the Columbus All-Stars. Fatigue played a factor in the game causing the Dragons to lose 2-3. The play was controlled by the Columbus All-Star squad for most of the game. The game was played for the majority time in the Dragons defensive half. Campbell and Skelly put goals in to keep the Dragons competitive with the All-Stars, but the All-Star squad, which featured some graduated Dragons, went on to score in the last 2 minutes of the game.

Moving on to talk about the Women's game against the Columbus All-Stars, the lack of defensive players, due to graduating seniors, proved to be a factor in this game. The Dragons had a lot of young new players with little experience on the field. The game was mostly controlled by the All-Stars after Hannah Stevens knocked in a goal in the first half. When the All-Star team scored the Lady Dragons could not bounce back to get the victory. I think this is a good result and learning experience for the Lady Dragons seeing that they are a very young team. The Women are playing again this weekend at Wright State.

Sponsorship for Tiffin Soccer!

The main sponsor for Tiffin Men and Women's soccer is Adidas. Both teams have Adidas jerseys, shorts, and socks. The teams also have Adidas warm-up tops, pants, hats, under armor, winter jackets, and equipment such as soccer balls, and pennies. Being sponsored by Adidas allows for both the teams to get discounts on their equipment and is a chance for Adidas to advertise their products. Sponsorship is important for both the team and Adidas. It provides benefits for both the teams and Adidas. Sponsorship is a great way to go when you need to get your name and product out there and most companies or organizations are going to accept because it usually allows them to get benefits such as discounts.

GAME TIME!

The Tiffin Dragons Men's soccer team will host their first home games at Paradiso Fields this Saturday, March 27th. They will be playing in two games this weekend. The first game will kick off at 11:00 AM against Bluffton and the second game will be played at 1:40 PM against the Columbus All-Stars. The coaching staff and players are very excited to finally have a game and to see how all of their hard work is paying off. The Tiffin Dragaons Women's soccer team is also starting their play this weekend at Paradiso Fields. There game is scheduled to start at 3:00 PM taking place after the Men's second game. The women only have one game that day against Oliver Columbus. The women's team is excited and anxious about going into this first game with their new coach and team. They have had a chance to play 11 versus 11 during the week but a lot of players are in new positions and they are still working on coming together as a team. This should be a good first game test to see where they are at and where they need to improve. As a player, I remember how the first spring game is very exciting because you have been working so hard to get in shape and have not been able to actually play a full sized game in quite some time, so it is nice to actually get a chance to play a component and not just each other.

The weather forecast is calling for a nice weekend so come out and support your Tiffin Dragons as they start off their spring season!

If you want to look at the full spring schedule for either team click on the following links below:

Men's Team: http://www.tiffin.edu/athletics/men/soccer/springsked/
Women's Team: http://www.tiffin.edu/athletics/women/soccer/springsked/

One step closer to season

The Tiffin Dragons Men Soccer program just had their first outdoor practice yesterday at the Paridiso Complex. They are still working on their conditioning but are also starting to focus on coming together as a team and filling the places of seniors. The guys are practicing four days a week outdoors now preparing for their first spring game, which is next Saturday at home. It is always a rough transition going from a small indoor facility to a huge open field. I think it is important that they are getting outside and starting to work on their touches and adjusting to the surface change so they are not shocked when they have to play in their game. Another hard thing to adjust to when going outdoors is breathing. It is very different running around outside than it is inside and that plays a huge factor in a players performance. It also does not hurt that the weather has been beautiful so it gives them a great reason to be outside enjoying the nice weather while it lasts!

The women's program has also just started practicing outside this week and the team is very excited about it. This is the first opportunity that the women's team has a chance to play outside together without their seniors that they just lost and their new coach. It gives the coach an opportunity to get a better feel for how the girls play together. It will give her a chance to pinpoint problem areas because they will be able to do more things outside and actually play a full game where in the gym you do not have the room to do that. I have to say that the coaching style is 100% different than when I was on the team. I am not saying it is worse or better, but it is a lot different. When playing for Coach Brownell I know that we were pushed to work our hardest and were always playing in the gym right away when the NCAA rules allowed it. I have not been to any practices with the new coach so I do not know firsthand, but from what I have heard it seems to be a lot more laid back. I think it is always nice to have a change and I think with a more laid back setting it gives many players the opportunity to set the tone of practice and really gives each player an opportunity to prove themselves and push themselves to their fullest. I personally love to compete and push myself and I loved the competitive atmosphere when I was on the team, but I do believe for the players that are left it is a refreshing change based on the type of players they are. I am excited to see the girls play this spring and will be following their season come fall season.