Junior midfielder, Connor Bassett gives his weekly thoughts about the team in “On the Pitch”.

Road trips have a way of bringing our team together and building friendships.  Once again, I won’t spend any time talking about the games (that’s for the sports writers to do).  I will say, however, that both games had their share of positive moments and we hope to continue to improve each game.

Our trip last weekend was successful overall.  In fact, our only regret off the field was the fact that we didn’t have enough time to eat dinner at BJ Pugmire’s house again!

My favorite thing about road trips is learning new things about my teammates.  And once again, we created a handful of unforgettable memories on this trip:

Winston Sorhaitz survived his first road trip with the team, congrats to the freshman.  Doug Clark is surprisingly quite the bed-hog: we all saw a side of Doug Clark that becomes rather angry and violent when he is forced to share a bed with someone else.  Be careful if you happen to be around James Bindrup in the middle of a heated conversation; he has to be the center of attention (as I found out while reading a book during an apparently life-changing discussion about zombies, shotguns, and samurai swords).  Junior Lartey and Jantzen Romney are the kind of guys that always happen to be in the right place at the right time, as we all witnessed on several occasions over the weekend, but you’ll have to talk to them if you want to know the details!

Anyway, we are excited to improve our our season this weekend.  We have a great opportunity to play Ventura this Thursday night.  We are a good team, and we are anxious to prove it!Tweet

BYU Assistant Coach, Clay Christenson gives his thoughts about the team “From the Box”.

Several good things happened this weekend in California. First off, Doug Clark slid into the starting line up on the back line which provided a nice offensive threat. Doug has great vision of the field and can play a dangerous ball forward, while also helping to establish possession with his skill on the ball. Another positive note was the bounce back from the team after a tough loss on Friday night. I can honestly say that I’ve never been more proud of our team this year than on Saturday night after the 0-0 draw with the Seahorses.

The energy and effort was fantastic all night, despite having played 90 minutes the night before, while the Seahorses were completely fresh from not having a game during the week. Both teams had plenty of opportunities and Cory Cosgrave came up with huge saves for us. Despite not putting a goal away, we were clearly more aggressive and confident as we played forward and walking off the field after 90 minutes was a proud moment for our team. We would have loved to win with a goal, but the improvement from Friday to Saturday night was awesome. Obviously the next step is to finish our opportunities and luckily we have a quick turnaround with our game this Thursday night against Ventura. Go Cougs!Tweet

Cory Cosgrave recorded his third shutout of the season. (Daily Universe)

Jarom Jordan

LA MIRADA, California (June 18, 2011) — Despite giving up three goals to Southern California at home a week ago, BYU held the Seahorses scoreless on the road Saturday night to earn a 0-0 tie.

“It was a fun game to watch,” said BYU assistant coach, Chad Sackett. “It was competitive. Both teams did well. We connected and did what we haven’t pushed through recently.”

The game was highlighted by three spectacular saves by BYU goalkeeper, Cory Cosgrave. The most notable save came with just four minutes to go when Southern California whipped a shot at goal from just outside the box that Cosgrave grabbed out of midair before a Seahorse forward go put away any rebound.

“Cory had three huge saves for us tonight,” said Sackett. “He came up big time for us.”

“We all came together,” said senior goalkeeper, Cory Cosgrave. “Will Burton went down. Ethan Meyer and Doug Clark stepped up for us. Everyone on the team this trip realized we need each other to succeed.”

Next week BYU returns to Provo for a pair of home games against the Ventura County Fusion (Thursday, June 23) and Los Angeles Legends (Saturday, June 25). Both kickoff at 8 p.m. mountain time and will be broadcast live on BYUtv and www.byutv.org/live.

POSTGAME NOTES
ROAD WARRIORS
BYU is now 1-2-2 with five points on the road this year. Five of BYU’s six total points have come away from Provo, earning a tie versus Orange County, a win at Ogden, and tonight’s tie.

SHUTOUT SHOUT OUT
In 2010 BYU recorded two shutouts. Through nine games in 2011 BYU has earned three shutouts. Tonight’s tie was the first against a team not named “Ogden” since June 5, 2010 against the Ventura County Fusion, the year after they won the Premier Development League championship.

2011 Shutouts
May 24  Ogden         0-0 T
May 28  @ Ogden    1-0 W
June 18 @ So. Cal  0-0 T

180 MINUTES
During the last two seasons BYU has shutout the Seahorses on the road, earning a 2-0 win last season and a 0-0 tie on Saturday night.

SERIES UPDATE
Tonight’s game was the 12th in series history. Southern California leads 6-5-1 but BYU is now 4-1-1 since 2006.Tweet

BYU came up short on the road, Friday night. ( Daily Universe)

Jarom Jordan

Box Score

LOS ANGELES, California (June 17, 2011) — In the first ever meeting between the LA Blues 23 and the BYU Cougars, the Blues (3-5-2) beat the Cougars (6-5-2 overall, 1-5-2 PDL) 3-2 on Friday night. BYU now prepares for the Southern California Seahorses Saturday night in La Mirada, California.

“We felt really good about the way we attacked at the start of the game,” said BYU head coach, Chris Watkins. “Getting a couple of goals was good for us.”

The Cougars jumped out to to a 2-0 lead after just 25 minutes. The quickest goal of the 2011 season came in the first minute when Toni Niccoli dribbled down to the end line, sent in a cross inside the box and BJ Pugmire scored his team leading, third goal of the year for a 1-0 lead. In the 25th minute BJ Pugmire assisted Garrett Losee for his first ever PDL goal as a Cougar. However that lead wouldn’t last.

The Blues scored three unanswered goals in the 35th, 48th, and 70th minutes off scrambles following free kicks from outside the penalty area. It was the third win of the season and second in a row for LA.

“We were disappointed and frustrated to work so hard and not get a result,” said Watkins.

BYU will play the Southern California Seahorses tomorrow night which is the second meeting in eight days. Last Saturday in Provo, Southern California won 3-1.

POSTGAME NOTES
MULTIPLIES OF TWO
Two goals in one game is the first time the Cougars have scored multiple goals in a game this season

“GO”AL AWAY
BYU gave up a total of seven goals in the first three games, recorded two consecutive shutouts, and has given up eight goals in the last three games.

THREE IS THE LEAD
Senior, BJ Pugmire now has three goals this season, which is the most on the team. The first two came on penalty kicks.

PART TWO
BYU and the LA Blues 23 will meet in Provo on July 21 in the PDL season finale and final home game for the Cougars. LA Blues 23 competes as a professional team for the first time this year, operating as a reserve squad for the Los Angeles Blues of USL PRO.

HALFWAY THERE
Friday nights game was the eighth game of the season. That is exactly the halfway point of the 16-game, 2011 Premier Development League season. Tomorrow night BYU begins the second half of the season against Southern California.

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BYU Assistant Coach, Clay Christenson gives his thoughts about the team “From the Box”.

Nobody walked away on Saturday night satisfied with our 2-game weekend performance. The first issue the team needs to deal with is defensive. In both games this past weekend, we conceded goals within the first 15 minutes. Playing from behind completely changes the dynamic of the game. Because you feel pressure to equalize with a goal, decision making generally gets worse and you’ll typically leave large gaps on defense which increases the odds the other team scores again. You have an uphill battle for the rest of the game, we have to keep our opponents to zero.

On the flip side, we have to put balls in the back of the net. As a team, we had nearly 30 shots on goal this weekend with only two goals. We are still searching for players who are not only hungry to create opportunities to score, but also have the composure to do so when the pressure is on. I know we have the effort, there’s no doubt that the guys on the field want to score and make a difference, but we’re hopeful that those difference makers rise up sooner than later. If we can’t put goals on the board and turn the pressure on our opponents, it’s going to be difficult to get three points out of a the rest of our matches.

So after a frustrating weekend each player, coach, and fan have two options. The first is to point the finger of blame at everyone else, not make any changes to how you prepare for a game, and basically settle into the mindset of, “We’re just happy to be here.” The second is to pull out the positive, go back to working harder than ever, and believe in yourself and the fact that YOU can make a positive difference, and prepare to win in every way next Friday at 7 p.m. Fortunately, the guys on the team, the other coaches, and fans all emphatically choose option two.

Let me make a case in point of one player who had an immense impact on both games this weekend, Colby Bauer. Colby is one of the smallest guys on the entire field but I guarantee he won more head balls and tackles than any other player both nights. His effort is always relentless every minute he is on the field and because of that, he’s rewarded with tackles, head balls, and difference-making plays on the field. In practice, Colby does the same thing, and I know all the players see it and respect it. We need more players to go out on the field with the mindset Colby has, he fears no one and is willing to sacrifice his body at any moment and on any tackle just to make sure we win. Back to work on Tuesday, we’ll be ready on Friday night. Go cougs!Tweet

Jarom Jordan

Box Score

PROVO, Utah (June 11, 2011) — For the second consecutive night the BYU Cougars squandering multiple scoring chances in route to a home loss against top competition in the Southwest Division. The Cougars lost 3-1 to the Southern California Seahorses on Saturday night dropping their overall record to 6-4-2, 1-4-2 in the PDL.

“You work extremely hard at practice and to come away with two losses this weekend is really disappointing,” said BYU assistant coach, Clay Christenson. “We have guys who work hard, want to be here, and sacrifice a lot. Our guys are anxious to be better.”

“We have the skills,” said forward, Toni Niccoli. “Little mental mistakes are costing us. It feels like a repeat of last year. Everyone on this team is talented. We have to come together.”

The Seahorses struck first in the 13th minute when Kennedy Chongo connected with Ryan Shaw in the box for the 1-0 lead. The goal was Shaw’s seventh of the season.

BYU answered in the 18th minute when midfielder, Jantzen Romney was fouled in the penalty area. BJ Pugmire scored on the PK for his team leading second goal of the season, both of which have come on penalty kicks.

In the 29th minute BYU’s Will Burton was whistled for a foul in the box, giving Seahorse midfielder Blake Leyden a chance at a penalty kick but Cougar keeper, Cory Cosgrave made a spectacular save and dive on the ball to keep the score 1-1 until the half.

The second half featured BYU dominating possession and threatening often but coming up short multiple times. The Seahorses took advantage by scoring in the 59th minute from Ryan Shaw and assisted by Jordan Burt for the go ahead and eventual game-winner and tacked another on in the 77th minute when the BYU’s Doug Clark scored an own goal on a corner kick deflection.

Next weekend BYU will travel to play at the LA Blues 23 on Friday, June 17 and Saturday, June 18 at Southern California.

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Jarom Jordan

Box Score

PROVO, Utah (June 10, 2011) — In a wide open, fast paced Friday night game the Orange County Blue Star hung on to beat the BYU Cougars, 2-1. The Blue Star are now 9-0-4 all-time against the Cougars.

“We were better tonight than we were a few weeks ago,” said head coach, Chris Watkins. “Overall we weren’t effective. We’re disappointed. We need to come out with points at home against even a great team.”

The Cougars are now 0-2-1 at home this season and will host the Southern California Seahorses tomorrow night at 8 p.m. MT on BYUtv and online at www.byutv.org/live.

In the 10th minute the leading point man in the PDL (8 goals, 3 assists, 19 points), Chandler Hoffman put Orange County on the board by creating an own goal. His left footed shot hit the right post then ricocheted off defender, Ethan Meyer in the net for the first goal of the game.

BYU nearly tied it up in the 23rd minute when midfielder, Jantzen Romney gathered a thru-ball and chipped it at goal but keeper, Sam Chappell saved two quick shots.

Dawning a new formation the Cougars featured returned missionary of five weeks, David Gates (Oregon State transfer) up top and he delivered in his first game in a BYU uniform. Getting the start, it took just 28 minutes for Gates to get his name in the records books as BJ Pugmire found him on a vertical ball which he gathered and put away for the equalizer.

“I think David played well,” said Watkins. “Toni did a nice job. We just have to be more effective. Goal scorers are born and not really made. We need to refine.”

In the second half BYU dominated possession but Orange County struck back on a counter attack in the 74th minute from a great cross by David Ponce to Fernando Monge who headed it into the near post corner for the 2-1 lead.

Four minutes later in the 78th minute BYU forward, Garrett Losee attacked goal and bounced a ball up that was called for a handball but the TV broadcast replay showed it wasn’t. Toni Niccoli put away a goal from that pass but it was negated.

BYU made desperate attempts in the final 12+ minutes to score another equalizer but came up short.

The Cougars outshot the Blue Star 12-7, and recorded nine corner kicks to the Orange County’s three.

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Junior midfielder, Connor Bassett gives his weekly thoughts about the team in “On the Pitch”.

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Jarom Jordan

Today’s practice featured a couple of new faces on the team. Former Springville Red Devil and high school teammate of BYU goalkeeper, Easton Folster, Bryson Pope is back from a mission and practiced with the team. I think he and Jace Green are the two tallest guys on the team.

High school graduates Winston Sorhaitz (Pleasant Grove) and Josh Hunter (Ohio)  graduated from high school and are practicing with the team. It was Sorhaitz third practice and Hunter’s first.

Today two year starting keeper, Bryan Black practiced with the team as the third keeper (he graduated in April and isn’t on the team). The fourth was Brackin Flitton who was a guest keeper. He was the starting goalie at Davis last season when the Darts won the state title. He gave up a mere three goals in 20 games that season. He is headed for Dallas on his LDS mission on June 29.

From what I gathered practice was VERY competitive. I saw fire in a lot of guys. These guys aren’t happy about scoring two goals in five games so far. Six goals allowed in five games (three in one game) is pretty good. The coaching staff focused practice on goal scoring and attacking the goal today. Sorhaitz looked impressive. Very quick.

The BYU soccer camps began this week, meaning 13 players are working them and the six hours every day from Monday-Thursday plus practicing. Get some rest fellas! This week it’s cubs and mini cubs.

BYU is prepping for a Friday/Saturday set of games against Orange County (May 14 1-1 tie on the road) and the first meeting with the Southern California Seahorses this year.

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