PROVO, Utah (July 10, 2010) – BYU nearly upset the reigning Premier Development League Champions Saturday night but lost 2-1. The Cougars are now 3-9-2 while the defending champs are 8-4-1.

“It’s hard because we did come back and fight,” said assistant coach, Chad Sackett. “That’s how it’s been the whole year. We get scored on and we seem to find a way to fight back, but not fight back enough. Our record doesn’t necessarily show our effort and what kind of a team
we are.”

In the 9th minute Ventura County’s, Sam Myerson scored a left-footed strike from the top of the box in to the left corner of the goal to put his team up 1-0. Just three minutes later a Cameron Lamb pass was stolen by Utahn, Jacob Hustedt who scored a breakaway in the lower right corner to give the Fusion a 2-0 lead after just two minutes.

In the 53rd minute Fusion midfielder, Manny Guzman recorded his second yellow card off the game, giving the Cougars a man advantage for the final 37 minutes of regulation.

The Cougars pounded away at goal with eight shots and seven corner kicks in the second half and scored a goal in the 67th minute by freshman midfielder, Matt Rider. It was his first career goal. The score came off a corner kick from Doug Clark and Rider cleaned up a loose ball in the penalty area scrum.

“It wasn’t much on my part,” said Rider. “Dougie put in a good cross, KC or Blake got a good head on it and I was just waiting on the goal line. I just went in and kicked it as hard as a I could.”

The Cougars had multiple looks at goal but came up empty, losing 2-1.

“That’s been the story of this season,” said Sackett. “Other teams seem to pick apart our mistakes and put goals away and we can’t do the same in certain situations. The effort is there. It’s close.”

“It’s frustrating and it’s hard to look at our record like that but like coach is saying, He’s glad we didn’t quit,” said Rider. “We’re not quitters. Hopefully our luck will start to turn.”

Check out the photos from BYU’s student newspaper from the July 3 game versus the Ogden Outlaws.  Jamison Metzger is the photographer.

http://universe.byu.edu/node/9419

Junior forward, BJ Pugmire drops some of his writing skills on the blog with his weekly look at the different aspects of the BYU soccer program.

In this weeks profile story, we will highlight a player who is playing in his first year with the Cougars, but has already had a very positive influence on the team. One interesting fact that many might not know about Kip Critchlow, is that he is the grandson of Dale Critchlow who plays the part of the old man in Napolean Dynamite that shoots the cow.

Kip is another Utah native on the team that was discovered by coach Chad Sackett while playing with the men’s league team Olympique Montreux out of Salt Lake.  He is the third of four children in his family and claims that he was a soccer player from the start.

“I don’t really remember ever playing other sports as a kid,” Critchlow said. “My oldest brother played soccer and I remember starting to play with him in the backyard, and then later on the playground and I just stuck with it.”

Growing up Critchlow played with the club team the Nighthawks who were the Utah state champs in 2004. In his junior season at Hillcrest High Kip was an honorable mention, all-state player.

Within the ranks of the team Kip is known as the man who can run forever and also one who can spit rhymes.

In preseason training the joke on the team and the sad reality for us, was that Kip was in a league of his own. We were separated into different groups based on our physical fitness and Kip literally had a group created just for him that no one else was worthy of.

In response to the question of how he became so fit, Kip said, “It’s all natural I guess, I have a lot of dreams where I run away from people so that might be it.”

As far as spitting rhymes (battling people with words and a beat) is concerned, I can remember sitting next to Kip on the bus home from Las Vegas and listening to him pick apart different players who thought they could battle him. My personal nickname for Kip is Deejay Critchflow.

“Kip has some pretty mad skills,” said freshman teammate Matt Rider jokingly. “But I’m not scared to battle him anytime any place.”

Kip said he enjoyed listening to rap growing up and then when his family bought their first Mac he learned to use garage band and started creating his own beats which helped him to progress.

As for now Kip is excited to finish off the season well and hopes to serve a mission in the near future. He has no idea what he wants to study, but hopes to learn Spanish on his mission and return and continue his studies. He said his favorite player is Zidane and loves the style of play Zidane had. Finally, Kip is rooting for the Netherlands Sunday in the World Cup Final!

PROVO, Utah (July 8, 2010) — Hollywood overpowered BYU, Thursday night en route to a 3-1 victory against the Cougars.  Hollywood (8-2-2) extends its winning streak to seven games while BYU (3-8-2) ensures itself of a sub-.500 season.

“I am a little disappointed we gave up three goals,” said BYU head coach, Chris Watkins.  “We had a decent chance in the second half.  I thought our game plan was pretty good. Giving up that first goal in the first half was pretty tough.  Our only goal in the first half was to keep zero on the board.  We were hoping to win this game, 1-0.  We had to open up the game a little more.  We got one but the game plan didn’t work out perfectly.”

The Hitmen’s leading scorer, Jaime Chavez scored his eighth goal of the season in the 39th minute on a short cross inside the six-yard box from Oscar Sims to open the scoring.  The Hitmen added a second goal in the 72nd minute via substitute Esaul Mendoza on a pass from Jaime Chavez.  It appeared that Chavez hit the ball with his hand but no call was made.

Down 2-0, the Cougars did make it interesting in the 79th minute off a corner kick from Britton Osborne.  The ball hit Hollywood goalkeeper, Jose Miranda in the hands, bounced free to Kip Critchlow who tapped it at goal, deflected off a Hollywood defender, and Tyler Christiansen put it away for his first career goal as a Cougar to make it 2-1.

Three minutes later in the 82nd, BYU defender, Drew Van Wagenen was called for a foul on Jaime Chavez in the penalty area that Rene Corona scored down the middle on the penalty kick to put it away, 3-1.

“Our guys know we’re playing good teams,” said Watkins.  “They know we’re playing fairly well.  So to their credit they keep their heads up and keep working hard which is really an impressive quality and I hope really provides us with a good finish to our season.”

BYU plays 2009 Premier Development League Champion, Ventura County Fusion on Saturday at 8 p.m. MT in Provo.  The game will be broadcast, tape delayed on BYUtv and www.byutv.org/live at 10 p.m. MT.

Scoring Summary
39′   Hollywood: Jaime Chavez (Oscar Sims)
72′   Hollywood: Esaul Mendoza (Jaime Chavez)
79′   BYU: Tyler Christiansen (Kip Critchlow)
82′   Hollywood: Rene Corona (PK)

Postgame Notes
-Freshman defender, Junior Lartey played his first game as a Cougar
-Tyler Christiansen scored his first career goal
-Kip Critchlow leads the Cougars with four assists
-Brady Marshall was slated to start but hurt his ankle yesterday and Zach De Francis got his first start of the year
-Pedro Vasconcelos suffered a mild MCL sprain and is doubtful for Saturday
-BYU is now 1-7-1 when the opponent scores first and 1-6-1 when trailing at the half
-The Cougars are now mathematically eliminated from the playoffs and guaranteed a losing record

Jarom Jordan

I just read a great column from ESPN columnist, Bill Simmons on espn.com.  He explains why soccer is ready to capture the nation’s attention.  It’s a long article but a great read and the best part is the last question and answer.

Bill Simmons: Soccer is Ready to Capture Our Attention

Kristina Cummins wrote a feature in the BYU student newspaper, The Daily Universe on July 1 about Brady Marshall.

Brady Steve Marshall began playing soccer when he was 5 after his mother, Lisa, said he couldn’t play his favorite sport, football, until he entered high school because she thought he would get hurt.

His dad, Tony Marshall, invited him to play soccer when he was 5. To this day, he said he still teases Brady about his response to the invitation.

“Brady responded with, ‘I am not very good at things with my feet,’ ” Tony said, in jest.

This year, Brady has taken 15 shots on goal, the third-highest on the team, according to the league division’s website. Antonio Niccoli has 17 shots on goal and B.J. Pugmire has 19.

“Brady is a great athlete with unique speed, power and agility,” Watkins said. “When he’s motivated, he can play with anyone in the country.”

Tony said he did the typical fatherly things in Brady’s young soccer career, like taking him to practices and games. He noticed at a young age that Brady’s driven nature and high level of intensity impacted every facet of his nature.

“Brady has always been a young man of spiritual intensity,” Tony said. “He is very obedient and he wants to do what is right and never get in trouble. He is a natural leader and good example for others to follow.  It has been an absolute pleasure as a parent to watch him.”

Tony said in any sport Brady took on, the coaches were always happily surprised by his ability.

“The coaches would say, ‘We can’t get over this kid,’ ” Tony said. “He stood out because of his work ethic.”

Brady’s strong and intense work ethic was developed as a result of always being small compared to the other kids on teams, so he had to work harder to compensate, Tony said.

“I grew up in Modesto, Calif.,” Brady said. “I played baseball, basketball, football and soccer in high school but felt I had the greatest potential for a scholarship in soccer.”

Brady said his life revolved around sports and his mom tried to keep him well rounded by having him play the piano and earn an Eagle Scout award. He said even family vacations revolved around sporting events for both him and his younger sister, Jennie Marshall, who currently plays on the Cougar women’s soccer team.

Both of them recall spending their Thanksgivings in condos in Oceanside, Calif., for soccer tournaments. They said these Thanksgiving vacations were some of their favorite childhood memories, especially when extended family members went with them.

“Brady is an insane athlete,” Jennie said. “He can play anything he wants. He’s strong, fast and mentally there. A lot of athletes struggle mentally.”

Jennie said her brother has done everything he can in school as well as spiritually and has always been firm in his standards and beliefs. She said she feels close to him because they are only a few years apart and they share a common bond by playing soccer at BYU.

Brady’s wife, Annie, also played soccer at BYU. She is two years older than Brady and is currently expecting their first child, a girl, in August, she said.

Annie and Brady were married in the Oakland California Temple on Aug. 1, 2009.

They met at BYU during a youth summer soccer camp Brady attended while Annie was a counselor, Annie said.

“Brady came up to me on Monday morning, the first day of camp,” she said. “And the first thing he said to me was ‘I am a 209 area code, too.’ ”

Annie said they dated when Brady was a freshman and she was a junior. Then Brady left for his mission in Charlotte, W. Va., and she wrote him throughout. They went through the date-break up cycle when he returned from his mission, until they finally were engaged and married.

“He is definitely the clean one in the relationship,” Annie said. “Our apartment is really clean and he loves to vacuum.”

Brady said he is a steak and potatoes kind of a guy and he loves anything his wife cooks.

“I have a new favorite kind of food every week,” Brady said. “I especially love my wife’s tacos.”

Brady said he loves coming home to find his wife watching soccer or any kind of sport on TV.

“That is how you know you have a good one,” Brady said. “They understand your second love. It is awesome to be with someone who understands you completely.”

Brady and Annie continue the tradition in Brady’s family of finding a spouse at BYU. Brady’s dad said he and his wife met at BYU. He was a civil engineering major and his wife, Lisa, was an elementary education major. He said they lived in Wymount and Brady spent his first year of life being strolled around here on campus.

Brady will play in the men’s soccer game Saturday at South Stadium Field at 7 p.m. against the Ogden Outlaws.

Junior midfielder, Josh Patino gives his weekly thoughts about the team on the blog known as “On the Pitch”.

July 7, 2010 – The game is tied 1-1 to start the second half, both teams are playing for three very valuable points, the fans are hopeful that the Cougars will get a long awaited win…and most of all the players are trying to change their unfortunate luck this season. That was the feeling in the air as we fought to a well-earned 3-1 victory over the Ogden Outlaws. After being down 1-0 for the majority of the first half we once again proved a rare team characteristic to come back and win. Finally, we were able to finish our scoring opportunities and not just out play the opponent, but also win.

With only three home games remaining each game becomes that much more important. Tomorrow night we take on the division champs, Hollywood Hitmen, and then two days later, Saturday, we face the national champions, Ventura County. Tough weekend? Indeed. Are both great teams? Yes. Can we win? Without a doubt. We fell to Hollywood and tied Ventura at their home. On our last trip to California the team, only the players – no coaches, came together for a short meeting. We talked about what we can do better, where we can improve, what we want out of the remaining games. There is a lot that we can improve on and be better at, but there always will be. One mindset of the team as that we are better at the end of our final game July 17^th than we were when we started the season.

Our hopes of going to the playoffs faded quickly after our final games in California. However that doesn’t mean we don’t have something to prove. We play two of the best teams in the nation over the next three days and we definitely have plenty to play for. We’ve spent a lot of time together lately. We awoke extremely early on Monday, July 5^th, to be in the pre-parade. Quite a few of us are coaching the cub camps together that started yesterday. We’ve watched the World Cup Semifinals together…GO SPAIN! And, of course, we practice together everyday. I think more and more of the guys are becoming comfortable with one another and it’s beginning to show on the field. More confidence in one’s self and trust in our teammate.

The past two days we’ve focused on attacking with creativity and speed, actually getting to the goal and creating opportunities quickly. We had a little tournament yesterday, we had 4 teams of 7 and the team with the most overall points after pool play won. The winners received Jamba Juice after practice. Thanks Coach. Unfortunately, Cameron Lamb and Drew VanWagenen are on our injured list and most likely will not play tomorrow. Cam is our starting right back and hasn’t missed a game all season. He’s out with an ankle injury from the last game. Drew is our center back and is out with a left should injury. Both are recovering well and we all hope they’ll be back for Saturday.

Jarom Jordan

Click Here for Complete Game Notes (PDF)

PROVO, Utah (July 6, 2010) — BYU plays its toughest pair of home games this season when it hosts the Hollywood United Hitmen Thursday, July 8 and Ventura County Fusion on Saturday, July 10 in Provo.  Both matches kickoff at 8 p.m. MT.  The Hitmen won the Premier Development League’s Southwest Division in 2009 and the Fusion won the PDL Championship last season.  BYUtv will broadcast both matches with Thursday’s live at 8 p.m. MT and Saturday’s tape delayed at 10 p.m. MT.  Catch both online at www.byutv.org/live.

“It’s going to take a humongous effort from us,” said BYU head coach, Chris Watkins.  “Both teams have tons of great players … We can play with great teams.  We have to play our very best.  We can do it but it takes a massive effort.”

The Cougars snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Ogden Outlaws on July 3.  BYU scored a single-game season-high three goals, including two from junior forward, Brady Marshall.  The Cougars had scored eight goals in 11 games prior to the outburst versus the Outlaws.  BYU has four games remaining and is 3-7-2 with 11 points and in eighth place in the Southwest Division.  If BYU wins its remaining four games it will finish with a .500 record.  Toni Niccoli, Britton Osborne, and Marshall lead the team with three goals each.

“I think our scoring slump, while it may not be over, we’re getting better and better with our attacking players,” said Watkins.  “I’d be surprised if we get shutout this weekend.”

With some help and two wins, BYU could ascend to fifth place in the division by Saturday night.  The Cougars are not mathematically eliminated from the PDL playoffs (top two teams in the division qualify) but hope hangs by a string with the Cougars need to win its final four and get some major help.  The Cougars earned a win and tie out of this home stand in 2009.

Hollywood is 7-2-2, on a 6-game win streak, and in second place.  The Hitmen can climb to first with a pair of wins this weekend against BYU and Ogden.  The Hitmen are led by forward, Jaime Chavez who has seven goals and five assists this year.  BYU is 1-2 versus the Hitmen all-time with a 1-0 win in Provo in 2009 and a 3-0 loss on June 3 on the road.

The defending national champion, Ventura County Fusion is a point behind the Hitmen with 22 at 7-3-1 in the division.  The Fusion is led by former MLS player, Brent Whitfield who has seven goals in six games but he will not travel to Utah this weekend.  Five other players have scored two this year.  BYU is 0-1-2 with two ties in the last two meetings, including a 0-0 draw on June 5.

“I think we’ve found that confidence again,” said junior defender, Tyler Christiansen.  “That win against Ogden was good for us.  It’s really easy to get into that mode, the ball doesn’t bounce your way, to get real pessimistic real quick.  I think we’ve bounced that back.  We have a great chance to finish with a .500 record and in the middle of the table.  We still have a lot to play for.”

QUICK FACTS
Who: Hollywood United Hitmen vs. BYU Cougars
When: Thursday, July 8 at 8 p.m. MT
Where: The Stadium at South Field in Provo, Utah
TV: Live on BYUtv or www.byutv.org/live (Jarom Jordan, Hugh Van Wagenen, Aaron Nilsson)

Who: Ventura County Fusion vs. BYU Cougars
When: Saturday, July 10 at 8 p.m. MT
Where: The Stadium at South Field in Provo, Utah
TV: Tape delayed on BYUtv or www.byutv.org/live (Jarom Jordan, Hugh Van Wagenen, Aaron Nilsson)

PREMIER DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE
After winning seven club national championships, Brigham Young University joined the Premier Development League in 2003. The Cougars reached the elite eight in 2006 and 2007. The PDL is the top U23 men’s league in North America and features 68 teams within four conferences across the United States and Canada. The PDL season consists of 16 regular season matches for each team, eight home and eight away. The PDL provides elite collegiate players the opportunity to taste a higher level of competition while maintaining their eligibility. BYU is the first and only university to own a franchise in the PDL. In addition to league play, PDL teams compete in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup as well as various exhibitions. The United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League has proven to be an important stepping stone for top professionals now playing around the world.

FOLLOW THE COUGARS ONLINE
Check out the Cougars on twitter at www.twitter.com/byusoccer or on the official website at www.byusoccer.com.

Here’s a link to an interesting article about how AJAX Academy in Amsterdam, Holland trains its players.  It’s long but quite engaging.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/magazine/06Soccer-t.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage

PROVO, Utah (July 3, 2010) — On a night featuring a firework display following the match, the BYU Cougars lit up the scoreboard during the match, with a 3-1 victory over the Ogden Outlaws.  The Cougars are now 3-7-2 while Ogden falls to 1-7-2.

Ogden scored a goal in the first half but junior forward, Brady Marshall scored the Cougars equalizer in the 45th minute with a putback following a header off the crossbar by freshman midfielder, Matt Rider.  The score was tied 1-1 at halftime.

In the second frame, Marshall received a pass over the top of the defense by Brazillian freshman forward, Pedro Vasconcelos, then scored the go-ahead goal with a chip over the Ogden goalkeeper to score his second goal of the game.  In the closing minutes the Outlaws put everyone in the box on a corner kick to try and tie the score.  The ball hit the post in the penalty area scrum but Cougar midfielder, Kip Critchlow tackled the ball away and assisted Jantzen Romney for a late goal to win, 3-1.  The assist was Critchlow’s team leading, third of the year and Romney’s first career goal as a Cougar.  It is also the first time the Cougars have scored three goals in a game this season.

“The win really meant a lot to us,” said Brady Marshall.  “It’s been a season full of frustration so it was nice to get back on track.  Scoring those goals really felt good since I’ve been in a slump.  Pedro came in and really changed the game.  His assist was beautiful.”

BYU will play games two and three of a four-game homestand this week with 2009 Southwest Division Champion, Hollywood United Hitmen in Provo on Thursday, July 8 followed by last year’s Premier Development League champions, the Ventura County Fusion on Saturday, July 10.  Both games will kickoff at 8 p.m. MT and be broadcast live on BYUtv and www.byutv.org/live.

Scoring Summary
Ogden: 0-1
BYU: 1-1, Brady Marshall (Matt Rider)
BYU: 2-1, Brady Marshall (Pedro Vasconcelos)
BYU: 3-1, Jantzen Romney (Kip Critchlow)

Postgame Notes
-BYU won its first game after trailing this season
-After being shutout two games in a row, BYU has scored the last two games
-The Cougars scored three goals Saturday night after totaling eight in the first 11 games
-Janzten Romney scored his first career goal as a Cougar
-Kip Critchlow added an assist to his team leading total of three
-Brady Marshall now joins Toni Niccoli and Britton Osborn with three goals this season to lead the team
-BYU needs to win its final four games to finish with a .500 record
-All four remaining games are in Utah and the next three are at home