Jarom Jordan

Click here for complete game notes (PDF)

PROVO, Utah (July 13, 2010) — BYU will plays its final two games of the season this week, with senior night on Friday.  The Cougars play the Fresno Fuego in Provo on Friday, July 15 at 8 p.m. and the Ogden Outlaws on Saturday, July 16 at Bonneville High School at 6 p.m.  Friday’s game will be live on BYUtv and www.byutv.org/live with Jarom Jordan, Hugh Van Wagenen, and Aaron Nilsson on the mic.

BYU is 3-9-2 with 11 points in eighth place out of nine teams in the Premier Development League’s Southwest Division and out of playoff contention.  The Cougars lost a pair of games last weekend to Hollywood, 3-1 and Ventura County, 2-1 at home.  Britton Osborne, Brady Marshall, and Toni Niccoli have each scored three goals and combined for nine of the teams 13 goals this year.

Five seniors will play their final home games for BYU on Friday night.  They are KC Whitworth, Drew Van Wagenen, Bryan Black, Britton Osborne, and Brent Jensen.

The Fugeo is in fourth place at 6-4-3 and 21 points.  Fresno won 1-0 in the first meeting this season with a penalty kick in the 67th minute by Fabricio Codeceiro on June 24 at home.  Codeceira leads the team with seven goals and four assists, followed by Milton Blanco’s six goals and three assists.  The Fuego lead the series, 4-3 with a +6 goal differential (16-10).  Fresno has won two of the last three meetings and won the first two meetings back in 2003.  The Fuego won the most important meeting between the two squads in the 2007 Western Conference Final, 3-0.  BYU is 1-1 in Provo and 2-3 in Fresno.

“Fresno was a great team when we played them,” said BYU assistant coach, Clay Christenson.  “They had a lot of control of the ball in the middle.  They’ve got some talented players.  I think the advantage we have is that they’ll play the night before in Ogden.  Hopefully they’ll be a little worn down.  We’re at our home field with home fans.  Senior night is a special night.  I think guys give a little bit extra.”

“They (Fresno) are a very skillful team,” said senior midfielder, Britton Osborne.  “They are very good at keeping the ball but we can get our chances.  They’re good offensively but defensively they are not a very good team. They’ve had a lot of goals scored on them.  We need to score first and then I think it will be an easier game for us.”

Ogden is 2-8-2 with eight points and in last place in the division.  BYU won the first meeting this year, 3-1 on July 3.  Andrew Cornia and Kenan Powell lead the Outlaws with three goals a piece.  Triston Sommerville leads the team with four assists to go along with two goals.  BYU leads the series 14-2-1 with a +16 goal differential.  The Cougars used to meet their in-state rivals 3-4 times a year but 2010 marks the first equal scheduling among the eight Southwest Division teams playing each other twice, home and away.  BYU has won four in a row against the Outlaws and are 7-2-0 in Provo and 7-0-1 in Ogden.

“We’re excited for Ogden,” said Christenson.  “It’s the last game of the season.  If I remember correctly, I don’t think we’ve ever lost on their home field (7-0-1). I think the guys will be ready to play, especially those guys who will be ending their career’s.”

“We had an awful game (the first time against Ogden) and still came out with a win,” said Osborne.  “I’m expecting a win.  I think we’re a better team.”

QUICK FACTS
Who: Fresno Fuego vs. BYU Cougars
When: Friday, July 16 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: BYU Cougars vs. Ogden Outlaws
When: Saturday, July 17 at 6 p.m. MT
Where: Bonneville High School in Ogden, Utah

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.

PREMIER DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE
Check out the Cougars on twitter at www.twitter.com/byusoccer or on the official website at www.byusoccer.com.

Assistant Coach, Clay Christenson gives his weekly thoughts about the team on the blog known as “From the Box”.

As a team, we expect to win every game. It’s difficult to play well, fight
for every ball, and not come out on top. Unfortunately, we’ve had results this year that aren’t reflective of how good we are or how hard we work. What the guys do show day in and day out at practice and in games is character and heart. It takes a lot of character to come out each day and work your guts out, despite having your back against the wall all year. I’m deeply impressed with how hard the players fight, even though the season hasn’t gone according to plan.

The last week of practice for the year is always surreal for the players who are graduating. It’s tough to close this chapter in their lives, but I know they’ll work just as hard as ever as they prepare to play their last games as a BYU Cougar.

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.”

Senior midfielder and co-captain, Britton Osborne talks about shooting a skills DVD with BYUtv at South Field on Friday, July 9.

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