soccerfanatic
Active member
We made it through a tough weekend in New Mexico. It was fun to see the enthusiasm the fans have for soccer in that part of the country. New Mexico (who only placed fifth in the Mountain West Conference last year) had the fifth highest average attendance of any team in the nation. New Mexico State, in their inaugural season, had one of the largest and most animated crowds I have ever seen in college soccer.
Our lack of experience showed up against New Mexico. We had as many as six freshmen on the field at a time, and these young women had never played against a Div I opponent. Too many players hanging on to the ball too long, trying to dribble through the defense, making nervous, inaccurate passes. Still, the players showed a great deal of talent and I believe they will do much better after they get a few games under the belt.
New Mexico State was a great experience for our young team. NMSU played with the aggressiveness and talent of a Div I program (way above what we experienced with Northwest Nazarene,) but they were plagued with the same inexperience as ISU. While we had as many as six freshmen on the field at a time, they had as many as eight true freshmen on the field at once. NMSU has done a super job with recruiting, bringing in talent from New Mexico, California, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, and even Idaho. I look for them to be the top team in the WAC as early as next year, particularly given their enthusiasm and fan support. In their first weekend, they lost both games against ISU and UTEP, but both were lost in double overtime.
I believe ISU is headed for a great season. The team is starting to work together and is gaining confidence. I look for ISU to win at Southern Utah tomorrow, and again in their home opener on Sunday against Maine. It would be great to go into the Governor’s Cup Tournament the following week with a 3-1-0 record… and I believe that is very probable.
Kudos to the SID for getting two Bengals nominated for conference player of the week this week. Even though seven teams competed over the weekend, only four teams had players that earned nominations, and ISU had two players nominated.
It would be nice to see ISU fans compete with New Mexico for fan enthusiasm. ISU already has some of the best attendance of any team in the intermountain west. ISU lead the conference in attendance in 2007, but dipped behind Northern Arizona in 2008. (Our average attendance fell from 643 in 2007 to only 371 in 2008.) Still, a long way from the 1,500+ fans per game they get in New Mexico and it looks like they will be attracting as many at New Mexico State.
One smart play NMSU made at the game was to invite and honor all of the youth soccer players at their game. We have seen some youth soccer players at ISU games in the past, but it would be great to do some things to honor those teams. I know several of the colleges have invited youth soccer teams to serve as ball girls at the games and then even play a short 10 minute game at halftime. I know of families of 10 or more who have purchased tickets to watch a daughter/granddaughter/etc. play in mini-game at half-time at BYU. You can't imagine how fun it is to see your 8-year-old daughter playing soccer on in a college stadium in front of hundreds of fans. Plus, what a fantastic way to build community loyalty to your program.
Our lack of experience showed up against New Mexico. We had as many as six freshmen on the field at a time, and these young women had never played against a Div I opponent. Too many players hanging on to the ball too long, trying to dribble through the defense, making nervous, inaccurate passes. Still, the players showed a great deal of talent and I believe they will do much better after they get a few games under the belt.
New Mexico State was a great experience for our young team. NMSU played with the aggressiveness and talent of a Div I program (way above what we experienced with Northwest Nazarene,) but they were plagued with the same inexperience as ISU. While we had as many as six freshmen on the field at a time, they had as many as eight true freshmen on the field at once. NMSU has done a super job with recruiting, bringing in talent from New Mexico, California, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, and even Idaho. I look for them to be the top team in the WAC as early as next year, particularly given their enthusiasm and fan support. In their first weekend, they lost both games against ISU and UTEP, but both were lost in double overtime.
I believe ISU is headed for a great season. The team is starting to work together and is gaining confidence. I look for ISU to win at Southern Utah tomorrow, and again in their home opener on Sunday against Maine. It would be great to go into the Governor’s Cup Tournament the following week with a 3-1-0 record… and I believe that is very probable.
Kudos to the SID for getting two Bengals nominated for conference player of the week this week. Even though seven teams competed over the weekend, only four teams had players that earned nominations, and ISU had two players nominated.
It would be nice to see ISU fans compete with New Mexico for fan enthusiasm. ISU already has some of the best attendance of any team in the intermountain west. ISU lead the conference in attendance in 2007, but dipped behind Northern Arizona in 2008. (Our average attendance fell from 643 in 2007 to only 371 in 2008.) Still, a long way from the 1,500+ fans per game they get in New Mexico and it looks like they will be attracting as many at New Mexico State.
One smart play NMSU made at the game was to invite and honor all of the youth soccer players at their game. We have seen some youth soccer players at ISU games in the past, but it would be great to do some things to honor those teams. I know several of the colleges have invited youth soccer teams to serve as ball girls at the games and then even play a short 10 minute game at halftime. I know of families of 10 or more who have purchased tickets to watch a daughter/granddaughter/etc. play in mini-game at half-time at BYU. You can't imagine how fun it is to see your 8-year-old daughter playing soccer on in a college stadium in front of hundreds of fans. Plus, what a fantastic way to build community loyalty to your program.
