2008 Woodie Awards
SIUE men's soccer struggles in early Division I?contest
Kenneth Long
Issue date: 8/26/08 Section: Sports
The SIUE men's soccer team finished off their exhibition season last week, losing to No. 21-ranked Bradley University 4-1.
Men's soccer Head Coach Kevin Kalish said the game was extremely tough for the Cougars, and there were some kinks to work out this week before their next game on Saturday against Missouri State University at Des Moines, Iowa.
"We made some crucial mistakes that cost us some goals," Kalish said.
SIUE had a rough start to the game with a handball in the box two minutes into the game, allowing Bradley's Chris Cutshaw to draw first blood and score a goal on SIUE senior goalkeeper Nick Frasca.
The Cougars responded with freshman Jack Twellman's seven-yard-out goal nine minutes into the first half.
Kalish said Twellman will show his true colors this fall in the new conference.
"Jack's doing very well," Kalish said. "He's making the transition to Division I faster than we thought."
Twellman's promise failed to outshine Bradley, who proceeded to score three more times, with the final goal at 29:09 by Braves' Paul Tracy from 18 yards out.
Junior midfielder Nick Bigogno said Bradley used a unique style of play the Cougars weren't used to.
"We did a lot of good things, but we made some crucial mistakes," Bigogno said. "They capitalized on every opportunity they had."
Frasca said the exhibition season was a learning experience that showed promise for their switch to D-I.
"This was our first test at the Division I level," Frasca said. "We're going to have a fun season that we'll be able to build off of."
Kalish said the Cougar men would learn from their loss and stick to the game plan for the upcoming season.
"We'll be focusing on executing play style, and we'll get better and better," Kalish said. "We want to win every game, but sometimes it's good to expose some weaknesses."
Men's soccer Head Coach Kevin Kalish said the game was extremely tough for the Cougars, and there were some kinks to work out this week before their next game on Saturday against Missouri State University at Des Moines, Iowa.
"We made some crucial mistakes that cost us some goals," Kalish said.
SIUE had a rough start to the game with a handball in the box two minutes into the game, allowing Bradley's Chris Cutshaw to draw first blood and score a goal on SIUE senior goalkeeper Nick Frasca.
The Cougars responded with freshman Jack Twellman's seven-yard-out goal nine minutes into the first half.
Kalish said Twellman will show his true colors this fall in the new conference.
"Jack's doing very well," Kalish said. "He's making the transition to Division I faster than we thought."
Twellman's promise failed to outshine Bradley, who proceeded to score three more times, with the final goal at 29:09 by Braves' Paul Tracy from 18 yards out.
Junior midfielder Nick Bigogno said Bradley used a unique style of play the Cougars weren't used to.
"We did a lot of good things, but we made some crucial mistakes," Bigogno said. "They capitalized on every opportunity they had."
Frasca said the exhibition season was a learning experience that showed promise for their switch to D-I.
"This was our first test at the Division I level," Frasca said. "We're going to have a fun season that we'll be able to build off of."
Kalish said the Cougar men would learn from their loss and stick to the game plan for the upcoming season.
"We'll be focusing on executing play style, and we'll get better and better," Kalish said. "We want to win every game, but sometimes it's good to expose some weaknesses."
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