Brown @ Columbia - This Saturday at 4 PM

The Bears will open the Ivy League season at Columbia Saturday afternoon at 4 PM.  If you are in the area please come and support us.  There will be a get together post-game with current players, staff, and alumni.  Everyone is welcome.

Please note: Columbia is not providing any on-site parking (not even for our bus).  Plan accordingly.  See you there.

Boston College

As a team we are pulling together to identify mistakes and correct them.  Last night was a disappointing performance, we know we are better. What's done is done, we must move on, but part of learning is reflection and we have done a lot of that in the last 12 hours.
We will keep our eyes on the prize and start preparing for Columbia.
Nothing more is to be said about the previous game.  A team is only as good as their last and next game... our next will be the best yet.

Brown @ Columbia this Saturday at 4 PM.

Boston U

It was a wet and soggy affair, to say the least, as the sky opened up over Stevenson hosting the America East's finest: Boston University on Friday night.  Warm ups began with a light sprinkle and finished in dramatic fashion, leaving the visitors drenched with anticipation of a long hard match.  A couple sorely missed upperclassmen could have opened the door for a talented young squad like BU to sneak a win at Stevenson, but it instead proved to be a night for supporting Bear's players to shine in key positions.  Late in the first half during a periodic downpour Austin (self-named) "The Finisher" Mandel served a well-struck ball in to the BU box, skipping off Alex Markes's buzz cut head and finding the net. Alex had a most peculiar celebration with a "spaghetti arms"above the head sprint towards the bench.  Celebrations will need to be discussed prior to our next match (Pops and Sean will lead).
 Despite the miserable weather, it was a first half filled with quality moments for both sides. One by BU's Knox forced SKS to make a magnificent push out of the lower corner on a skipping shot.
A frustrated but not beaten BU side undesirably took the field in the second half.  They started with good possession, this was by no means a team that represented their current record.  We were solid in the back allowing fewer opportunities in the run of play.  Unfortunately for them, their inexperience showed with frequent fouls being called against them resulting in opportunities for us to attack which we took advantage of in direct fashion.  Thomson was struggling getting a grip on the ball, hopefully for BU due to the wet weather, and therefore there were many balls that should have been finished sprayed beyond the end line.  Late in the second half the "Legend" won a loose ball, found Rosa with a pass, who dribbled the keeper, finished the opportunity and the game.  Bears 2 Terriers 0.

Trip to Belair's Backyard: Brown @ So. Carolina

I had never been to Berkley, I had never been to San Francisco, and I had never been to Columbia, South Carolina.. Not until I become a member of Brown Soccer. Brown Men’s Soccer has been one of the great experiences of my life. I am able to spend everyday with my some of my best friends, doing my true passion. I feel blessed and I am grateful. I am no Evan "Legend" Coleman, I hope I can get some handicap points for this effort.  That being said I will do my best to describe a small portion of a short season: The Gamecock Classic:

 Wednesday- “Coach Sam Groves Shines”:

Sam brings a lot to this coaching staff. He has great knowledge of the game, He has the capability to slot into practice with no degradation, You can tell he is truly passionate about the game, but Wednesday he brought out is most blatant attribute..He is quality with the details. Wednesday Sam brought his A game. A checklist of things to bring. I mean are you kidding me? It had everything we needed. Written so clear. It even had the Fl Oz requirements for the plane! It had everything no member of the team could have possibly forgotten anything. I mean it was impossible right? Well simply no it was not impossible. I botched. No jacket. No dress shoes. No shin guards. Sam brought quality..I brought the poorness, started the trip on a negative note.

Thursday…or is it late Wednesday- “Lizards Thicket”:

4am wake up call and we were off. The squad passed the time in various ways. Ben slept like a champ, Dylan bumped Taylor Swift, Evan wrote in his diary, Rosa tried making friends with the flight attendant, and Jack read harry potter. We arrived in Columbia soon enough. After watching Alex play a game in the airport designed for 7 year olds (see below), and watch Austin’s truly impressive wheelchair skills we had arrived. Light Training and some much needed sleep would follow.

Friday- “Friday night lights”:

We came to play. No jet lag. No hiccups. This was BMS. 2-0 win, a silenced crowd, and a proud squad. Some of the highlights include Evan’s return from the sidelines, a stellar defensive line performance, and some just magnificent celebrations. No complaints here, this was a great day.

Saturday- “Jasons made of Velcro”:

You remember that game where one of your friends would hold a flat Velcrow shield and you would throw balls at him as hard as you can? Well that was Jason during our rehabilitation training. An impressive 6 balls caught and held at one time he was the day’s winner…well that or Robs belly. Rob housed 3 loaves of bread at dinner, and then completed his third straight day of Marble slab ice cream desert…apparently it would not be enough to calm the mans fiery spirit for the following day.

Sunday- “No Funday”:

Im just going to go ahead and say it was not our day. Lot of things went wrong. We were still a goal away from equalizing with 10 to play, but heavy legs and some poor choices all around led to a very disappointing result. It was a sad way to end a great trip but no time to be down, for winter is coming. Ill let this picture from the flight home say it all..

-pop pop pop

Brown @ Columbia - Post game get together

The Bears travel to Columbia on October 1st for the Ivy opener, kick-off at 4.  The players, current staff, and alumni will be meeting for food and conversation post game.  We welcome anyone in the area that would like to meet the 2011 Brown Bears after a victorious Ivy start.

Hope to see you there.

A Reflection from The Beginning

Only four short weeks ago I joined the staff at Brown.  Two weeks prior to that I was driving through a campus for the first time.  Excitement was the first feeling that came to mind.  It was an exciting time for me as a young coach making a choice to change my life in a way that has transformed me forever.  A main-stream type statement but a very real experience for me.  I keep thinking… (I was only in Vermont a month ago) this is great, everything about this journey for me personally has been great.  After I got through the “wow when am I going to have time to do all of that?” stage I settled into the constantly changing lifestyle of BMS which presents new challenges every moment of the day. 

When my mentor from my previous gig asked me what do you like so much about it? I responded with: “It’s just different”.  He of course asked me to explain… I came up with two ideas.  1:  I can try to describe the feelings I associate the experience with thus far, which is that of the aurora that BMS gives off.  The feeling of being different is that uniqueness that each one of the student-athletes and staff members brings everyday as individuals mashed and molded into one creative, motivated, and consistent team.   This is a general statement I know, but that is the only way to describe a feeling which only the people who are involved or have been involved previously can attempt to feel.  Team is a fantastic idea and is an idea that I have seen fulfilled in so many different ways already in just one month.  2: I could list off all of the reasons why BMS is different, but that would be hard to without comparing it to my last experience.  There are many things that are different and unique to BMS.  As I previously stated the people here are special, the facilities are rich with memories and tradition, and the mentality is just different.

When we took the field against GMU I couldn’t help but think of all the great teams that have competed on this pitch before us.  It was an “AW” moment.  It was our first home contest of the season, and the first of my short Brown career.  A great feeling came over me that was filled with excitement. I was ecstatic.  The crowd was alive and I could feel them with the flow of the game.  We came out strong and put two goals away in the first 45.  An incredible team defensive effort held the pushing patriots back for us to stay on top.  The 2011 Bears are now 2-0 at home continuing the “you don’t come here and beat us” tradition of Stevenson that they upheld so well with the 2010 squad. 

Temple proved to be no match for our Bears.  We moved the ball so well against them they were shell-shocked.  TJ “Pops” wrestled his way to a rebound scoring yet another goal for the Bears.  He has had a phenomenal season, which represents his devotion to BMS the last 4 years, he is a man who buys into the process.  A disappointed Temple left on Sunday with a few bags, we left with the hardware.  

Brown Soccer Classic pt. 2

T.J. "Pops" Popolizio 

Brown Soccer Classic pt.1

GMU at BROWN (1700+ in attendance)

Reflection - OSSC

Providence College was a mud-filled puddle that our Bears happened to step in.  A puddle is a perfect metaphor for the Friars which seemingly pulled us into their murky style of football.  We had a vision of keeping possession, and combining up the field, but the ball spent more time off the pitch then on (and I don't just mean in the air).  After the whistle was blown each of the 13 times for the Bears, the game ball went missing for a period of time.  Speaking with spectators and parents post-game the "jabulani"s were spotted bouncing down the streets and off of the dormitories close by.  The feeling of absence left our boys frustrated and hungry for the ball.  However, once we were able to settle the ball and play we put together several attacks which ended with shots on goal.  We clawed our way into the second half feeling "OK" about the first.  

Unfortunately we did not come out with our best in the second.  We tripped and stumbled through the first 15 minutes leaving an open door for PC if they could string the passes together to take advantage, which to their surprise, they could not.  We were able to counter with combinations thanks to our movement off the ball which resulted in several quality opportunities squandered.  The Bears began to clean up the play with superior technical skill until a turnover resulted in a goal against.  Once the ball was in the back of our net, in the 68th minute, it may have been on the field for 10 minutes after that.  It went MIA.  The ball boys transformed into ball hogs which we did not have the time to chase.  

Our Bears were respectable and fought until the end.  PC 1 - Brown 0. 

Sunday, a brand new day, a brand new feeling, and a brand spanking new playlist for the bus by the now infamous Coach Groves.  I stayed behind to drive a spotless, fuel-filled van which would be used to transport anxious-to-have-yet-another-1st-year-meeting freshman back to Brown ASAP.  

Bryant aimed to "directly impact" the game from the start, however, we kept the ball on the ground and passed around their chase.  Alex "Kiwi" Carr received his second collegiate start and first shutout with a strong team of elders surrounding him.  Three Bears earned their first goals of the season but certainly not their last.  We were prepared for an emotional game after PC and the "kick and run" style of Bryant proved to be no match for our silky smooth combinations and hard-nosed organized defense.  Brown 3 - Bryant 0.

To match the taste of victory in our stomachs we were met with pizza at the bus from Kingston, the most delicious post-game meal yet.  Complaints from Cyrus "the swiss army knife" Mahler were rebutted with less and less pizza.  The first-year van was driven by myself without stop or stall straight back to the Pizz to ensure the class of 2015 didn't miss a minute of our fresh meat.  A great night to be a Brown Bear.

Stay tuned for the recap of today's match:  GMU AT BROWN KICK OFF: 7:30 PM

Preseason to Present - From the view of Senior Bear: Evan Coleman

After a long summer of anticipation the season is once again upon us, bringing with it a solid, unified squad of returners, an eager freshmen class, and two new additions to the coaching staff. Sam Groves joins us after an illustrious career at the University of Hartford, while Jason Burnett completes the list, traveling to Brown from the green boonies of UVM where he served as an assistant and goalie coach for the past season. Sadly we also bid a fond farewell to Gregg “the great” Miller and wish him all the best at his new head coaching position at Manhattanville College. (Though still, the unanswered question hangs heavy in the air and echoes through the locker room “who was the true Megwars champion?”)

            After an impressive height, weight and body fat showing including an unprecedented 3% drop by Mitch “Cupcake” Kupstas in a matter of days (no doubt making use of Rob’s healthy-foods-with-terrible-consequences diet), the boys were off to the track for the eagerly-awaited 3 mile. There were strong performances all around as the sweating masses of BMS ran lap after lap, dodging angry but highly competitive elderly runners, managing the tight, dew-laden turns deftly and finishing with a bang (or perhaps a hard splat depending on your exhaustion level.) Other highlights included Tommy “It’s-a-bird, it’s-a-plane, no-it’s-a-tomato” Arns’ 1:05 first lap, an appearance by legendary keeper and beloved robot Paul “Wall” Grandstand, and of course the fact that the long awaited Joga Bonita could finally begin.

            Though sessions proved hot and humid, the boys took to the fields with energy and enthusiasm as bit by bit the team regained confidence and solidified, battling with the good-natured competitiveness that has cemented itself as the standard for training over the years. Though touches were rusty at times and a few studs showed up imprinted in the calves of others, the hard work done in practices was always rewarded with delicious meals, laughable duo stretching techniques, and even a gift from Calvin to baptize the practice field. (FINE!).  

And then it was game time, well, at least scrimmage time, as the boys blasted pregame jams (“Con manos arriba….”) strapped on their boots, and set out onto good ole Stevenson once more to face the University of New Hampshire in a preseason friendly. The quality of play was solid for the majority of the game as the boys shook the rust from their boots and began connecting passes and creating opportunities. The predictable victory in possession fell to Brown as UNH resorted to the classic boot-the-crap-out-of-the-ball-and-run technique. Though the ref seemed to be one of the fittest people on the field, he was equally as quick with his whistle handing out two PKs over the course of the 90+ minutes without a second thought. The first a handball by young McNamara of UNH, (no doubt learning such tricks from a certain older brother). The second, a skirmish in our box, lead to a UNH player falling, (which Rob later, after much indecision, manned up to and admitted it had been Mcduff) as the PK sailed just passed the outstretched fingers of Alex “The Kiwi” Carr.

And so it was tied 1-1 in regulation, forcing the decision to penalties. After much deliberation five of our bravest stepped forward and took their shot including a near 3 for 3 save-score-save killer combo from the agile Cupcake, but the game ended 4-4 in pks. And with this history was made that day as for the first time a game was decided in pks… as a tie???

Though perhaps the desired result was not achieved, the scrimmage was nevertheless a step in the right direction for the squad, as the majority of players saw minutes and the team began to improve their chemistry and understanding for the coming months. After battling the elements (Irene) with great bravery the squad looks forward to yet another challenge as we head to Providence for the Rhode Island State Classic… stay tuned.

-BMS, “Stay Connected, One Team…”