Sept. 15, 2005
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Men's soccer captains Tyler Birch and Greg Cass give an inside look at the Lions' season thus far with a quick blog!
Greg Cass: Our attitude for this fall season was set by the work we started last spring during our off-season. Each of us completed a full regiment of weight lifting, fitness and technical training at a frequency and intensity that was above what many of us had done before. The hard work paid off with an extremely successful spring campaign. This same diligent attitude continued during the summer, and by the time our official practices began in late August, we were by far the fittest Columbia team I had seen since my arrival as a freshman. The preseason was merely the finishing touches on a collective effort to achieve nothing less than our goal - an Ivy League championship.
Although our games thus far have not all gone as planned, there are still many positives to take away from these contests. Our returning players have all improved from last season and are now complemented by a strong group of freshmen, many of who are already making an impact. After our first five games, we all understand that improvements need to be made, especially in becoming more cohesive as a unit. With only four more games before we start our play in the Ivy League, we expect, as should the rest of the Columbia athletic community, to finish our non-league campaign strong. Although our first five games have left us with injuries, some unexpected results and questions, the team is as strong as ever and confident that when October 1 comes around and Brown arrives at the Columbia Soccer Stadium, any concerns over our start will quickly be silenced.
Tyler Birch: The past week has been tough for us after two hard loses against Hartwick and Army. Although we did not win the Mayor's Cup Tournament, the team played some of the best soccer since I have been apart of the Columbia team and got a solid win against Oneonta State.
Despite two difficult losses, the work rate and the confidence levels still remained high. Hopefully the first half of the Hartwick game, in which we strongly dominated, will let the guys know how much potential this team has and we can carry that into this weekend at Stony Brook.
Be sure to check back next week when fellow captain Blake Lindberg reflects on the weekend's games!
