Here is the place for all other LU sponsored sports. Come here to post about: Men's/Women's Cross Country, Men's Golf, Men's/Women's Soccer, Men's/Women's Tennis, Men's/Women's Track & Field, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Swimming & Dive, Women's Volleyball

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By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#644400
Stevev wrote: August 28th, 2022, 9:17 pm We just tied #20 Maryland 1 to 1 but we were dominated on the stat sheet. Only 2 shots. A moral victory perhaps
A draw with the #20 team in the Country is better than losing to the #20 team in the Country don’t ya think? Obviously a WIN against the #20 team in the Country would have been better.
Sounds like it was a solid defensive effort. 1 goal. 2 shots. Definitely defense focus. Think football bend but don’t break. You can give up a ton of yards. Just don’t give up points.
By 47/5-2
Registration Days Posts
#644402
Purple Haize wrote:
Stevev wrote: August 28th, 2022, 9:17 pm We just tied #20 Maryland 1 to 1 but we were dominated on the stat sheet. Only 2 shots. A moral victory perhaps
A draw with the #20 team in the Country is better than losing to the #20 team in the Country don’t ya think? Obviously a WIN against the #20 team in the Country would have been better.
Sounds like it was a solid defensive effort. 1 goal. 2 shots. Definitely defense focus. Think football bend but don’t break. You can give up a ton of yards. Just don’t give up points.
Multiple things.

1. The stat sheet does tell a story. However, up until we scored, you couldn't tell which team was the one ranked.
2. After we scored we became much safer.
3. After Maryland equalized late in the first half they were on the front foot most of the rest of the night. To say we "hung on" would be an understatement. Credit to our GK unit, our backline and Maryland squandering some chances.
4. We have one of the top goalkeeping rooms in the country. We have 3 keepers who would each start at 3/4's or more of the division 1 programs in the country.
5. Atmosphere was good... but I've seen better at Maryland. But even on a just "good" night it's an envious place to play. Wish we had that kind of support/history at Liberty. Maryland's set up is also much better with the student section being behind both goals.

Off to UCLA!
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By Purple Haize
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#644492
Down 3-2 to #4 UCLA at the half. Prior to tonight the Bruins hadn’t allowed a goal or, I believe a shot on goal.
Not sure how the 2nd half will play but they are hanging in there against another Nationally ranked opponent
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By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#644493
Ouch. Now 5-2. Most goals scored by UCLA in 4 years. To be fair one was an Own Goal making it 4-2 and that changed the complexion of the game.
UCLA made some nice runs. Did a great job taking it down the side and putting nice crosses in the box. Would love to see LU do more of that.
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By Purple Haize
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#644495
Stayed 5-2. The offense seems to struggle. Or at least it doesn’t look as free flowing as UCLA did or I’m sure as he’d want. I will say I really like the teams energy on the field. That’s something that hasn’t always been there. You can do things with that. Clean up some of the miscommunications and bad runs (easier said then done) and things should be alright.
By 47/5-2
Registration Days Posts
#644513
Purple Haize wrote:Ouch. Now 5-2. Most goals scored by UCLA in 4 years. To be fair one was an Own Goal making it 4-2 and that changed the complexion of the game.
UCLA made some nice runs. Did a great job taking it down the side and putting nice crosses in the box. Would love to see LU do more of that.
The first half was the best half of soccer we have played all year (season/pre-season) between the 18's. Second half was a different story. Indecisiveness in the first half contributed to the goals (but UCLA was clinical). Goal in second half to the near post needs to be dealt with as well. Presence was lacking. Our second goal was a fluke goal. Reality is, UCLA put away opportunities that Maryland didn't on Sunday and they are simply more talented than we are. The good thing is that we have played two big boys now and that should pay dividends down the road. The result also may help to "even the heads" a bit going into conference play. I'd agree that energy looked good most of the match (and all season mostly). From what I have seen the group looks like they "gel" well.
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By Purple Haize
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#644514
You can do a lot of things with energy and chemistry. I really hope this is the year we turn he corner. I think we’ve had improvements every year, despite records. It looks like we are really close
By 47/5-2
Registration Days Posts
#644515
Chemistry can really be a difference maker in this sport on the college level. I don't think all coaches value it the way they should (I do think the Liberty staff does value it). Liberty has a bit of an advantage in fostering chemistry... albeit there are also some negatives that usually counter that advantage a school like Liberty has. Energy is often directly linked to chemistry. Rarely, do you see a team have it if the team also doesn't have good chemistry. I think you may round the bend this year... but it may be next year before the corner is turned. I do think it could be turned this year... but I think they would need to turn a few pages for it to happen (and I don't think they're going to turn those needed pages imo).
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By 47/5-2
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#645000
After squeaking out our conference opener Saturday we came out incredibly flat last night against Davidson. Second half was better... but we dropped an opportunity for a quality out of conference result. Looked like they had Lipscomb on their mind.
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By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#645178
Lipscomb is a good team. Breakdowns in the last 5 minutes did LU in.
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By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#645466
Frustrating. Had a victory snatched away tonight in FarmVille. The last couple of game LU has had some great looks and exceptional goal opportunities that they just have not been able to capitalize upon. And the there’s a stretch of a few minutes where they lose focus. That cost them tonight. 3-4 prime scoring opportunities not seized and a silly penalty in the box allowing the equalizer
I’m sure it’s as frustrating for the coaching staff as it is for the fans.
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By 47/5-2
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#645477
Unacceptable result. We are squandering our resources establishing a floor while capping our ceiling.
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By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#645481
47/5-2 wrote: September 28th, 2022, 12:30 pm Unacceptable result. We are squandering our resources establishing a floor while capping our ceiling.
Not sure about squandering resources. Or capping a ceiling. Especially when you see the caliber of teams they’ve competed against.
By 47/5-2
Registration Days Posts
#645487
Purple Haize wrote:
47/5-2 wrote: September 28th, 2022, 12:30 pm Unacceptable result. We are squandering our resources establishing a floor while capping our ceiling.
Not sure about squandering resources. Or capping a ceiling. Especially when you see the caliber of teams they’ve competed against.
Purple -

Longwood is traditionally one of the worst programs in men's college soccer. Since 2017, if you take away their results against Liberty, UNC Asheville (one of the worst programs in the country), Robert Morris (one of the worst programs in the country... although they are moving into being at least competitive because they lucked out with getting O'Keefe after the App State budget cuts), Howard (one of the worst athletic programs in the country), and VMI (the worst men's soccer program in the country... we beat them 9 - 1 last year, the same year VMI had a 3-3 draw with Ashville... point is, wins against VMI and Ashville are inevitable) Longwood is 9-58-9 (they have 12 wins against VMI, Ashville, Liberty, Robert Morris over that time period). Literally, these are all programs that routinely have 1 to 3 win seasons. We have now lost to them in 2021 and tied them in 2022.

The resources and facilities available to our men's soccer program are BETTER, or at least equal 2 (and in almost every situation they actually are better) most Big Ten & ACC programs.

We cannot, in back to back years, have negative results to a program like Longwood. We simply can't.

We have top 25 resources AND top 25 expectations. This is no longer a program in transition. This is year four. We are a junior/senior laden team. This team has been building for this year. Could we drop a game to a Lipscomb or FGCU? Sure. They're good teams. And as you know, soccer is a sport that is susceptible to the better/more talented team not always winning. But we can't drop both. And we certainly can't go two straight years losing or drawing Longwood. That result is shocking.

Like Bill Parcels said, "you are what your record says you are". Right now, we are 2-3-3 and that's not good enough for where we should be (or expect to be) in this process. I'm sure the staff isn't happy with that record (or the results) and would say the same. The conference (regular season) is most likely already out of reach and we are still in September. Hopefully, they start to get back on track against Stetson. If not, we may find ourselves on the struggle bus to even make the conference tournament. Stetson may just be the biggest game of our season. Let's hope we can beat the Hatters!
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By Ill flame
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#646595
Assuning volleyball takes care of business over the next week men's soccer would be the only fall team sport that didn't win a regular season conference championship with a 3-6-6 record. How long of a leash do we give Findlay? I understand he didn't exactly inherit a powerhouse but he did inherit a program that generally won as much as they lost. Imo he should get one more season to prove he's the guy. With the resources he has at his disposal we should be at least top 3 in the conference every year.
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By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#646596
Ill flame wrote: November 5th, 2022, 12:33 am Assuning volleyball takes care of business over the next week men's soccer would be the only fall team sport that didn't win a regular season conference championship with a 3-6-6 record. How long of a leash do we give Findlay? I understand he didn't exactly inherit a powerhouse but he did inherit a program that generally won as much as they lost. Imo he should get one more season to prove he's the guy. With the resources he has at his disposal we should be at least top 3 in the conference every year.
He certainly had a snake bit year that’s for sure. I stand by what I said at the beginning of the year that they are very close to turning the corner. If you watched the season there were 3 or 4 games that were just baffling in calls against them in the closing minute or two of the game. Never seen anything like it. But you are who you are and your record is your record. When evaluating its good to ask if this team could beat the team he had his first year? I’d say yes. Are his teams showing improvement year over year and from the start of the season to the end of the season. I would say yes. This year particularly. He very easily could have lost the locker room after a couple of these odd decisions that didn’t go LU’s way. He didn’t and the guys kept playing hard Does he work well with others in the athletic department? Are his players ‘good kids’?
Absolutely his record on the pitch (see?i speak soccer!) needs to get better no question. I think he’s got a good core. I think he’s a player away from having all the pieces to show exponential growth. Will it happen? I am rooting for him that it does. Let’s see what he does next season. He has a mission trip to Columbia planned so that will certainly help. I don’t think expecting a Top Half/Top 3 finish is unrealistic. However, he needs to be in a Conference before that can happen. So maybe that rope gets a little longer since it’s gonna be tough to recruit without a Conference to play in
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By PING
Posts Posts
#646766
@Purple Haize,
Purple Haize wrote:He very easily could have lost the locker room after a couple of these odd decisions that didn’t go LU’s way. He didn’t
The information I hear indicates otherwise. The results do too. What leads you to that conclusion? Because they "kept playing hard"? I guarantee that players can still "play hard" and think the coach is making bad decisions.

I bet we see portal entries. I bet there are others that want to go but won't because they like the coach and don't want to cause hard feelings.
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By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#646772
PING wrote: November 6th, 2022, 1:53 pm @Purple Haize,
Purple Haize wrote:He very easily could have lost the locker room after a couple of these odd decisions that didn’t go LU’s way. He didn’t
The information I hear indicates otherwise. The results do too. What leads you to that conclusion? Because they "kept playing hard"? I guarantee that players can still "play hard" and think the coach is making bad decisions.

I bet we see portal entries. I bet there are others that want to go but won't because they like the coach and don't want to cause hard feelings.
I base it on a few things.
Not sure what your point is on the Portal. Every team on the Mountain and in the Country looses players via the portal for one reason or another.
I stated that the results this season were disappointing. I stated this year that some of those results were due to bizarre circumstances. But your record is your record. I’m hopeful and optimistic that the corner is about to be turned and I see a lot of positive things.
By 47/5-2
Registration Days Posts
#651383
cruzan_flame13 wrote:Does anyone know anything about the two players that just signed to play for LU?



Lucas is a defender from North Carolina who was partners with 2022 recruit Bryce. Good player. I actually had conversations with some other coaches about him this past spring after he gave his verbal. Good to see he followed thru. I don't know much about the other one you listed. Hearing an affiliation will be announced soon for Men's Soccer. It's a bit of an odd one. Need to see exactly how it breaks out as I think there will be other affiliates involved. For personal reasons, I was hoping for Big East, or Atlantic 10, or America East. It is none of those.
By 47/5-2
Registration Days Posts
#655273
The men bounced back after a disappointing result against UMBC on Friday with a win over Patriot League favorite Navy on Sunday night.
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