11/8/10
We ended the season 1-12-1, not the most impressive record, but with a very impressive team. In our last game of the season, we matched up against
Dixie State, a usual powerhouse in the conference. We got on the bus and arrived at the field when it was still dark outside. Why? Because our game was at 8:30 in the morning! Spirits were high though, because it was our last game, and it was senior day.
In honor of our lone senior, Miriam Tolentino, we stepped on the field just as the sun started to shine. The game was intense the entire 90 minutes, and even though we lost, we were able to put in a goal thanks to Solveig Barnes.
It's been a wild ride this season. We've fought and fallen, and fought and triumphed. We've played in pouring rain and blazing heat, and have never given up. We've battled against top teams and earned respect from players and coaches across the PacWest.
Coach instilled in us from day one that we are warriors and that we need to have the warrior mentality. She gave us quote after quote that inspired us and brought us closer together. Coach made us want to play for each other, have each other's backs, and believe in the program. She made us trust each other and ultimately, made us a family.
We can only get better from here on out, and the team has the right mentality to do so. We have a few weeks to rest and then it's back to work preparing for next season. Hello, spring season.
-Morgan McKnight #16
10/22/10
As the season starts to wind down, we are all enjoying the final weeks together. The energy at practice is way up and the team is competing more than ever. We've been pushed to the limit and have been battling through injuries, but overall we have each other's backs and are continuing to fight for each other. We had a long day trip to Santa Cruz where we faced off with the Banana Slugs and ended in a 1-3 loss. The lone goal scored by
Hannah Emmett was a gorgeous chip right over the keeper's head into the back of the net. Even though we lost, the team regained spirits and enjoyed famous Santa Cruz tacos and burritos.
After some tough fitness on Monday, and tough trainings Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we hit the field again Friday for a tough match against William Jessup University. The NAIA team is in the top of their conference and proved to be a worthy competitor for us. We battled our way through double overtime and ended the game with a 0-0 tie, not to mention the fun we had sliding and playing in the rain. Four games left in the season and we are ready to go out with a bang!
-Morgan McKnight #16
10/14/10
This week has been the definition of what Urban Knight soccer is all about. Coming off a tough road trip in Hawaii, we all got right back into practices and were able to come through with a huge 2-1 win in double overtime against Domincan University and a 0-0 tie in double overtime against Notre Dame de Namur. Both games were battles but the Dominican game was far more intense and exciting. The late heroics and goal by
Emi Sullivan gave us our first conference win this year and our first reason to celebrate.
Because of our efforts in those two games, Coach awarded us with Sunday and Monday off (little did we know we would spend all of Tuesday doing fitness). With less than a month left in season, the team has really come together and is finally competing. Practice intensity has picked up and is being carried over to game days and everyone on the team is having fun. We have two more practices before our trip to Santa Cruz for a non-conference match and their famous tacos! Oh, and our team fish has officially been named. Drumroll please.... EDGE! Coach says he gives us the "competitive edge," I think she's right.
-Morgan McKnight #16
10/6/10
Although Hawaii left us with not exactly the most successful results, the whole team truly came together over the course of the ten day trip. In the amount of time that we spent together, we found ourselves constantly laughing and gaining an overall better understand of each other, legitimately creating a family.
However, we are back from Hawaii and happy to be back in the city! After a long red-eye getting us back early Monday morning, we all spent the rest of the day catching up on school work and resting. Thanks to coach, we happily enjoyed our entire day off on Tuesday as we got fully rested and mentally prepared to head back to battle. We even got a new addition to our team! Olivia Dupon, Melissa Co, and Aubrey Williams brought a new friend into coach's office: a Beta fish. So now we have a team pet, that has yet to be named. I'll get back to you on that.
Practice on Wednesday brought us all back together again on the field where we got ready for our next two games against Domincan University and Notre Dame de Namur. We're back and ready to get some wins!
-Morgan McKnight #16
9/29/10
Hawaii has been so much fun so far and we're only halfway through the trip. The weather has been perfect and the time with the team has been filled with laughter. We went to the beach on Tuesday where we had one of the most memorable experiences with the season. There has been a series of pranks going around the hotel between teammates, two in particular, but the battle was won at the beach that day.
Hannah Emmett claimed the victory over
Jessica Madrid with a power wedgie that left the whole team dying of laughter. However, I think Madrid might be planning some type of revenge, I guess we will see what happens the rest of the trip.
Another memorable experience was definitely our game of telephone at The Spaghetti Factory. We went through multiple rounds of sentences and we didn't get one full sentence right the whole time (granted we were all changing them mid round to make the game funny).
We've had three games since we've been here against HPU, BYU-Hawaii, and Chaminade. We travel to Hilo on Friday for a game then turn around and head right back to Oahu for our last game against Chaminade on Sunday before we head home. They're going to be great games as we battle for the wins.
-Morgan McKnight #16
9/23/10
The week has been rough for the team but it has definitely brought us closer together. After a battle against Dixie State Thursday resulting in a 3-0 loss and a tough game against Grand Canyon Saturday resulting in a 6-1 loss, the team found themselves trying to overcome an overall low. We spent the next few days refocusing and working hard in practice in order to get back to the Urban Knights we know. After a few great practices, we were able to go to battle with UH Hilo, and even though we didn’t get the result we wanted, we played hard and definitely improved our game.
We have one more practice before we head off to Hawaii where we’ll embark on our five games in ten days journey. Our mentality is back and we are ready to show the islanders what we’ve got. Go Knights!
-Morgan McKnight #16
9/15/10
It’s been a great week of training getting ready for one of our toughest matches of the year against Dixie State. We had a great double-overtime game against Menlo that finished in a tie. The entire team showed more heart than they’ve ever shown before, and it was admirable to see no one giving up.
The highlight of the week was definitely beach training on Sunday. It started out as a normal practice at Sunset Beach with a twenty-minute jog, some stretching, and moved into agility and speed training. As we got into our scrimmage we were divided into two teams based on age. The older girls named themselves the Golden Girls and the younger girls named themselves the Juvenile Delinquents. The game started as a normal scrimmage and quickly turned into a battle of pride. We got to half time with a 0-0 score, switched sides, and then things got intense. The Golden Girls soon found themselves down a goal to their younger teammates, and a few minutes later they found themselves down two goals. With a minute left in the game the Golden Girls scrambled around to get a goal in but were thoroughly shut down by the Delinquents when they put in their third goal with only thirty seconds left in the scrimmage. The Juvenile Delinquents basked in their glory with the victory and left the Golden Girls to shame. Don’t worry; there will surely be a rematch next Sunday.
The rest of the practices this week have been tough but necessary in order for us to be successful for our first games of Pac West Conference play that start tomorrow. And the best part is that they are our first home games of the year! We couldn’t be more excited and ready to finally get on our home field.
-Morgan McKnight #16
9/9/10
With school officially underway, the team has once again been reminded of the student part in student-athlete. None-the-less we have continued practice every morning in hopes of perfecting every aspect of our game. Weight training has been added to our schedules before practices to guarantee we are ready for conference. Coach has had us stepping up our communication and intensity in our drills and making sure that we are all on the same page by scrimmaging every day.
Our first game on Saturday was a huge success as we walked away from Bethany University with a 7-1 victory. Freshman Hannah Emmett contributed with a hat trick for the team and Carmela Doerr added two (goals). It was the best way we could have started the season.
Sunday went as all Sunday’s do with beach training and film review. Beach was a little tougher than usual while we really focused on agility and speed in a variety of different drills. It was a great end to the week, and we all left feeling good and ready for a well-deserved day off on Monday. Everyone returned in good spirits for practices Tuesday and Wednesday, which proved to be intense as always, preparing for our tough game against Menlo on Thursday (9/9). Overall it's been a great week and we can’t wait to get on the field and compete!
-Morgan McKnight #16
9/2/10
We are officially done with preseason scrimmages and double days and everyone couldn't be happier. We've been working extremely hard at practices and have kept them at a high intensity preparing for conference.
The work has begun! We’re a week and a half into preseason and exhausting double-days that are finally concluding. The incoming freshmen and transfers are molding well into the Urban Knight family and practices are looking great. The energy level is higher than it’s ever been and each player is excited to take on the challenge of the upcoming season. We’ve all spent countless hours together learning about one another and really bonding into a family. Our scrimmage versus Holy Names ended without perfection but with promising results for the forthcoming games.
It’s been almost two weeks of hard training and a well-deserved break is approaching. After a full day of travel on Thursday, we face our hardest pre-season game on Friday against Chico State and I’ve never seen the team more prepared for such a challenge. The team is even more excited because it’s a night game! After Friday we’ll spend Saturday bonding at the river and performing skits that are sure to be ridiculously hilarious. Then it’s back to the city to immediately start up practices again Sunday morning and mingle with the fellow athletes Sunday afternoon at the Urban Knight Cookout.
The team is really looking great and the season is looking promising. Each practice shows improvement from the previous and our hard work is paying off. I know a lot of teams are going to be surprised when they see what we are bringing to the field this year, starting with Chico. Go Knights!
