CMCC 2007 Soccer Season Summary           

The fall of 2007 was an exciting time at Central Maine Community College. It marked the return of the CMCC soccer program.  I was pleased to accept the coaching position and started promoting the program within the College with the help of a few dedicated players.

It was already early September when we traveled to our first game against Vermont Tech. We had only three practices under our belt and eleven players on the roster. We suffered what I considered to be a necessary loss. It was a loss that challenged each player’s commitment to the team. A loss that all eleven players endured and over came to achieve some incredible accomplishments later in the season.

Our first home game was against the #1 ranked team in the conference Unity College. After falling behind 2-0 at half time we scored our first goal of the season. The score remained 2-1 for over twenty minutes! Unity College ended up adding two more goals in the last ten minutes of the game but CMCC had made a statement. We played with the top seed for twenty minutes trailing by only a single goal in the second half!

Another high point of the season came in our home game against Southern Maine Community College. We played SMCC, the #3 for the conference with out any substitutions. At the half it was 1-0 SMCC but the scoreboard doesn’t tell everything. For minutes at a time in the first half we possessed the ball and controlled the tempo of the game. 

            The final success of the season I want to mention speaks to the character of the CMCC players. It is what I as the coach consider to be the team’s biggest achievement of the season. At the end of our very first practice I spoke to the players about respect. I asked them to respect their teammates, their opponents, the referees and me. It seems simple but it is difficult to actually accomplish. The Central Maine Community College soccer team didn’t receive a single yellow card or red card through the entire 2007 season. I will challenge the players every season to meet this accomplishment. Wins and loses are a part of the game but successful programs are built on sportsmanship, character and mental toughness.

I have committed to coaching next year and have begun recruiting for next fall. I look forward to the return of many players from this season and wish the best for my players graduating in May of 2008.