Women soccer wins but shut out of tournament

[mustangbill67]

The SMU women soccer team beat Tulsa 1-0 last night but failed to qualify for the conference tournament. According to the Conference website, E. Carolina and Southern MS have the tie breakers over SMU for the last two berths in the tournament. The losing streak in the middle of the season where we had injuries and illnesses really cost us. At least we finished out strong. Look forward to see how Brent and his staff do in recruiting this year. While most of the BCS conferences have women's soccer programs, there is no reason why SMU cannot strongly compete not only in Conference USA but nationally as well.

[ClassOf81]

They'll be fine. Weird year - Krystal Bailey's injury was a killer, the plague that hit the team in Memphis/Birmingham really cost them ... but Coach Erwin was known (when he was Coach Hyndman's assistant and as head coach at UCF) as a sensational recruiter, and the grapevine around the soccer world says he has some absolute studs heading to the Hilltop. My guess is that this year turns out to be little more than an aberration, and SMU returns quickly to being one of the top teams in Conference USA and above. Next year, we should be equal (or so) with Central Florida. After that, we own the conference again, as we should.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Yeah. Definitely a strange year...

We should definitely make the NCAA tournament next year.

[orsini for president]

It is a shame about Krystal Bailey but she was injured for much of her SMU career and never lived up to expectations. I think, and many program alums agree, that the program is on the way down. Because Erwin was a good recruiter for the men's program (not competing with Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State etc) does not mean he can coach, especially coach women, and that was proven this year. His constant cussing (f-this and f-that) does not work with women, especially SMU women. The joke around the team is that Coach Erwin has a very limited vocab.

[Oldkeeper]

You can't judge the coach on the first year. He is dealing with exisitng players and trying to institute a new style of play. If the results are the same over the next couple of years then you amy have a case. Let him get his players in and see how it goes. Cossaboon played kick ball,effectively, but Erwin plays possesion and they were lacking up top for a good finisher.

[orsini for president]

"Cossaboon played kick ball"...really? You sure weren't watching the same games I was while he was here. The excuse that Erwin doesn't have his players is a crock. Cossaboon won with Van Linders players and they were not as talented as the group Erwin had this season. Good coaches win with other coaches recruits - a good coach knows how to win and how to put the puzzle together. Erwin gets a big fat F for his first season and people who know soccer (including the team) agree and are laughing at us.

[mustangbill67]

You sound like a disgruntled parent or player with an axe to grind. I would give Brent a pass on this season. If not for the injuries and illnesses mid season, the team would have done much better. The team on the field I saw this season overall looked slow and not as athletic as compared to other years and other Div.Ii teams. Let's see what we do in recruiting this year. We have lost out on many great metroplex players over the past several years and it shows. Speaking of jerks, I understand Cossaboon was a leader in this regard and most of the players welcomed the change. Come back next year at this time and let's see where we are.

[Oldkeeper]

Agreed

[Ikus]

"Cossaboon played kick ball"...really? You sure weren't watching the same games I was while he was here. The excuse that Erwin doesn't have his players is a crock. Cossaboon won with Van Linders players and they were not as talented as the group Erwin had this season. Good coaches win with other coaches recruits - a good coach knows how to win and how to put the puzzle together. Erwin gets a big fat F for his first season and people who know soccer (including the team) agree and are laughing at us.

You mean a coach cusses? The horror of it all! Newsflash: there are precious few who don't, and when a kid is getting $40,000 a year in tuition and fees, they can grow some thick skin and roll with the F-bombs as they are issued. They didn't have to accept the scholarship, after all. I've been around the women's soccer team on occasion, and I find it hard to believe a lot of them cringe at a little salty language. And yes, Coss's teams DID play a lot of kickball. There were plenty of times when he had 9 or 10 players behind the midfield line, and they'd smack it long and let Olivia O'Rear outrun everyone. Happened all season long, and OO was so fast and so talented (see that Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year award), it often worked. Coach Erwin is a fine coach, and every single one of the players I've talked to (which is several) seem to agree.