Pirates Head to the 'Gateway to the West'

After a solid week of training, the Pirates will travel to St. Louis, MO to compete in the Washington University/Fontbonne Classic to be held on Washington University's campus at Francis Field.

Another week of training sessions continues to bring cohesiveness to a mix of veterans and rookies on the 2008 Pirate squad. Many first years are impacting the side by starting or seeing a lot of action as the Pirates are forming a dangerous attacking style of play.

A switch in formation and system proved to be a lethal experiment in the Hardin-Simmons match. Although the Pirates lost a hard fought battle in overtime to the Cowboys, the energy was evident that the Pirates can be very dangerous in attack and opponents will have a tough time defending many creative and speedy players. The second half the Pirates just came up short in putting the Cowboys away but were able to dictate the tone and have the majority of possession throughout the half. This weekend will be another great test as the Pirates take on two very seasoned opponents with rich NCAA Championship experience.

On Friday at 8:00 PM, the Pirates will challenge the Bears. Washington University is coming off another Elite 8 NCAA Tournament appearance and have been to the dance 18 times. Last season, the Pirates showed well in which the score did not. The Pirates lost 3-0 to #11 Wash U. down at Trinity in a early match up on September 14, 2007. The Bears out shot the Pirates 24-10 and gave up three goals in the second half. The corners edge was much closer where SU had the advantage 6-5.

The next day, the Pirates will have another good opponent in matching up with the Griffins of Fontbonne University. This will be a first in Pirate Soccer history since there has been no previous meetings. The Griffins are another seasoned NCAA Tournament team in which they have made 5 trips to the show, with the most previous one coming in 2006.

Schedule:

Friday, September 12 @ Washington University @ 8:00 PM
Saturday, September 13 @ Fontbonne University @ 8:00 PM