Though they were just exhibition matches against NCAA Division I foes Missouri-Kansas City (men) and Missouri State (women), Drury soccer fans can't help but be excited about the way the two Panther squads competed Saturday night at Harrison Stadium.
While NCAA-II rules prohibit D-II folks from publicizing actual scores and stats from exhibitions against D-Is in soccer - although D-I's can and usually do so against D-IIs, if that makes any sense - let's just say the Panthers matched UMKC evenly for 90 minutes and the DU women scored one more time than their D-I opponent from a few blocks south.
Most impressive for Coach Alf Bilbao's two squads is that both were a bit short-handed. The Panthers played a UMKC team picked for fourth in the Summit Conference's preseason poll even despite missing senior forward Marco Cherisma; the school record-holder after scoring 20 goals a year ago sat out while nursing a minor injury. And Bilbao's DU women had at least four players in street clothes for various reasons, including a pair of starters from last season's GLVC champs and NCAA-II national quarterfinalists. Nevermind the fact that one of the Panthers' top players, senior-to-be All-GLVC midfielder Sarah Goodman, is out for the year due to a torn ACL suffered in spring drills.
After watching the women's match in particular on Saturday night, this much is certain - as long as sophomore standout Jessie Sanderson is in goal, there aren't going to be many folks sticking the ball in the back of the net. Missouri State found this out on Saturday, as Sanderson - the reigning GLVC Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year - came up with a dizzying array of stops in the final 15 to 20 minutes of the match to preserve Drury's lead.
With Sanderson and the the returning back line of All-GLVC senior Chloe Moushey and juniors Bailey Randol and Emily West, the DU defense is once again in very good hands. Add in a trio of talented freshmen to a mix that returns virtually everyone (sans Goodman) from last year's lineup, and you can see why the Panthers are picked second, just behind Quincy, in the GLVC preseason poll.
While that was DU's only home exhibition of the preseason, mark August 30 on your calendars as the next chance to see both soccer squads on the same night. In the home opener for each, when the men play host to Columbia College at 5 p.m. and the women entertain Abilene Christian at 7. The DU women will get a jump on the season when they visit Texas A & M Commerce for their opener on Aug. 28.
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We've had several inquiries about the new "Fam-Friendly Panther Pass" since we unveiled details on the new $100 entertainment bargain of a deal a couple of weeks ago.
The actual passes are on order and will be available in time for purchase as our PantherFest II celebration (Thursday, August 28) from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the lawn just to the north of Weiser Gym, as well as at the front gate of all DU home sporting events this fall. (PantherFest II again will feature free hot dogs, ice cream and this year, games for the kids, as we kick off the 2008-09 school year in style with a picnic-type meet and greet between fans and the DU athletes and coaches).
But back to the Fam-Friendly pass ... the $100 pass entitles a family of four (two adults, two children 12-and-under) to general admission seats for all Drury home events for the 2008-09 year, including men's and women's basketball, both soccer programs, volleyball and baseball. Add up the cost per game for a family to attend a single game, and it's a bargain.
Why are we doing this? Quite simply, because in this day and age of rising ticket prices, seat licenses and everything else across the country we want to make sure Mom and Dad can still take the kids out for an enjoyable evening and not break the bank. Buy a pass and don't worry the rest of the year how many times you come back for the 30 DU home basketball games, 17 home soccer contests, eight volleyball matches or approximately 28 baseball games, all the while becoming a part of the Drury athletic tradition across the board that has the Panthers annually one of the Top 20 athletic programs in NCAA Division II.
And we promise, in 2008-09, those kids are going ot have a whole lot of fun at DU events. We've hooked up with Andy's Frozen Custard - a personal favorite, as my waistline would suggest - to give the little folks the opportunity to leave with a coupon for either a free Concrete or free Cone after every home contest in the above-mentioned sports after they "Compete For A Concrete" by either kicking soccer goals at halftime, shooting free throws after DU basketball games, serve a volleyball over the net during A DU timeout or smack a Whiffle ball off of a DU baseball or softball pitcher this year.
As we mentioned before, the little folks can come down on the fields and courts after various DU contests and play ball with selected Panthers and Lady Panthers in all home sports, our way of making 2008-09 a year in which they have a better opportunity to get to know "Your" Panthers.
For more information on the "Fam-Friendly Panther Pass," give me a call at 873-4097.
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While Michael Phelps has captured the world's attention with his swimming prowess during these Olympic games, it should be noted that the brother of one of our Panthers also had his shining moment.
Roman Sloudnov, brother of current DU standout Artem Sloudnov, finished sixth in the 100-meter breaststroke for his native Russia. Roman, 28, is a Missouri State graduate student and has been a frequent visitor in the past to the Breech Pool to train for his Olympic run.
By the way, early reports from DU swimming coach Brian Reynolds are that his women's squad this winter might be one of the best he's ever fielded, and that's saying something. His men will be gunning for their fifth straight NCAA-II national championship.
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PantherFest II will also be an opportunity for many of you to meet, for the first time, the number of new additions to our Drury athletic family.
They include men's basketball assistant coach Dylan Dudley and graduate assistant Rich Kemper, women's basketball assistant coach John Nicolais and graduate assistant Erin Hendrickson, men's soccer graduate assistant Dustin Awe, new athletic department GA Andrew Wheeler, new swimming assistant coach Jason Owen and GA Ethan Weiss (both former Panther swimmers) and new men's and women's track and field coach Don Keeton.