WSOC at High Point 7 PM Watch ESPN

[asu66]

The Apps kick off the 2018 season with a 7 PM contest against the High Point Panthers at Vert Stadium in High Point. The Panthers are the defending Big South champions and the favorite to repeat. Both teams return veteran rosters...HPU with 13 letter winners and 3 starters; the Apps with 16 letter winners and 6 starters.

Watch here... http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/9300a988 ... high-point

Live Stats...https://highpointpanthers.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary

[asu66]

[appstate77]

Also on ESPN+.

[hapapp]

Down 3-0 late...not impressed with what I saw.

[asu66]

Down 3-0 late...not impressed with what I saw.

It was 4-0 with 5+ minutes plus extra time left to play. I hope the decision was to nix the extra time. I gave up the ghost at the 86 min. mark. We may be watching the beginning of a coach's last season. You could read the two rosters and see this one coming.

Unfortunately, there is more of this on the way unless I'm way off on my talent eval skills. To be fair, I haven't been to any practices this month and didn't go to the WCU exh. I'm replaying mental images of games I saw last season. We're going to have to spend some of those 14 scholarships out of state or get better at competing for the better in-state players or get better at developing the limited talent we have. What we're doing now isn't working.

I'm all done now and will work hard at NOT calling for a coaching change after every tough game. It's still August.

[asu66]

Down 3-0 late...not impressed with what I saw.

It was 4-0 with 5+ minutes plus extra time left to play. I hope the decision was to nix the extra time. I gave up the ghost at the 86 min. mark. We may be watching the beginning of a coach's last season. You could read the two rosters and see this one coming.

Unfortunately, there is more of this on the way unless I'm way off on my talent eval skills. To be fair, I haven't been to any practices this month and didn't go to the WCU exh. I'm replaying mental images of games I saw last season. We're going to have to spend some of those 14 scholarships out of state or get better at competing for the better in-state players or get better at developing the limited talent we have. What we're doing now isn't working.

I'm all done now and will work hard at NOT calling for a coaching change after every tough game. It's still August.

[Apppstate]

Both programs are trending downward with way more funding then they have ever had in the past. Both coaches have shown an inability to get results in the past 2 years and it is becoming a pretty common sight for most of our programs that are not named football, wrestling and track and field.
Worrisome trends to say the least

[T-Dog]

I would disagree about the downward trend for most sports. Both tennis teams trended up, despite the men's mess, and got a good coach to come in. Golf had a good spring. Field Hockey made a major jump last season. Both basketballs are trending upward. Baseball should see results next season (they better for Kermit's sake) and softball ... we'll see since I think they kind-of get a mulligan until the new facilities are built.

I think we're coming out of a rough period for a lot of sports that either didn't initially transition well to the Sun Belt or had bigger problems than we realized. But the overall trend is up.

That being said, I am very worried about both soccer teams.

I remember Gillin saying a few months ago that when certain coaches gripe to him about funding, he points to the success of wrestling under Bentley and how they've done it with only 5 total scholarships. Wonder who he had in mind?

[asu66]

I realize that it's very early, but WVB seems primed to bounce back after a disappointing season last year. The win at Wake is a good sign. Wake isn't very good, but our women handled them with relative ease in four of five sets. Our freshmen were the leaders in the fifth set win with Wake breathing down their necks for a face-saving win. Our young players held 'em off.

I'm guardedly optimistic about O'Keefe and MSOC. This will be just his third season but he does need to show progress. He has seen some heavy attrition after the first two seasons, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. He's honest with kids in post-season evals. If he sees a lack of ability or a lack of commitment to his training expectations, he advises players that he'll help them in their search for a better opportunity. He also has a "three strikes--you're out policy." He's sent guys packing for team rules and/or academics issues.

All that said, O'Keefe's Apps need to handle a well-respected and well-coached Campbell side tonight at Ted Mack.

[Apppstate]

I get optimism for field hockey. I don’t see it yet for VB. It was an exhibition and they’ve struggled the past two years with massive injuries. I hope they can turn it around.
I just don’t get the continued optimism for men’s soccer. I watched them play wake forest last year and they did not even register a shot. They also finished below Howard and have yet to see a semi final in the conference tournament in a 6 team field. They continually bring in 11-15 players a year. So when the players brought in are sent packing, it’s on him to recruit better or develop His recruited talent better. The schedule is extremely weak this year and he needs more than 5-6 wins and the ability to retain his own players in order to show any progress whatsoever.
I still feel men’s soccer is going to be cut in the near future if the conference remains at 5 teams

[asu66]

FH...we agree
VB...big fan here...very hopeful for them
MSOC...former Mountaineer player here...last century You make some good points...I choose to
remain optimistic...totally agree that JO'k needs to show progress on the pitch. We have the "D"
but can we score goals on anybody? TBD
MSOC2...dropping this team is a non-starter! Period!