Cougars' Playoff Hopes Crushed by Blue Star
Brittany Eads
(310) 804-7245
britteads@gmail.com
Scott Heaton
Provo, UT (July 12, 2009) - It was a rough weekend for the BYU men's soccer team, who, after losing lead scorer Zack DeFrancis to a badly broken arm Friday night, couldn't secure a win Saturday against the Orange County Blue Star.
BYU lost to the California team 0-1, a result of a penalty kick awarded to Orange County on a Cougar foul. Losing this way was especially heart-wrenching for the Cougars, who felt that several such calls should have been made for their benefit and could have turned the tide of the game.
Losing to the Blue Star means that the Cougars have virtually been eliminated from the playoffs, according to head coach Chris Watkins. Missing two of their best starting players, DeFrancis and midfielder BJ Pugmire, to injury was certainly a contributing factor in BYU's loss, but Watkins attributes the loss mainly to a poor offensive performance.
“We were very poor on our attack. We had good opportunities that we couldn't finish,” Watkins explained. “Our rhythm as an attacking group was just not up to par.”
BYU currently holds the 4th place spot in the 10-team Southwest divison of the Premier Development League (PDL), which mainly consists of high-caliber California teams the Cougars have faced for the very first time this season.
The Cougars still have two home games in the next week, Friday against the Bakersfield Brigade and Saturday against the Lancaster Rattlers. While their spot in tournament play has been eliminated, the team is hopeful and looking to finish off their season with solid wins against their upcoming opponents.
“We're a great possessing team, as well as any team in the league or any we've had at BYU, for that matter,” Watkins concluded. “But I would have hoped that we had more depth.”
For more information, visit http://www.byusoccer.com
