A week ago, I was feeling good about the progress we have made so far, this fall. We were seeing steady improvement, individually (though perhaps not quite across the board) and collectively. Our week began with just film on Monday, where I thought we learned a great deal. Wednesday was a solid practice, with pretty good energy and focus. I was excited for Friday’s practice, as it was a day before our next scrimmages, at Dominican on Saturday. But for some reason, we were flat, on Friday. We looked lethargic, not focused and just meh. I chalked it up to everyone, just looking past Friday, in anticipation of Saturday – I remained hopeful.

Yesterday, (Saturday) was another beautiful Autumn day, and our van ride to Dominican was nearly without any traffic delay. In fact, the final part of the drive, up the Palisades Parkway offered an abundance of spectacular fall foliage scenery. Who knew that the drive would end up being the highlight of my day!

We started the first game with a textbook double team leading to a caused turnover, as the Chargers entered their offensive zone! Unfortunately, we promptly turned it right back over to them. And that is pretty much, how the rest of the day would go for us. We seemed a step behind both Dominican and then New Haven. When we were able to make some good plays, we weren’t able to capitalize. We did not match the intensity and pace of either opponent.

So, it was a disappointing day for the Lions. I had been looking forward to seeing more of the steady progress, we had seen leading up to yesterday. That did not happen. The Fall is a great time to get the answers to some questions about your team. After yesterday, there are more unanswered questions, than ever.

I am hoping that this was just an isolated case of us, not mustering up the kind of effort that you need to compete. I don’t think yesterday’s games are an accurate reflection of the kind of team we are, or want to be. I still believe in our ability to reach our potential and become the type of competitive squad we can be. Hopefully, this will serve as a “wake up call”, to all of us – you can never give anything less than your best effort, out there, if you want to compete.

With tomorrow being a Holiday, we have an extra day off to ponder our performance. Then it will be back to work, on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, before we get a shot at redemption next Sunday at Adelphi, in our final outing of this fall. The competition will be strong, as we are slated to play three Division I teams – Manhattan, LIU and Sacred Heart! In my time at Molloy, I have always seen our team rise to the occasion and play their best, against the toughest opponents. I hope we are all grateful, that we have another opportunity to get this thing back on track.

Go Lions!