One handshake can say a lot
June 10, 2015
Player of the Week: Sydney Thibodaux
June 10, 2015
In the past two seasons, the Nicholls soccer team has risen from the doldrums, climbing out of the bottom rung of the Southland Conference and firmly into the presence of the league’s best.
To continue that forward push this fall, the Colonels will have to prove they can win games against programs from the best conferences in the country.
Nicholls soccer coach Dylan Harrison announced the Colonels’ 2015 schedule this week – a challenging slate that will heavily test the senior-laden team in non-conference play.
Highlighting the Nicholls schedule are road meetings with Mississippi State (Sept. 4) and Louisiana Tech (Sept. 6) – games that Harrison said will get Nicholls ready for the 11-game Southland grind, which will begin on Sept. 18 when the Colonels travel to face Lamar.
“We’ve got some big games early in the season that will prepare us to make another conference run,” Harrison said. “Playing two tough games against Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech in the same weekend will prepare us for the type of challenges we’ll face in conference play.”
For the Colonels, this year’s schedule is more balanced that it’s ever been during Harrison’s time with the team.
Last year, Nicholls played 20 matches – seven at home and 13 away from Thibodaux. But this year, the ratio will be much more balanced, and the Colonels are currently scheduled to play nine home and eight away matches.
That will give Nicholls fans a chance to take advantage of action at university’s still-new Soccer Complex, which was completely redone before the 2012 season.
“I think our soccer team has done an excellent job,” Colonels Athletics Director Rob Bernardi said. “And I think that when you look at it, their move to the top has really run parallel with that facility upgrade. Dylan and his players have done an excellent job, and we’ve been happy to reward them for their efforts as best as we can.”
The Colonels will kick off 2015 on the road against UL-Lafayette on Aug. 23 – a matchup that will serve as a long overdue rematch between the in-state rivals.
Nicholls beat UL-Lafayette 2-1 in 2013 – the first year of the Colonels’ current turnaround. The teams were slated to meet again last year, but rain postponed the game and it was never rescheduled.
The Ragin’ Cajuns were 9-8-2 in 2014 and will be a formidable foe. The matchup will be even juicier than normal locally because ULL soccer will be led in 2015 by junior midfielder Kim Grasso – a Houma native and Vandebilt Catholic graduate, who scored five goals last season as a sophomore for the Cajuns.
After opening with UL-Lafayette, Nicholls will have a two-game Friday/Sunday homestand against Southern Miss and Southern on Aug. 28 and 30, respectively. Nicholls trumped the Golden Eagles 2-1 last year to kick off the campaign. The Colonels were scheduled to play Southern, but like with UL-Lafayette, the game was canceled by inclement weather.
The two home games will set up the above-mentioned matchups with Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech, which will be played on Sept. 4 and Sept. 6.
The Lady Bulldogs are coming off a horrible season in which there were 3-15 and 0-11 in SEC play. Like Nicholls, one of those wins came via a 2-1 showing against Southern Miss – a result that indicates that the Colonels should be able to compete with the SEC school when they meet.
The tougher matchup of the road trip just might be the Lady Techsters, who were 13-6-3 last season, including a 9-1 mark at home. With the Colonels on short rest, Harrison said he expects the game to provide a stiff challenge.
Of course, it all leads to Southland play where Nicholls will hope to make a push. After kicking off against Lamar on the road on Sept. 18, the Colonels will play home SLC matches against Abilene Christian (Sept. 25), Incarnate Word (Sept. 27), McNeese State (Oct. 9), Northwestern State (Oct. 23), Central Arkansas (Oct. 25) and Southeastern Louisiana (Oct. 30).
It all leads up to the Southland Conference Tournament, which will take place from Nov. 5-8 in Conway, Arkansas.
Harrison said he expects to be there competing for a title. With a strong bunch of seniors led by standout goal scorer Spencer Valdespino and a tough schedule to get them ready, the Colonels seem poised for a run.
OTHER SOCCER NOTES:
Harrison said the released schedule is about 95 percent complete and a few more games may be added to fill up some open holes.
The coach said the Colonels will announce an exhibition game in the coming days.
He added that it’s also possible that Nicholls will add a few more non-conference matches, as well, to fill any of the empty dates that exist on their schedule of games.
OTHER NICHOLLS SPORTS NEWS
Nicholls State University athletic officials also announced this week that the Annual Lardarius Webb Football Camp will again return to Thibodaux during the summer months.
The camp, put on each year by the great former Colonel and current Baltimore Ravens standout defensive back, will be on June 20 from 9 a.m. until noon.
Aspiring football players ages 7-17 are welcome to attend the camp, which will also be co-run by the Sports Medicine Center of Thibodaux Regional Medical Center and Firehouse Subs.
Registration is free.
“We are very excited about Webb’s free camp,” Nicholls Associate AD for External Affairs Brandon Rutley said. “Lardarius is big on giving back to the community and we are very blessed to be able to assist him with his off-the-field initiatives. Everyone knows how great he is on the field, but they may not know that he donates so much time giving back.”
