Southern Virginia University Women's Soccer
Coach Ryan Foster

Nothing like a team right before a game!

It's rapidly approaching!
I love this time of year. The days start counting down, and I start to realize that I will have no time to myself in approximately two weeks! Our team will arrive in the middle of this month, and we'll start to work on this new endeavor of being a DIII school. It's a fantastic time to be here, as we start new things. I'm really excited for the team this year, and I'm optimistic about what we'll be able to accomplish. I think 2012 is going to be a monumental year for Southern Virginia Women's Soccer.

For those interested our 2012 schedule has been announced. We have a good number of DIII teams on it. We open with a tough stretch of games that includes Washington & Lee, Lynchburg and Radford. Two of those teams were in the NCAA tournament of their respective level. We have some rematches from last year, and some new teams on the list. I'm especially excited that we have three opponents who will be on our conference schedule in 2013. Frostburg State, University of Mary Washington, and Marymount will be games where we'll see how we stack up in the conference. Overall I think it will be a challenging schedule, but will be fantastic preparation for the 2013 conference season, and really get us ready for DIII soccer. The full schedule is below.

2012 Women’s Soccer Schedule
September
1- @ Washington & Lee University 3:00 pm Lexington, VA
4- vs Lynchburg College 4:00 pm Buena Vista, VA
7- @ Radford University 7:00 pm Radford, VA
11- @ Washington Adventist University 2:00 pm Takoma Park, MD
17- vs Peace College 5:00 pm Buena Vista, VA
19- @ Marymount University 7:00 pm Arlington, VA
22- vs Hood College 2:00 pm Buena Vista, VA
26- @ Ferrum College 7:00 pm Ferrum, VA
October
1- vs Concord College 4:00 pm Buena Vista, VA
3- @ Frostburg State 5:00 pm Frostburg, MD
5- vs Chowan College 4:00 pm Buena Vista, VA
10- @ Patrick Henry College 4:30 pm Purcelleville, VA
13- vs West Virginia Tech 11:00 am Buena Vista, VA
17- vs Milligan College 4:00 pm Buena Vista, VA
20- @ Trinity College (D.C.) 12:00 pm Washington, D.C.
23- vs University of Mary Washington 4:00 pm Buena Vista, VA
30- vs Bluefield College 4:00 pm Buena Vista, VA

SVU: An NCAA DIII school!

There have been some huge announcements for Southern Virginia in the past week. As of Friday afternoon, the NCAA DIII membership council recommended that we receive provisional status as a DIII member school!

That's not all. I'm pasting a link from the Capital Athletic Conference. They have offered us an invitation to join their conference starting in 2013!
http://www.cacsports.com/ge...

This is on top of the confirmation that SVU has attained regional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)

There are some former players from the program who came here when we had nothing. Certainly none of the things mentioned above. Not even the USCAA. Now we'll be in the same organization as W&L, Ferrum, Lynchburg, and other schools you might be familiar with.

One of the reason's we're at this point is because of student athletes who came here to SVU when we had nothing. Some of them came when we didn't even have a field of our own.They came here to build something. Those student-athletes are the key reason that the NCAA is offering us membership in their organization.

Because of their time here, future players will play under the NCAA, and will have a conference schedule every year. The incoming recruits for 2013 will be the first group to ever be part of a team that will have a conference affiliation.

I want to take the time to thank those players. Whether they played a lot, or a little, those players were pioneers. They made it possible for our current team to be at this point, and I express my gratitude for their efforts. This is a huge day. We've talked about this for a long time, and it is here. They need to know that they are a part of the success we are experiencing today.

I hope everyone is loving the Euro 2012! There have been some great games, and I don't know how any soccer can't feel inspired by watching some of the world's best! Let me know who you think has a chance to win it all, now that it's close to the quarterfinals. I still like Spain even with the results they've had. They know how to win, and watching them is a really enjoyable experience.

We Recruit Smart.
I beleieve that a component to a successful team is the intelligence of the players. Soccer is a game where you need to use your mind, but use it quickly. Players who can see moves in advance, or figure out what an opponent is trying to do, are the ones who find success on the field. I believe that this intelligence manifests itself in the classroom as well. There's also something to be said for a player with a great work ethic, and how that is demonstrated by consistent and quality performances in the classroom. I like to think we have a great group of girls, and they continue to show that they are dedicated and successful in soccer, but more importantly, in the classroom. The most recent President's and Provost's List winner has been announced. You need at least a 3.5 to be on this list, and be in the top 10% of your graduating class to be on the President's list. We hit 9 last semester, and went one better this Spring. Here are the winners (Fantastic job ladies! Keep it up.):
[* Denotes President's List]

Jacqueline Barlow* Bryndel Lytle*
Meghan Blackham Lora Palmer*
Stephanie Blanchard* Harmony Schiavi
Britney Jones Laura Schow*
Amber Key Jade Sorensen

Only 81 more days till pre-season camp!
Yeah, I'm not bored or anything like that. Hope everyone had a great May.