Sunday morning workout

Women's Basketball vs Puget Sound

Timber! That was the sound heard at Currier Gym after the Puget Sound Loggers felled the Lady Bulldogs 62-58. We had our chances at the end of the game, but we came up just short. Well fought ladies. It was definitely an exciting game to hear from under the scoring table. I can tell this is going to be a great season.

Bulldog Dive Invite

Talulah went down to Thompson Aquatic Center to watch Tim and Chelsea at the Bulldog Dive Invite. The morning session had the men on the 3 m and the women on the 1 m boards. T thought our divers were looking very impressive. Of course, she spent the better part of the morning working the deck for attention. SCIAC conference for swim and dive starts in two weeks, December 5 vs. Whittier and then December 6 vs. Cal Lu. Check the UR athletics web page for times. And then show up and cheer on our Bulldogs!

Women's Basketball vs Trinity

Our Lady Bulldogs played Trinity in the Redlands Tip-Off Classic Friday night. Apparently to get into the tournament this year you had to have maroon in your uniform. Fortunately for me, I'm color blind so that didn't matter. I know what team to root for by reading the name on the jersey. Well, as usual, Talulah warmed up with the team during the pre-game drills, but the fast paced above the dog collar game our ladies play meant she had to sit on the bench for the duration. If only she could learn how to shoot a few treys like Ali... The gym was full of supportive fans even though a long Holiday week is coming up. We saw soccer players, coaches, softball team members, graduates of previous years, university staff, and many more. T and I greeted many of them at halftime. Trinity played us tight for most of the game until near the end when we pulled away for a 84-75 victory. This is going to be an exciting season. I may just have to poke my head out from under the scoring table to catch a few plays. Next game is tonight against the Puget Sound Loggers.

Sunday Soccer vs. Augsburg

Seventeen games in a row without a loss, but number eighteen was not to be. Our guys played well. We outshot the Auggies 21-8, but they wouldn't surrender the equalizer and won 1-0. All in all, it was a heartbreaking weekend. I admit my spirits were down and my temperature up for a while after the game. I so wanted our guys to play another match. They gave us one of the best seasons in recent memory. Well, it's time to regroup and look ahead to some well deserved time off. The soccer, football, and volleyball seasons are over. We still have ongoing X Country, Swimming and Diving, and Water Polo and both Basketball seasons are just getting underway. All our teams need campus community support. I'll see you at the games.

Women's Soccer NCAA First Round

After football, T and I sauntered home for a some grub and much needed down time. Then it was back to the University for the Lady Bulldogs evening soccer match vs. UC Santa Cruz. This was the first round of the NCAA Championships! Just getting into the Championships, much less hosting games, is indicative of how well our season has gone. The winner was to take on a familiar team this Sunday, Claremont Mudd Scripps, as they beat Hardin-Simmons on penalty kicks after 110 minutes of scoreless action. Well, so much for getting to bed early. Let our game begin.

The crowd was typically boisterous and a tad larger than usual. We donned our Redlands capes for team spirit and a bit of extra warmth. The first half we worked through some rough spots and let one goal slip through on a penalty kick. The banana slugs are a good team. In the second half we notched up the tenacity and evened the score at 1-1 on a beautiful goal by Erica. But less than seven minutes later they scored what turned out to be the eventual winning goal. We must have shot a dozen more times after that, but nothing went in. It was a well fought game. Great season ladies.

Football vs. Cal Lu

It was another warm and beautiful Saturday afternoon in Redlands for our sixth home game of the season. Coach Maynard, the rest of the staff, and all the fans honored our seniors as this was their last home game. I only wish it ended differently as the Kingsmen came out on top 24-17. We watched from the stands. We paced the sidelines. We were feeling pretty good when we tied it up at 17 all. Some days, some games, don't go our way. We won't let it get us down. This was a great season. Good job Dogs!

Saturday Night Soccer and Basketball

After the football game, I sent Talulah over to the Women's Soccer match and the Men's basketball game. That proved to be an error in judgement as both those games resulted in close losses for our Bulldogs. Talulah represented well, but I think we need both of us around to maintain the perfect boost in momentum. Aware of this, I hurried over to the men's Soccer match in case a similar fate awaited them. I arrived to a 0-0 tie in the second half only to see the Sagehens score a goal on a penalty kick. The Bulldogs picked up the pace and scored a goal soon thereafter, but somehow the ref missed it crossing the line. They didn't score it. Oh no! Would that get us down? Nope. We found another gear and scored an equalizer before the end of the second half. After a scoreless first OT, Jeff scored a goal on an assist from Nick in the first 29 seconds to reaffirm my two mascot theory. Congratulations guys!

Saturday Football vs. Chapman

It was a warm Saturday afternoon and there was nearly 1,000 fans in attendance on hand to meet and greet. Between Talulah, Buddy, and myself, I think we had it covered. For those we missed, the cheerleaders are always there to keep every one's spirits high. T and I made sure to stop by and visit several of our good friends in the stands before we paced the sidelines in what turned out to be a hard fought game. We prevailed 21-7, but statistically, the game was very close. Chapman gave us a solid game and that should keep us sharp for next week's game vs. Cal Lu. Let's make it five in a row Dogs!