The Plattsburgh State Cardinals continue to roll after picking up two wins at the SUNY Potsdam College Cup this past weekend. Their ability to fine tune the little aspects of the game have proven to be helpful.
Prior to the season’s commencement, Head coach Chris Waterbury expressed his concern for being able to execute on a fundamental level. According to their undefeated record of 3-0, it appears the Cards have been able to dial in on the fundamentals, as well as take their game to the next level. One of the athletes that guided the team towards this next level can be found in junior forward Terrence Spence. Spence lifted PSUC toward victory with the insurance of his two goals on Sunday against Purchase College.
“Being able to score two goals in one game was a perfect feeling,” Spence said. “And as a transfer student, being able to produce like that really made me feel more at home here.”
Spence is a new addition to the Cards this year, as he is a transfer from Suffolk Community College, located on Long Island. Being one of the new guys intimidated Spence at first, but this worry slowly faded as the forward realized how accepting his new teammates would be.
Now that Spence’s pre season jitters have faded, he is now ready to focus more heavily on the important events, such as the Cardinal Classic coming up this weekend.
The Cards will look to start the weekend’s contest with a win against Colby-Sawyer College this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The entire team is coming into this game off of one day of rest, as they are returning from the College Potsdam Cup. When it comes to having less days of rest between games, PSUC is confident in their ability to show up and compete to their full potential.
“It’s times like this that are going to prepare our guys for a playoff schedule.” senior goalkeeper Mitchell Jordon said. “ Yeah, we have less days of rest, but our players have to be mentally prepared to play either way.”
Going into the tournament, the Cards’ opponent has an overall record of 0-2. However, judging a team based off their record is not a mistake that PSUC is about to make. The team is not familiar with all of their opponents in this upcoming tournament, which makes for some uneasy feelings.
“There isn’t enough sampling to get a feel for a team this early in the season,” Waterbury said. “Most teams aren’t in the mid-season form yet, and they’re slowly start to figure stuff out.”
Waterbury also expressed his hesitance toward his mind frame of not preparing for other teams but rather preparing for his team to be the best that they can be.
Over the years, teams go through staff changes as well as roster changes, which creates for a whirlwind. Each year, there is a mystery in reference to what a team will come to the field with.
As a veteran, Jordon is prepared for the unknown. He is aware that even though he does not know the style of play that Colby-Sawyer College will come with, this doesn’t change how the Cards prepare for the match.
“We’re going to stick to our game plan no matter what,” Jordon said. “We don’t change how we play for any team.”
Email Kevin Morley at kevin.morley@cardinalpointsonline.com
