I'm not much of a soccer fan. In fact for years I didn't like it's increasing popularity because I thought it was hurting football attendance. Anyway, you can't beat sitting outside during a beautiful August evening and enjoying a sporting event.
The Cyclones faced Mississippi State in an exhibition match. The stands were quite full. There were a large number of Mississippi State fans / parents that made their way to Ames. I talked to one of them about the long trip. She said they stayed with relatives in Kansas City and have been here for 3 days. I don't know if "here" meant Iowa, or Kansas CIty and I didn't ask. They must have had at least a dozen folks in their contingent.
Mississippi State won the exhibition 1-0. I left at half when it was still 0-0. ISU had a number of corner kick opportunities. Mississippi State had a gal that could boom her kicks halfway across the field. She could throw the ball in from mid-sideline and make it in the goal if nobody blocked it.
I picked up a poster and was surprised to see how many SEC opponents on it. Besides this exhibition, we play Auburn, Georgia and Florida. I don't recall that kind of competition in the past. It seems we would rack up the wins in the non-conference and then struggle to win games in the Big 12. We did upset Pepperdine last year who was highly ranked, but conference play was too much for us. I hope we do better this year.
The Cyclones faced Mississippi State in an exhibition match. The stands were quite full. There were a large number of Mississippi State fans / parents that made their way to Ames. I talked to one of them about the long trip. She said they stayed with relatives in Kansas City and have been here for 3 days. I don't know if "here" meant Iowa, or Kansas CIty and I didn't ask. They must have had at least a dozen folks in their contingent.
Mississippi State won the exhibition 1-0. I left at half when it was still 0-0. ISU had a number of corner kick opportunities. Mississippi State had a gal that could boom her kicks halfway across the field. She could throw the ball in from mid-sideline and make it in the goal if nobody blocked it.
I picked up a poster and was surprised to see how many SEC opponents on it. Besides this exhibition, we play Auburn, Georgia and Florida. I don't recall that kind of competition in the past. It seems we would rack up the wins in the non-conference and then struggle to win games in the Big 12. We did upset Pepperdine last year who was highly ranked, but conference play was too much for us. I hope we do better this year.
