By Ben Neilson
The BYU men''s soccer team has experienced many peaks and few valleys this season.
The Cougars continued their winning tradition this year by posting an intimidating 16-1-0 record and capturing yet another Collegiate Club National Championship, the team''s fifth in the past six years.
BYU was again dominant this year, recording shutouts in eight games and outscoring opponents 75-14 overall.
BYU head soccer coach Chris Watkins said one of the season''s few low points came in the first game of the season, a frustrating 1-0 loss to Air Force Academy on Aug. 25.
'Our only loss came in the first game of the season,' Watkins said. 'The looks on the players'' faces, the disappointment ... We knew we were the better team.'
Watkins said the Air Force loss was a wakeup call and the team learned an important lesson early on.
'The players listened to us (coaches) that day,' Watkins said. 'We learned from it and it ended up being our only loss.'
Watkins said most of his personal highlights this season were when he saw glimpses that players were grasping what he was teaching.
'Those conversations let me know the players were believing in the system and understanding. Once that happened, around September, the results in November were pretty secure,' said Watkins, referring to the Cougars'' clean sweep of last month''s national club championship in Alabama.
Despite all of BYU''s success, Watkins said his greatest worry is contentment.
'The danger we have is complacency - being satisfied with where we''re at,' Watkins said.
With BYU''s six championships in the past nine years, has the national club title lost some of its luster, leaving the Cougars looking for a greater test?
As much as Watkins would like to see his team play at a higher level, he doesn''t see BYU rejoining the ranks of NCAA Division I play anytime soon. Hence, the need for the club to challenge itself by setting lofty goals, such as this year''s oft-attained aspiration to shut out opponents.
'The club championship is all we have, so I try to take some satisfaction out of it,' Watkins said. 'But I want more.'
After collecting five national titles in six years and establishing a dynasty of sorts in the sphere of college club soccer, neither Watkins'' nor his players'' enthusiasm for winning has dimmed.
Will the Cougars repeat again next year?
'Definitely, no question,' said sophomore forward Matt Affleck.
Affleck said this year''s club is more fun than any other he''s played on, citing player unity as on of the primary reasons why.
'The guys have the same goals and values, so we get along and have a lot of fun together,' Affleck said.
Affleck said he and his teammates have a saying they use to motivate each other: 'Let''s go out and play like Cougars.'