Last fall, the men's soccer program made an unprecedented run from ninth place preseason pick to Conference USA champion and NCAA tournament qualifier. But according to midfielder Dayton O'Brien, the roots of that magical run dated back to last spring.
"Last spring season was a huge (part of the) success for our last fall season," O'Brien said. "We'll have do more this (spring) than even last season because people are going to be out for us."
That's why head coach Richie Grant scheduled another aggressive spring schedule, one that gets underway on Saturday in Texas against MLS stalwart FC Dallas -- formerly the Dallas Burn.
The Tigers played Dallas last season as well, falling 4-0 to the professional team, but the benefits outweighed the result.
It was beneficial," Grant said. "We lost the game 4 - nil, but we came home from that trip a better team."
And that is really the key to spring competition. It isn't about wins and losses; it's about player development.
"There's a big difference in the spring," Grant said. "We have a chance to develop players, particularly players that didn't play as much (in the fall). Our two goalkeepers are both freshmen, and they both need to (play in) quality games in the spring."
The hard work will seem a distant memory when they hit the field tomorrow.
"It's definitely exciting because you're playing against special players," O'Brien said.
It's not a collegiate game, it's a professional game."
U of M freshman Marcus McCarty has even more reason for jubilation. The Fort Worth, Texas, native will have about a dozen friends and family in attendance and he will hit the field against his favorite professional franchise.
Not that he's approaching it any differently.
"I go into every game thinking 'we're going to win'," McCarty said. "I just think of them as another opponent. I'm not going to give them that much respect."
The FC Dallas match is just the first in a series of spring contests designed to challenge the team.
"It was part of our commitment to play a tougher spring schedule. We thought we could make the games that we play a little bit more exciting for the players, and there's nothing better than MLS teams.
Among the seven games are matches against C-USA powerhouse UAB and Furman. The schedule will also hold a 10-day tour of Holland and Belgium in May.
And for first-timers like McCarty it's a chance to find out what spring practice is really like.
"(My teammates) said the season was really hard (work), but the spring is even harder."
For a team that had unprecedented success in 2004, increasing the difficulty is the only way to improve.
