courtside

The UK respect for Carlos. Kentucky game planned to overload their right flank, and to avoid Leatherman’s side of the field. Carlos still ends up as the best player on the field in the game. Sheesh.

Half time adjustments in the other thread.

Half time adjustments. UK wrinkle. They started Gordon on the right side with Muir. Overloaded two pace outside backs on the right, two size center backs on the left. They like the matchups on their right. They are playing an extra defender on the left side. The build is on the right 90% of the time. Even Ruiz is on the right side. After they scored they switched to a 5-1-3-1. Take the central space in front of you with combo play in the middle when they play 5 backs. Play middle ground vs Lopez and Andersson, diagonal wide on attacking right side. When Gordon is high play over the top of Muir. Ground service. Caught a break with Larsson having to go out for Smith. Didn’t take advantage.

Only 3 SEC teams left. All play tomorrow. One had a losing league record this season, Alabama. Also left, are Vanderbilt and LSU.

There are 13 St. Louisans still playing (2 injured) in today and tomorrow’s NCAA Round of 32.

If HL wants to play pro ball, (and she does) it will be on the wing. That is her best position. SLU unfortunately never really was able to have JS at full strength due to injuries and her hip surgery. Stud player. People were able to see flashes of it. Amazing the work she put in just to be able to play. SLU will be fine next year. The current players will continue to get better. I wouldn't underestimate playwr development. Two of SLU’s better attacking players were affected by concussions part of this season. JS wasn’t available early in the season. Etc…Expectations will be high for them next year. And, SLU is adding a few Freshman to that. 4 are attacking players. One is expected to contribute right away. the others will provide depth and push the veteran players. And SLU has an injured player that hasn’t been able to play yet Right now, SLU is talking with a few attacking players in the portal to see if 1 or 2 can be a fit. There are 3 right now who would be potentially helpful. They are really talking with a few players at almost every position. Some players haven’t entered the portal yet. They will once they lose in the NCAA Tourney. SLU gave up a few too many big plays defensively this year. That has to be more lockdown next year. I am not someone that needs to he sold on the value of HL. She was the biggest difference maker on the team much of the time in her career. SLU is recruiting at higher and higher levels. They return a lot of very good players. SLU will add a little bit in the portal, and they may not he finished for 2026.

And, we did something similar with club teams recently. SLU is taking a look at every position on the field. With this particular example, the player was a First Team Mid Atlantic Conference (all of Virginia/North Carolina) player on a 5 time ECNL Conference champ. Switched to outside back from forward. Physical defender that can get up the flank with some offense too. Still learning the position. Her college team was an Elite 8 team last year. Bobby Puppione wasn’t there yet when she played club. She spent more time with Matt Lacey etc…SLU has a need for a physical, pace OB who can defend, and who can also play high offensively, getting up the flank. SLU wasn’t at the Phoenix showcase last week. They usually skip that one because they are usually playing in the NCAA Tourney at that time. SLU will be in Norco, CA for the Girls Academy Winter Showcase in a couple of weeks. And they will be at the ECNL Lakewood Ranch, FL showcase in January. They will also likely be at the KC event in December due to proximity this year. That’s in addition to league games, regional trips, other sports/multi sport players. Also keep in mind that there are still 32 teams left in the NCAA Tourney who will all have transfer portal players soon as well. SLU has reached out to 13 players at 7 positions. That will grow a little with new portal entries over the next week or two. You get 30 days to enter, but you can take as long as you want to commit after entering. Some will do so before Christmas. Others will do so in May. A typical four year player recruiting cycle, SLU will have anywhere from 100-200 initial targets, that will get narrowed down to 30 something more serious mutual targets. And the they will added 6-10 or so depending on the year.

Coaches evaluate and recruit different players for a variety of reasons. Productivity, potential, results, past success etc…and it is done via attending practice/training/games/showcases/camps, watching video, college/prep/club levels etc….recruiting is year round. Many of SLU’s recruits and recruiting targets across the country have zero prior connection with SLU. It’s a mix of a lot of things. Examples: Izzy Luebbert had a great season. She was First Team All A10. Well earned. She played 242 minutes at Arkansas as a defensive wing midfielder in a 3-4-3 system before, transferring to SLU. She started 60 of 63 games at SLU over 3 seasons, playing over 3500 minutes. Camille Welker started all 20 games this season playing over 1700 minutes. She was injured early last season. She played 675 minutes over 2 seasons at Iowa at a different position. (She has played 3 different positions) It works the other way too. Ulla Sharp has played 1400 minutes and counting at Alabama, starting her last 14 games, having played in 21. She played all of 92 minutes for SLU last year. SLU and Alabama saw things in those players. Sometimes one place isn’t a good fit. Maybe it’s a position change. Maybe the player needs more time to develop. Maybe it’s something else. The MAC Hermann trophy winner last year was Kate Faase. She had a great season, She had 20 goals while playing 2300 minutes. She was a Junior. Her first two years? She had a combined 4 goals and a combined 949 minutes of playing time. Zero starts. She’s having another good season this year.

Out of respect to players, I don’t publicly comment on players in the portal unless that player chooses to announce it publicly. And even then it is often in response to something someone else posts here. Every year, a few SLU Men and Women’s soccer players transfer. I can get you a list of who and where. But it’s otherwise something I don’t post. SLU’s historical challenge with the portal is portal money. The first question players ask in the portal is how much money do you have for me? The portal is MUCH more competitive for high level players, than four year high school recruiting, which is also very competitive. It’s important for any high level program to be active in the portal for a few players to supplement the roster. The roster is built mostly through four year high school recruits. SLU has averaged adding roughly 1-2 portal players per year, going back several years. 1, 3, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2.

I wish the best to all 864 players in the portal. But i’m unsure why this is interesting here. After not having played in over two years, she may have a few opportunities in the MAC, Horizon, Sun Belt, D2, D3 Wash U might be a good fit etc…she’s a good student, and she graduated within 3 years. Good luck to her as well as Gates, Dansby and all of their transfers. There are 864 players in the transfer portal as of today. SLU has reached out to 13 of them. And, there’s 27 days left to enter this cycle. Happy to discuss the portal in the recruiting thread.

Kentucky scout. UK won the Sun Belt. UCF, Marshall, Georgia Southern, (at large snub In favor of Notre Dame) and Marshall are all good teams in that league. They finished the season strong. They didn’t have a good conference tourney, which they hosted. Kentucky is 3-3-1 vs RPI Top 50 with an additional fourth win over another NCAA Tourney team. Their base formation is a 4-2-3-1 similar to Dayton. Also similar to Dayton, I expect then to try a few wrinkles. Conlon is a two time Sun Belt GK of the year with 2 different teams. He’s good. Few mistakes. Muir, Mikoy, Solmaz, Gordon in back. But expect Gordon to play very high at left back. Then the other 3 spread out into 3 center backs and they switch to a 3-2-4-1. They will play through Gordon on the left side. And they will play through Looez and Anderson in the back middle. Onos and Smith share time at RW and both are quiet. The offense moves through the mentioned left side,(Gordon and Ruiz), and through the middle with Larsson and Lopez. Chisolm is their target and space forward. When he is interested and he is sharing the ball, he’s very good. He’s otherwise not going to pass and he’s a high volume shot taker. Explosive at times. Lopez will dribble the central space. Larsson and Ruiz are playmakers from the middle left. Gordon will take it inside the 18 if you let him. Diagonal aerial balls are left to right. SLU can spread them out. Make them play wide and the right side. Do mot give Lopez and Larson space. They will defend, counter, transition the middle. Lopez will move up when Gordon stays back. Have to recognize the formation, the middle 4 cutting down the central passing lanes vs Gordon staying back. Reverse the ball diagonally when Gordon is high. Play centrally when he is not. Kentucky is not a 2nd 11 team. Their first 11 will play most of the game.

Yes, he did. He takes them in PK practice too.

It’s tough with the new roster limits which SLU and many other teams dislike. She had a good experience. She’ll get more of an opportunity elsewhere. There were 3 new players this year who needed another year of seasoning and adjusting to the college level. A fourth that was expected to contribute, had a season ending injury at the beginning of the season. It’s not uncommon for some players to need a little more time to adjust.

A10 Conference Tourney Championship SLU 1 Dayton 1 (SLU 5 Dayton 4 PK’s) ………………. Good to have to former Billikens Max Floriani, Seth Anderson, Jack Mika, Christian Buendia, and Johnny Klein. Good to have former Associate HC Kris Bertsch and former HC Dan Donigan. ……………… SLU had some trouble figuring out Dayton’s formation wrinkles in the first half. ………….. If you like changing formations, this was the game for you. 4-2-3-1, 3-2-4-1, and 4-1-4-1 for Dayton 4-4-2, and a late 3-2-5 and 4-2-4 for SLU Unavailable: Xavi O’Neil. He licked up a late game injury in the semifinal. Big loss for SLU. He was so good in the tourney that he made the all tourney team without even playing in the final. ………………. When Dobruna pushes up at left back, one of Dayton’s two central defensive mids drops to his normal position. 3-2-4-1. When Dobruna stays back, one of their defensive mids moves up. 4-1-4-1. What stays the same is the 4 quantity in their 2nd line Why do they do it? Dobruna has the pace to get up the line or get back. And it allows Bakken to play inside part of the time where he is more effective. Bakken is the dude that cut back inside on Carlos and he run the fsr post in the first 13 minutes of the game. Have to close out tighter and make him go left. They do it to make it difficult for SLU to build from the back centrally through the middle. It takes away central passing lanes by having a 4th player there. It’s constantly switching two formations back and forth. And at times a 3rd when they play their base 4-2-3-1. ……………….. SLU was way too tentative and conservative in the first half. Not a confident first touch, too many heavy passes. If you don’t have the numbers or support, you need stronger hold up play until you get it. Pressure needed to be higher. Compete level needed to be more urgent. ………………. Dayton goal was poor set piece defending.Dayton had a play to create a little separation and Bonham ran onto Dobruna’s pass near post. Bonham was the delay llayer in back. Man marking and o one stayed with him. SLU had 3 players marking 1 player on the play. Two were actually unmarked. ……………….. Early 2nd half SLU almost evened the score. Schramm to DiMaria whi reversed fields wide to Carlos running the right flank. He placed it for Delkus to run onto it and he hammered it off of the keeper from 6 yards Dayton was in their 4-4-4-1. Schramm beat that trap to DiMaria who had numbers and wide open space. Dobruna had to help inside on Delkus. But with Carlos making a run he had to leave him. No chance their center back was going to catch up to Delkus. This should have happened several times in half 1. it happened often in half 2.Much of the 2nd half was this. Recognize formation, make the lass, reverse the ball into space with numbers and pace. …………………… With a lead in the 2nd half, Dayton played more of its 4-2-3-1 which allowed SLU to get better spacing and use the width of the field. And Dobruna started getting banged up in the game. Adebayo Dikka had a strong game at right back for Dayton. SLU gave Bakken 1 other chance in the game. Dikko forced a turnover in transition wide and he played a diagonal ground pass Bakken who took the space because Nick and JC gave it to him. Slow close out. He missed fsr post again from 18. ……………. SLU also started winning more 50/50 balls, aerial duels. Easton re-aggravated a season long hamstring issue in the first half. 2nd half Cortez moved over to center back from left back, and Henry played left back. Versatility, depth, etc matter. With 13 minutes remaining SLU finally played Anderson and Franca together up top. They subbed out Henry, and they dropped Fouriner to center back between Blair and Cortez. 3 backs instead of 4. DiMaria paired with Schramm to have a more offensive dmid. He also played it a little higher. And SLU played 5 up front. A 3-2-5 to try to equalize. Heckenlaible, Tanner, Franca, Pare, Carlos up top SLU goal. DiMaria up the line for Heckenlaibe. Back pst cross for Pare who kept it in play to Franca. Spectacular save on Franca inside the 6. Rebound to Heckenlaibe wide of the 6. One time a short cross to Franca whi gets back up in time to volley it home. 1-1 Changing formations and Personnel. Pairing your best scorers. SLU dropped Carlos back after that to play a 4-2-4 to finish regulation ………………. SLU pushed for a 1st OT goal. fatigue set in during the 2nd OT. SLU was sharp in PK’s. Blair is SLU’s best PK taker and he shoots first. Jeremi is a regular PK taker for SLU in practice. Not a surprise there. ………………. SLU’s RPI is 24. ………………

Before PK’s began, Jeremi hung from the bar pulled on the net. The ref told him to stop doing it. Jeremi didn’t care and he kept doing it immediately after that. He took his yellow card. Then he saved the shot. Baller.