courtside

Enjoy the game. @Lord Elrond

Jeffrey Field, University Park, State College, Happy Valley, PA. ………………. SLU on defense: Winstanley, (either foot) Lardner, Means, tight space combo play with pace changes on wide flank runs, back post service, diagonal runs from midfield with shots from distance. Winstanley is their best finisher but all are capable. Not a high volume shot team. Their defensive holding mid Turner is their highest volume shot taker. Limit corners and final third fouls. Lenain set piece service. Backs forward. And force Lenain right. 2nd and 3rd ball clears. Sure hands from Puricelli on wide service. Limit middle of the field turnovers. No moments of brilliance. Georgetown is well known for pedestrian offense until they make a play out of seemingly nothing very quickly. Deceptive pace. SLG On offense: Play normal game. High pressure and pace. Turn transition into offense. Efficient on set pieces and corners. 2nd ball, 3rd ball. Use the width, combo play, take the space on diagonal runs. Georgetown has started flat many times. Make it continue because they get stronger as games progress. Make their back 6 play higher, and spread them out 1v1 in space. Their center backs are very good with help defense on the wings. Play the square ball edge of the box. Forwards and wings need to be strong on the ball in the middle of the field and limit turnovers there. And they have to defend and keep shape. Poise and efficiency inside the 18. …………………. other: 50/50 balls, goal kicks, keeper punts. Have to win the midfield. And be sharp and accurate with distribution. 90 minute complete game, and perhaps longer. Several times Georgetown has scored late to win or draw a game. ………….. Pretty good weather, up to 60 and hopefully no rain until shortly after the game. ………….. Have to elevate the level each round. ………….

I appreciate that. Marcos is doing fine. I often have more confidence regarding these recoveries with Men’s players than Women’s players. 2 SLU Women’s Freshmen who would have played this year, couldn’t due to injury. And it was because of secondary, additional issues beyond the first injury which had the appropriate recovery time. An additional current player had a procedure on their opposite knee because the 2nd injury is often the opposite knee due to things like overcompensation. But Marcos is doing well. (Every recovery is different and unique to the individual.) Time table is good for Spring. But I would caution to not put everything on one player. It will take a few other players as well. As for the team, again, players leaving early, an injury, roster balance, uneven development, etc…doesn’t change results, and it’s a results business, but there is value to learn why things are the way they are. That’s one of several things. 3 of SLU’s forwards this year are all too similar in type. A few others aren’t at the level needed. Wing depth and pace is also a need. Too many defenders played on the wing this past season. At least 4 off of the top of my head. And that really goes back to the Spring season too. Roster and positioning balance. I liked the idea to change formation and shape, and, it was effective. But eventually SLU returned to its preferred formation and shape, which did produce a lot of late season offense and scoring chances. And despite its challenges, the team was 1-2 results from getting in the NCAA Tourney. And they will return almost everyone they want, and they will add some good players too. SLU will definitely be very athletic in back next season with increased pace. And that is something they’ll need to offset some of the other mentioned challenges. Some players need a year, especially Freshmen, but not exclusively so to adjust to the level. Impact transfers have been defenders. Have a reliable pace forward, and have a little more attacking depth with pace on the wings. The portal will be explored. And SLU now has an assistant that is more experienced with International recruiting.

SLU alum Patrick Schulte is not one of the 20 players called into U.S. U23 Camp this week in San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain this week. That is because he is busy leading his Columbus Crew team into the MLS Semifinals. No new keepers were added to camp. Only two keepers are among the 20, Brady and Pulskamp. 15 of the 20 players were at the Phoenix, AZ camp.

All things Hoya Saxa: Georgetown likes to play a 4-2-3-1. If they are less successful, they will change during the game to 1 or 2 other formations. 3-5-2 is one of them. But their preference is 4-2-3-1 ……………… Juliana Leas is their best player, a 5th year player, 1st Team American center back. Physical, stay at home defender, tackles, blocks shots, breaks up plays. She will get forward mostly only as a set piece aerial target along with Riley. Georgetown has several good players. This is perhaps their most important player defensively. Get her isolated in space with speed, and play physical as a back to goal target against her. They play very good team and help defense. …………. Brianne Riley is a UCLA grad transfer center back next to her. National Champion with the Bruins last season. She’s athletic, good in space, and she’s capable of running the length of the field when need be. ……………. Eliza Turner is a holding midfielder that covers a lot of ground, box to box. 2 time 1st Team Big East Player. ……………….. Natalie Means is a wing who can and will play anywhere from right back, holding mod, attacking wing where she plays most. More shot taker than playmaker as opposed to Winstanley and Lardner, but she will do both. All 3 will make flank runs and provide box service. And all 3 are capable of a moment of brilliance any time during a game. …………….. Allie Winstanley is a grad transfer from Dartmouth. Multiple time 1st Team All Ivy. She’ll play the other wing, and, if need be, she’ll play up top when Georgetown goes to 2 forwards. …..:……… Maja Lardner will also play wing and up top.’She has a similar game to Winstanley. More likely to either start up top or to come off of the bench as a wing. ………….. Tatum Lenain is all things left foot. Make her go to her right. Crafty, skilled central attacking midfielder. She takes all set pieces and corners. One of a few Hoyas without some length, but she plays much bigger than her size. Good passer in tight spaces. Shots from distance. More of a facilitator. She’ll split time with Shay Montgomery. Montgomery is more likely to make downhill midfield runs and diagonal runs taking the space. Otherwise it will be Turner, an outside back or Riley. ………………….. Allie Augur is a very good, experienced, polished keeper. 1st Team Big East player, played 2 years at Boston College prior to Georgetown. Not the biggest Keeper at 5’7. Cara Martin is a capable #2. ………………. Outside back and forward are two positions where the Hoyas will tinker a lot. Some previous players are no longer in the rotation. Harwood (left side) and Manning (right side) are the initial current preference. Bair, Junkmann, Hanson, are less likely at this point of the season. ………………… When Georgetown struggles defending their right side, which is a thing, they will even switch to a 3-5-2, play Means on that side, set her up deeper and let her run the entire flank. They did this vs ODU at half time. ……………….. Henley Tippins is likely to start up top at Forward. But Georgetown will sub liberally there and rotate in Grace Sherman (Princeton grad transfer) and even 1 or 2 others. Georgetown is much more likely to sub their attacking players. But anything goes in any game with them. ……………. Emma Davis emerged this season as the compliment to Turner at holding midfield. Davis a physical stay at home holding mid, another Ivy League grad transfer. Are you seeing the Ivy grad transfer theme yet? ………………. Georgetown can build from the back through Turner. They use the width of the field, and they get good spacing. They make a lot of sideline wing runs for box service, and to win corners. (like SLU) ………………. Georgetown is a high level set piece team. Both offense and defense. They push bigger defenders forward. It is one of their two most common ways of scoring. And they don’t give up many set piece goals going back years. But they have given up a handful this year. Strength vs strength. ……………….. They have had many flat slow starts to games this season. More times than not they have gotten away with it. Great opportunity to push for a few early goals. ………………… Georgetown usually gets better and better as games progress. They tinker and they make adjustments. If their coach doesn’t like something, he will substitute 10-15 minutes into games for that player(s). ………………… Georgetown mostly recruits Metro DC, NY/NJ, California, New England for the bulk of their players. They will also add 1 player here and there from larger soccer markets like Dallas or Atlanta, etc.. and they get transfers from Ivy League and elite academic non Ivy schools. ……………. SLU is every bit as good as Georgetown. And, I think SLU is a little better. But unless Georgetown plays a bad game, it will need to be one of SLU’s good games, or better games, of execution and efficiency, while limiting mistakes.(Weather always has a say with regards to game type) Have to match and surpass pace, physicality, from the opening whistle while maintaining level. …………….. Reduce middle of the field turnovers. Keep it simple. SLU forwards need to be a little bit stronger on the ball and value the ball around midfield. Final third is the place for other things. Win a high percentage of 50/50 goal kicks and keeper punts, and be sharp with distribution. Have to be strong on the ball. And win it back right away after a turnover. While solid, triangle and combo defending will need to be elevated a little bit from the first round. …………… SLU’s pace on the wings and up top will challenge Georgetown. The Hoyas don’t like playing direct, high pressure teams. Their adjustment will likely be to clog the middle 3-5-2. That’s when SLU will need to play more diagonal balls and balls over the top to find the corners and seams down the middle. No need for SLU to change the way it plays for Georgetown. And that includes during the game. Have to keep to strengths even if and when having a lead. …………… If something is working for SLU, Georgetown will recognize it and change tactics. SLU needs a little bit more from a few more players. The Hoyas are a lock down defensive team but they can be lured into a different type of game than their coach would like. Georgetown had all kinds of trouble with Xavier twice. But they managed a draw and a win, and that’s what they do. They have a tendency to play to the level of their opponent, good, average, bad. …………….. Winstanley, Means, Lardner have been the bulk of their more recent effective offense along the wings. Lardner may also play up top a little bit. And they switch sides too. Set pieces are service from Lenain to defenders that get forward. ……………… It’s another great opportunity for SLU to play another high profile team. (and both teams in the 2nd game are college soccer blue bloods) …………… Ireland’s Dave Nolan is in his 20th season as head coach of the Hoyas. He was a 5 year assistant there prior to that. And he coached in NY/NJ (played at Seton Hall) They have made 14 out of the last 17 NCAA Tourneys, including 2 College Cup Final Fours in the past 7 seasons. The Hoyas have won at least a share of the regular season Big East Title 6 out of the past 8 years. And they have won their conference tourney 7 out of the past 8 seasons. ……………… The Hoyas, like many other higher profile Women’s Soccer teams, took an International trip this year. Their trip was to various parts of Italy. ………………

No, they do not, at least for TDS. But International players do get referenced in the final recruiting rankings annually. (There are some other outlets too) *Disclaimer: I am a consultant with Top Drawer Soccer. 2024 class is ranked #2 nationally. Not sure why some people aren’t waiting a few years before definitively evaluating a recruiting class at a program well known for multi year player development. …………… The results won’t change, bit understanding what happened and why has value. Let’s take a look. ………….. Many successful SLU players don’t play as big of a role their first season as they do after being in the program a year or two.. (Buendia, Floriani redshirted). Becher started 6 games after transferring. He eventually of course went from 5 goals 2 assists to 14 goals 10 assists the next season. Klein went from 4 goals 4 assists to 7 goals 15 assists the next season. The 2021 NCAA Quarterfinal team, had 2 roughly 9 players that were 3rd, 4th, or 5th year players, about 4 2nd year players, that played a lot. Impact Freshmen were Parker (59 min/game) and Seth (36 min/game) If you look at how the 2021 team was built: 5th year: Wilkinson 4th year: Klein, Niece 3rd year: Keller, Murana, Schulte, Becher (transfer) 2nd year: Buendia (redshirt previous year) Leeth 1st year: Parker, Seth, AJ, (transfer) Alex (transfer) Komodi (transfer) *4 of those players left school early to play professionally. …………… SLU returned 10 starters from the previous on its NCAA Quarterfinal Team. SLU returned 2 starters the next year. And they lost a close 2nd round NCAA Tourney game in the 75th minute on a nice play by Wittenbrink, to the eventual NCAA Runner Up (lost 2-2/7-6 in PK’s). Margins can be small. SLU expected to have Marcos Moore, arguably the best Freshman Forward recruit nationally, but he picked up a season ending injury before the season. And he has a different skill set as a dynamic pace and space forward, which compliments SLU’s target forwards, Coppola, Wrobel. It doesn’t address having an additional new player there as well as some uneven play of a few other returning players. Mads finished strong and a few of those players are places to look for more consistency and to raise their level. The recruiting class is very good and of healthy, that will show well in the next few seasons. SLU lost Klein, Becher and Parker the past two seasons. And it needs more wing pace/depth. A difference between Leatherman and Parker for example, is that Parker arrived as an experienced attacking player, and Leatherman is an experienced defender that tried to convert to an attacking player. And that takes a little time. SLU has had more success with defensive transfers the past few seasons, and several have been 1 year players too. SLU decided to abandon their more defensive formation after the Loyola game, even though it was effective based on healthy productive personnel. Margins can be small.

SLU in the polls: Top Drawer Soccer: 5 College Soccer News: ………………… TDS: SLU 5 BYU 7 Brown 15 Georgetown 17 Penn State 19 Nebraska 21 Santa Clara 24 …………………… CSN doesn’t usually do a poll in between the end of conference tourneys and the end of the NCAA Tourney. Last week: Georgetown 8 BYU 9 Penn State 15 SLU 16 Brown 19 Xavier 20 Santa Clara 23 Nebraska 24 ……………….. United Soccer Coaches doesn’t usually do a poll in between end of regular season and end of NCAA Tourney: That poll prior to conference tourneys was: Penn State 5 BYU 6 Brown 14 Nebraska 15 Xavier 17 SLU 21 Santa Clara 23 (Georgetown received the most votes of any non ranked team)

Happy to speak non-soccer privately with you. Feel free to send me a message.

First half was entirely different. Georgetown changed its shape from a 4-2-3-1 (Nolan preference) to a 3-5-2 because they were struggling to contain ODU early, and, to generate more offense. So what they do with that is move their 2 wings up top to rotate with 2 forwards. They also moved an outside back to wing on the other side. And they let Means (#6) roam the right flank essentially in 3 different positions. Means (#6) is a wing, who at times was playing outside back, defensive midfield, and an attacking wing (where. she usually plays) in the game. They have 2 right backs that didn’t play because they struggled against Xavier. Nolan went with talent over specific position. Georgetown changed their formation 3 times in their game vs James Madison. But they often set up 4-2-3-1. Elite keeper in back. 2 stud center backs, Leas (grad student) and Riley (UCLA transfer). Their left back, Harwood provided the service on Means’ goal. Turner and Davis (Princeton grad transfer) are their holding mids. Turner covers a lot of ground. Davis is a physical middle presence. Means will play either wing as they switch sides. Winstaley (Dartmouth transfer) and Lardner also rotate at wing. All 3 play a lot. Lenain is their left footed, central attacking mid, who takes all set pieces, corners etc regardless of location. She splits time with Montgomery. And Tippins and Sherman split time up top at Forward. They use the width of the field, build wide, draw free kicks and corners. They bring their defenders up similar to SLU in these situations. 5 of the back 6 is pretty set as 90 minute players. The size, depth, and athleticism of the Hoyas, wears down some other teams over time. And they make in game adjustments with personnel, shape, etc….They have had several slow starts in games but they hang around and hang around until they make adjustments and they methodically swing things the other way. Really helps to get a goal or two early against them. ODU, Xavier, others put heavy pressure on them and made them uncomfortable. Georgetown was fortunate to not be down a couple early in the game v ODU.

Knock what off? I’m discussing soccer in the soccer thread, unlike you.

Did you attend/watch the UC Irvine vs UCLA game?

SLU 2 Indiana 0 Fast start, and a comfortable win for SLU. ……………. 4-2-3-1 for both teams with expected lineups. …………….. Talked about the need for having a fast start. SLU came in averaging their first goal at 12 minutes since tweaking their lineup 10 games ago. They only needed 11 v Indiana. ……………… SLU had a very strong first 20 minutes of each half, applying heavy pressure and SLU had several strong scoring chances. Larson and Gaebe and Groark forced turnovers, combination play, in space. Gaebe just missed over the bar, and she had 2 other dangerous chances along the end line and across the middle of the 18. ……………. 11th minute Miller wins a ball at midfield up to Larson who takes on Coffield and turns her inside out for the easy PK call. Miller with a solid low left post finish. 1-0. …………….. Larson and Groark forced turnovers back to Larson and Gaebe along the edge of the box several times. SLU’s pressure up front and in the middle of the field bothered Indiana a lot. …………….. 30th minute, a great sideline technical play from Larson who made another diagonal run, and she played it out wide to Gaebe, edge of the box. And Gaebe does what she does there. She wins endless amounts of corners. Larson corner to Lawler far post 2-0 ………………. Earning set pieces, and converting them are one of several different ways that SLU scores goals. Indiana zoned their set piece defense which wasn’t effective. On that particular corner set, Stram and Heckel (both targets) stay at the 6. Two forwards (Sawyer and Gaebe) make a run past them for the goal line. And, the delayed runners/targets, are the 2 holding midfielders. (Lawler and Bockius). ………….. SLU then subbed out 5 of its most effective offensive players for the remaining 15-16 minutes of the half with a comfortable 2-0 lead. A few times Simon found Sawyer in space 1v1 with Zoe Tiger who did well to hold off Sawyer and prevent a 3-0’lead for SLU. Tiger held off SLU forwards several times in both halves to prevent 3-0 or 4-0. ……….. Lawler won one of many 50/50 balls flicked on to Sawyer who flicked it on to Simon who made a run and she had a near post left footed shot saved. …………… There were a few moments in the middle of the half of SLU not being sharp enough, not keeping it simple, a few too many back passes and middle field turnovers. …………… The adjustment Indiana made was subbing in Paredes a central attacking player, but playing her as one of the 2 holding mids with Masur. They then pushed up higher. This was to try to generate more offense. Indiana had zero dangerous chances in the first half except a corner. This was an effective improvement for them. …………… SLU moved Sawyer up top and Gary to wing. (De Luca has been unavailable for many games with injury) ……………. Houck had a strong half as did the back 4. Most plays for Indiana were kept 25-30 yards out from goal. And in both halves they had sequences where their shot was blocked several times in a row which also definitely skewed their shot stats. …………….. SLU was happy to rest many players the extra time with a 2-0 lead. ……………… 2nd half …………… Starters back in and SLU opened with a lot of early pressure again. Larson won a free kick and Gaebe put one about a foot wide working down the opposite side all in the opening minutes. ……………. 51st minute into the 2nd half, Houck to Gaebe up the line and she wins another corner. Luebbert’s service was to Heckel who headed it to Lawler wide open back post finish and she somehow put it just wide. This was the same set as before. It already worked once so they tried it again and they came super close to another goal. …………… Indiana had a few 25 yard shots about 15 yards wide. And they also had some shots blocked from that distance too. These were little more than shot stat stuffers. …………….. 64th minute Luebbert sent Sawyer in space down the right side 1v1 with Tiger again. This time she cuts inside the box and creates separation. She’d like her shot back which was too much down the middle. Still 2-0. ……………… SLU tried to get Larson and Gaebe in space a few more times but distribution wasn’t sharp. SLU did have a free kick and Houck played Larson in the corner 1v1. She walked around Hamm and centered across the 6 deflected off of Tiger and almost in for a goal. Nice save by Gerstenberg. ……………. Miller wins 50/50 header to Sawyer up the line, centered for Gaebe, but Tiger cleared it just before the finish froma few yards out. Strong game from Tiger. She really helped keep the differential from getting out of hand. …………….. Paige Webber finally had a shot, (she had 2 in the game) and, it was of course, blocked. Britt was credited with 7 shots. These were from great distance, low percentage, and often blocked. Akeel for example, along with Paredes were two of Indiana’s more effective players in the middle of the field, and neither had a shot. ……………. Gaebe and SLU spent much of the final 10-15 minutes killing clock. It’s not exciting but it’s an effective part of the game. And in one example, Emily turned, and she got around Hamm, rifled a left footed shot upper near corner, and a great save by Gerstenberg, to tip it for a corner. …………….. Strong team defending and positioning for SLU, team defense, allowing very few chances for Indiana, and for keeping Webber very much in check the entire game. Moved up a little bit higher, kept a strong shape, front back, gave very little space. ……………. Larson again, was a most effective two way player. Groark and Gaebe had strong moments. Lawler and Miller won the majority of midfield battles. Back 4 very solid. 2 clumsy fouls, 1 in each half but that was it. ………….. Strong effort against a good team. Indiana is organized and well coached. And they were going to play a hard 90 regardless of score. ………..:. Only one other team all season defeated Indiana by more than one goal, and, that was Penn State. That includes a lot of pretty good teams in and out of league for them. …………… Lots of good from the game, along with a few things for SLU to tweak a little bit, in order to elevate for the next one. ………..,… Celebrate success. ……………….

nm

Last I saw, Halftime Score: Penn State 5 CCSU 0. (Payton Linnehan had a hat trick in the first 25 minutes for Penn State.) So if SLU wins, they will likely play at Penn State, against either Georgetown or ODU. And Penn State will host the winner of Arizona State at Sant Clara at the same place.

Bri did well in Houston. It was very competitive. Great learning experience for an extended camp. They brought in a lot of outside back players, more than most. She also explored International options but decided to not pursue them. One of her fellow trial players in Houston (Hailey Davidson, Pitt) with whom she became friends, has played in Sweden and New Zealand this year for example. Obviously she talks with Maddie. Bri still trains and works outs out. She played Summer Ball. I wouldn’t rule it out or close the door. Each year removed will lessen that chance however. She will 100% coach. Bri is currently the Girls Director at St. Louis Stars. Prior to that she did coaching certification classes at Scott Gallagher with Billiken Alyssa Bockius. Some may not know that Alyssa has coached younger kids there and she received her “D” coaching license at age 16. Bri made a strong impression with Pech and some of the Gallagher coaches. Bri is also friends with Bry McCarthy so she has a pretty good understanding of some paths. McCarthy has settled in as the Player Development Director at Lou Fusz, working with various teams, and, coaching the 08 team there. Another former SLU assistant Ralph Richards was the long time coach and ECNL Director at SLSG before recently becoming the National Commissioner. Cal Mckee is a SLU assistant while still working with STLDA. He coached Gaebe and a few other Billikens in club ball at Lou Fusz. So coaching and training is definitely where Bri’s at right now while still working out.

Maddie Pokorny signed a well earned 2 year extension with Racing Louisville in the NWSL. (first of many future Billikens) 3 time Danish League Champion and UEFA Champions League goal scorer. (Lou Fusz/Webster Groves, first ever Chris Allen recruit, who coached her in high school. She was this close to getting her 2nd of the game in 2OT to defeat KU in the 2018 NCAA Tourney): https://twitter.com/RacingLouFC/status/1723056680844632374?t=BEd8bXsRPjrFKmBpgOSNFA&s=19

If Georgetown wins, yes. But Georgetown has a tougher opponent than Penn State. (There are several previous posts explaining how it all works.) The focus for today is SLU vs Indiana and then we’ll see what happens after that. ……………… ODU is legit and they are capable of a 0-0 game winning it in PK’s or a 1-1 type of game with Georgetown. They don’t give up much. The Sun Belt has several good teams. They are battle tested. James Madison played Georgetown 0-0 in part because they play a unique formation variation of a 4-1-2-3. ODU has a win and a draw against them. ODU will play a 4-4-2 diamond. Georgetown is more familiar with that. The strength of Georgetown is their keeper, 2 center backs, and their holding midfielder. All are elite level. But if they aren’t efficient with finishing service from Winstanley, Lardner etc…it could get interesting. If SLU wins, I’ll have scout for anyone they play. But I am much more familiar with Georgetown, Penn State, ODU, than C. CT State. I wouldn’t meed to watch film on those teams. …………… Last season, when #2 SLU lost, Memphis played #7 Mississippi State at Arkansas. (won 4-0) And #3 Arkansas hosted Ohio State. Then Arkansas hosted Memphis. (3-3 PK’s). Then #3 Arkansas traveled tp #1 seed Florida State for the regional final. The best remaining seed after round 1, hosts rounds 2 and 3 in your part of the bracket. If Penn State and Georgetown lose, SLU will host ODU. And the winner of Santa Clara and Arizona State, will play Central Connecticut State at SLU. The hope is SLU wins and both Penn State and Georgetown lose. That’s the best case scenario. The more likely scenario is Penn State (hasn’t played well lately) hosting 4 teams. ……………..

Final scout for Indiana: Indiana has scored in the opening 2 minutes of games 3 times this season, and the first 2 minutes of the 2nd half as well. It’s essential to not ease into the game or halves when playing them. …………….. Multiple times IU won or tied games against NCAA Tourney teams when their only goal was a PK hand ball or defensive team own goal. And they made it hold up. Have to be mistake free in your own 18. And keep clears simple up the line. No middle of the field turnovers. ……………….. There will be many long balls in space and to get behind the defense for Webber. Front/Back holding mid & center back, as well as outside backs and wings. Ehe will also hold up and combine with Bennett, Britt, Kim or find the trailer. ………………… Indiana played 5 of the 8 other Big 10 teams in the NCAA Tourney. They went 2-3-1 in those games. They did not play SLU opponent Nebraska, Wisconsin, or Iowa. They do also have a win and a draw against other NCAA Tourney teams. And if you take away season long top 10 Penn State, they were 2-1-1 against all others. ………………. Indiana is unafraid to clear the bench and go 10 deep without much drop off. So they will substitute freely. They play a hard 90 regardless of score. ………………… 2nd 3rd clears on set pieces and corners. They’ll move up their center backs for these and Bennett will take many of them. Keep it simple. ……………… 50/50 balls, goal kicks, keeper clears, winning the middle of the field. ………………… Scoring early, playing with a lead, tacking on for SLU. In the 10 games since Gaebe has started, SLU has outscored opponents 36-0. In the 8 games with its current lineup and positioning, SLU has outscored opponents 32-0. Prior to these 10 games, SLU didn’t score in the first half in its previous 4 games. In these 10 games, SLU’s 1st goal is scored on average at just over 12 minutes into the game during this stretch. Prior 4 games to the change, SLU’s 1st goal arrived 63 minutes into the game on average. ……………………. Indiana says they like the pace, so show them the pace. Opportunity for high octane, heavy pressure, speed on the wings and in transition. Urgency, 90 minutes, efficiency, sharp. ……………………. This may be SLU’s final home game of the season. Even if SLU wins, both Penn State and Georgetown need to lose this weekend, for SLU to host a 2nd game. And if that is Georgetown, it will be in the afternoon next week, as Shaw Field still doesn’t have lights after 27 years. ……………………

One more random example is Mississippi State. Last year they were in SLU's region as a 7 seed. In fact had SLU defeated Memphis, SLU would have hosted Mississippi State in round 2. In the first round, Mississippi State hosted New Mexico State. It wasn't a geography matchup. 33 RPI vs 79 RPI. This year Mississippi State is a 6 seed. And they will host, wait for it, Providence. So, you have your Harvard hosting Maine, and then you have things like this.

Yes it does. But as I pointed out, geography is used sometimes but not others. Sometimes better seeds benefit, but not others. BYU for example is hosting Utah State. Utah State defeated BYU this season in a big upset. It propelled Utah State to an NCAA Tourney season. I’m not a fan of rematches personally. I like to see teams play new teams. SLU played both BYU and Utah State. Last year, SLU defeated SIUE and Missouri State in lopsided fashion. Instead of a rematch with one, SLU hosted Memphis and those schools played at worse seeded teams Northwestern and Arkansas. (a team SLU defeated) Geography is definitely a factor. But it isn’t the only factor and pairings and matchups are a bit all over the place.

Understanding NCAA Selection: Last year as an 8 RPI team, SLU played a 30’s RPI team in the 1st round. This year, the 8 RPI team is playing the 90 RPI team in the 1st round. ……………. 5 of the top 7 RPI teams are playing teams that are 100 RPI or much worse. 2 are not. They have more challenging 1st round RPI games. ………….. The 10, 11, 12 RPI teams ahead of SLU, are all playing teams 196, 85, 146. ………… There is 1 team in the RPI top 15 that is playing a better RPI team than SLU. Most are playing mid 100’s RPI teams. ………… The 16 and 17 RPI teams after SLU are both playing worse RPI teams than SLU. In fact, there are at least 13 teams with a worse RPI than SLU that are playing worse RPI opponents than SLU in the 1st round of the NCAA Tourney. Some are pretty extreme. 26 RPI hosting 154 RPI Ohio etc…. ……………. Arkansas for example has a great program. But they haven’t had as challenging of a first game lately. Last year as a 3 seed, they hosted Missouri State, a team SLU defeated 7-0 that season. This season as a 2 seed they will host Grambling, a 196 RPI team. ………… Regionally, Morehead State was sent to top seed Florida State. But 21 RPI Wisconsin will host 33 RPI Milwaukee. ………… 31 RPI and 8 seed Gonzaga gets to host 157 RPI Idaho. ……………….. And this doesn’t include teams that are under or over seeded which also happens. ………………… Some teams some years will have much tougher or much easier 1st round games than others. Teams are still evaluated based on results. But some context helps. And upsets can and do happen incrementally more frequently annually. Two seasons ago 2 seed UCLA lost to UC Irvine in a big 1st round upset. The very next season UCLA won the National Championship. ……………… Some worthy teams were left out of the tourney entirely. South Alabama had an RPI of 27 but the committee didn’t want to take 3 teams from the Sun Belt. ………… Big Ten has 9. SEC has 7. ACC has 5. Pac 12 has 5. Ivy has 4. Big 12 has 3. Big East has 3. WCC has 3. Sun Belt has 2. 4 of those 9 Big 10 teams are in SLU’s Region. ……………. So there is quite a variety and randomness to NCAA matchups. …………….. A partial solution to the bracket inconsistency, is to seed all 64 teams, and, to play each round on campus of one of the two schools playing the game. …………………. One way to get better seeding and better earlier matchups more often, is to keep winning more high profile games. ………………. There’s no reason why SLU can’t be successful in this year’s NCAA Tourney, and go far in this year’s tournament. And that all begins with the first game. ………………..

Scouting Indiana. Indiana is a good, solid team. 5th in the big 10 this season. But SLU is a better team with better players. SLU already has a road win against the Big 10 co-champs. Let’s take a look at all things Indiana. The Hoosiers like to play a familiar 4-2-3-1 formation, which is the same SLU preferred formation. Before year 5 of Erwin Van Bennekom, (and Tim) the pressure was ramping up to turn a corner. (The previous coaching change was after 6 seasons.) Last year’s IU team defensively had 7 shutouts in their first 7 games. The problem was they couldn’t score. They struggled to score so much that they only scored a goal in 3 games all season. So IU made a point of emphasis to focus on a new press with its front 4 to force turnovers, transition, as a way to increase goal output. And it has had some success this season. They still however pack tight their back 6. So the big space is in the middle of the field in between. All of this starts and stops with Paige Webber. She is their best player, she plays up top alone at forward. She has 12 goals which happen in a variety of ways. Some are quick transition from forcing turnovers. Midfielders in the middle of the field, force turnovers and feed Webber in space. Some are as a target. Some in space. Some off of set pieces. Some over the top. She has a tireless motor, good pace, not a lot of size. She can finish. This is the player to deny and slow down and make other players beat you. Webber was a Michigan State transfer who went from starting every game on a struggling team, to a reserve role in part because she needed to improve her defense and positioning. Now she is a polished veteran player who is by far IU’s best player. Cannot let her get in behind the defense with through balls or long balls. Have to deny target passes, and mark tight near the 18. If she’s in transition, make her give it up. She likes to use the middle lf the field. Pushing her wide is also am effective option. Anna Bennett works well with Weber in combo play from the wing. Heavy shot from distance. Good size. Not a pace player. It’s effective to limit her involvement in the first 30-40 minutes of games as that is when she is often more dangerous. Need to force her wide and make her run the flank, not diagonally inside. Natasha Kim is more of a pace and pressing player on the other wing. They will switch sides during games. Much of their offense comes through the middle of the field and they rotate in multiple central attacking players. With the way IU likes to play the space is often stretches of the middle of the field, as well as corners. The idea for SLU is to beat the pressure up the middle, then get wide and stretch the length of the field for inside the 18 service. It’s also to put heavy pressure on IU’s back line when defending. It’s important for SLU to be a little bit more efficient in the attacking third, as well as to be mistake free with the back 4/6. No handballs or clumsy fouls inside the 18. Need a clean game there. If SLU can do that, the game can very much be a multi goal win game for SLU. Lauren Costello is unique in that she is a 5’10 outside back who plays either side. Several teams have success approaching the opposite side. None of IU’s outside backs get forward as much as what SLU would see or do. Costello is the closest to it. Gerstenberg is an experienced good, solid, keeper. But she can give up a soft goal once in a while. Paredes is a depth player in the central attacking midfield that has connected with Webber before. Coffield is a true Freshman center back. Masur is one of the 4 defenders that will be 90 minute players out of 6. Solid. IU won’t have the overall size and athleticism as Georgetown or Penn State. But they are good at staying in many games. Scoring first, scoring early, getting IU to play a wide open game, moving their back 6 around, front back/side to side, will be priorities for SLU. IU can be a team that can be lured into an end to end game. Back distribution winning 50/50 midfield balls wide to wings, diagonal and corner runs. Indiana isn’t elite set piece team offensively or defensively. Not bad. But not elite. Every step in the process this season is new for Indiana. Scoring more this season, not a lot, but improvement, making the Big 10 Tourney, making the NCAA Tourney, etc… IU definitely played differently from my observations, home v road. Two direct teams in similar formations and roughly similar styles with some differences too. SLU has more fire power and more depth. And if SLU plays one of its better games, they will be successful. IU is good enough if they don’t. Local connections to IU. Recent Lou Fusz Soccer Girls Director Wendy Dillinger was an All Region player there in the mid 1990’s. Her son Braydon is a SLU Men’s Soccer commit. Back up Freshman keeper Parker Scheele played club soccer with Gary, Jackson, Schwartz, Bockius, Indiana is typical of some of the Power 5 schools that SLU recruits against often. SLU wins most of those recruiting battles annually. IU will add 2 more 2024 players from Springfield, IL and St. Louis. Several SLU recent SLU commits were recruited by IU. Fun opportunity for SLU.

This isn't the goal. The goal is to win every game they play.

Sophia Stram was named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week.

Happy Valley and State College are the same place. It would be on Penn State’s campus.