Box and Won Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Very disappointing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Very disappointing. It was very disappointing. We went right back to what we were doing as a team earlier in the year. Our defensive midfielders (we have about 2 dozen of them) win the ball, pass it back to our defense to stabilize who n turn (see Tim Ream) boots it long where the opponent takes control and attempts to move the ball downfield. Our defensive midfielders (any of the 2 dozen, sometimes they gang up an get 2 players involved at the same time) take the ball back, pass it back to the defenders who kick it around for a bit sometimes daring to pass it to a midfielder on the ground, who will pass it back to the defender who will boot it long and repeat the process. That is our entire game. People keep saying we need a reliable scorer. What we need more are midfielers who can turn the ball up field and create something. Patterson is the only one that does and he just bum rushes forwrd until the ball is stolen. He should be upfont and running on to the ball. He is not a midfielder. Our forwards should be Dado an Patterson, but right now we couldn't play them up front together as we would never get them the ball in a situation to make something happen. It is hard to believe that one of the suppossed top 25 players in the country is hardly noticeable on the field. Their goal was created by a defensive misplay by Aranda who had been moved to the back line at halftime, creating a breakway. The shot should have been saved by Kaufman ... If we are one of the top 20 teams in college soccer ... it's sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLUBALLS Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 I don't completely disagree because I was as frustrated by the long balls out the back, but hand it to UMASS for tactically executing their game to near perfection. They let the boys in the back play across the back but any time we moved into their half, UMASS pressured the sh-t out of the ball. Their whole team was on the same page the entire game. I can't remember a play where we seriously tested the UMASS goalie. We have no target forward yet we played long balls as if Brian McBride were playing up top once again. The backline missed having Angus back there. The ref sucked as well. Not because we lost but because he just sucked. As Skip implied, we do not have a creative midfielder on this team and that has hurt for a long time. But its only our second loss of the season so nothing is falling apart. We were one of 10 teams in D1 with only one loss up to that point. Losing at home though is unacceptable as well as to an A10 team. Rhode Island wil not be a cakewalk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 I don't completely disagree because I was as frustrated by the long balls out the back, but hand it to UMASS for tactically executing their game to near perfection. They let the boys in the back play across the back but any time we moved into their half, UMASS pressured the sh-t out of the ball. Their whole team was on the same page the entire game. I can't remember a play where we seriously tested the UMASS goalie. We have no target forward yet we played long balls as if Brian McBride were playing up top once again. The backline missed having Angus back there. The ref sucked as well. Not because we lost but because he just sucked. As Skip implied, we do not have a creative midfielder on this team and that has hurt for a long time. But its only our second loss of the season so nothing is falling apart. We were one of 10 teams in D1 with only one loss up to that point. Losing at home though is unacceptable as well as to an A10 team. Rhode Island wil not be a cakewalk. We've had that ref before ... his range is to 10 yards on either side of the center line. Seriously, you can't be in that poor of condition and expect to ref a D1 soccer game. I don't think the season is falling apart and I think we are a good team, but that is it, a good team. The more I watch us the more I believe we have the forwards in Dado and Patterson. They are just being misused due to our lack of offensive midfielders. Yes, Umass packed it in, but we could only hold possession at the midfield stripe. We couldn't keep possession between 25 and 50 yards out. That is the only way you are going to bring them out. We played right into their strategy and it's not the 1st time we've seen someone pack it against us. We rarely switch fields quickly, we play it to the middle where we hold it until the opponent catches up and then we move it the rest of the way. Tim Ream was horrible in this game offensively. We rarely play a one touch ball except to clear it, knock it back to a defender to stabilize, or to bang it back in long and thats the entire team. We have no offensive plan, Donnigan said in the paper the kids need to make adjustments ... it looks like we don't work on any sort of quick short passing game. I question how much effort is put into changing styles to a game plan that utilizes the talents of our team. Imo that is a coaching problem. We've had the same issues for a few years now and can't correct it. Dado needs to have the ball played to him at his feet, he has the ability to beat almost any single defender and get a nice shot off, the problem is with our lack creative midfielders we never cause the opponents defenders to move up and defend the space between 25 and 50 yards ... they are sitting back just in front of their defenders so that when we bang the ball in long our forwards are trying to win it 2 on 6 or 7. It's not going to happen. Patterson has good speed and is strong on the ball, but he doesn't have great control of the ball. He relies on his ability to push the ball past defenders and out hustle and muscle them down the field. He has the ability to beat most defenders, maybe 2, but he inevietably tries to beat the 3rd and the 4th and loses the ball. He should be getting the ball played ahead of him into space, not at his feet or chest while he is stationary. He would do very well if we could bring the defenders out and push the ball through on the ground and let him run ... but again to that we have to be able to hold possession from 25-50 yards out and we can't. We also need to let a shot rip from 30 yards once in a while ... it keeps the defense honest. The one game where we did shoot early and often we had our best offensive game. I see no reason why any team would use any other strategy besides packing it in against us and playing for a counter attack goal, which is exactly what happened. With Kaufman in goal ... you don't need a lot of chances to score. Like I said, I think we are a good team ... I just don't think being a good team is acceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecrewfinance Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 While I haven't seen the team play this year, based on previous seasons, I'm not sure that I would expect to have been playing the ball into space for Patterson much. He seems like someone who is more comfortable to have the ball played directly to his feet or chest. Has he evolved as a player, or is there such a lack of other scoring talent that he's the only guy who can (potentially) stretch the field? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 While I haven't seen the team play this year, based on previous seasons, I'm not sure that I would expect to have been playing the ball into space for Patterson much. He seems like someone who is more comfortable to have the ball played directly to his feet or chest. Has he evolved as a player, or is there such a lack of other scoring talent that he's the only guy who can (potentially) stretch the field? I would say you'e misjudged Patterson if you ever felt like he's a better player with the ball played directly to is feet or chest. He has good speed and is strong on the ball, but his 1st touch isn't good. His main move is to push the ball ahead and run it down. Playing the ball in front of him would allow him to utilize his speed more without requiring him to settle the ball in a crowd We played a pretty good game today beating RI 3-1. I'll write more tommorrow when I have time. Anyone else see the game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLUBALLS Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 I would say you'e misjudged Patterson if you ever felt like he's a better player with the ball played directly to is feet or chest. He has good speed and is strong on the ball, but his 1st touch isn't good. His main move is to push the ball ahead and run it down. Playing the ball in front of him would allow him to utilize his speed more without requiring him to settle the ball in a crowd We played a pretty good game today beating RI 3-1. I'll write more tommorrow when I have time. Anyone else see the game? Nope. Had a games out at SLYSA. Appreciate any comments on the SLU game. Wiz seems to be making a case for playing more. Rhode Island is better team than their record indicates; good result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtside Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 I would say you'e misjudged Patterson if you ever felt like he's a better player with the ball played directly to is feet or chest. He has good speed and is strong on the ball, but his 1st touch isn't good. His main move is to push the ball ahead and run it down. Playing the ball in front of him would allow him to utilize his speed more without requiring him to settle the ball in a crowd We played a pretty good game today beating RI 3-1. I'll write more tommorrow when I have time. Anyone else see the game? This is correct on Kyle's game. He uses his speed and strength and skill to beat defenders as opposed to being a target forward. Dado is a target forward. Both Hamzagic and Patterson have played much better this year than their previous years. I'd say by a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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