OT - Soccer thoughts

[slufanskip]

Having won both preseason soccer games SLU opens it's regular season on the road at a tourney this weekend in the LA area. Imo this is a must win year for the program and for Donnigan. Most of our offense will be leaving after this year, including, Patterson, Dado, and Barkledge.

In our two preseason games we dominated play in both, but failed to put either opponent away. On the plus side we really look to be adapting our style of play and relying much less on the long ball. In both games there was more short interior passing than in any game last year. Ream and Viviano still have a tendancy to play the ball long, but overall I thought the change was needed and is something that will make them a better team as they get more comfortable. To make it work though our forwards need much more movement off the ball. Without exception we have a tendancy to go as far forward as the defender will let us while remaining onsides and look for a through ball, unless we get more movement up top including some diaganal runs we will continue to have trouble scoring or will ultimately revert back to kick and chase soccer. We have the players with the skill, I hope it's just a matter of getting aclimated to a different style of play.

Some quick notes on a few players.

Brandon Barkledge looked very good, he has a rocket for a shot and imo needs to let it go more often. He is our only midfielder who is not mostly defensive minded. We really need him to step up and be that consistent link between the forwards and defenders. My only gripe from the two exhibition games would be that I'd like to see him move the ball quicker ... which is something the entire team needs to do also.

Tim Ream looked outstanding defensively, he never, ever looks panicked and plays quicker and faster than he looks. He is always composed. He has a great touch on the ball, imo he will end up as one of the best defenders to play at SLU over the last 15 years ... and that is saying alot. Offensively he has as much skill and touch on the ball as most midfielders, he needs to make quicker decisions and get rid off the ball quicker. To many times he holds the ball and lets the opponent get set and ends up playing the long ball far too often. Quicker changes in direction and movement of the ball will help him tremendously and will help us attack the opponents weak spots before they adjust.

I'm out of time ... I will continue later on today

[SLUBALLS]

Pretty much agree with Skip. Other thoughts:

Someone told me to look at Jaramillo as a Grazier type player and after adjusting my lenses a bit, I can see why people like him. Not flashy but did link up well through the middle and rarely lost the ball if at all. Good decision making and did bit more dynamically than what I saw vs DePaul.

21 shots - 2 goals. If this is what we are in for, it will be another long season. We've got the firepower, just have to finish.

Wiznewski continues to have one of the best finishing rates of anyone on the team. That was a difficult volley he put on frame past the goalie.

Holmes continues to lose the ball up top. Again, I like Jonas off the bench rather than Holmes.

Backline performed very well even with two freshman manning the wings last night - Johnston and Hellesen. It looks like Hellesen is a converted forward if I'm reading his bio right. Johnston made a great long run down the wing. Good to see him getting into the attack from back there.

Barklage looks ready to dominate this year.

Sweetin is Sweetin and that's fine with me.

[slufanskip]

Having won both preseason soccer games SLU opens it's regular season on the road at a tourney this weekend in the LA area. Imo this is a must win year for the program and for Donnigan. Most of our offense will be leaving after this year, including, Patterson, Dado, and Barkledge.

In our two preseason games we dominated play in both, but failed to put either opponent away. On the plus side we really look to be adapting our style of play and relying much less on the long ball. In both games there was more short interior passing than in any game last year. Ream and Viviano still have a tendancy to play the ball long, but overall I thought the change was needed and is something that will make them a better team as they get more comfortable. To make it work though our forwards need much more movement off the ball. Without exception we have a tendancy to go as far forward as the defender will let us while remaining onsides and look for a through ball, unless we get more movement up top including some diaganal runs we will continue to have trouble scoring or will ultimately revert back to kick and chase soccer. We have the players with the skill, I hope it's just a matter of getting aclimated to a different style of play.

Some quick notes on a few players.

Brandon Barkledge looked very good, he has a rocket for a shot and imo needs to let it go more often. He is our only midfielder who is not mostly defensive minded. We really need him to step up and be that consistent link between the forwards and defenders. My only gripe from the two exhibition games would be that I'd like to see him move the ball quicker ... which is something the entire team needs to do also.

Tim Ream looked outstanding defensively, he never, ever looks panicked and plays quicker and faster than he looks. He is always composed. He has a great touch on the ball, imo he will end up as one of the best defenders to play at SLU over the last 15 years ... and that is saying alot. Offensively he has as much skill and touch on the ball as most midfielders, he needs to make quicker decisions and get rid off the ball quicker. To many times he holds the ball and lets the opponent get set and ends up playing the long ball far too often. Quicker changes in direction and movement of the ball will help him tremendously and will help us attack the opponents weak spots before they adjust.

I'm out of time ... I will continue later on today

To continue

Pat Disbennet must start in goal for us to be as good as we can. He's just a far superior player than Kaufman. PD has all the physical tools to be a superior keeper at the next level if he can stay healthy.

Kyle Patterson looks the same as last year, a very good player who needs to learn that giving it up once in awhile will create more space for himself with the ball. I do not like him in the midfield, he plays wide and has the speed to get free down the wing, but once he gets down there his cross just isn't that good. He has a very quick first step and has the strength to just blow past people which will give him success, imo though he should be up top.

Dado is the most talented player on the team skill wise but has never had the success that he should have as his only thought is to beat 2-3 or even 4 people off the dribble and shoot. If he was more of a team player and realized that the team success equates to Dado success he would be the center midfielder we desperately need. He's not though and he's to talented to keep off the field and to selfish to be the player he can be.

Scott Wiz just scores goals. I'm not sure what to make of him yet. Early last year he had trouble controlling the ball and made bad reads and soft passes, as the year went on he really got much better. So far in the preseason this year he hasn't looked as good as he did at the end of the year last year nor as bad as he did early. He has shown this though ... when he shoots he scores. His shot is almost always on goal which translates to very few wasted opportunities.

Jimmy Holmes ... get him the ball in the open field with space to run and he's dangerous, otherwise he is a turnover machine.

James Jarimillo has played the majority of minutes in both games, to be honest, I don't know what I think yet. He looks to be an adequate defensive mid or a good outside defender. We need him to be more of an offensive wide mid with the ability to make runs down the wing and deliver quality crosses. We'll see.

Rob Viviano is another solid defender with excellent speed. He plays hard and isn't afraid to mix it up despite the fact he's not very thick. Like Tim Ream, I'd like to see him move the ball quicker and less long balls.

Brent Hellesen played on the left side on the back line and imo looked like the freshman that may earn the most minutes this year. He was solid defensively and was smart and confident with the ball. He looks like he will have the ability to advance the ball and make runs up the sideline. He is from the same HS as Viv and from the Patadoreas (sp) SoCal club team that we seem to have developed a pipeline with.

Calum Angus didn't play either exhibition, I don't know why.

Here is what I'd like to see

Up top Patterson and Scott W.

Midfield left to right Jaramillo, Barkledge, Sweet, and Dado

Backline Hellesen, Angus, Viv, and Ream

Off the bench

Aranda can play the defensive mid spot or a wide defender (though imo he is a little too agressive and overcommits himself making too many mistakes. We can afford it at the defensive mid as he's very disruptive, but on the back line I'd like to see him more under control) I like him for Sweet as a defensive mid.

Kyle Hayes wide in the midfield

Johnston and Dice on the backline.

I don't like any other options in the central mid when Barkledge rests, but of course he has to, so Jaramillo would move over and Hayes or Bellamy could fill his spot wide.

Up top I like Reiter first off the bench, but would probably move Dado up there early in the year when Patterson or Wiz rest and fill the wide midfielder role again with Bellamy or Hayes.

When it's all said and done I'd start the same players as DD, but I'd swap Dado and Patterson and I don't think we know who DD will start as the 4th defender with Ream, Angus, and Viv. I suspect it will be Aranda though ... I'm hoping it's Hellesen.

[courtside]

As a prep player Tim Ream played nearly every position on the field including forward at times. He's as good as any left back out there.

It's good to see Barklage playing up to his capabilities, which are very high.(His sister Drea starts her SLU career this year and she is worth watching on the backline. She isn't blessed with a lot of size, but she can flat out play way beyond her size. She's tough)

Aranda will play a lot when back 100% healthy. I also prefer Josh to play defensive mid over Sweetin.

Can't really disagree with much being said. The Dado comments are spot on, but have been for years. Patterson still doesn't have the quality first touch, but he makes things happen and turned the corner last year.

Holmes will excite and frustrate all season Skip, get prepared. He is a space forward, late developing on ball skill player who has to utilize his speed and space to be successful. He has a natural knack for scoing and being in right place at right time.

SLU lacks that creative offensive mid and therefore when applicable a long ball will be played if it fits the play at the time. Two things have to happen, the service has to be more Matt Mckeon like, and the offensive players have to have an ability to control the ball/play.

[slufanskip]

As a prep player Tim Ream played nearly every position on the field including forward at times. He's as good as any left back out there.

It's good to see Barklage playing up to his capabilities, which are very high.(His sister Drea starts her SLU career this year and she is worth watching on the backline. She isn't blessed with a lot of size, but she can flat out play way beyond her size. She's tough)

Aranda will play a lot when back 100% healthy. I also prefer Josh to play defensive mid over Sweetin.

Can't really disagree with much being said. The Dado comments are spot on, but have been for years. Patterson still doesn't have the quality first touch, but he makes things happen and turned the corner last year.

Holmes will excite and frustrate all season Skip, get prepared. He is a space forward, late developing on ball skill player who has to utilize his speed and space to be successful. He has a natural knack for scoing and being in right place at right time.

SLU lacks that creative offensive mid and therefore when applicable a long ball will be played if it fits the play at the time. Two things have to happen, the service has to be more Matt Mckeon like, and the offensive players have to have an ability to control the ball/play.

I don't prefer Josh over Sweet, I meant Josh subbing for Sweet, playing probably 40%. I don't like Josh on the back line as he is overly aggressive and gets beat too often.

Patterson's first touch is good, he's quick and strong and can usually blow by most defenders. It's his 2nd and 3rd touches that are not up to snuff. Once he's created space with the ball he pushes it too far out front. When he's on the wing he runs the ball to the corner and doesn't have a great cross, however when he's able to beat the defender in the corner and attack the goal via the end line which he likes to do, he's dangerous. I prefer him up top, as I'd prefer him getting through balls down the middle and utilizing his speed.

I agree about Holmes, if .... we'd play the ball to space with him, not at him. Problem is too often the ball is played to his feet, where he's not bad, he's horrible.

The problem with the long ball at SLU is ... our service isn't usually good, and we don't have the players to correctly utilize it, so 19 out of 20 times, the ball ends up coming right back at you. On the other hand we don't have that attacking midfielder with a great feel for distrbuting the ball. We could still be better at bringing the ball up through the midfield without that player though if we switched sides quicker and more aggressively ... and it needs to start with Ream and Viv.

The main reason I have not been happy with DD is that I don't believe he utilizes the strenghs of his players well, and imo it shows in our results. If you go back and read my posts over the last 3 or 4 years, you'll find I've consistently had the same gripe. He seems to be a good defensive coach, but his attack always and I mean always leaves much to be desired.

[TRN]

Pretty much agree with Skip. Other thoughts:

Someone told me to look at Jaramillo as a Grazier type player and after adjusting my lenses a bit, I can see why people like him. Not flashy but did link up well through the middle and rarely lost the ball if at all. Good decision making and did bit more dynamically than what I saw vs DePaul.

21 shots - 2 goals. If this is what we are in for, it will be another long season. We've got the firepower, just have to finish.

Wiznewski continues to have one of the best finishing rates of anyone on the team. That was a difficult volley he put on frame past the goalie.

Holmes continues to lose the ball up top. Again, I like Jonas off the bench rather than Holmes.

Backline performed very well even with two freshman manning the wings last night - Johnston and Hellesen. It looks like Hellesen is a converted forward if I'm reading his bio right. Johnston made a great long run down the wing. Good to see him getting into the attack from back there.

Barklage looks ready to dominate this year.

Sweetin is Sweetin and that's fine with me.

What is this all about? Seems to me that your opinion is that of a a girl's soccer coach.

Just kidding, Chris, once again I have no clue how the soccer team will do, but it sounds like you guys do. Too bad we don't have a football team!

[courtside]

I don't prefer Josh over Sweet, I meant Josh subbing for Sweet, playing probably 40%. I don't like Josh on the back line as he is overly aggressive and gets beat too often.

Patterson's first touch is good, he's quick and strong and can usually blow by most defenders. It's his 2nd and 3rd touches that are not up to snuff. Once he's created space with the ball he pushes it too far out front. When he's on the wing he runs the ball to the corner and doesn't have a great cross, however when he's able to beat the defender in the corner and attack the goal via the end line which he likes to do, he's dangerous. I prefer him up top, as I'd prefer him getting through balls down the middle and utilizing his speed.

I agree about Holmes, if .... we'd play the ball to space with him, not at him. Problem is too often the ball is played to his feet, where he's not bad, he's horrible.

The problem with the long ball at SLU is ... our service isn't usually good, and we don't have the players to correctly utilize it, so 19 out of 20 times, the ball ends up coming right back at you. On the other hand we don't have that attacking midfielder with a great feel for distrbuting the ball. We could still be better at bringing the ball up through the midfield without that player though if we switched sides quicker and more aggressively ... and it needs to start with Ream and Viv.

The main reason I have not been happy with DD is that I don't believe he utilizes the strenghs of his players well, and imo it shows in our results. If you go back and read my posts over the last 3 or 4 years, you'll find I've consistently had the same gripe. He seems to be a good defensive coach, but his attack always and I mean always leaves much to be desired.

Kyle's lack of an elite first touch has left him to be a very good player vs a great player. He makes things happen, has size and strength and speed and skill. No he isnt going to provide great service, and no he isn't going to be able to go to his left well. He's a very good college player. Much improved the past two years.

I think you undersell Aranda's ability. I think he will have a big season when his hip is 100%.

The offense and finishing has been inconsistent, especially late in the season in the cold weather the past couple of seasons. That must change. A lack of a true elite forward has also contributed to this inconsistency. Because at times against elite teams, the offense is fine/good. Some teams still pack 8-10 behind the ball and SLU has yet to figure out how to attack those teams. As you've suggested Dado has good size, elite skill and talent but doesn't always play the smartest team ball. He was brough to SLU to be the creative mid in the middle. Out of need he has been turned into a forward. Out of need he has been playing on the left side mid as well.

Homes for example has to play with a target forward like Dado and not a space forward, or the results are disastrous. Holmes is what he is, a limited skill player with great speed and a knack for scoring and a solid player to bring off of the bench in spurts. When he isn't 100% healthy, his effectiveness is greatly diminished.

[William Iken]

Kyle's lack of an elite first touch has left him to be a very good player vs a great player. He makes things happen, has size and strength and speed and skill. No he isnt going to provide great service, and no he isn't going to be able to go to his left well. He's a very good college player. Much improved the past two years.

I think you undersell Aranda's ability. I think he will have a big season when his hip is 100%.

The offense and finishing has been inconsistent, especially late in the season in the cold weather the past couple of seasons. That must change. A lack of a true elite forward has also contributed to this inconsistency. Because at times against elite teams, the offense is fine/good. Some teams still pack 8-10 behind the ball and SLU has yet to figure out how to attack those teams. As you've suggested Dado has good size, elite skill and talent but doesn't always play the smartest team ball. He was brough to SLU to be the creative mid in the middle. Out of need he has been turned into a forward. Out of need he has been playing on the left side mid as well.

Homes for example has to play with a target forward like Dado and not a space forward, or the results are disastrous. Holmes is what he is, a limited skill player with great speed and a knack for scoring and a solid player to bring off of the bench in spurts. When he isn't 100% healthy, his effectiveness is greatly diminished.

Thanks all for your interesting and in-depth thoughts. Very useful to interested outsiders.

Looking at the schedule, I thought SLU could - if all went well - be undefeated going into conferecne play. After drawing with two non-powers (Loyala Marymount was 3-16-1 last year! San Diego did their usual couple of games above/below .500 at 11-8-1), I am concerned.

It's early, it's far away, etc but I'm wondering if anyone on the board happened to be in California and caught a game or two?

[Malibubill]

I caught the game this afternoon. (I also caught the pre-season game last week in St. Louis against DePaul). The Billikens have several players who are very impressive, but as a team they are not that impressive relative to their ranking. They play long ball. They like to play kick and run. Even some of the more impressive players have their weaknesses, including not have very good first touches. As a team they tend to play impatiently. Rather than working the ball around like Loyola did, forcing us to chase (which wore us down), the Bills tended to play long ball, trying to force in long risky passes that had very little chance of success (and which more often than not were not successful). As much as I hate to say it, many of them do not play smart. They play aggressively, but to the point of being foolish. The Billikens clearly have a handful of stronger players, but Loyola played much better as a team. It did not hurt that Loyola had a 'home field' referee and linesman who blew several calls, but the calls did not factor into Loyola's goals (though they did, arguably factor into the Bills not having a penalty shot when Holmes was clearly taken down on the edge of the penalty box and the ref waived it off after having called a foul on the Bills earlier in the game just outside of the penalty box when there was barely any contact between the Billiken defender and the Loyola forward).

In a nutshell, the Bills play for the spectacular, and when it works, it is spectacular. The Bills second goal (by number 5), was a rocket from about 35 yards out. I've seen a good number of college and pro games and I don't know if I've ever seen a more spectacular goal. But those goals will be rare I fear. The Bills style of play, while entertaining, tends not to be very successful at the college level at the level the Bills play.

And Dado (spelling? number 10?) appeared to have suffered a rather serious injury late in the second half. He was taken down in the far corner of the field on a hard slide tackle. He rolled around in pain immediately, and when he was assisted off the field several minutes later, he was still unable to put any weight on it. I would guess the best case scenario is he is out several weeks. If it is broken, he probably is done for the season.

On a more promising note, there were two high school players from one of the top LA club teams at the game. Word was they hope to be playing for the Bills next year. The Bills appear to be developing a pipeline with one of the most successful club teams in Southern California. That is good news for the future.

Wish I had better news. It is early in the season. Maybe the team will come together better as the season progresses - but I fear it is more their style of play that is causing the trouble than their chemistry.

Just one person's observations for what they are worth.

[slufanskip]

I caught the game this afternoon. (I also caught the pre-season game last week in St. Louis against DePaul). The Billikens have several players who are very impressive, but as a team they are not that impressive relative to their ranking. They play long ball. They like to play kick and run. Even some of the more impressive players have their weaknesses, including not have very good first touches. As a team they tend to play impatiently. Rather than working the ball around like Loyola did, forcing us to chase (which wore us down), the Bills tended to play long ball, trying to force in long risky passes that had very little chance of success (and which more often than not were not successful). As much as I hate to say it, many of them do not play smart. They play aggressively, but to the point of being foolish. The Billikens clearly have a handful of stronger players, but Loyola played much better as a team. It did not hurt that Loyola had a 'home field' referee and linesman who blew several calls, but the calls did not factor into Loyola's goals (though they did, arguably factor into the Bills not having a penalty shot when Holmes was clearly taken down on the edge of the penalty box and the ref waived it off after having called a foul on the Bills earlier in the game just outside of the penalty box when there was barely any contact between the Billiken defender and the Loyola forward).

In a nutshell, the Bills play for the spectacular, and when it works, it is spectacular. The Bills second goal (by number 5), was a rocket from about 35 yards out. I've seen a good number of college and pro games and I don't know if I've ever seen a more spectacular goal. But those goals will be rare I fear. The Bills style of play, while entertaining, tends not to be very successful at the college level at the level the Bills play.

And Dado (spelling? number 10?) appeared to have suffered a rather serious injury late in the second half. He was taken down in the far corner of the field on a hard slide tackle. He rolled around in pain immediately, and when he was assisted off the field several minutes later, he was still unable to put any weight on it. I would guess the best case scenario is he is out several weeks. If it is broken, he probably is done for the season.

On a more promising note, there were two high school players from one of the top LA club teams at the game. Word was they hope to be playing for the Bills next year. The Bills appear to be developing a pipeline with one of the most successful club teams in Southern California. That is good news for the future.

Wish I had better news. It is early in the season. Maybe the team will come together better as the season progresses - but I fear it is more their style of play that is causing the trouble than their chemistry.

Just one person's observations for what they are worth.

Your observations are exactly what I've been saying for a few years.

[SLUBALLS]

Thanks for the notes on the game. One thing I'll say is that SLU will usually resort to the long ball AFTER they have gone down a goal, especially when its early in the game like the two this past weekend. Luckily the boys were able to come back effectively three times and grind out a draw.

[William Iken]

Thanks for the notes on the game. One thing I'll say is that SLU will usually resort to the long ball AFTER they have gone down a goal, especially when its early in the game like the two this past weekend. Luckily the boys were able to come back effectively three times and grind out a draw.

Malibu, thanks for the report! From my couple of games per season, I tend to agree with you.

I haven't noticed it against much weaker teams, but against quality opponents I have always thought they kick and chase from the early goings. I'm not sure if it is lack of confidence or lack of direction. I don't think it is lack of ability.

However, going with SLUBALLS comment and if they resort to kick and chase after going down, it is worrisome for another reason. It means they panic. No need to panic when playing inferior competition, such as LMU.

Thanks again all for your pre-season and early season reports. Doubtful I'll make it over for any games this year, but there's a small chance I could make it for a late season match.

[Malibubill]

Final thought - the soccer Bills may actually play better against better competition. First, it is natural for most athletes to get up for the bigger games, which may result in our playing our best ball against better teams. But more than that, I think the quality of ball those teams will play against us will open the game up and let the Bills style of play work better. The weaker teams pack in their defenses. The problem is the Bills don't wait and try to draw the weaker teams out. Instead they appear to attack aggressively/foolishly, almost trying to overwhelm the other team with their power as opposed to their skill. The problem is the Bills power too often is not enough to overcome the packed in defenses, 50=50 balls are forced into areas where they should not be, leaving us vulnerable to the classic counter-attack. I can't tell you how many times Sunday Loyola used the counter-attack successfully against the Bills (you could see our midfielders trailing the play as they tried to run back on defense after being caught up field too far). Our defense did not look that strong against it (Loyola had a couple of breakaways that it did not score on - but the Bills hit the post twice in overtime, so both teams offenses could have put in a few more). Better teams will not pack it in against us but will more likely try to play us equal - if not be just as aggressive as the Bills. That should open up the field more for the Bills. There should be more room for their long passes. I'm not a big fan of long ball soccer, but it has a better chance when there is more room on the field (particularly in the offensive end), which should be the case against the better teams. So as is the norm for a loyal billikan fan (soccer, basketball and all other sports), hope springs eternal.

[slufanskip]

Another note regarding the weekend soccer. New Mexico who is ranked 10th and won the tourney had to go to overtime to beat San Diego and tied LMU. I'm not sure the weekend results are as bad as they seem at first look.

On the womens side ... SLU has moved into the 15th spot in the Great Lakes region as ranked by Soccerbuzz.com The ladies are off to a 2-0 start and host a tourney this weekend. Andrea Barkledge (Brandon's little sis) scored the 1st goal of her SLU career. It was also nice to see Julie Brandenberg get off to a good start assisting and scoring in Sunday's 2-0 win.

[courtside]

Thanks all for your interesting and in-depth thoughts. Very useful to interested outsiders.

Looking at the schedule, I thought SLU could - if all went well - be undefeated going into conferecne play. After drawing with two non-powers (Loyala Marymount was 3-16-1 last year! San Diego did their usual couple of games above/below .500 at 11-8-1), I am concerned.

It's early, it's far away, etc but I'm wondering if anyone on the board happened to be in California and caught a game or two?

What does the previous season have to do with anything? Ohio St. had a rare strong post-season last year after a 7 loss 3 tie no post-season 2006-07 season. Were you concenred about Bradley last year when SLU beat them 2-0? Bradley was an NCAA quarterfinalist last year after no post-season the year prior etc...

I'm concerned about Ohio St. after they got pasted 3-0 by Creighton this pre-season and also fell to Detroit-Mercy.

SLU needs to get good results against UConn, Creighton and Northwestern, as well as in the league and league tournament to set up their NCAA seeding. But as evidence of the recent years, NCAA seeding doesn't mean all that much after simply getting in. And, after SLU has had very strong results against elite National powers in recent years, it hasn't transferred to elite post-season results when in post-season.

You are unrealistically discussing going undefeated in non-conference play. It'd be fair to say SLU needs a healthy mix of results vs the above elite three teams heading into conference.

[Bay Area Billiken]

I was a bit concerned by this past weekend's results. The SLU Soccer Billikens should be able to beat teams like USD and especially LMU, irrespective of the venue.

[brianstl]

What does the previous season have to do with anything? Ohio St. had a rare strong post-season last year after a 7 loss 3 tie no post-season 2006-07 season. Were you concenred about Bradley last year when SLU beat them 2-0? Bradley was an NCAA quarterfinalist last year after no post-season the year prior etc...

I'm concerned about Ohio St. after they got pasted 3-0 by Creighton this pre-season and also fell to Detroit-Mercy.

SLU needs to get good results against UConn, Creighton and Northwestern, as well as in the league and league tournament to set up their NCAA seeding. But as evidence of the recent years, NCAA seeding doesn't mean all that much after simply getting in. And, after SLU has had very strong results against elite National powers in recent years, it hasn't transferred to elite post-season results when in post-season.

You are unrealistically discussing going undefeated in non-conference play. It'd be fair to say SLU needs a healthy mix of results vs the above elite three teams heading into conference.

After the weekend's results they sure do. They have left themselves little if any room for error with the remaining ooc games.

[slufanskip]

Final thought - the soccer Bills may actually play better against better competition. First, it is natural for most athletes to get up for the bigger games, which may result in our playing our best ball against better teams. But more than that, I think the quality of ball those teams will play against us will open the game up and let the Bills style of play work better. The weaker teams pack in their defenses. The problem is the Bills don't wait and try to draw the weaker teams out. Instead they appear to attack aggressively/foolishly, almost trying to overwhelm the other team with their power as opposed to their skill. The problem is the Bills power too often is not enough to overcome the packed in defenses, 50=50 balls are forced into areas where they should not be, leaving us vulnerable to the classic counter-attack. I can't tell you how many times Sunday Loyola used the counter-attack successfully against the Bills (you could see our midfielders trailing the play as they tried to run back on defense after being caught up field too far). Our defense did not look that strong against it (Loyola had a couple of breakaways that it did not score on - but the Bills hit the post twice in overtime, so both teams offenses could have put in a few more). Better teams will not pack it in against us but will more likely try to play us equal - if not be just as aggressive as the Bills. That should open up the field more for the Bills. There should be more room for their long passes. I'm not a big fan of long ball soccer, but it has a better chance when there is more room on the field (particularly in the offensive end), which should be the case against the better teams. So as is the norm for a loyal billikan fan (soccer, basketball and all other sports), hope springs eternal.

Playing the long ball is not more effective against the better teams, unless you have the players that fit the style .... we don't, which is where the problem lies. Kyle does a good job of running the ball down on the wing, but his crosses are ineffective, and even if they were better, we don't have the ability to finish them. Kyle is effective when he can out race the defender for the long ball and carry it towards the goal causing another defender to close on him opening up space in the middle and allowing him to make a pass on the ground, not in the air, or shoot. Imo Kyle could be a much better player upfront with the ball pushed into space in front of him. Besides Kyle and Jimmy Holmes, we score a large part of our goals on shot's from distance. Brandon, Dado, and Scott W are all good shooters, and Dado and Brandon, can unleash rockets. These players should shoot more from 20-30 yards, especially early in games, it plays more to our strengths and it gives the defense something to think about and opens up the middle creating space for Kyle and Jimmy. Right now we tend to look to often for that extra pass that we don't usually complete. I'd rather see them shooting. We have an abundance of defensive midfielders, and lack creativity while attacking, which is why we have to bring the defenders out ... imo our best chance is to utilize the excellent shots of the 3 I mentioned.

On another note, the Post had a list of the players to watch for the coming year and both the guys that have committed to SLU appear to be defensive midfielders ... so the trend continues.

I'm looking forward to watching the ladies Friday night.

[slufanskip]

After the weekend's results they sure do. They have left themselves little if any room for error with the remaining ooc games.

Not defending them, as I obviously wasn't there, but the #10 team in the country didn't do much better than we did ... tying LMU and needing overtime to beat San Diego. These two teams may end up better than expected and not hurt us much. I'd say the most worrisome aspect of the weekend was giving up 3 goals.

[brianstl]

Not defending them, as I obviously wasn't there, but the #10 team in the country didn't do much better than we did ... tying LMU and needing overtime to beat San Diego. These two teams may end up better than expected and not hurt us much. I'd say the most worrisome aspect of the weekend was giving up 3 goals.

I thought the scary part was only scoring 3 goals. If we are now accepting that New Mexico is a stronger program than SLU........well.........we have fallen a lot farther than I thought.

[slufanskip]

I thought the scary part was only scoring 3 goals. If we are now accepting that New Mexico is a stronger program than SLU........well.........we have fallen a lot farther than I thought.

Over the last 3-4 years they are certainly on our level, and this year ranked in the same ballpark as we are. This is a team that is going to have to win games in which we score 1 and 2 goals. Defense is our strongest suit ... with that said, I don't know if Calum played, losing a 1st team All American off your back line, isn't that easy to over come.

Either way, it's 2 games on the road against teams that look to have good years, and we didn't lose either. It's not that bad, and if we do well against the rest of our Non conf schedule and win the A10 (which we should) ... we should be looking at a home game in the NCAA's.

[brianstl]

Another thing we have to worry about is SIUE returning to D-1. This could really hurt us on the local front. It is cheaper to go to SIUE and this could really hurt our depth. This has to be DD's last chance.

[brianstl]

Over the last 3-4 years they are certainly on our level, and this year ranked in the same ballpark as we are. This is a team that is going to have to win games in which we score 1 and 2 goals. Defense is our strongest suit ... with that said, I don't know if Calum played, losing a 1st team All American off your back line, isn't that easy to over come.

Either way, it's 2 games on the road against teams that look to have good years, and we didn't lose either. It's not that bad, and if we do well against the rest of our Non conf schedule and win the A10 (which we should) ... we should be looking at a home game in the NCAA's.

I agree about our defense. I just thought we had a good chance to be better offensively this year.

[slufanskip]

Another thing we have to worry about is SIUE returning to D-1. This could really hurt us on the local front. It is cheaper to go to SIUE and this could really hurt our depth. This has to be DD's last chance.

It should be really rare we are competing with SIUE for players, at least I really hope it's rare.

[slu06]

Completely unrelated to the current team, but an interesting tidbit nonetheless:

Former SLU player update