Soccer v. Akron

[bonwich]

Made my 1- to 2-times-a-year trek to watch a soccer game last night. My soccer knowledge is pretty limited, but it didn't appear to me that SLU is very good this year. Roach and Hidalgo were the only standouts on offense, of which, other than about a five minute stretch during the first half, there was almost none. (Outshot 21-4? At home in front of almost 5,000 people?)

Sure, they're playing an aggressively tough schedule (and Akron was ranked fourth), but they looked anything but aggressive last night, save for the cheap shot when someone cold-cocked an Akron forward while jockeying for position in a wall in front of a free kick. (I believe it was Mattocks, who's pretty incredible and who came back and scored a few minutes later.)

That said, very nice student turnout; plus I got an autocall from McGinty the night before reminding me to come out (reinforcing the free tickets); plus it appears that SLU has an active outreach to local high school teams -- I sat in the middle of Principia and Kirkwood, saw Summit walk by and spotted at least three others that looked like teams. I hope they're doing the same for basketball.

[SaintLouBlue]

I honestly was not very impressed with SLU barring a couple of decent chances, but definitely have to into account the level of the opponent. I've only been to a few games the last couple of years, but watching Akron was how I remember SLU when I was in school in the mid to late 90s. One thing I've noticed is that SLU doesn't seem very aggressive defensively. Not sure if this is due to talent level of teams I've seen them play or if it's just their style recently. It seems like we drop 8 guys behind the ball and don't really pressure until they are about 30yds out. Akron on the other hand was all over us every time we got close to midfield and SLU rarely seemed to string consistent passes together. One of the telling signs for me was that Akron consistently attacked with 8 players. Their wing defenders pressed well forward and they left only a couple guys deep. They ran at SLU with numbers. We seemed to run 3 guys max at them and usually had a pretty good gap between midfield and our forwards.

SLU definitely hung for a little while, but got ugly at the end.

PS...Found it slightly odd that SLU's keeper couldn't clear mid-field on goal kicks. I swear the first one almost hit our defense in the back as they were expecting over their heads.

[Bobby Metzinger]

We should never lose to Akron. Ever. Wake up, people.

We are Saint Louis. Go Bills.

[billikenfan05]

Nm

[kshoe]

We should never lose to the defending national champs. Ever. Wake up, people.

We are Saint Louis. Go Bills.

Fixed It.

[Bill_Ken R]

Fixed It.

That puts it in better perspective.

[BACKHANDtheRICAN]

Fixed It.

High inside pitch to Metz. Back off the plate.

[bonwich]

We should never lose 4-0 to anyone. Ever. Wake up, people.

We are Saint Louis. Go Bills.

Maybe this is true as well?

[SLUBALLS]

Maybe this is true as well?

People. Get used to the fact that we are not the same traditional powerhouse we were when Davis, Dipsy, Jewsbury, Cole, and Vedad were running around Hermann. We have to give McGinty a chance. I know everyone cries, "But, but.... we've won 10 championships....and, and...made it to the tournament more than anyone....and our stadium is one of the best (absent the actual field currently.....and, and well, we should just win all the time and never get beat and never lose 4-0 to a defending champion...and" blah blah blah.

Fact is we are in a serious rut. The hole was not dug by McGinty and he won't be filling it in within a year. I like the class he has brought in and they are ones to build around for sure. The schedule has been about as tough a stretch I can remember....exh against Louisville, Indiana , Notre Dame, and Akron. At least we won one of those. McGinty is going to have to build a team of players rather than simply rely on the power of the SLU name and tradition to attract the best talent out there. We have to earn our way back to prominence and it's going to be a bumpy ride.

[pakapablo]

People. Get used to the fact that we are not the same traditional powerhouse we were when Davis, Dipsy, Jewsbury, Cole, and Vedad were running around Hermann. We have to give McGinty a chance. I know everyone cries, "But, but.... we've won 10 championships....and, and...made it to the tournament more than anyone....and our stadium is one of the best (absent the actual field currently.....and, and well, we should just win all the time and never get beat and never lose 4-0 to a defending champion...and" blah blah blah.

Fact is we are in a serious rut. The hole was not dug by McGinty and he won't be filling it in within a year. I like the class he has brought in and they are ones to build around for sure. The schedule has been about as tough a stretch I can remember....exh against Louisville, Indiana , Notre Dame, and Akron. At least we won one of those. McGinty is going to have to build a team of players rather than simply rely on the power of the SLU name and tradition to attract the best talent out there. We have to earn our way back to prominence and it's going to be a bumpy ride.

not so sure we were a national powerhouse when " Davis, Dipsy, Jewsbury, Cole, and Vedad were running around Hermann. " A better team on the national scene definitely. A powerhouse? Don't think so.

[SLUBALLS]

not so sure we were a national powerhouse when " Davis, Dipsy, Jewsbury, Cole, and Vedad were running around Hermann. " A better team on the national scene definitely. A powerhouse? Don't think so.

Splitting hairs on a choice of words. Point was we were a top program back then with a lot of recognized talent.

2001 Season Ending Ranks - Davis, Jewsbury, and Dipsy.

1. North Carolina 21-4-0

2. Stanford 19-2-1

3. Indiana 18-4-1

4. SMU 21-1-0

5. St. John’s 17-3-3

6. Saint Louis 18-2-0

[bonwich]

People. Get used to the fact that we are not the same traditional powerhouse we were when Davis, Dipsy, Jewsbury, Cole, and Vedad were running around Hermann. We have to give McGinty a chance. I know everyone cries, "But, but.... we've won 10 championships....and, and...made it to the tournament more than anyone....and our stadium is one of the best (absent the actual field currently.....and, and well, we should just win all the time and never get beat and never lose 4-0 to a defending champion...and" blah blah blah.

Fact is we are in a serious rut. The hole was not dug by McGinty and he won't be filling it in within a year. I like the class he has brought in and they are ones to build around for sure. The schedule has been about as tough a stretch I can remember....exh against Louisville, Indiana , Notre Dame, and Akron. At least we won one of those. McGinty is going to have to build a team of players rather than simply rely on the power of the SLU name and tradition to attract the best talent out there. We have to earn our way back to prominence and it's going to be a bumpy ride.

As I said, I've only been getting to a couple games every year (if that). And I have no illusions about the whole "10-time national championship" thing, which at this point is about as quaint as when we first got to St. Louis in the mid-'60s and the basketball program kept pointing to 1948 as its great achievement. We may be 10-time champs, but those all occured before soccer was even on the radar for most universities. (Case in point: A friend of mine was a star on the DeSmet '74 team, and when he went to Notre Dame, all they had at the time was a club team.)

I was simply surprised at how uncompetitive we looked. We came out only a goal down, and we only managed one shot in the entire second half?

[courtside]

Maybe this is true as well?

It's been almost 40 years since SLU last won an NCAA Soccer title.

Akron is one of the best team's in the country this season, as well as defending National Champions, as well as the recent years gold standard of college soccer in the United States.

Akron has been built over a two decade period under two coaches. Their previous coach has now helped turn Louisville into one of the better programs Nationally.

If you are going to attend one game a year, and form your opinion of the program off of one game, and, you picked Akron this year, considering all the circumstances, ...you'll be disappointed.

SLU's soccer schedule is very difficult non-conference, year after, under this coach, the previous coach, the coach before that, etc...that's how it is. SLU plays an elite non-conference soccer schedule much of the time. This year, many of those games are away from home too. If you like tough non-conference schedules, you'll like the schedule, if not, you won't. The difficult non-conference schedule helps with SLU's power rating, helps with strong game experience for conference play etc...

For those parochial types obsessed with local players, the current coach, the last coach, and ones before that all play and have had rosters filled with local players. SLU currently has at least three former St. Louis player of the year soccer players on its team. The roster includes several 1st team all metro and all state players from St. Louis, Missouri. The roster also includes former local player of the year players from multiple other parts of the state. So for those elderly curmudgeons who say just throw out the local kids and throw the ball out there and SLU will win NCAA Title after NCAA title, this reality would put a wrinkle into your thought process.

I was at the game, and, I have a different perspective of some of the ones above.

[bonwich]

I was at the game, and, I have a different perspective of some of the ones above.

Well, that would be much more enlightening than the preceding 5 paragraphs of lecture.

[courtside]

Well, that would be much more enlightening than the preceding 5 paragraphs of lecture.

Would it be more enlightening than your multiple posts in this thread?

[Billiken Rich]

Would it be more enlightening than your multiple posts in this thread?

Lighten up Courtside. At least Joe went "TO SEE THE KIDS PLAY!" before commenting........

[billiken_roy]

Would it be more enlightening than your multiple posts in this thread?

i'd buy lunch to hear joe talk soccer since it would be on my level.

i would pray i didnt pass you coming out of the west county mall bathroom and hear you talking soccer to yourself in your normal patronizing self level. i was so surprised to read you knew the most recent two akron coaches. my you must have an outstanding address book.

[RecCenterRat]

"We should never lose to Akron. Ever. Wake up, people."

While that "sounds" like an accurate statment, Akron is doing something that the other schools are not. They essentially have an unwritten agreement with IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. IMG Academy the home to the USA Under 17 squad. Any of their players that don't go professional after graduating high school, seem to end up at Akron.

There is no shame is losing to that program.

A comparable example would be like if SLU had a direct pipeline set up with Oak Hill Academy for basketball players, only this is on a larger scale in terms of the talent they gather.

I do have a legit question about NCAA soccer. I attended the pre-season game where SLU squared off with SIUE. I was actually stunned at the level of violence/physicality of the game. I think there were only two yellow cards handed out. Is that the norm for NCAA soccer. You don't see a Premiership game in england have 2-3 shoving matches, that resulted in no cards being dealt. Was it because the game was considered a "friendly"?

- long time reader, haven't posted in 10 years

[brianstl]

Would it be more enlightening than your multiple posts in this thread?

Funny thing......... his his posts were more enligtening than anything you have posted in this thread.

[slufanskip]

It's been almost 40 years since SLU last won an NCAA Soccer title.

Akron is one of the best team's in the country this season, as well as defending National Champions, as well as the recent years gold standard of college soccer in the United States.

Akron has been built over a two decade period under two coaches. Their previous coach has now helped turn Louisville into one of the better programs Nationally.

If you are going to attend one game a year, and form your opinion of the program off of one game, and, you picked Akron this year, considering all the circumstances, ...you'll be disappointed.

SLU's soccer schedule is very difficult non-conference, year after, under this coach, the previous coach, the coach before that, etc...that's how it is. SLU plays an elite non-conference soccer schedule much of the time. This year, many of those games are away from home too. If you like tough non-conference schedules, you'll like the schedule, if not, you won't. The difficult non-conference schedule helps with SLU's power rating, helps with strong game experience for conference play etc...

For those parochial types obsessed with local players, the current coach, the last coach, and ones before that all play and have had rosters filled with local players. SLU currently has at least three former St. Louis player of the year soccer players on its team. The roster includes several 1st team all metro and all state players from St. Louis, Missouri. The roster also includes former local player of the year players from multiple other parts of the state. So for those elderly curmudgeons who say just throw out the local kids and throw the ball out there and SLU will win NCAA Title after NCAA title, this reality would put a wrinkle into your thought process.

I was at the game, and, I have a different perspective of some of the ones above.

I'm curious of what your perspective of this particular game is? Not the history of SLU soccer or the national soccer scene, just the Akron vs SLU game.

Personally I was surprised at how much space we gave up. We frequently had 8-9 players piled into our defensive third as if we just knew we couldn't retain possession and our best hope was to hold them off and counter. There is absolutely no way a team, any team should have comfortable possession 25-40 yards from goal. How they were still able to connect consistently on through balls with us so crowded into such a tight space, I don't know. Offensively we don't use the entire field consistently looking to attack the middle without the manpower up front to be successful. We are rotated so far over to the ball side defensively that when we do win the ball our spacing is terrible. Too often when we play the ball back we hold it too long and aren't decisive resulting in too many turnovers. Seriously, there were just too many negatives. We just played poorly against a superior team.

[slufanskip]

"We should never lose to Akron. Ever. Wake up, people."

While that "sounds" like an accurate statment, Akron is doing something that the other schools are not. They essentially have an unwritten agreement with IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. IMG Academy the home to the USA Under 17 squad. Any of their players that don't go professional after graduating high school, seem to end up at Akron.

There is no shame is losing to that program.

A comparable example would be like if SLU had a direct pipeline set up with Oak Hill Academy for basketball players, only this is on a larger scale in terms of the talent they gather.

I do have a legit question about NCAA soccer. I attended the pre-season game where SLU squared off with SIUE. I was actually stunned at the level of violence/physicality of the game. I think there were only two yellow cards handed out. Is that the norm for NCAA soccer. You don't see a Premiership game in england have 2-3 shoving matches, that resulted in no cards being dealt. Was it because the game was considered a "friendly"?

- long time reader, haven't posted in 10 years

this game was pretty physical also. Imo Roach should have been yellow carded numerous times. I have been a fan, but he was pretty useless this game except for his need to confront an Akron player after every foul.

[bonwich]

Hey, Skip, where were you sitting? I did a circuit across the front of both stands looking for familiar faces but came up empty. (Much like our offense. Oh, wait, I'm not allowed to draw any conclusions based on a single game. )

[slufanskip]

Hey, Skip, where were you sitting? I did a circuit across the front of both stands looking for familiar faces but came up empty. (Much like our offense. Oh, wait, I'm not allowed to draw any conclusions based on a single game. )

I was sitting just north of the Billiken bench about 3 rows up. If I'm at the game I'm usually in that area. You can hear McGinty giving instructions and working the refs. Where were you?

[bonwich]

I was sitting just north of the Billiken bench about 3 rows up. If I'm at the game I'm usually in that area. You can hear McGinty giving instructions and working the refs. Where were you?

We got there a couple of minutes into the game, so after I walked around, I settled about 20 yards in front of the keeper on the press box side. I was also pretty low in the stands (I really was impressed at the crowd they got), so I didn't have a good overall perspective of the field, but I got the best view in the house on Akron's second goal. I probably should have seen how the Akron forward ended up on the ground, too, but whoever did that covered his tracks pretty well.

[kwyjibo]

Personally I was surprised at how much space we gave up. We frequently had 8-9 players piled into our defensive third as if we just knew we couldn't retain possession and our best hope was to hold them off and counter. There is absolutely no way a team, any team should have comfortable possession 25-40 yards from goal. How they were still able to connect consistently on through balls with us so crowded into such a tight space, I don't know. Offensively we don't use the entire field consistently looking to attack the middle without the manpower up front to be successful. We are rotated so far over to the ball side defensively that when we do win the ball our spacing is terrible. Too often when we play the ball back we hold it too long and aren't decisive resulting in too many turnovers. Seriously, there were just too many negatives. We just played poorly against a superior team.

Thanks. This is a helpful overview of the game for someone not at it . I will still be going to the UMass game (and going to a few Dartmouth games although I missed the chance to preview South Florida for SLU yesterday).

For me, the issue is not so much losing to a good Akron team as to being 1-3 even against a very tough schedule. Also, I just looked at a top 50 ranking at Top Drawer and I could not help but notice that only one A-10 was there at 37. That is even more disturbing than SLU being 1-3.