SLU Women's Soccer Thread

[Taj79]

@Lord Elrond:  thanks but what overseas soccer leagues do is of no nevermind to me. You want to have continued success while raising the bar and moving onward and upward.  We continually stop at the next game, only twice going past that.  I am guessing this is good (good enough I don't know); in comparison if the men's basketball team was in the NCAAs in five t=straight years, we'd be jumping for joy and Ford's statue would replace the Billiken on the steps of Chaifetz.

If chalk rules supreme, we beat Indiana and then face Georgetown.  Status quo?

[Lord Elrond]

1 minute ago, Taj79 said:

@Lord Elrond:  thanks but what overseas soccer leagues do is of no nevermind to me. You want to have continued success while raising the bar and moving onward and upward.  We continually stop at the next game, only twice going past that.  I am guessing this is good (good enough I don't know); in comparison if the men's basketball team was in the NCAAs in five t=straight years, we'd be jumping for joy and Ford's statue would replace the Billiken on the steps of Chaifetz.

If chalk rules supreme, we beat Indiana and then face Georgetown.  Status quo?

I’ve heard players on this team say sweet 16 is the goal for this year, Lyndsey Heckel has said that is the goal in some interviews. I don’t think the loss last year to Memphis made anyone on the team happy.

[Taj79]

I'd be extremely happy and proud of that goal.

[courtside]

23 minutes ago, Lord Elrond said:

I’ve heard players on this team say sweet 16 is the goal for this year, Lyndsey Heckel has said that is the goal in some interviews. I don’t think the loss last year to Memphis made anyone on the team happy.

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

 

[courtside]

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gremio14]

20 hours ago, Taj79 said:

Some time ago, I said I expected our ladies to win the A10 (as usual) and get their NCAA bid (as usual).  So far, mission accomplished.  The unfortunate part is that is the status quo.  In 2022, we lost then to Memphis.  In 2021, we beat Ol' Miss then lost to Rutgers.  In 202, we lost to Washington.  In 2019, we lost to Notre Dame.  In 2018, we lost to Kansas.  In 2006, we lost to Illinois.  In 2005, we beat Standford and lost to Santa Clara.  So over the last 25 years, we are a collective 2 and 7 in the NCAA tournament.  Every one of those teams, sans Santa Clara, were teams from the proverbial Power 6 conferences.  Now here comes Indiana.  

Can we bust through the proverbial glass ceiling and make a run?  In one poll, Penn State is #4; Georgetown is #8, and we are #15.  Indiana is #38 in that poll.  Penn State plays Central Connecticut State and Georgetown plays Old Dominion.  We need to change the narrative and take the next step.  But it won't be easy.

Old Dominion is not a walkover for Hoyas.  They are a solid team.  Destroyed their A10 competition and played Hokies straight up.   But, yeah,….let’s get by IU first…

[Midtown Madness]

 

[courtside]

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. 

………………..

 

[someoneelse]

1 minute ago, courtside said:

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 win 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. 

………………..

 

Does geography explain some discrepancies in pairings? Like Gonzaga being relatively close to Idaho?

[courtside]

Just now, someoneelse said:

Does geography explain some discrepancies in pairings? Like Gonzaga being relatively close to Idaho?

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. 

[courtside]

20 minutes ago, courtside said:

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. 

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.

[courtside]

On 11/7/2023 at 7:27 PM, courtside said:

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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. 

……………………

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[OkieBilliken]

18 minutes ago, courtside said:

 

 

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. 

……………………

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So if Penn State loses and SLU wins they would play Georgetown on Saturday in DC??

[courtside]

1 minute ago, OkieBilliken said:

So if Penn State loses and SLU wins they would play Georgetown on Saturday in DC??

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.

……………..

 

[courtside]

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

 

 

[Lord Elrond]

2 hours ago, courtside said:

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

 

 

With the NESL expanding, and the USL Super League coming on line soon, looks to be a lot more opportunities in women’s soccer in the US coming. Any word on whether Brianna Halverson will try again next year? She got an invite to the Houston Dash camp in January, but wasn’t put on the roster, haven’t heard anything since then.

[courtside]

1 hour ago, Lord Elrond said:

With the NESL expanding, and the USL Super League coming on line soon, looks to be a lot more opportunities in women’s soccer in the US coming. Any word on whether Brianna Halverson will try again next year? She got an invite to the Houston Dash camp in January, but wasn’t put on the roster, haven’t heard anything since then.

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.

[courtside]

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. 

 

 

[Lord Elrond]

Looks like Penn State is cruising 

[Lord Elrond]

Large Indiana group here, Hermann is filling up

[Pistol]

15 minutes ago, Lord Elrond said:

Large Indiana group here, Hermann is filling up

Crowd looks great on the broadcast.

[Lord Elrond]

1 minute ago, Pistol said:

Crowd looks great on the broadcast.

Many are the vuvuzelas

[Lord Elrond]

1-0 SLU! Larson draws the penalty in the box, Abbie Miller drives it home

[Lord Elrond]

2-0 SLU! Off a CK, Lawler assisted by Larson

[Lord Elrond]

2-0 SLU! Off a CK, Lawler assisted by Larson