#21/19 Rutgers Women's Soccer Closes Out Regular Season with Michigan (Thur) and Michigan State(Sun)

[rudad02]

Wasn’t able to watch game did Brittany play midfield again?

Both. Started at wing. Came into the middle, then back to wing a bit I believe. Finished in the middle. Good game by her.

 

[Killerbees3]

Came out too casually. Eventually picked up the pace. Holland re injured the ankle & went out. Hope she heals by next Sunday. We need her and Swaby. How about Nneka. Would not have guessed her in the last few games.Two today. Our front line is really, really tough to handle. Amirah with a goal off another excellent ball by Brittany. Another assist for Brittany. Amirah is really finding her mates. Appears to have changed her mindset & game in the last few.

I disagree a bit here, Amirah's 1st thought is to keep the ball, those seconds she holds the ball too long are very important, and interrupts flow, she missed several opportunities to find a player that was in on a run, the score could have been a bit more lopsided in my opinion, just think pass first, she had several missed passing pportunities with what would have been uncontested shots. I like LaPlant at mid for stretches, anytime she's there the game seems to change pretty dramatically, just a more controlled game, she sees the game very well and it opens things up. When she went out in the 2nd 1/2 you could see the impact for those few minutes as MS was able to go more on attack. It does however limit her chances to score but she's finding her teammates and I would think playing the role exactly they want. Nneka is out of her mind right now! Which is great! Considering her touch, her finishing is tremendous. While Rutgers definitely had a lapse that caused them to go down 2 goals, you would never know they were down which is a great sign! I would guess Rutgers possessed about 75% of the game, I won't mention names but I felt like 2 players were very off which contributed to those 2 goals. Great weekend on the road, and right now it seems every Big 10 team is playing good soccer, your going to have to be very good for 3 games to win this Championship! Rutgers has a good a chance as any team, it will be fun to watch. Lets hope they have a good plan for each game based on the opponent and bring Rutgers their 1st Big 10 Championship!

 

[richthedentist]

Came out too casually. Eventually picked up the pace. Holland re injured the ankle & went out. Hope she heals by next Sunday. We need her and Swaby. How about Nneka. Would not have guessed her in the last few games.Two today. Our front line is really, really tough to handle. Amirah with a goal off another excellent ball by Brittany. Another assist for Brittany. Amirah is really finding her mates. Appears to have changed her mindset & game in the last few.

I disagree a bit here, Amirah's 1st thought is to keep the ball, those seconds she holds the ball too long are very important, and interrupts flow, she missed several opportunities to find a player that was in on a run, the score could have been a bit more lopsided in my opinion, just think pass first, she had several missed passing pportunities with what would have been uncontested shots. I like LaPlant at mid for stretches, anytime she's there the game seems to change pretty dramatically, just a more controlled game, she sees the game very well and it opens things up. When she went out in the 2nd 1/2 you could see the impact for those few minutes as MS was able to go more on attack. It does however limit her chances to score but she's finding her teammates and I would think playing the role exactly they want. Nneka is out of her mind right now! Which is great! Considering her touch, her finishing is tremendous. While Rutgers definitely had a lapse that caused them to go down 2 goals, you would never know they were down which is a great sign! I would guess Rutgers possessed about 75% of the game, I won't mention names but I felt like 2 players were very off which contributed to those 2 goals. Great weekend on the road, and right now it seems every Big 10 team is playing good soccer, your going to have to be very good for 3 games to win this Championship! Rutgers has a good a chance as any team, it will be fun to watch. Lets hope they have a good plan for each game based on the opponent and bring Rutgers their 1st Big 10 Championship!

I really like Laplant at midfield and as you State it limits her chances to score they don’t get her the ball anyway and like the way they have played since they moved her there much better and like you say Nneka still terrible with the ball at her feet but has scored to me a few lucky goals but she has scored and that’s all that counts at this point

 

[rudad02]

I disagree a bit here, Amirah's 1st thought is to keep the ball, those seconds she holds the ball too long are very important, and interrupts flow, she missed several opportunities to find a player that was in on a run, the score could have been a bit more lopsided in my opinion, just think pass first, she had several missed passing pportunities with what would have been uncontested shots. I like LaPlant at mid for stretches, anytime she's there the game seems to change pretty dramatically, just a more controlled game, she sees the game very well and it opens things up. When she went out in the 2nd 1/2 you could see the impact for those few minutes as MS was able to go more on attack. It does however limit her chances to score but she's finding her teammates and I would think playing the role exactly they want. Nneka is out of her mind right now! Which is great! Considering her touch, her finishing is tremendous. While Rutgers definitely had a lapse that caused them to go down 2 goals, you would never know they were down which is a great sign! I would guess Rutgers possessed about 75% of the game, I won't mention names but I felt like 2 players were very off which contributed to those 2 goals. Great weekend on the road, and right now it seems every Big 10 team is playing good soccer, your going to have to be very good for 3 games to win this Championship! Rutgers has a good a chance as any team, it will be fun to watch. Lets hope they have a good plan for each game based on the opponent and bring Rutgers their 1st Big 10 Championship!

I know Amirah is not perfect re: passing, but I don't think she is trying to force it as much & has been finding her mates much better. Has to break what I am sure is a long held mind set. We do disagree a bit here.

 

[richthedentist]

I disagree a bit here, Amirah's 1st thought is to keep the ball, those seconds she holds the ball too long are very important, and interrupts flow, she missed several opportunities to find a player that was in on a run, the score could have been a bit more lopsided in my opinion, just think pass first, she had several missed passing pportunities with what would have been uncontested shots. I like LaPlant at mid for stretches, anytime she's there the game seems to change pretty dramatically, just a more controlled game, she sees the game very well and it opens things up. When she went out in the 2nd 1/2 you could see the impact for those few minutes as MS was able to go more on attack. It does however limit her chances to score but she's finding her teammates and I would think playing the role exactly they want. Nneka is out of her mind right now! Which is great! Considering her touch, her finishing is tremendous. While Rutgers definitely had a lapse that caused them to go down 2 goals, you would never know they were down which is a great sign! I would guess Rutgers possessed about 75% of the game, I won't mention names but I felt like 2 players were very off which contributed to those 2 goals. Great weekend on the road, and right now it seems every Big 10 team is playing good soccer, your going to have to be very good for 3 games to win this Championship! Rutgers has a good a chance as any team, it will be fun to watch. Lets hope they have a good plan for each game based on the opponent and bring Rutgers their 1st Big 10 Championship!

I know Amirah is not perfect re: passing, but I don't think she is trying to force it as much & has been finding her mates much better. Has to break what I am sure is a long held mind set. We do disagree a bit here.

Especially since she was our only threat last year and I am sure in high school no one could stop her one on one!!

 

[Killerbees3]

Especially since she was our only threat last year and I am sure in high school no one could stop her one on one!!

I am sure this was the case with many players in HS at this level, they were all stars in HS, LaPlant scored like 215 times in HS. Perhaps it is getting better. I just spent a lot of time in the past watching video to prepare for games and trained myself to watch off the ball, and I find myself screaming at the TV send it through, pass it, keep it, and see that there is a missed opportunity that is hard to come by when a player does the right thing off the ball and the player on the ball does the wrong thing. I think sometimes there's a lot left on the field and often its just making that extra pass right away, or going forward in transition when the defense is back peddling. I will say this Amirah, Nneka and LaPlant certainly are starting to peak at the right time together as a unit, they just need to make sure they recognize who has the best opportunity in each moment of the game. Watching today, I felt like had Rutgers pushed numbers forward and got in behind they could have scored in buckets, MS was very vulnerable defensively which we saw in the opening minutes, even on that first shot in the opening minutes by Nneka she probably should have passed across the box, she could have found a teammate, there could be a rebound, a deflection, instead a very difficult shot went wide. It's easy to say that watching from the recliner as opposed to being in the heat of the moment in a game, and at this level just a shot is hard to come by. It was a very nice win, and everyone contributed in some way which is how championship teams win. They just have to keep playing for each other and that's a big part of it.

 

[rudad02]

I am sure this was the case with many players in HS at this level, they were all stars in HS, LaPlant scored like 215 times in HS. Perhaps it is getting better. I just spent a lot of time in the past watching video to prepare for games and trained myself to watch off the ball, and I find myself screaming at the TV send it through, pass it, keep it, and see that there is a missed opportunity that is hard to come by when a player does the right thing off the ball and the player on the ball does the wrong thing. I think sometimes there's a lot left on the field and often its just making that extra pass right away, or going forward in transition when the defense is back peddling. I will say this Amirah, Nneka and LaPlant certainly are starting to peak at the right time together as a unit, they just need to make sure they recognize who has the best opportunity in each moment of the game. Watching today, I felt like had Rutgers pushed numbers forward and got in behind they could have scored in buckets, MS was very vulnerable defensively which we saw in the opening minutes, even on that first shot in the opening minutes by Nneka she probably should have passed across the box, she could have found a teammate, there could be a rebound, a deflection, instead a very difficult shot went wide. It's easy to say that watching from the recliner as opposed to being in the heat of the moment in a game, and at this level just a shot is hard to come by. It was a very nice win, and everyone contributed in some way which is how championship teams win. They just have to keep playing for each other and that's a big part of it.

Yes.

 

[richthedentist]

Especially since she was our only threat last year and I am sure in high school no one could stop her one on one!!

I am sure this was the case with many players in HS at this level, they were all stars in HS, LaPlant scored like 215 times in HS. Perhaps it is getting better. I just spent a lot of time in the past watching video to prepare for games and trained myself to watch off the ball, and I find myself screaming at the TV send it through, pass it, keep it, and see that there is a missed opportunity that is hard to come by when a player does the right thing off the ball and the player on the ball does the wrong thing. I think sometimes there's a lot left on the field and often its just making that extra pass right away, or going forward in transition when the defense is back peddling. I will say this Amirah, Nneka and LaPlant certainly are starting to peak at the right time together as a unit, they just need to make sure they recognize who has the best opportunity in each moment of the game. Watching today, I felt like had Rutgers pushed numbers forward and got in behind they could have scored in buckets, MS was very vulnerable defensively which we saw in the opening minutes, even on that first shot in the opening minutes by Nneka she probably should have passed across the box, she could have found a teammate, there could be a rebound, a deflection, instead a very difficult shot went wide. It's easy to say that watching from the recliner as opposed to being in the heat of the moment in a game, and at this level just a shot is hard to come by. It was a very nice win, and everyone contributed in some way which is how championship teams win. They just have to keep playing for each other and that's a big part of it.

As I said I didn’t see the game but we very rarely play it wide and cross the ball.
As for your other point the second half of the Michigan game was the first time I have seen us push numbers forward and we dominated that half

 

[Tango Two]

No. 21 Women's Soccer Tops Michigan State in Regular Season Finale

No. 21 Rutgers women's soccer closed out a long weekend on the road with a 3-2 win over Michigan State Sunday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights scored three straight goals, including two in three minutes, to erase an early 2-0 deficit, to wrap up the 2019 season with four consecutive wins.

https://scarletknights.com/news/201...-michigan-state-in-regular-season-finale.aspx