IMO this is a very good team that can play with & beat anyone.
Most of our starters have been playing excellent soccer. I would put Brocius, Lowrey, Lynch, Kroeger, Misal, Mason, Fluchel & McClelland in that category.
Tiernan, while playing hard all over the pitch, is so hungry for a goal that she is to often a detriment. She is possessing the ball in search of a shot & often takes one from distance with little prospect for success resulting in loss of possession. She is also missing open team mates to often. For example, against Purdue she had the ball on the wing as 3 defenders came toward her while Girman stood alone in front of the net. She either didn't see or look & tried to dribble through all 3 & lost possession.
Daigle, as Dentist & some others have said, is all left foot. So many times she gets the ball with her back to the goal & her first move invariably is to turn to her left & begin to dribble resulting in loss of possession. Her one trick pony move is too easy to defend. She also has a tendency to force low percentage shots from distance.
For us to be able to beat all comers these two girls need to address these tendencies. Tiernan can do it. If she lets the game come to her a goal will come & I believe she will return to the potent offensive weapon that she is in both assists & goals. Not so sure about Daigle. Seems to be a long held tendency. It hurts us in the critically important position of center mid.
Which brings us to Banks. I believe that overall she has improved on last year. Against non elite teams she can hold her own ie: Purdue. Against the better teams that apply a lot of pressure she tends to break down &/or pass the ball to the wrong team. Kyrula is stronger but has some shortcomings as well. Left CB has been & is a weak spot that needs to be addressed. Certainly not sure of the remedy.
Girman off the bench is good, but could be better at moving the ball to an open mate. Also fouls a lot.
Romano has been more than serviceable. Much improved over last year.
Gutowski doesn't seem to be able to add much against this competition. Also likes to beat defenders & is unable to do so.
Post is OK. Will probably be good down the line. Right now the game seems a little to fast & strong for her to be very effective.
I'm sure others can offer more, or a different analysis. That's what I've got for now.
Additional thoughts. We have been markedly better with corner results than we have been in several years. We've had several goals off corners this year, with Emily Mason getting two against Purdue. Granted Purdue's back line is depleted & their starting goalie has been out. Still in past years we couldn't get two a season even if we played 15 games against the Little Sisters of the Poor. Our serves while not consistently good have improved. And when they are decent we are quick & aggressive in the box. Mason said they have been practicing them. They don't have to be pretty but those goals sure do help to win games.
On the other hand, we are still pretty hopeless on free kicks, with the majority flying over the cross bar. Should be able to improve there.
Would like to hear others thoughts.
Most of our starters have been playing excellent soccer. I would put Brocius, Lowrey, Lynch, Kroeger, Misal, Mason, Fluchel & McClelland in that category.
Tiernan, while playing hard all over the pitch, is so hungry for a goal that she is to often a detriment. She is possessing the ball in search of a shot & often takes one from distance with little prospect for success resulting in loss of possession. She is also missing open team mates to often. For example, against Purdue she had the ball on the wing as 3 defenders came toward her while Girman stood alone in front of the net. She either didn't see or look & tried to dribble through all 3 & lost possession.
Daigle, as Dentist & some others have said, is all left foot. So many times she gets the ball with her back to the goal & her first move invariably is to turn to her left & begin to dribble resulting in loss of possession. Her one trick pony move is too easy to defend. She also has a tendency to force low percentage shots from distance.
For us to be able to beat all comers these two girls need to address these tendencies. Tiernan can do it. If she lets the game come to her a goal will come & I believe she will return to the potent offensive weapon that she is in both assists & goals. Not so sure about Daigle. Seems to be a long held tendency. It hurts us in the critically important position of center mid.
Which brings us to Banks. I believe that overall she has improved on last year. Against non elite teams she can hold her own ie: Purdue. Against the better teams that apply a lot of pressure she tends to break down &/or pass the ball to the wrong team. Kyrula is stronger but has some shortcomings as well. Left CB has been & is a weak spot that needs to be addressed. Certainly not sure of the remedy.
Girman off the bench is good, but could be better at moving the ball to an open mate. Also fouls a lot.
Romano has been more than serviceable. Much improved over last year.
Gutowski doesn't seem to be able to add much against this competition. Also likes to beat defenders & is unable to do so.
Post is OK. Will probably be good down the line. Right now the game seems a little to fast & strong for her to be very effective.
I'm sure others can offer more, or a different analysis. That's what I've got for now.
Additional thoughts. We have been markedly better with corner results than we have been in several years. We've had several goals off corners this year, with Emily Mason getting two against Purdue. Granted Purdue's back line is depleted & their starting goalie has been out. Still in past years we couldn't get two a season even if we played 15 games against the Little Sisters of the Poor. Our serves while not consistently good have improved. And when they are decent we are quick & aggressive in the box. Mason said they have been practicing them. They don't have to be pretty but those goals sure do help to win games.
On the other hand, we are still pretty hopeless on free kicks, with the majority flying over the cross bar. Should be able to improve there.
Would like to hear others thoughts.
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