West Virginia game-- Some factors that worked against us--1) the refs were in the bag for WV. There were several phantom call against us, so bad that our girls were just throwing their hands up in disbelief & frustration. Most called as we were moving forward, canceling any opportunity for attack. There were also 2 offside calls against us that were clearly bogus, once again nullifying any chance to score. 2) Kenie Wright, IMO our best field player, & a dangerous offensive weapon coming up the wing from her outside back position was unable to play there & clearly hobbled by her knee (Tierney Wiltshire played very well in that spot). And Brittany LaPlant a goal scorer, who had been our most dangerous striker over the last several games, was clearly hobbled by chronically sore shins. You could see when she came out with about 20 min left in the first half that they were really hurting. She played limited minutes in the 2nd half & didn't see the field in either overtime.
I'm not saying that we would have won if the above factors were not at play, but it would have greatly enhanced our chances if they were not.
Some posted that we didn't appear to be in shape. I don't believe that to be the case. When you are on defense for prolonged periods & oftentimes chasing the ball it takes an enormous amount out of you & wears you down. Thankfully Mike has a deep bench that he trusts.
West Virginia in addition to being ranked no.7, played for the national championship in the final game last year. They outplayed USC, but lost 1-0. This year they returned 9 starters from last years squad.
General observations--RU is one of the top tier programs in the country, inches away from being one of the few elites.
A few areas to work on & there are probably others--1) too often Amirah tries to do too much with the ball at her feet & tries to beat multiple defenders when she has a team mate open in space. Colby, who is excellent & who has played wonderful team ball all year, was guilty of trying to do too much in this manner as well vs. WV. 2) we are sometimes careless & sloppy with our passing, not moving the ball quickly & accurately; 3) Amanda's passes out of the back are all to often simply low percentage & turned back on us. She can absolutely correct this; 4) our goalies clears for the last few years are too often simply out of bounds & those into the playing field are turned on us. Would like to see more easy clears to our backs to move the ball up field. I never criticize individual players. Amirah & Amanda are both terrific soccer players & will be for years to come for RU, but this is done with the best of constructive intentions. Clearly all the girls can improve their games in some fashion, but the 2 examples cited have stood out to me this year. If I am wrong, I apologize to both ladies.
Mike ONeil, Meg Ryan, Lubos Ancin & Trish DiPaolo, in addition to being outstanding coaches, are truly outstanding people. They have recruited not only excellent soccer players but excellent young ladies as well. Their players & teams are always team oriented. This program & everything about it is a great credit to Rutgers University.
I'm not saying that we would have won if the above factors were not at play, but it would have greatly enhanced our chances if they were not.
Some posted that we didn't appear to be in shape. I don't believe that to be the case. When you are on defense for prolonged periods & oftentimes chasing the ball it takes an enormous amount out of you & wears you down. Thankfully Mike has a deep bench that he trusts.
West Virginia in addition to being ranked no.7, played for the national championship in the final game last year. They outplayed USC, but lost 1-0. This year they returned 9 starters from last years squad.
General observations--RU is one of the top tier programs in the country, inches away from being one of the few elites.
A few areas to work on & there are probably others--1) too often Amirah tries to do too much with the ball at her feet & tries to beat multiple defenders when she has a team mate open in space. Colby, who is excellent & who has played wonderful team ball all year, was guilty of trying to do too much in this manner as well vs. WV. 2) we are sometimes careless & sloppy with our passing, not moving the ball quickly & accurately; 3) Amanda's passes out of the back are all to often simply low percentage & turned back on us. She can absolutely correct this; 4) our goalies clears for the last few years are too often simply out of bounds & those into the playing field are turned on us. Would like to see more easy clears to our backs to move the ball up field. I never criticize individual players. Amirah & Amanda are both terrific soccer players & will be for years to come for RU, but this is done with the best of constructive intentions. Clearly all the girls can improve their games in some fashion, but the 2 examples cited have stood out to me this year. If I am wrong, I apologize to both ladies.
Mike ONeil, Meg Ryan, Lubos Ancin & Trish DiPaolo, in addition to being outstanding coaches, are truly outstanding people. They have recruited not only excellent soccer players but excellent young ladies as well. Their players & teams are always team oriented. This program & everything about it is a great credit to Rutgers University.
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