Yale Today

Pilots struggled to score against a very physical Yale team. Referee came close to losing control of the game. Pilots still looking for one and two touch routes and missing connections. Chandhoke laid the ball off well, but they were half a step away from clear chances on many occasions.

Winters won defensive player award, which was well deserved; she would get the nod ahead of Jackman for me.

And the d line with Nicholson alongside Michaelson was again solid enough.

On offense there were several timnes today when players (Reed) held the ball one touch too many and the openings closed down.

PSU should be no great challenge next weekend. Hope that Megan R is back on the field soon, but not until she's ready.

Agree with your assessment--especially on the offense. The timing is still just a bit off.

The officials did allow the game to be much more physical in the first half. It was nice to see Portland give as much as it got today in that regard. Kronkrite also played well, and I was really impressed with Keelin Winters.

I agree with just about everything you said, MJ.

This was the second time I've seen the Pilots this season. (I saw FSU opening night and it was a great match to be remembered for a long time).

However, I have been reading everyone's posts on the four games in between FSU and Yale that I did not see. A lot of interesting issues have been raised, particularly after the "red flag" loss to Purdue. Now I have seen for myself what you all have been saying. First of all, I like the back line as now configured. They are very solid and and not easily pushed around.

I was VERY impressed with Keelin at Holding Mid, and now I see a possible dilemma when Sophie returns. Sophie could dominate the center of the pitch with her stature, strength and skill. But if we have a budding Lisa Sari-type player in Keelin, should Sophie move to the back? If so, center back or right outside back (with Stephanie of course on the left side)? Any thoughts?

Also, regarding the offense, I was very disappointed in the lack of awareness and lack of communication when we were attacking the goal. I counted several times in the first half where Kendra or somebody would lay off a nice pass close to the goal, and our other attacking players were usually in the right position, but they didn't seem to notice or anticipate that the ball was coming right toward them until it was too late. I want to congratulate Yale for a very intense defensive effort. They broke up so many plays that I lost count.

Don't get me wrong, I love this team and believe we will contend for the big trophy come playoff time. However, right now we need to get on the same page and start scoring 2-3 goals a game, as we are very capable of doing with the personnel we have available right now.

Please comment on MJ's topic if you like. I always learn a great deal and enjoy every post!

Before we get too ecstatic,

The two teams this weekend weren't anywhere the near caliber or physicalness of Purdue and Fullerton. Yale and Kansas are now 1-9-1 with no victories against ranked schools, last week's opponents will both be ranked this week, and have a combined record of 11-3-1, with two victories against ranked schools (Fullerton's loss to UP being the only loss to a ranked team)

We scored two goals last week and three goals this week, so it's hard to say the offense has gone anywhere.

The only difference is the defense gave up two goals last week and none this week, albeit against vastly inferior offenses. I venture that the two breakaways we gave up today would have translated to goals last week. Those breakdowns would be killers against top flight teams.

Winters looked good today (and both she and Jackman did Friday). She actually showed a bit of swagger, and she took the time to develop some passing with the other mids, something that didn't really develop last week due to greater pressure. I started wondering how she'd look with a perm, a la Betsey Barr and Lisa Sari. It's now a tradition with holding mids here.

But the midfield's she had to deal with weren't anywhere near the caliber of last weeks teams. While I'm sure the experience did wonders for her confidence, she wasn't really tested.


The offense? not there yet. the passing in the midfield was much better both games. We had pretty much control of play in both games. I hate to sound like a broken record, but these were NOT last week's midfields they were playing against.


How to fix the offense? I'm not sure, but it strikes me that Budge doesn't fit in as well out of the midfield as she does up front. She has done her best work when she's up top, creating havoc with the rhythm of the opponent's back four and feeding her partner forward and the attacking mid. She needs to be able to roam and take risks to be effective. This offense is also asking her to push forward while still having the responsibility to track back, something I'm not so sure she has the speed for.

Both Enyeart and Chandhoke are talented finishers, but they arent getting the services they should be getting. Maybe one of them has to share time with Budge so she can set one of them up, and a faster mid needs to stay outside. Tsao looked like she might fit better out there.

I'm not sure what else to do, and I'm just floating this out as a possibility, but we have seen better from this group of players than we are seing now.




On the bright side we aren't the only team in this boat. Out of the top 10, only Stanford and Santa Clara are undefeated, only Stanford (4 wins against ranked teams), Santa Clara (2 wins against ranked teams) Virginia (2 wins against ranked teams) and UP (2 wins against ranked teams - I'm counting Fullerton, they'll be ranked this week) Have more that 1 victory against a ranked team.

Boston college from that list is 6-1-1, but the only ranked team they played they lost to.

Also, some teams appear to have even bigger problems. NC lost to an unranked team (soon to be ranked, I think). They are now 4-2. Notre Dame seems to have real problems and are now 2-3-1 and hasn't beaten a ranked team yet.

It's not as gloomy for us as last week, but no real cause to light the victory cigars yet. the watch word certainly isn't business as usual. We still need to get a lot better.

On a last note, we didn't see Megan. I think that was just as well. We're not in panic mode. no sense rushing her.

I like the offensive showing against Yale. The end to end ball movement, transitions and switches from the backline...to midfielders.. to the fowards....was much better!! Smoother...than what I saw against Kansas! It was excellent!

However, the thing I noticed with both games this weekend was an offensive stall in the box. I think the gals have had many opportunites to score but...they seem to have a tendency to pull back on breakaway runs...to look for the "better" shot!

I know that its been preached to them over and over...to be patient!! That the goals will come if they're patient!! But I also think this is causing them to be over-creative. I'd like the girls to be a little bit more selfish when they're in the box. They tend to over-pass and look for the cute way to score. But this only gives teams like Kansas and Yale enough time to reorganize and regroup their back line. And when the box is flooded with bodies, its harder to find...much less pass..to the open man.

The Pilots certainly have the talent. They've demonstrated that a lot this weekend with one-on-one situations. Many of our midfielders and strikers have easily burned their defenders and left them in the dust. I'd like to see them just FINISH it. If you worked hard to get around a defender and earned to opportunity for open space....finish the attack and take the shot!

I think GUPhanton hit the nail on the head.

UP totally dominated the game against Yale, but every time they got close to the goal it seemed like they slowed down and let Yale pack the box.

Elli Reed probably does it the most... she is so skilled with the ball that she always tries to dribble around people (often two or three defenders), but that ultimately slows things down and neutralizes the speed advantage we have with Reed and Enyeart out there.

I also agree that we probably could be more aggressive when we are in the box in terms of taking shots... nothing wrong with testing the goalie a little bit. I love how whenever Kelli Cronkrite gets close to the goal she is always looking to crack a shot. I think Angie could score a few from outside the box, as could Kendra.

Anyway, I'm not sure there is any real big problem... obviously they were a bit out of synch against Yale, but they still dominated the flow of the game and had their chances. Once Megan, Stephanie, and Sophie are back, I think we will start to see a lot more offensive opportunities open up.

I am enjoying reading everyone's perception of the game. I find myself agreeing with most everyone, for the most part.

My problem is that I saw the entire game from the grandstand seats behind the South goal. I have a bad left eye, so while I could clearly see the on-rushing attacks happening right below me, my perspective of the whole field was somewhat compromised. (Why sit there? Change of pace, I guess. I usually move to the side of the field for the second half, but I was too pooped to move).

I couldn't see the flowing midfield play that Phantom and Stonehouse describe. Without question, we totally dominated them possesion-wise. Kelsey only had a couple really dicey situations, but they were definitely scary.

This could easily have been a 1-0 loss or 0-0 tie. And I could sense a growing anxiety and frustration in the crowd before the goal.

I think I have to agree with Geezer about Budge. She is a skilled striker on top, and should probably spend more time there.

In the first half, when the Pilots were attacking right below me, I could not believe the lack of communication. Seriously, they all looked like they just woke up and hadn't had their morning coffee. And yes, at the end of the attacks Yale plugged up the box so we had what seemed like an army protecting their goal.

I am NOT a soccer expert by any means - just a devoted fan. This may be sacrilege because I love Angie's game, (and I might be a tad spoiled after watching
Sinclair, Megan, lately Rachel, and Michelle Enyeart last year), but I want to see the attacking mid and strikers come in on goal like a locomotive at full speed. SLAM that ball into the net once in awhile.

Before the goal, I was starting to think that the only player capable of scoring on Yale was Kellie Cronkrite, the one with the Megan-like rocket shot with accuracy from distance.