Spring Schedule

Time will tell..lots of accolades from earlier years but Stanford and UCLA seem much better classes although Wedemeyer apparently didn't get in

Actually, I thought BroncoBilly's comments were fair, except that the Pilots dominated the latter part of the OSU game this past weekend and easily could have scored two more goals (plus Brooke's clanger off the cross-bar at the beginning of the game). It was interesting because I would have expected the Beavers, with their subs, to have had more energy at the end of the game and instead, the Pilots looked like they just were getting warmed up and beginning to have fun. That also may have been a function of their transition to a 4-4-2 part way through the second half, from the 4-3-3 that they've been working on.

The other exception is that I thought Stanford actually displayed the same problem for the latter part of their game against Portland last year, that BroncoBilly describes for the OSU game and that we all saw for the Notre Dame game. On the other hand, the first half was a disaster for the Pilots. The early part of the second half wasn't so good either, but not as bad as the first half. What really surprised me, though, was that Stanford played Hawaii the preceding Friday, slaughtering them and getting lots of rest, whereas the Pilots had a tough and rough game against Cal. I was figuring that the second half would be worse than the first half and, frankly, was stunned that the Pilots had more energy than Stanford at the end.

I also read elsewhere that Stanford had not a lot of players available for the Pacific game. But, I agree that the same was true for the Pilots -- actually for the entire Spring season.

I too think BroncoBilly's comments were fair. Having watched OSU-Stanford last year, the score was not indicative of OSU being dominated. OSU plays a physical game with a veteran back line. And are playing within the rules as the games are being refereed today. In many ways, they are similar to Washington with a focus on the defensive side until they get offensive opportunities to counter attack. From a coaching standpoint this makes sense as it is easier to find good defenders and a challenge to find offensive jaugernats (aka Christine Sinclair).

The reality is the women's game is getting more physical and I expect the Pilots will see more of that in years to come. The other reality is the Beavers have a pretty good team. They lost one senior starter and likely will challenge for the Pac-12 title with their defense being their strength. The midfielder they lost was pretty strong and has been in the Canadian Women's National camp along with Sophie. Are they closing the gap with the Pilots? Yes. Are other teams closing the gap with the Pilots? Yes. Will the Pilots be a good team in 21011? Yes, although their youthfullnes will be tested.

As far as spring games are concerned, you can't read to much into them as it is a time for coaches to tinker, the players to reacquaint themselves to teammates and a chance to see who has matured. As a player, you basically play for pride and use it to see where you are in terms of development, conditioning, etc. The score is usually a secondary concern, but it's always nice to come out on top.

I'm not that concerned with the height of our players - although having a couple who can defend corners is useful! I'm more concerned with first touch on the ball, the ability to read the game and see the open runner or the space to play the ball into, and the ability to play at pace - both by moving the ball and by moving themselves.

For example, I would contend that Christine Sinclair's single most devastating quality was her first touch on the ball.

Harry Redknapp wrote:

For example, I would contend that Christine Sinclair's single most devastating quality was her first touch on the ball.

That and her ability to outsprint opponents and leave them thinking

" Oh, crap, I'm toast"

Oh yeah.

Then there is ability to will something out of nothing.

( both scores in the 2002 championship)

And maybe the ability to make everyone else around her better.

And the ability to autograph notebooks in the middle of Intro to Bio class (I swear it wasn't me)

Which class did you get the notebook signed in?

Did I mention the look on opposing keepers she used to elicit when she was 1v1?

Always got a kick out of that.

"For example, I would contend that Christine Sinclair's single most devastating quality was her first touch on the ball.[/quote]

I absolutely agree. The first time I saw her play in person was with the Canadians against the USA in Rochester, I think last year (maybe two years ago), when Abby got her 100th goal (in front of the home folks). I always told my players that the most important soccer skill to be learned was your ability with your first touch, and I thought Christine's first touch ability really set her apart, even at that level. I would assume she was the same when playing in college.

Height has practically no advantage in soccer, other than the obvious advantage for a keeper, and a much smaller advantage for heading (Keelin was not that tall!). In fact, I think it might be an advantage in many respects for a field player to be smaller and closer to the ground - shorter stride, quicker feet.

Um... Keelin is 5' 9". That's pretty tall compared to most women. And growing up playing basketball with the family probably helped her timing in the air as well.

Agree with the comments about Christine's outstanding first touch. To see it in action take a look at the highlight from her game against the Atlanta Beat at www.womensprosoccer.com. Definitely a thing of beauty.

Gotta lose the last period for it to work.

http://www.womensprosoccer.com/

.....now if she would just get a real dog instead of little Nutmeg!!!!! lol

It's not the size of the dog in the fight......

Thanks for the video, keeper. That first touch didn't look like a particularly difficult one - it wasn't a hard driven ball to her, or in the air - but it had to be put into EXACTLY the right spot so that her next touch, the shot, was through an open lane and could be gotten off quickly.

I didn't realize Keelin was that tall. I did see her play a number of times in person, and for some reason that didn't register with me. I would have guessed average height. Basketball genes from her Dad.

Agree, the pass and control did not look that difficult in the video. I was more impressed with the placement of the first touch to create her shot. The placement was perfect in that she put it in a place where she had room between two defenders. She definitely has a knack for being in the place the ball is going and creating space for her shot.

Western New York is too far east. I wish there was anyplace on the West Coast to see these teams in person.

Au contraire, Purple Haze (I probably butchered the spelling) - Western NY is not FAR ENOUGH east - Still almost 3 hours.