Stanford

by todd Thu Sep 15, 2011 11:04 pm

I will start by giving a shout out to Hailley for some great saves--- best goalie performance from all goalies to date.

I am a pilot believer and will continue to support! I know Stanford is an exceptional team with tremendous talent and depth. We played tentative, scared and seemed to be mixed up on when/where to be on both sides of the ball. Hopefully the team watches video of every game together and the coaches review and provide the essential coaching they need?

Our offense was ineffective, slow to re-act and not consistently moving to get open. Our mid field needs some work. While I don't want to sound negative, but Parker seemed confused on where to play, didn't control mid and was out of position most of the time. Also, I believe Kreminski should be playing her natural position (forward) and Cruz or Brides play some center-mid. From what I've seen, those two pass consistently- yes, we would lose speed on outside, but we need ball/field control.

Defense looked good- Kassie is a stud! I love how she plays with reckless abandon... Does anyone know why Bridges didn't play?

Lastly, the pilots are hard workers, student athletes and just played the #1 team in the nation... We will bounce back for Sunday!! Smile

by UPSoccerFanatic Thu Sep 15, 2011 11:49 pm

todd wrote:I will start by giving a shout out to Hailley for some great saves--- best goalie performance from all goalies to date. [I AGREE, SHE PLAYED A GREAT GAME. THE BEST GAME OF HER CAREER. I THINK IT WILL BE A BIG PLUS FOR THE REST OF THIS YEAR.]

I am a pilot believer and will continue to support! I know Stanford is an exceptional team with tremendous talent and depth. We played tentative, scared and seemed to be mixed up on when/where to be on both sides of the ball. [I DON'T AGREE ON THE DEFENSIVE SIDE OF THE BALL. THE PILOTS PLAYED GOOD TEAM DEFENSE AGAINST A VERY GOOD TEAM.] Hopefully the team watches video of every game together and the coaches review and provide the essential coaching they need?

Our offense was ineffective, slow to re-act and not consistently moving to get open. Our mid field needs some work. While I don't want to sound negative, but Parker seemed confused on where to play, didn't control mid and was out of position most of the time. [I REALLY DON'T AGREE WITH THIS. ELLEN PLAYED WELL. SHE'S A GREAT PASSER. ALSO, IT WAS CLEAR FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE GAME THAT THE PLAYERS HAD BEEN TOLD TO BE CONSERVATIVE IN TERMS OF GOING FORWARD. I THINK THIS WAS GOOD COACHING, AS IF THE PILOTS HAD TAKEN A LOT OF CHANCES, THEY COULD HAVE GOTTEN SLAUGHTERED.] Also, I believe Kreminski should be playing her natural position (forward) and Cruz or Brides play some center-mid. [FORWARD IS NOT HALLIE'S NATURAL POSITION. SHE'S PLAYED A NUMBER OF POSITIONS OVER HER SOCCER CAREER. ON THE OTHER HAND, NEITHER CRUZ NOR BRIDGES HAS EXPERIENCE PLAYING HOLDING MID, NOR DO THEY HAVE THE HEIGHT FOR THAT POSITION. IT DEFINITELY IS NOT EITHER OF THEIR "NATURAL POSITIONS."] From what I've seen, those two pass consistently- yes, we would lose speed on outside, but we need ball/field control.

Defense looked good- Kassie is a stud! I love how she plays with reckless abandon... Does anyone know why Bridges didn't play? [HOPEFULLY, SHE'LL BE PLAYING ON SUNDAY. ONE THING TO BE AWARE OF IS THAT THE PILOTS WERE UNLIKELY TO WIN TODAY. SUNDAY, ON THE OTHER HAND IS A GAME THEY HOPEFULLY CAN WIN.]

Lastly, the pilots are hard workers, student athletes and just played the #1 team in the nation... We will bounce back for Sunday!! [I THINK SO TOO!]

by todd Fri Sep 16, 2011 12:08 am

When I say Kreminski's natural position is forward, it's my belief she creates opportunities for herself an others, plus she can score.

I disagree with you re: Cruz/Bridges. Try it?

by golaso Fri Sep 16, 2011 6:42 am

halley is a target forward and a goal scorer. at this point, even if we get the ball to her, we have no dynamic threat going forward for her to get the ball to. at the same time, we don't have anyone getting to the end line and serving crosses nearly as consistent as we should. also, these are halley's first games playing holding mid and she has been playing marvelous. her passing, for the most part, has been very very good and she has been a calming presence for us. she is certainly one of the best in the air, and wins her fair share of tackles.
at this point in the season, the only thing we need is to develop some sort of attack. there is no danger or threat going forward. if you were stanford, who would you have been watching out for. dani? yes, but in the end she isn't really going to create her own chances. dani is the best goal scorer i've seen in a while, but she is just that, a pure goal scorer. who is going at defenders and breaking the back 4 down? we need something more going forward, especially from our outside mids. put emma at outside back and push cruz forward.
we beat USC as we get closer to conference and everything is different. we need to be ready to win the WCC or playoffs are a long shot.

by skip hobart Fri Sep 16, 2011 6:50 am

Why is it that in recent years we have changed our style of play to combat Stanford. Last time down there we tried a different formation during the first half, and switched back in the second etc.....last night looked like a usual pilots game, except Stanford played our usual role of playing forward and controlling the midfield, and we were playing bunker soccer, but without the ability of playing counter attacking soccer......Stanford deserves a top 10 ranking, but what I expect from UP soccer is to live and die by our offensive style of play.

There were a lot of individual efforts out there. But no team pressure. With open sub rule, we could have easily rotated bodies in to pressure the ball higher. With dani so bunkered down, it is impossible to set her up. When we did have the ball, our ball movement was slow and well telegraphed and easy to defend......I was developing a theory that the lack of crisp touches and passing was due to practicing on turf and then playing on the slower new grass. I now believe we are a young team in many ways, and our expectation should be for skill development. .....Ellen Parker has potential, but by no means filling the tradition of UP starting midfielders.

by A_Fan Fri Sep 16, 2011 9:25 am

Actually they played their normal formation in the first half against Stanford last year, they switched at half time and were much more effective. There are many factors the coaching staff must take into consideration when choosing a formation. It would be foolish not to adjust to meet game conditions.

The team doesn't practice on the turf, they practice on the grass field next to it.

by ejjqb Fri Sep 16, 2011 11:08 am

The best part of this game was clearly the defensive effort. Haillee did play her best game of the year, showing much greater mobility and reacting to situations more quickly. Maybe having Kelsey on staff now is helping her. Kassi, Cloee, Michelle O and Michelle C were strong with their challenges on the ball. Their job was made more difficult in the first half with both midfielders getting sucked into the middle of the field, leaving Stanford's wide mids free to advance 30 yards without any challenge. That improved on the left side when Amanda came in. With the mids so tight in the center, whenever the Pilots did get control of the ball, there was no one outside to pass to. Thus they ended up looking up the center every time and this made life much easier for Stanford to repossess the ball. The Pilots looked very nervous to me as most of their passes early in the game seemed to be sent to the other team, even when they had a team mate open nearby. While Michelle O was extremely strong defensively, I think even she was getting frustrated with her many passes that failed to connect with another Pilot. That was a major issue in the first half. It's impossible to mount an attack when none of your passes are connecting with the right team. Of course, Stanford's defense had a lot to do with that. They are all solid players, most of whom last night were seniors and juniors. #9 was the only freshman, as I recall, and she was very good. I do think that Ellen needs to step up her game for this Pilot team to be successful down the road. She can be a great passer as UPSF claimed, but she makes too many soft passes that get picked off, she spends too much time wandering around like she's lost and she doesn't react quickly when things go the other way. That is the critical position for the Pilot approach and the person there must be decisive, strong and always aggressive. Every center attacking mid that has been mentioned by this group as the example to emulate has had those qualities.

I agree with the potential for the team to learn a great deal from film of this game. There should be many teaching points. If the ladies learn from it and make the necessary adjustments, I think they still have the players to make this a successful year and get into the playoffs, where anything can happen with a young team. We did play eight freshmen and sophomores last night and they still have a lot to learn and develop.

by SoreKnees Fri Sep 16, 2011 1:34 pm

The second-half change of formation to 4-3-3 was interesting, and somewhat effective. They played most of the second half with 3 forwards: Dani in the middle and some combination of Micaela, Kayla, and Amanda as advanced wing players. That put Taylor and/or Sipple in the middle of the park along with Hallie and/or Ellen.

In some ways I think this formation might help us. It gets an extra attacker up front, which might create more good chances if the wide forwards are able to pinch in toward the far post and not leave Dani isolated in the middle. But it seems to me that Taylor is our most dynamic outside speed player (and also a capable scorer when she gets a chance), so I'd think long and hard about pushing her up into one of the forward slots.

Any thoughts about 4-3-3 vs. 4-4-2 from the coaches and "coaches" out there?

by pilotfan11 Fri Sep 16, 2011 5:06 pm

From a "coach",

I really liked the way the 4-3-3 looked. It seemed to add another dimesion to the attack that wasn't there before. The pilots have struggled with goal scoring this season, as we all know. I thought the defense was outstanding given what stanford had to bring (a ton!!! they are ranked 1 for a reason). The last piece for this year's team seems to be finding the back of the net and I thought adding in a third up-front added to the attack a bit. Amanda will find her rhythm and become a factor the more she see's the field I think. She's a goal scorer at heart (remember the hat trick in the playoffs last year???), and I think she'll be come a factor as she learns to play more off foxhoven and capelle. The three of them could be really awesome.

The pilots looked good at times, and a bit frustrated at others. I thought Hallie got a bit lost and without her, ellen did too. Ellen is a great player who fiddles with the ball a bit too much. When she plays 1 or 2 touches I think shes best. She needs to be a bit more aggresivness when the pilots lose the ball, but I think that she's a young player and that aggressiveness or confidence comes with time. I think she'll only get better as the season goes.

I think that the Pilots played up to Stanfords level (with the exception of the lack of offense) and I am personally relieved that this game is over. The Pilots have the potential to put together a fantasic season. The WCC will be tough, but I think they've seen the 'best team' till playoffs. I still believe that they could give the national championship a run. Afterall in 2002 they won with a 19-4-3 record... so there's still hope!!!

Pilot 'till I die!!!

by Harry Redknapp Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:04 am

In the first half Stanford's movement and speed was pulling the outside mids in UP's 4-4-2 into the center of the field and they were getting players open out wide.

In the second half UP looked like a 4-5-1 when Stanford had the ball, with Frisbie and Capelle both dropping back wide, and Kreminski, Parker and Brooke all filling the middle of the field. When UP had the ball Frisbie and Capelle pushed forward and it looked like a 4-3-3.

Stanford looked good. They looked like one of the strong Pilot teams of the past few years and played with the pace and movement that we have come to love. The current UP team doesn't have the personnel to play at that level. Not enough players who can play one-touch soccer and move the ball at speed with accuracy.

I thought UP played relatively well considering the opposition. Unless there is a dramatic improvement in three or four players this is going to be an average season in terms of results. I think we'll have a better sense of the outlook after the USC game.

by GUPhantom Sat Sep 17, 2011 2:37 pm

The consensus was all of us knew Stanford would spank us. That it was coming! But still....it was hard to watch!!!

Pilot pride dies hard. Mad

I understand the game plan and focus was defensive....keep Standford in front of them...keep the match close. But, when we yielded the midfield to a team like that...they will exploit it. And that's what the Cardinal did....freely roam the midfield all match long. The Pilots did not or could not mark anyone until they were 20 yards past the midfield line. I've never seen us offer a team so much free space.

I think people tend to forget the mental aspect of playing this defensive strategy... how it can wear down a proud team mentally. Yes, I agree we may not have the personnel to play to the level we're used to. But, bunkering? Play not to lose? Whatever you want to call it? Personally, it just didn't seem to bode well with the players when Standford started taking advantage of the midfield and owning the match all-around. Standford broke us down mentally and took the team's most critical resource....it's competitive heart. Or we may have just handed it to them. I don't know? I started to see a lot of dejection on the pitch. Yes, for the most part the Pilots kept Standford in check. But, it was hard to see us lose that way.

The Pilots could never muster a threat to Stanford and were de-possessed so easily. Was there no one who could dribble, maintain and keep the ball at their feet?

Did anyone notice Cloee? Gosh...she was the one player who I noticed wasn't afraid and tried her darnest to move the team in the right direction... forward. She often pushed further in offensively from her back line. Trying to encourage and lead the team forward, to attack, to fight.

Let's get back in the fight against USC!

GO PILOTS!!!

by purple haze Sun Sep 18, 2011 4:42 pm

Look at the season this way: Pilots have now played 5 PAC-12 schools and earned a 3-1-1 record, with the only loss to the nation's No. 1 team. Most years that would be considered excellent -- and so it is. The glaring problem was the 0-3 road record from Aug 28- Sept. 4 against teams not generally considered to be the Pilots' equals. The team still has its WCC schedule ahead, and there is plenty of exciting soccer to come as we move into fall. An immediate challenge is for the team to prove it can win on the road, starting with the next three games.

by soccerjoy Sun Sep 18, 2011 5:01 pm

Well stated, Purple Haze.

Go Pilots!!!!!

by PurplePrideTrumpet Sun Sep 18, 2011 5:24 pm

purple haze wrote:Look at the season this way: Pilots have now played 5 PAC-12 schools and earned a 3-1-1 record, with the only loss to the nation's No. 1 team. Most years that would be considered excellent -- and so it is. The glaring problem was the 0-3 road record from Aug 28- Sept. 4 against teams not generally considered to be the Pilots' equals. The team still has its WCC schedule ahead, and there is plenty of exciting soccer to come as we move into fall. An immediate challenge is for the team to prove it can win on the road, starting with the next three games.

That mark (which, spoiler warning, is now 4-1-1) is also mostly against Pac-12 teams who will be in the running for NCAA berths. Not bad at all.

by santa pilot Sun Sep 18, 2011 9:18 pm

Half time score Stan 2 Santa Clara 0

by santa pilot Sun Sep 18, 2011 10:08 pm

Final Stan 2 SCU 0. SOG Stan 17-SCU 7. SCU didn't have a game on Friday and looked fresher but Stan played the same game as Friday (ball control) and won most of the 50/50 balls.

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