ud69
04-18-2011, 06:43 PM
Pretty positive Spring results in 4 matches. Won all 4 and had 4 clean sheets.
Missed the Tennessee and Central Michigan (too cold and windy this past Saturday night!) matches. Saw the EMU and Cincinnati matches.
Some observations -
Giving up no goals in 4 matches is pretty impressive. Tennessee is middle of the pack SEC. EMU is low to middle A-10 calibre. UC is middle of the Big East calibre. CMU is 2 time defending MAC champs.
Keeper position looks ok, whomever they put out there. Just wish the keepers could get more on their goal kicks. Most gk's never getting past mid-field - if that far. Need another 10 yards or so at least,
Back line pretty solid with Miller and Beljan and Mallon. Tucker did run Beljan at left mid a bit in the UC game - something chris_r has been asking for. She has really good quicks and good anticipation, but not much size. Seemed like she had problems powering through defenders. Of course, it was only about a single half of action up there.
Willy is Willy - a real force. At one point in the UC game she was carrying the ball across the field in the attacking third - and drew 5 defenders with her. Still looking for someone to give her help up top - as Giner did the second half of the season last year. Libertine has promise, but needs consistency.
Senoyuit just might be the ticket at center mid. She has definitely improved from last fall. He size helps win the 50-50 balls, and she shows some foot skills. She still doesn't trust her foot skills enough to hold the ball on her foot, and one-touches a lot. Still, liked what I saw from her in the middle.
Owen, Kenyon, Emery, Sharer, Grant got a fair amount of time on the field.
Throw-ins seem to be longer - something I have advocated for years. Overall, squad seems a tad stronger. Looks like maybe they have been hitting the weights.
Obviously, we'll have to wait until fall to see what the incoming frosh can do. Maybe we'll get one or two that can step in right away and help. For freshmen, previous honors are very little predictors of college success. Need to really see them on the field against college competition.
Let's see what the squad looks like in the fall and how hard they work over the summer, but cautious optimism is the current sentiment - as long as Willy stays healthy. The schedule is much much tougher than previous years. The record may not end up quite as gaudy as other years, but the results should be similar - A-10 title contenders and NCAA participants. Two years ago we made the NCAA second round and got our clocks cleaned by VTU. Last year we made the NCAA second round and took tosu ( who made it all the way to the College Cup before losing to eventual champ Notre Dame in the national semi-final) to a 0-0 tie before losing on PK's in one of the best matches a Flyer team ever played. Perhaps this is the year to break through to the sweet 16 - something we have only done once - back in 2001.
Missed the Tennessee and Central Michigan (too cold and windy this past Saturday night!) matches. Saw the EMU and Cincinnati matches.
Some observations -
Giving up no goals in 4 matches is pretty impressive. Tennessee is middle of the pack SEC. EMU is low to middle A-10 calibre. UC is middle of the Big East calibre. CMU is 2 time defending MAC champs.
Keeper position looks ok, whomever they put out there. Just wish the keepers could get more on their goal kicks. Most gk's never getting past mid-field - if that far. Need another 10 yards or so at least,
Back line pretty solid with Miller and Beljan and Mallon. Tucker did run Beljan at left mid a bit in the UC game - something chris_r has been asking for. She has really good quicks and good anticipation, but not much size. Seemed like she had problems powering through defenders. Of course, it was only about a single half of action up there.
Willy is Willy - a real force. At one point in the UC game she was carrying the ball across the field in the attacking third - and drew 5 defenders with her. Still looking for someone to give her help up top - as Giner did the second half of the season last year. Libertine has promise, but needs consistency.
Senoyuit just might be the ticket at center mid. She has definitely improved from last fall. He size helps win the 50-50 balls, and she shows some foot skills. She still doesn't trust her foot skills enough to hold the ball on her foot, and one-touches a lot. Still, liked what I saw from her in the middle.
Owen, Kenyon, Emery, Sharer, Grant got a fair amount of time on the field.
Throw-ins seem to be longer - something I have advocated for years. Overall, squad seems a tad stronger. Looks like maybe they have been hitting the weights.
Obviously, we'll have to wait until fall to see what the incoming frosh can do. Maybe we'll get one or two that can step in right away and help. For freshmen, previous honors are very little predictors of college success. Need to really see them on the field against college competition.
Let's see what the squad looks like in the fall and how hard they work over the summer, but cautious optimism is the current sentiment - as long as Willy stays healthy. The schedule is much much tougher than previous years. The record may not end up quite as gaudy as other years, but the results should be similar - A-10 title contenders and NCAA participants. Two years ago we made the NCAA second round and got our clocks cleaned by VTU. Last year we made the NCAA second round and took tosu ( who made it all the way to the College Cup before losing to eventual champ Notre Dame in the national semi-final) to a 0-0 tie before losing on PK's in one of the best matches a Flyer team ever played. Perhaps this is the year to break through to the sweet 16 - something we have only done once - back in 2001.