Game recap:
http://www.udpride.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29868
The good news:
- They sent
Mike Tucker out the right way at Baujan Field -- with a W.
- Kiehl did what the Kiehlster does -- grind. Nearly all of her goals are haaaarrd-earned, hard-fought goals. Very little falls into her lap.
- We qualify for the A10 Tournament.
Overall, far more positive than negatives. The positives were immediate plugs to holes in the dam.
The not-so-good news:
- Kiehl scored 15 of our 28 goals this year. This is not an indictment on Kiehl, but one on the others for not shoveling part of the load. Kiehl was asked to do far too much. To score 15 knowing every opponent realizes you stop her and you probably stop Dayton is a testament to her work rate. But we will not advance in the A10 Tourney if we have to ride AK the entire way. Opponents will just shut her down with double teams and make everyone else beat them -- which UD has not proven effective at.
- The defense was fairly decent today -- few shots surrendered or on frame. But again, a marshmallow goal on the one they did give up. That's the type of goal that ends your season in the A10 Tourney.
UMass won three matches all season -- they should not score on us. Ever.
- UD didnt beat a single team in the A10 regular season that qualified for the A10 Tourney. In other words we have to win three games against teams that have either already beaten us, or are better than we are. Not an easy ball of wax to digest. As we saw last season, freaky things can happen in the A10 tourney. But if UD wins 3 games and punches their ticket to the NCAA, they will have won the three toughest matches against the three toughest opponents they faced in the A10.