Meanwhile in the Women's Bracket

Back in college decades ago, I attended a retreat held by a campus Christian organization. After morning studies and lunch the afternoons were free until the evening proceedings. I joined a bunch of guys each afternoon on the basketball court. None of us played college ball, but some of us had played in high school. I was one of the sandlot scrubs.

Some of the girls on the Virginia Tech women’s basketball team were a part of the same organization and in attendance at the retreat. They were joined by some of their friends from the NC State women’s basketball team. One afternoon the lady basketball players came out to the court and said they wanted to take us guys on. We agreed, and the friendly game was on.

Our strategy defensively was to try to keep them outside and at least try to get a hand up when they set up to shoot. We knew if they got some time and space, they would shoot the lights out. Offensively, the idea was all-fast-break, all-the-time. Rebound, outlet the ball to Jeff or Jay, and let them streak the court for layups. We didn’t want a half-court game against them, because they were quick and clever, could steal the ball, and get layups of their own if we were not careful.

Our opponents knew they had to make their shots, and, if not, they had to get some rebounds. The problem was they did miss frequently, or had shots blocked, and they couldn’t get any rebounds. They tried boxing out the tallish scrub in the middle in twos and threes. When that failed, they would get a running start and smash linebacker-like into him, but the problem was they would just bounce off, and he usually got the rebound, fling the ball to a streaking Jeff, who would either layup or lay off to his front-running partner.

The games were not close, but fun was had by all.

I think today such a game would still not be close, but likely the women basketball players would handily defeat a team of male players with similar backgrounds to ours. Major college, major-sport women athletes are now world-class athletes. This is of course true in women’s basketball, but it is even truer at the elite levels of women’s college soccer.

In the NCAA Women’s College Cup you have THE best four teams in the country. All four of these teams play very sound, very technical soccer.

Perennial powerhouse North Carolina is the most cohesive, well-coached team in the country. So they lost three games during the regular season. Who cares, it does not mean beans. There is not a weak or even fundamentally suspect player on the entire squad.

Same deal with Notre Dame. Who cares about the early-season losses? The first three or four, or even FIVE games in the regular season are essentially training matches, since NCAA rules severely limit the amount of organized preseason training teams can conduct. Those games are not very significant indicators of the ability or potential of a team.

UCLA is a quality side with two of the best pure strikers in the country in Lauren Cheney and Sydney Leroux. This is a side that can beat anybody in the country, especially at a neutral venue.

Rounding out the final four we have undefeated and untied Stanford, led by Kelley O’Hara and Christen Press, two of the top scorers in the nation. The thing is they have a list as long as your arm of people who can put the ball in the back of the net. Like the Brazilian National Men’s team, they can even spot you a goal maybe even two and still win it going away.

So, you have four elite teams with great players, who are all extremely well-coached, playing for it all (at, I am relived to say, a neutral venue for a change). This could very well be the best women’s College Cup we have seen in a long time.

UVA Rolls On

The UVA men's soccer team has made it to the NCAA round of 8 as a result of their 2-0 win against Portland.  That makes their 10th shutout in a row.

Next up is uber rival University of Maryland.  The tilt is scheduled for this Friday night in the rarefied climes of Charlottesville, Virginia.

I have no idea who is going to win this one.  On the one hand, I never count out a side coached by Sasho Cirovsky.  Add to that the fact that the Maryland supporters will be present in large and loud numbers.

On the other hand,  the boys from Virginia are playing the kind of soccer that wins NCAA championships. It isn't that pretty, it's grind-it-out and get a goal or two and close the other team down.

Whoever wins this match could very well go on to win the whole thing.

In the Interest of Full Disclosure

Since I wrote off the UVA men's team a few weeks ago, they have gone on a tear.

They WON the ACC tournament, they have WON their first two games of the NCAAs, the most recent outing being a 5-0 thrashing of Bucknell, with one of UVA's strikers getting a hat trick.  They are sitting on a streak of NINE clean sheets in a row.

So much for my prognostication that UVA would do nothing in either tournament,  and so much for my judgment that UVA "has no true strikers".

I think I read a liiiiitle too much into their performance in one game, the 1-0 victory in their regular season finale against NC State.

Boston College Women's Soccer Scouting Snippet

I have seen Boston College play some this season.

One thing the denizens of Bigsocccer might not realize is BC has some great players BUT they are lacking, IMO, in the speed department. BC likely is going to have trouble with SU's pace.

A Few Ideas for Stanford

As previously noted, its gets tougher from here, as if it has not already been tough enough.

Not a comprehensive game plan, but the following I believe will be helpful in the SCU match.

Maker does a nice job coming off her line. Occasionally though she is just a hair late. Another half second sooner would be optimal.

Defenders keep it up in terms of keeping your shape. Keep everything outside. Coordinate with the d-mids to pressure the ball in groups. A-mids should help in this regard. Garcimendez needs to man-mark the top opposing striker tight.

D-mids, don't get so rattled. You are some of the best soccer players in the country. Let's be a little more fearless out there. When you pass, strike the ball like you mean it. Don't be afraid to hold the ball a bit. That is why they call you "holding midfielders". Let's do a little holding instead of those premature boots up the flank, OK? When you receive a pass -- move, move, move. Standing around isn't going to lull the other team to sleep. That kind of thing does not work in MLS, where the pro men have made standing around an art form. Move. Make 'em chase you.

One thing you can do when you are short on space -- instead of booting those aimless balls up field, switch fields. Left to right, right to left. If nothing doing, back again or even backpass. Possession is the name of the game. When you are ready to play forward, play to feet. Speed kills, and Stanford almost to a player is faster than just about anybody.

Attacking mids, use your crisp passing to open space. Run at people. If the space closes down, then back pass or square ball. Get the ball to the forwards in the box, or run into the attack out of the midfield if they give you space.

Forwards, get the ball in the box and shoot. Volley it, Hit it with your weak foot. Head it. Bike it. Take your shot the millisecond you get an opening because the seam ain't gonna be there long.

Meanwhile, in the Other Brackets

UCLA, being the media darling it is, was once again given an early-round cakewalk. Boise State? San Diego State?

Are you kidding me?

UCLA faces a sterner test in Virginia, and if they get by Virginia, I can't help but to think UCLA will face Portland. So, for the Bruins it gets tougher from here.

In the FSU bracket, we have by and large the usual suspects Notre Dame, Tex A&M and FSU. Seeded UF is out. UND, as always, worries me. They might be surging at the right time.

Then we have the UNC bracket. UNC is faced with rival Maryland. Maryland teams might not always have a corner on elite talent, but you underestimate them at your peril. The UMD - UNC rivalry is real and intense. Throw the records out the window. I still have to think UNC comes out on top, though.

Hold on Lassie, it gets bumpy from here.

(Engineer Scott to Jillian, as he was about take the commandeered Klingon Bird of Prey into the climactic time warp in Star Trek IV)

Been Tough, Gets Tougher

When I saw the Stanford women's soccer team's draw going into the College Cup, I decided right then and there I was not going to make any public predictions this year.

NAU? I know, not a national powerhouse, but not a bad squad at all. But then, in the round of 32, SU got BYU, which I knew would be very, very tough. BYU has its own national cable channel, so the BYU women are on all the time. Other than not being the fastest team on the planet, they play total football and were apparently unlucky to go down 1-0 in the first minute against Stanford.

So now SU gets Santa Clara, a team that plays every bit as tough as BYU, but has more of a soccer pedigree and probably more soccer-savvy.

By a number of accounts, SU's defensive midfield troubles have continued. Sloppy, lazy passing, getting rattled and booting the ball upfield. Not going to the mattresses for the 40-60 or even 50-50 balls. THAT has GOT TO STOP. I once saw a sign in a baseball dugout (of all places) that said "Hustle Requires No Talent".

[TANGENT ALERT! TANGENT ALERT!!] OK, I brought up baseball. I can't resist going off on a tangent to give it a good slam, inasmuch as I think baseball, as far as watching it goes, has GOT TO be the most boring sport on the face of the earth, next to, say, curling and golf. Yet I suppose, even in a 19th-century, stop-motion, tag-team sport such as baseball hustle may have its utility. One final note -- I did say "boring to watch". I say in all earnestness baseball (and yes, I mean baseball, not its dumbed-down cousin softball) is fun to play. When I was 14, in a sandlot game, I struck out the neighborhood bully, with strike three being the only curve ball I have ever thrown in my life. I had no idea what I was doing, but that ball dipped down and away like nobodies business, causing Mr. Most-likely-to-join-a-motorcycle-gang to whiff by a foot or more. My older brother was the catcher, and witnessed it all. He can vouch for me if I refresh his memory aggressively enough. At that point, I had achieved more than all I had ever wanted to in baseball, so I walked off that field never to play baseball again. [End Tangent]

Anyway, in soccer, simple things like hustle aren't everything, but I would say it is 66% of everything. A great team has to fight for and win loose balls. A great team has to do things as simple as HIT THE BALL HARD when passing it. Why pass the ball slowly when you can pass it fast and crisp? Pass quickly and crisply, and the other team has to work a LOT harder marking and trying to dispossess you,and you create a LOT MORE space for yourself. Stanford D-mids, this means YOU. And, would say, Stanford needs to pressure the ball a lot better.

Perhaps it is time for the Stanford coach to settle on starting his eleven best soccer players from here on out, period. Tell them they are going to be in there unless they get hurt or gassed. Yes, it means some people are going to have to sit. But the fact of the matter is this is the "big dance" and that can only mean one thing:

You dance with the ones that brung ya.

Stanford v Cal

I watched the match on DVR yesterday. It wasn't Stanford's best effort, but it was still more than good enough to achieve a 4-1 scoreline against crosstown women's soccer rival Cal.

Much has been said on bigsoccer about the somewhat shakey performance of the Stanford defensive midfield early in the first half. One problem was that once the d-mids won possession, their square, diagonal, and up-passes often were too lazy and slow, many being picked off again by Cal in the middle third. But after 25 minutes or so the defensive midfield began to better emulate the example of the attacking midfield, who were placing nicely paced and weighted passes all game long.

These kinds of lapses ar not entirely surprising, given the youth of Stanford's d-mids and central defense. The thing though is they need to stay crisp back there in the tournament. I think they will.

One more persistent problem against Cal was Stanford's habit of giving Cal's a-mids too much space in the midfield. This led directly to some worrisome Cal counter attacks with through-balls played to feet. It seems Stanford felt they could lay off a bit and give some space, and use their speed to close runners down. This, however, led to a habit of overrunning and thus missed tackles, allowing Cal to repeatedly get behind the d-mids. Fortunately for Stanford, the SU defenders kept their shape very nicely and closed down the threats. It also helped that Cal's frontrunners were not terribly fast.

This, too, is entirely correctable. The SU d-mids need to play tighter on their marks, period.

The only other thing I would say to Stanford defensively is they need to more pateintly build possession through the middle third. There were too many hopeful long balls that bypassed the attacking midfield which only resulted on lost possession. Be smarter with the ball in the back, and don't get so rattled by a little pressure. Again, as the game wore on, things improved in this regard. They need to stay improved.

On the offensive side of the ball, it was the diagonal runs, what few there were, that won the game for Stanford, and almost made it more of a blowout than it was. Though Kelley O'Hara's first goal came not from a diagonal run but from KO being in the right place at the right time and heading a high clearance back toward the goal along an almost equally high arc. The ball flashed just under the crossbar and in, Stanford rejoicing and perhaps Cal bemoaning the almost complete lack of vertical leap ability of their goalkeeper.

The diagonal run was money for KO on the second goal. She tore into the box to run onto a nice cross I think by Quon, and KO's lightning-bolt run was rewarded as she, with authority, smashed a gravity defying, Michael Jordan-esque flying header, expertly targeted for the far corner. You could see the "uh-oh's" in the eyes of the Cal players, but to their credit they had plenty of fight left.

On KO's third goal, the diagonal run again was the dagger. KO slashed into the box to one-time a long ball from the midfield. The Cal keeper once again had to dig the ball out of her net, Cal now realizing it is now all over except the shouting.

Cal did pull one back on a mystery PK call by an otherwise pretty good ref, but a short time later LT hit a bomb from downtown, exploiting the Cal keeper's dual inability to either leap or judge a ball in flight to make it a 4-1 scoreline.

Side notes: Christen Press, in her role running the right flank, was up against a quality left back. Even so, CP turned her inside out a number of times, and could have subsequently made runs deep into the box to earn the choice to either shoot or pass from close range. Most of those times she elected to make the early pass into the box, which proved time and again to be too early.

Verloo is a very good player, but a little raw, as top freshmen tend to be. She was the beneficiary of KO's magnanimity in the second half, with KO forgoing an open net on the right to instead feed Verloo in the middle, who unfortunately sky-ed the sitter. She missed a couple sitters on the day, but hey, it happens.

LT did a very nice job of holding the ball in traffic up high, and laying off to runners to wreak havoc. Several other Stanford players, especially d-mids, would do well to emulate LT's ballholding exploits, which they are entirely capable of doing. They needn't get so rattled under pressure to only boot the ball aimlessly upfield.

The announcers said SU was playing a 4-3-3. Ok, whatever. I hardly saw more than three in the back. Frequently there were just two. And Stanford's forwards and a-mids change roles frequently. The announcers rightly stated that KO is not just a forward but a playmaker who "makes the whole team go". Interesting. It is PRECISELY this kind of player that the US WNT is sorely in need of.

Cal is not UCLA or UNC, but Cal is a quality side with some dangerous, tenacious players. For Stanford, this was a win over a quality side, and an arch-rival to boot.

Thoughts on Thoughts

DC United evaluating whether to keep coach Tommy Soehn. Whatever they decide is fine by me. All I want is, with a handful of exceptions, an entire roster of new players.

Tommy saw the writing on the wall and stepped down. I wish him the best, and I think he will land the coaching gig at another MLS team. Now DCU needs some players. And a coach. I am a little busy these days, so DCU should probably pick someone else, thanks.

UVA men ranked #10. Methinks that is a tad high. ACC tourney will likely bring that to light. I hope to get down to Charlottesville for their finale against NC State. UVA probably has one of the the finest college soccer facilities in the nation. Admission price is very low, soccer is good, and atmosphere is great.

I went down to UVA-land and saw them play NC State. UVA is overrated, probably about 8 positions too high. They have some good midfielders, they play nice team defense, but they have no pure strikers. The flanks are not involved enough, ESPECIALLY for what appeared to be a 3-5-2. #23 was dazzling for the first 15 minutes, then disappeared for the rest of the match. I seriously thinking about offering any willing UVA forward or A-mid, or *anybody* $20 to make a diagonal run. I saw only ONE all night.

The #7 shirt for NC State is the real deal. Dazzling dribbling skills, silky touch on the ball, and very clever. The problem is the rest of their team is not that good, and they had trouble getting him the ball. Most puzzlingly, NC State went down 1-0 in the first half, but played like they were *UP* 1-0 until very late into the 2nd half. State's game plan was clearly lacking.

UVA is not going to do anything this year in either the ACCs or the College Cup.

My strategy "How to beat Stanford" has failed a number of Stanford opponents in recent games. I therefore officially have no idea as to how to beat the SU women's soccer team. Except maybe to bunker 11 people behind the ball and try to get them to fire blanks from range. Problem is, give up corners or deep set pieces and all bets are off.

My ideas for beating Stanford certainly are lacking, but Cal's stratagem of talking smack about SU to the press before the game makes me look like a genius. That takes some doing, I assure you.

Many people, even some among their faithful, are writing off this year's UNC women's team. Fuggedaboudit. They will win the ACCs, which they have done *19 out of the last 21 times* the thing has been played. They will be in the Final Four. If two or three things go wrong against them, they win, regardless of opponent.

Cough-cough. They win the ACC. Again. UNC will top one of the NCAA brackets, and they will be in the Final Four, and I would not be surprised to see them in the final game. They could have lost three more games in the regular season than they did, and likely right now I'd be saying the same thing.

The conventional wisdom says "the level of play in MLS is much higher now than in the early years." Oh, really? Then how to explain the almost universal agreement that the 1998 DC United team was, by far, the best MLS team ever assembled? Or riddle me this -- why are 80% of MLS games so poorly, boringly played? Or tell me, grasshoppah, where are the Etcheverrys, Cienfuegos, Novaks, Valderramas, (young) Morenos, Diaz Arces, Lassiters? Now we have Barros Schellotto, Shalrie Joseph, and David Beckham. Great players, but there are too few of them. MLS, on balance, has treaded water or even declined a bit in the overall level of play department since its inception.

The level of play in the playoffs has ranged from average to awful. It is time for that league to get some more quality players.

Chelsea and Barcelona play soccer that is simply dazzling.Lionel Messi is quite possibly the best soccer player the world has ever seen. 'Nuff said.Didier Drogba is probably the best pure striker in the game today, and one of the best ever.

And Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead. (Line from the 70's. Sorry.)

Somebody on bigsoccer said so-and-so is a "better target forward" than Kelley O'Hara. Man, stuff like that gets my goat. News Flash: Target forward is just one of many KO roles. She can defend. I can count on one had the number of college forwards who can defend. She can create out of the midfield. She has a silky touch on the ball and can run at defenders with the ball at her feet. She can torch you along the endline. She strikes the ball soundly, with power and accuracy, and doesn't take an hour to settle the ball first. She makes her whole team go. Oh, and she does do that "target forward" thing of running onto long balls out of the back, blowing by her marker, and burying the round thing in the back of the ol' onion bag better than anyone in the college game. If all she had to do was be a "target forward" she could probably do that while eating a ham sandwich and a bag of chips. A word to the wise at any WPS team -- draft this player, put the number 10 shirt on her back and tell her, "This is your team. Do whatever you need to/want to to Make it Go." Then make room in the trophy case.

"Target forward". Give me a break.

Heh-heh-heh. Hats never should have gone out of style. :-)

My analysis of the SU-CAl match coming soon.

I'm gonna take things one thought at a time today.

DC United evaluating whether to keep coach Tommy Soehn. Whatever they decide is fine by me. All I want is, with a handful of exceptions, an entire roster of new players.

UVA men ranked #10. Methinks that is a tad high. ACC tourney will likely bring that to light. I hope to get down to Charlottesville for their finale against NC State. UVA probably has one of the the finest college soccer facilities in the nation. Admission price is very low, soccer is good, and atmosphere is great.

My strategy "How to beat Stanford" has failed a number of Stanford opponents in recent games. I therefore officially have no idea as to how to beat the SU women's soccer team. Except maybe to bunker 11 people behind the ball and try to get them to fire blanks from range. Problem is, give up corners or deep set pieces and all bets are off.

Many people, even some among their faithful, are writing off this year's UNC women's team. Fuggedaboudit. They will win the ACCs, which they have done *19 out of the last 21 times* the thing has been played. They will be in the Final Four. If two or three things go wrong against them, they win, regardless of opponent.

The conventional wisdom says "the level of play in MLS is much higher now than in the early years." Oh, really? Then how to explain the almost universal agreement that the 1998 DC United team was, by far, the best MLS team ever assembled? Or riddle me this -- why are 80% of MLS games so poorly, boringly played? Or tell me, grasshoppah, where are the Etcheverrys, Cienfuegos, Novaks, Valderramas, (young) Morenos, Diaz Arces, Lassiters? Now we have Barros Schellotto, Shalrie Joseph, and David Beckham. Great players, but there are too few of them. MLS, on balance, has treaded water or even declined a bit in the overall level of play department since its inception.

Chelsea and Barcelona play soccer that is simply dazzling.

Lionel Messi is quite possibly the best soccer player the world has ever seen. 'Nuff said.

Didier Drogba is probably the best pure striker in the game today, and one of the best ever.

I really like European soccer, especially EPL and Primera, but I just have no real emotional connection to any of those teams. I don't live in Europe. But I do tune in for the soccer.

Somebody on bigsoccer said so-and-so is a "better target forward" than Kelley O'Hara. Man, stuff like that gets my goat. News Flash: Target forward is just one of many KO roles. She can defend. I can count on one had the number of college forwards who can defend. She can create out of the midfield. She has a silky touch on the ball and can run at defenders with the ball at her feet. She can torch you along the endline. She strikes the ball soundly, with power and accuracy, and doesn't take an hour to settle the ball first. She makes her whole team go. Oh, and she does do that "target forward" thing of running onto long balls out of the back, blowing by her marker, and burying the round thing in the back of the ol' onion bag better than anyone in the college game. If all she had to do was be a "target forward" she could probably do that while eating a ham sandwich and a bag of chips. A word to the wise at any WPS team -- draft this player, put the number 10 shirt on her back and tell her, "This is your team. Do whatever you need to/want to to Make it Go." Then make room in the trophy case.

"Target forward". Give me a break.