Here is the place for all other LU sponsored sports. Come here to post about: Men's/Women's Cross Country, Men's Golf, Men's/Women's Soccer, Men's/Women's Tennis, Men's/Women's Track & Field, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Swimming & Dive, Women's Volleyball

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By PING
Posts Posts
#587021
Solid regular season results for the women with 10 wins. A lot of the losses(except for UVA and VT) could have gone the other way and that win total could have realistically been a few games higher. Maybe some of that can be attributed to the coach adjusting things early in the season ahead of ASUN play.

The defense dominated league play and only gave up 2 regular season goals. Cora and Green dominated most of the season and B. Warren filled in exceptionally well for the injured Ellis at right back. The consistent effort of Kardos was unmatched by anyone on the team. Jayroe came up with huge saves at very important times in many games (ex. PK save vs FGCU.)

Some bright spots with freshmen Earnest and Spade contributing in the midfield throughout the season. Unfortunately Earnest got injured but her physical presence helped the flames control the midfield early in the season. Lawson filled in nicely, exhibited fight and connected passes. Spade controlled the tempo of the game at times with her ability to posses the ball and connect passes. E. Warren dominated the balls in the air and tackled with authority.

Jamieson's work rate up top and physicality helped the team wear on their opponents. Her 5 goals also helped secure key victories.

The rotation of Neef, Lam, Crutchfield caused problems for opponents as they each had different qualities. Crutchfield was able to play well with the midfield and had a nice goal at home. Lam added speed and moves that unsettled defenses.

Gabby dominated goal scoring for the team with 10 of the team's 25 goals. She often defeated double teams and had 7 game winning goals.

Wedemeyer will need a stud in the upcoming recruiting class to fill this HUGE hole after her graduation.

I'll add some general criticism (my own personal thoughts so feel free to disagree.) I thought the team struggled with their identity and playing style throughout the season. Many players were very 'direct" when it wasn't necessary. The team won the ball, made one pass, and often simply kicked it forward to the other team. TV commentators often made this observation so I know I'm not the only person that saw this. Hopefully some of the new recruits will have the ability to possess the ball.

I'm also not a big fan of the kick off play of just striking it deep in the corner. I understand trying to pin the opponent deep in their end but giving possession away so cheaply is just odd to me. Can't you at least pass the ball to a midfielder and have them kick it down there after your winger gets deep to challenge for the ball if you are going to go that route? When we did that vs UVA it wasn't intelligent as their backs had the ability to trap the ball and pass around us. I'm all for going forward. Tell Gabby and midfielders to dribble forward and not pass back, if pass back then send forward if you want to go that route. Instant turnovers are like telling a Quarterback in football to throw it to the other team on the first play. Nobody would do that. Why do we? Plus, why do we do it over and over? That is too predictable. At least have another option and vary it.

One last criticism of our attack. Most of the goals were individual efforts with very little buildup. We can beat weaker teams like this but if we ever want to compete with power 5 schools consistently we will need to increase our "team" goals where we pass, move, attack, and score together as organized/strong defenses can neutralize a single player. We often squeaked by with 1 goal wins when we should have dominated teams and scored many more. There were often very few diagonal runs in the attack to open space for teammates. Hopefully the attacking chemistry and play will improve with the upcoming recruiting class.
By PING
Posts Posts
#587072
RE recruits:
I didn't mention the need to replace E. Warren as holding midfielder next season. She will be missed for her ability to win balls in the air. Assuming Earnest recovers fully she will do nicely as her replacement. I think Lawson can fill the role too, I like her work rate and I thought(don't have stats) that she completed a lot more of her passes than others.

Wedemeyer will still need another recruit though in that spot to make sure he has alternative options for fatigue/injury.

Will need a holding midfielder to replace E. Warren. Ideally he finds someone who reads the game well, is strong, and I would especially like to have a player that can distribute the ball well. I prefer a player like Fernandiho(Man City) or Busquets(Barcelona), who can cover considerable distance and still complete a high percentage of passes. This pivot position is key to switching play and making teams chase. Of course, finding that player in the women's game is a challenge. Florida state has a player like this in Jaelin Howell. Size, strength, endurance, and she can play. Winning headers is important, but I think it is even better when we win headers and maintain possession. Hitting the ball directly back at the other team is better than having the ball go towards our goal but if we can keep the ball that is even better.
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