[washingtonismoney]

Stanford's offense sputtered when it got close to the penalty box for most of the half, unable to produce decent shots. (There were some speculative long-range bombs...) That started to solve itself late in the half as the team produced two solid opportunities within the penalty box, but overall, offensively, the team looks like it's sorting itself out without Morris to provide a potent threat.

Defensively Penn State produced zero. This was particularly embarrassing as Stanford was very committed to pressing high up the field, leaving its central defenders in one-on-one situations pretty frequently. Whatever the situation, Penn State looked pretty hapless.

The team is strong up the middle: good goalkeeper, good central defenders, good central midfielders, and a pretty solid #10 in Amir Bashti, who looks more explosive than he did last year. So this looks like a solid team that's a few steps behind the heights of last year. Plenty of time to figure things out, I suppose.

[washingtonismoney]

Stanford's offense sputtered when it got close to the penalty box for most of the half, unable to produce decent shots. (There were some speculative long-range bombs...) That started to solve itself late in the half as the team produced two solid opportunities within the penalty box, but overall, offensively, the team looks like it's sorting itself out without Morris to provide a potent threat.

Defensively Penn State produced zero. This was particularly embarrassing as Stanford was very committed to pressing high up the field, leaving its central defenders in one-on-one situations pretty frequently. Whatever the situation, Penn State looked pretty hapless.

The team is strong up the middle: good goalkeeper, good central defenders, good central midfielders, and a pretty solid #10 in Amir Bashti, who looks more explosive than he did last year. So this looks like a solid team that's a few steps behind the heights of last year. Plenty of time to figure things out, I suppose.

[washingtonismoney]

Game's gone to OT, still tied 0-0. Stanford was much better on offense, generating a lot of good opportunities -- and one should've-been-PK -- but they couldn't cash in.

[washingtonismoney]

Game's gone to OT, still tied 0-0. Stanford was much better on offense, generating a lot of good opportunities -- and one should've-been-PK -- but they couldn't cash in.

[washingtonismoney]

Ends in a tie. Think Stanford was the better team. Ah well, not a bad effort for the first game.

[washingtonismoney]

Ends in a tie. Think Stanford was the better team. Ah well, not a bad effort for the first game.

[DenverCard]

WIM,

While I write this with the mantras of "It's only the first game," "Don't be such a pessimist," and "Last year was very special" resounding in my head, I'm thinking there will be a lot of 1-0 games this year, and that we can only hope that our boys will be the goal-scoring team most of the time.  Tonight, the team seemed both raggedy and lacking apart from the strengths in the central defense as you pointed out.  The most skilled players -- the B's, Baird and Bashti -- are lacking in athleticism, and the rest of the team seems a step behind last year's in skills.  The team didn't possess the ball well tonight, which I think is a good measure of its collective skills.  Up front, the team is small (except for Colin Hyatt), and I can't recall a dangerous cross except for the one that Langsdorf headed off a bounce.

I am not as sanguine about Bashti as you and Chris Sullivan are.  It seems to me that Bashti needs an alpha striker to work off of in order to thrive, and that without Jordan Morris, he won't be very effective.

I did like what I saw in Bryce Marion, apart from his being a bit out of control, and I like that Sam Werner is willing to attack the defender.  And I realize that a case could be made for Stanford being awarded two PKs.  That, plus a different result on Marion's shot that hit the post, and we have a 3-0 game, and all my concerns are put aside while I wonder if I'll be able to travel to Houston the first week in December.  As it stands, though, I think a 3rd or 4th place finish in the Pac-12 (Soccer 6) is a likely outcome.

By the way, I'm not much of a fan of Chris Sullivan.  Endless platitudes and other empty statements.  I recall criticism of Cobi Jones last year, but he makes more interesting observations.

But most of the time I barely heard the commentators, as I kept hearing the same words: It's only the first game.  Don't be such a pessimist....

[DenverCard]

WIM,

While I write this with the mantras of "It's only the first game," "Don't be such a pessimist," and "Last year was very special" resounding in my head, I'm thinking there will be a lot of 1-0 games this year, and that we can only hope that our boys will be the goal-scoring team most of the time.  Tonight, the team seemed both raggedy and lacking apart from the strengths in the central defense as you pointed out.  The most skilled players -- the B's, Baird and Bashti -- are lacking in athleticism, and the rest of the team seems a step behind last year's in skills.  The team didn't possess the ball well tonight, which I think is a good measure of its collective skills.  Up front, the team is small (except for Colin Hyatt), and I can't recall a dangerous cross except for the one that Langsdorf headed off a bounce.

I am not as sanguine about Bashti as you and Chris Sullivan are.  It seems to me that Bashti needs an alpha striker to work off of in order to thrive, and that without Jordan Morris, he won't be very effective.

I did like what I saw in Bryce Marion, apart from his being a bit out of control, and I like that Sam Werner is willing to attack the defender.  And I realize that a case could be made for Stanford being awarded two PKs.  That, plus a different result on Marion's shot that hit the post, and we have a 3-0 game, and all my concerns are put aside while I wonder if I'll be able to travel to Houston the first week in December.  As it stands, though, I think a 3rd or 4th place finish in the Pac-12 (Soccer 6) is a likely outcome.

By the way, I'm not much of a fan of Chris Sullivan.  Endless platitudes and other empty statements.  I recall criticism of Cobi Jones last year, but he makes more interesting observations.

But most of the time I barely heard the commentators, as I kept hearing the same words: It's only the first game.  Don't be such a pessimist....

[DenverCard]

By the way, does anyone know what became of Mark Verso?  He got a fair amount of playing time last year as a substitute, and I expected that he'd likely start this year.  I think he'd have been a senior.

[DenverCard]

By the way, does anyone know what became of Mark Verso?  He got a fair amount of playing time last year as a substitute, and I expected that he'd likely start this year.  I think he'd have been a senior.

[Spiny_Norman]

They said on the broadcast and I had to verify but it is true - over the past 13 years, Stanford MSoc has won its season opening game once.

[Spiny_Norman]

They said on the broadcast and I had to verify but it is true - over the past 13 years, Stanford MSoc has won its season opening game once.