12-10-2017, 12:01 PM
Halftime, 0-0.
Indiana controlled the opening 10-15 minutes with possession, and really switched the ball well. They used the Stanford aggressiveness on defense in the midfield with some nice horizontal runs that gave them good change of field, but Stanford's organization for the most part denied any really good chances. The Hoosiers got into space on the wings for crosses, but didn't get a lot of them off cleanly or well.
The latter portions of the half, Stanford began to gain momentum. As mentioned, Marion's diagonal run (and him tucking inside to compress Indiana's width). The turning shot by Langsdorf. And several scrambles in the box - Stanford had 3-4 corners to 0 for the Hoosiers.
The one caveat - the one thing Indiana is doing really well is controlling the air in the midfield - other than Tomas, they are winning the aerial battle. That means a lot of second balls are being settled nicely and turned immediately by the Hoosier midfield, leading to Stanford being out of shape for a few seconds. They haven't been able to take advantage of it yet, but that's the scenario that could generate the ball in behind from an unpressured midfielder.
Offensively, Stanford needs some more commitment from players other than Langsdorf - we've let running balls in the box get away from us because some people were hesitant to "get stuck in" for a physical challenge, trying to step over contact and leaving the ball.
All in all, a solid first half.
Go Card!
VG
Indiana controlled the opening 10-15 minutes with possession, and really switched the ball well. They used the Stanford aggressiveness on defense in the midfield with some nice horizontal runs that gave them good change of field, but Stanford's organization for the most part denied any really good chances. The Hoosiers got into space on the wings for crosses, but didn't get a lot of them off cleanly or well.
The latter portions of the half, Stanford began to gain momentum. As mentioned, Marion's diagonal run (and him tucking inside to compress Indiana's width). The turning shot by Langsdorf. And several scrambles in the box - Stanford had 3-4 corners to 0 for the Hoosiers.
The one caveat - the one thing Indiana is doing really well is controlling the air in the midfield - other than Tomas, they are winning the aerial battle. That means a lot of second balls are being settled nicely and turned immediately by the Hoosier midfield, leading to Stanford being out of shape for a few seconds. They haven't been able to take advantage of it yet, but that's the scenario that could generate the ball in behind from an unpressured midfielder.
Offensively, Stanford needs some more commitment from players other than Langsdorf - we've let running balls in the box get away from us because some people were hesitant to "get stuck in" for a physical challenge, trying to step over contact and leaving the ball.
All in all, a solid first half.
Go Card!
VG