12-10-2017, 02:08 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-10-2017, 02:12 PM by Viking_Guy.)
Okay, the second half was a back and forth affair. Stanford had the bulk of possession, but several times one of our outside backs or midfielders got caught too far up the pitch and gave the Hoosiers space to work in, and they counterattacked. Not effectively :), but they counterattacked.
Their one really good chance was a throughball in the 5th minute of the first overtime, when Marion got knocked off the ball trying to go forward, and the Hoosiers sent the ball in behind Beason on the left side, but Corti was quick off his line to smother it before Rennicks could run onto a shot.
The officiating was okay - there was a standard of physical contact allowed that favored the Hoosiers, a bigger team, but it was consistent. But the yellow card on Skundrich in the 88th minute was crap, sold by an overly dramatic collapse to the turf. Indiana's Toy was good at that.
That said, if Bryce Marion tried the same "push the ball outside and try to run past my defender" one more time, I was going to get upset. At both the officiating and him - he was getting bodied and held off the ball, but it hadn't been called all day, and he was ending up on the ground and out of the play time after time.
Did anyone see the clash that led to Sam Werner being booed by the Indiana crowd all day? The camera cut away on a ball in the midfield as Werner ran up the left flank in the first half, and then on a wide shot an Indiana player was on the ground. But he became the Hoosier fans' special friend for the day at that point. Which makes the denouement all the more delicious :).
The goal was a good encapsulation of the reason Stanford both had the advantage and won. Indiana, UNLESS they had a long spell of possession, refused to commit many people forward to the attack. I can remember a couple of counter-attacks by the Hoosiers that started off 2 v 3 or 3 v 3. Then a few seconds would go by, and it would be 3 v 5. Then 3 v 6. Then 3 v 7. With nary a Hoosier midfielder to be seen. They just weren't coming forward unless the ball started with them in possession and moving it through the midfield. The only other exceptions were set pieces, which was why my heart was in my throat on every corner and foul called, especially the one on Skundrich in the 88th.
Stanford, OTOH, COMMITS. They go forward in numbers, counting on their defense to cover for long enough for them to recover if necessary, but also giving them high pressure and the chance to generate chances in the opponents' end. Which is exactly how the goal was scored - Stanford had four players in the opponents' box on a half-chance out of a throw-in in the corner, and Werner committed to the tackle. Indiana's defender Dorsey tried to play around him, and Sam stuck a leg in, won the ball, then hit a reaction shot through Indiana's two center backs and over the keeper into the underside of the crossbar and in. If Dorsey had gotten around Warner, he would have had a lot of space. But Sam, as with his teammates, was willing to take that chance that Indiana, for the most part, was not.
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/93...IOtoNG.mp4
All in all, a deserved result, and great not to go to PKs.
I was reading some of the other college soccer forums, and all the ACC fans were complaining about how Gunn's style is driving people away from watching soccer. I was wondering what recreational pharmaceuticals they were employing, but kept it shut. I think they were mistaking going to PKs for being happy going to PKs, and complaining about a smothering defense. Would you rather watch Indiana play - yes, some pretty passing, but a whole lot of pointless possession, or Stanford, who may not play pretty, but play FAST and ATTACK? I found it especially rich given the Hoosiers' utter indifference to offense after scoring 1 goal in the semi. I don't think I've ever seen Stanford content with 1 goal until the last 2-3 minutes of a match.
And that brings up my biggest reason for liking the Cardinal - WORK RATE. Stanford may very well be the hardest working soccer team I've ever seen - forward on offense, high pressure on the opponents, getting back and into shape on defense, and covering for each other as necessary. That goes to the team's fitness and motivation - and that's the coaches motivating and training, and the players buying in. As a keeper, I always thought work rate was the best thing that could be said about a player - he's got a good motor. That describes Langsdorf, Skundrich, Gilbey, Werner, Baird, pretty much the entire team. And I think it also sets the substitution patterns - the harder you work, the more minutes you see.
3 in a row, for the second time ever (the first being Arena's Virginia teams). First holders of both the men's and women's championships in the same year (Stanford - the pinnacle of college soccer!). Now over 1200 minutes (1214, to be precise) without conceding in championship play.
What a program. What a team.
Go Card!
VG
Their one really good chance was a throughball in the 5th minute of the first overtime, when Marion got knocked off the ball trying to go forward, and the Hoosiers sent the ball in behind Beason on the left side, but Corti was quick off his line to smother it before Rennicks could run onto a shot.
The officiating was okay - there was a standard of physical contact allowed that favored the Hoosiers, a bigger team, but it was consistent. But the yellow card on Skundrich in the 88th minute was crap, sold by an overly dramatic collapse to the turf. Indiana's Toy was good at that.
That said, if Bryce Marion tried the same "push the ball outside and try to run past my defender" one more time, I was going to get upset. At both the officiating and him - he was getting bodied and held off the ball, but it hadn't been called all day, and he was ending up on the ground and out of the play time after time.
Did anyone see the clash that led to Sam Werner being booed by the Indiana crowd all day? The camera cut away on a ball in the midfield as Werner ran up the left flank in the first half, and then on a wide shot an Indiana player was on the ground. But he became the Hoosier fans' special friend for the day at that point. Which makes the denouement all the more delicious :).
The goal was a good encapsulation of the reason Stanford both had the advantage and won. Indiana, UNLESS they had a long spell of possession, refused to commit many people forward to the attack. I can remember a couple of counter-attacks by the Hoosiers that started off 2 v 3 or 3 v 3. Then a few seconds would go by, and it would be 3 v 5. Then 3 v 6. Then 3 v 7. With nary a Hoosier midfielder to be seen. They just weren't coming forward unless the ball started with them in possession and moving it through the midfield. The only other exceptions were set pieces, which was why my heart was in my throat on every corner and foul called, especially the one on Skundrich in the 88th.
Stanford, OTOH, COMMITS. They go forward in numbers, counting on their defense to cover for long enough for them to recover if necessary, but also giving them high pressure and the chance to generate chances in the opponents' end. Which is exactly how the goal was scored - Stanford had four players in the opponents' box on a half-chance out of a throw-in in the corner, and Werner committed to the tackle. Indiana's defender Dorsey tried to play around him, and Sam stuck a leg in, won the ball, then hit a reaction shot through Indiana's two center backs and over the keeper into the underside of the crossbar and in. If Dorsey had gotten around Warner, he would have had a lot of space. But Sam, as with his teammates, was willing to take that chance that Indiana, for the most part, was not.
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/93...IOtoNG.mp4
All in all, a deserved result, and great not to go to PKs.
I was reading some of the other college soccer forums, and all the ACC fans were complaining about how Gunn's style is driving people away from watching soccer. I was wondering what recreational pharmaceuticals they were employing, but kept it shut. I think they were mistaking going to PKs for being happy going to PKs, and complaining about a smothering defense. Would you rather watch Indiana play - yes, some pretty passing, but a whole lot of pointless possession, or Stanford, who may not play pretty, but play FAST and ATTACK? I found it especially rich given the Hoosiers' utter indifference to offense after scoring 1 goal in the semi. I don't think I've ever seen Stanford content with 1 goal until the last 2-3 minutes of a match.
And that brings up my biggest reason for liking the Cardinal - WORK RATE. Stanford may very well be the hardest working soccer team I've ever seen - forward on offense, high pressure on the opponents, getting back and into shape on defense, and covering for each other as necessary. That goes to the team's fitness and motivation - and that's the coaches motivating and training, and the players buying in. As a keeper, I always thought work rate was the best thing that could be said about a player - he's got a good motor. That describes Langsdorf, Skundrich, Gilbey, Werner, Baird, pretty much the entire team. And I think it also sets the substitution patterns - the harder you work, the more minutes you see.
3 in a row, for the second time ever (the first being Arena's Virginia teams). First holders of both the men's and women's championships in the same year (Stanford - the pinnacle of college soccer!). Now over 1200 minutes (1214, to be precise) without conceding in championship play.
What a program. What a team.
Go Card!
VG