10-05-2018, 11:54 AM
My misgivings about playing Oregon on their artificial turf in Eugene were fully borne out last night.
One of the biggest factors? Jaye Boissiere was in Palo Alto when the game kicked off. Undisclosed why, other than "rest."
But that took an already fragile midfield situation and made it that much worse.
Breide started in her place, with DiBiasi and Hiatt. But the team missed Boissiere's linking play tremendously. She's normally the transitional player between Hiatt's defensive midfield line and DiBiasi's attacking midfield role, and that just wasn't there last night.
Due credit to Oregon - they again pointed to Stanford's weakness against big, physical players pressuring the pass. But as those players tired, the Cardinal got more on the front foot, dominating the later stages of the game.
Of course, that dominance nearly bit them in the butt a couple of times - getting caught too far upfield and giving up a counter-attack. There was one that nearly won the game for the Ducks in the 87th or 88th minute, when a 3 on 3 ended with a ball chipped into the crease from the left endline, and a Duck forward getting in front of her defender to try a difficult flick shot. It was difficult, but she was absolutely clear directly in front of Rood, who started this game in place of Jahansouz.
That brings up one of the big things about the game. Ratcliffe substituted MUCH more heavily than has been his wont, either by design or looking for a spark off the bench as the game went longer and longer without a goal. Carly Malatsky saw her first extended action this season, and gave them some good runs and pressure.
Game-winner was (again) a sublime freekick by Macario. Haley drew the foul about 25 yards out on the left side of goal, taking a pretty brutal shoulder in the back from an Oregon defender as she tried to play a flick header through with her back to goal. (Side note: it was also the kind of call that the center ref hadn't been making all game, which was definitely to the Ducks' advantage.) Macario stepped up, curled the ball over the top of the wall, and brushed the underside of the crossbar in the near upper 90 (maybe 3 feet inside the post). The Ducks' keeper didn't have much of a chance.
Here's the thing: this was NOT the level of mismatch that games against the Ducks have been in the past, or that even other 1-0 Stanford wins this year have been. Oregon was compact, physical, and looking to counter, which is the best approach against the Cardinal. One big issue with Stanford's play out of the back is that goalie distribution (which was better from Rood, although she again threw the ball sideways on the very first play of the game, leading to Oregon pressuring and winning a turnover in Stanford's end) often leads to a methodical buildup, with multiple passes between the backline in Stanford's third of the field before finally moving the ball forward.
The problem with that is akin to women's basketball - it doesn't punish pressure. If your approach to pressure is to simply wait it out, then methodically move the ball forward, the opposing team doesn't pay a cost for having their forwards and mids upfield - they'll have time to retreat when the ball goes back to Girma, or Cook, or the GK.
Now, without a shot clock that's not as big of an issue as it is in WBB - you're not going to turn the ball over automatically, no matter how long you pass it around your backline. And if you can securely possess it, you can tire the other team out as they chase. But it's a balancing act, for sure, given the deadliness of a backline turnover in those situations.
In any case, a solid win (another top-25 RPI win, and on the road to boot). I was right about the dispositive game in Boulder - the Buffs took down the previously spotless Cougars 3-1. Oregon State is not as tough as Oregon, so hopefully the absence of Boissiere won't be as noticeable.
But her being out of the lineup today was a big problem. DiBiasi was not nearly as effective as she normally is without Jaye providing defensive cover and linking play. Breide had a tough game - it got to the point where I was expecting the announcer to say "Breide with a touch... and here's a counter-attacking opportunity for Oregon" - a lot of turnovers in the middle of the pitch. In general, the midfield as a whole, including subs, was not very effective.
And that's a problem. There's no "depth" to the threatening play from the Cardinal - at this point, it's all the forwards. Defenses are collapsing into the penalty area, taking away space from Macario, Haley, and Smith, and daring the midfield to shoot from outside. And they won't/can't punish them for it. We've had many more tight one-goal games this season, and OT wins, because the number of threats on the field isn't as high, and defenses can concentrate on doubling and tripling Catarina and Madison, and lately Sophia. I noticed in last week's game that the very well-prepared Toejam defense pretty much let our third midfielder (Breide, Goad, or whomever) have lots of space in the midfield, only trying to close them when they got near the top of the box. We need Jordan, or Jaye, or someone to start hitting on some shots from 23-24 yards out, or at least making that area and themselves threatening (and not by hitting a shot 5 yards wide or that bounces three times before settling in the keeper's arms).
And I know, they won the game. And they're undefeated. But they've set a high bar for themselves. The defense and forwards are operating at that level; Girma and Smith are playing like future WNT members. Hoping we can get the middle of the pitch clicking again.
VG
One of the biggest factors? Jaye Boissiere was in Palo Alto when the game kicked off. Undisclosed why, other than "rest."
But that took an already fragile midfield situation and made it that much worse.
Breide started in her place, with DiBiasi and Hiatt. But the team missed Boissiere's linking play tremendously. She's normally the transitional player between Hiatt's defensive midfield line and DiBiasi's attacking midfield role, and that just wasn't there last night.
Due credit to Oregon - they again pointed to Stanford's weakness against big, physical players pressuring the pass. But as those players tired, the Cardinal got more on the front foot, dominating the later stages of the game.
Of course, that dominance nearly bit them in the butt a couple of times - getting caught too far upfield and giving up a counter-attack. There was one that nearly won the game for the Ducks in the 87th or 88th minute, when a 3 on 3 ended with a ball chipped into the crease from the left endline, and a Duck forward getting in front of her defender to try a difficult flick shot. It was difficult, but she was absolutely clear directly in front of Rood, who started this game in place of Jahansouz.
That brings up one of the big things about the game. Ratcliffe substituted MUCH more heavily than has been his wont, either by design or looking for a spark off the bench as the game went longer and longer without a goal. Carly Malatsky saw her first extended action this season, and gave them some good runs and pressure.
Game-winner was (again) a sublime freekick by Macario. Haley drew the foul about 25 yards out on the left side of goal, taking a pretty brutal shoulder in the back from an Oregon defender as she tried to play a flick header through with her back to goal. (Side note: it was also the kind of call that the center ref hadn't been making all game, which was definitely to the Ducks' advantage.) Macario stepped up, curled the ball over the top of the wall, and brushed the underside of the crossbar in the near upper 90 (maybe 3 feet inside the post). The Ducks' keeper didn't have much of a chance.
Here's the thing: this was NOT the level of mismatch that games against the Ducks have been in the past, or that even other 1-0 Stanford wins this year have been. Oregon was compact, physical, and looking to counter, which is the best approach against the Cardinal. One big issue with Stanford's play out of the back is that goalie distribution (which was better from Rood, although she again threw the ball sideways on the very first play of the game, leading to Oregon pressuring and winning a turnover in Stanford's end) often leads to a methodical buildup, with multiple passes between the backline in Stanford's third of the field before finally moving the ball forward.
The problem with that is akin to women's basketball - it doesn't punish pressure. If your approach to pressure is to simply wait it out, then methodically move the ball forward, the opposing team doesn't pay a cost for having their forwards and mids upfield - they'll have time to retreat when the ball goes back to Girma, or Cook, or the GK.
Now, without a shot clock that's not as big of an issue as it is in WBB - you're not going to turn the ball over automatically, no matter how long you pass it around your backline. And if you can securely possess it, you can tire the other team out as they chase. But it's a balancing act, for sure, given the deadliness of a backline turnover in those situations.
In any case, a solid win (another top-25 RPI win, and on the road to boot). I was right about the dispositive game in Boulder - the Buffs took down the previously spotless Cougars 3-1. Oregon State is not as tough as Oregon, so hopefully the absence of Boissiere won't be as noticeable.
But her being out of the lineup today was a big problem. DiBiasi was not nearly as effective as she normally is without Jaye providing defensive cover and linking play. Breide had a tough game - it got to the point where I was expecting the announcer to say "Breide with a touch... and here's a counter-attacking opportunity for Oregon" - a lot of turnovers in the middle of the pitch. In general, the midfield as a whole, including subs, was not very effective.
And that's a problem. There's no "depth" to the threatening play from the Cardinal - at this point, it's all the forwards. Defenses are collapsing into the penalty area, taking away space from Macario, Haley, and Smith, and daring the midfield to shoot from outside. And they won't/can't punish them for it. We've had many more tight one-goal games this season, and OT wins, because the number of threats on the field isn't as high, and defenses can concentrate on doubling and tripling Catarina and Madison, and lately Sophia. I noticed in last week's game that the very well-prepared Toejam defense pretty much let our third midfielder (Breide, Goad, or whomever) have lots of space in the midfield, only trying to close them when they got near the top of the box. We need Jordan, or Jaye, or someone to start hitting on some shots from 23-24 yards out, or at least making that area and themselves threatening (and not by hitting a shot 5 yards wide or that bounces three times before settling in the keeper's arms).
And I know, they won the game. And they're undefeated. But they've set a high bar for themselves. The defense and forwards are operating at that level; Girma and Smith are playing like future WNT members. Hoping we can get the middle of the pitch clicking again.
VG