[DenverCard]

Valiant effort by our guys, but highly undermanned.  By virtue of their having advanced to the College Cup, I temporarily forgot how much this team overachieved in results relative to talent.  Although Georgetown dominated to a greater extent than any previous team Stanford played this year, the game was not qualitatively different than many this year, including Clemson, both games against Washington, the loss against Cal, and to some degree games against UCLA and Oregon State.  Stanford has struggled greatly to build anything from the back and/or to put together a series of passes to break down a defense in the offensive zone.  Instead, it's been a lot of blast it out from the back and hope for the best.  Even against lesser teams, like American University, San Jose State, and USF (and San Diego State, as well), Stanford struggled to score goals.  Despite the success they  ultimately enjoyed, this was a tough team to watch this year.

Looking forward, I think Gunn will need to allow his defenders to play with the ball a bit more.  Keegan Hughes, in particular, seemed to be on a very short leash, as throughout the year, he almost invariably looked to pass it laterally or backwards when he had the ball.  Keegan Tingey looks like he could do more with the ball, and Ryan Ludwick, who played some midfield last year, was brought on tonight to be a more offensive defender once the team fell behind 2-0. But this year, the ball was treated like a hot potato in the defensive end, which translated to a very anemic offense.

With that said, Panchot is on the other extreme -- a midfielder playing the role of a defender.  Seems to me he's a player without a position.  Good competitor, powerful leg, but does not have the mindset or skills of a defender;  however, he lacks the quickness for midfield.

Jared Gilbey acquitted himself well in this game, and almost scored his first Stanford goal tonight.  But he seems terribly risk aversive.  None of the central midfielders -- Gilbey, Waldeck, or Cilley -- are the type that can threaten and break down a defense.

It seems that in college soccer, teams are sometimes faced with choosing athleticism or skill, but compared to the better teams they played, this year's version of Stanford seemed lacking in both, with some notable exceptions.  Budda is amazing -- just hoping he's locked into the 40 year decision.  Gabe Segal seemed underused this year.

Stanford is slated to have a good recruiting class, although it looks like they recently lost their highest ranking recruit, who had committed very early to Stanford, to Yale.  (He's from Connecticut, I believe.)  I learned that from what I read behind a paywall, so I'd better not say more.  A lot of teams, including Santa Barbara, St. Mary's, Oregon State, Clemson, get a lot of talent from overseas.  Perhaps we have a soccer stealth or two like Andrew Thomas flying under the radar, and we will enjoy an infusion of talent for next year.   But if we don't see a step-up in our skill level, perhaps from our American recruits who may be underestimated, it's going to be a lot of 1-0 grinders for the foreseeable future.

[DenverCard]

Valiant effort by our guys, but highly undermanned.  By virtue of their having advanced to the College Cup, I temporarily forgot how much this team overachieved in results relative to talent.  Although Georgetown dominated to a greater extent than any previous team Stanford played this year, the game was not qualitatively different than many this year, including Clemson, both games against Washington, the loss against Cal, and to some degree games against UCLA and Oregon State.  Stanford has struggled greatly to build anything from the back and/or to put together a series of passes to break down a defense in the offensive zone.  Instead, it's been a lot of blast it out from the back and hope for the best.  Even against lesser teams, like American University, San Jose State, and USF (and San Diego State, as well), Stanford struggled to score goals.  Despite the success they  ultimately enjoyed, this was a tough team to watch this year.

Looking forward, I think Gunn will need to allow his defenders to play with the ball a bit more.  Keegan Hughes, in particular, seemed to be on a very short leash, as throughout the year, he almost invariably looked to pass it laterally or backwards when he had the ball.  Keegan Tingey looks like he could do more with the ball, and Ryan Ludwick, who played some midfield last year, was brought on tonight to be a more offensive defender once the team fell behind 2-0. But this year, the ball was treated like a hot potato in the defensive end, which translated to a very anemic offense.

With that said, Panchot is on the other extreme -- a midfielder playing the role of a defender.  Seems to me he's a player without a position.  Good competitor, powerful leg, but does not have the mindset or skills of a defender;  however, he lacks the quickness for midfield.

Jared Gilbey acquitted himself well in this game, and almost scored his first Stanford goal tonight.  But he seems terribly risk aversive.  None of the central midfielders -- Gilbey, Waldeck, or Cilley -- are the type that can threaten and break down a defense.

It seems that in college soccer, teams are sometimes faced with choosing athleticism or skill, but compared to the better teams they played, this year's version of Stanford seemed lacking in both, with some notable exceptions.  Budda is amazing -- just hoping he's locked into the 40 year decision.  Gabe Segal seemed underused this year.

Stanford is slated to have a good recruiting class, although it looks like they recently lost their highest ranking recruit, who had committed very early to Stanford, to Yale.  (He's from Connecticut, I believe.)  I learned that from what I read behind a paywall, so I'd better not say more.  A lot of teams, including Santa Barbara, St. Mary's, Oregon State, Clemson, get a lot of talent from overseas.  Perhaps we have a soccer stealth or two like Andrew Thomas flying under the radar, and we will enjoy an infusion of talent for next year.   But if we don't see a step-up in our skill level, perhaps from our American recruits who may be underestimated, it's going to be a lot of 1-0 grinders for the foreseeable future.