[OCcardinal]

First half was Stanford’s worst of the season by far - the ball was flying around everywhere and not in the good way. SMU pressed hard early and Stanford just kept coughing it up. As the half wore on, Stanford was at least able to push SMU back and then got the Sammy cross/shot goal. But it was ugly. 20+ minutes in shots were 3:3. 

Yes, SMU was pressing like crazy to start the game.  They weren't deep enough to keep that up for even a full half.  By the second half Stanford was able to dribble past the SMU players almost at will.  

Clemson did they opposite - they parked the bus for 75 minutes then pressed the last 15 minutes and were able to steal a tie.  Santa Clara used to give Stanford fits by pressing the whole game, but they don't have the depth any more.  Stanford may very well face an opponent who is able to press the whole game in, say, the 3rd round of NCAAs. I'm thankful for SMU for giving our starters some practice against that type of strategy.  It was key that Stanford didn't give up a goal in that first half.  Because then I'm sure SMU would have just parked the bus the rest of the way.

[OCcardinal]

First half was Stanford’s worst of the season by far - the ball was flying around everywhere and not in the good way. SMU pressed hard early and Stanford just kept coughing it up. As the half wore on, Stanford was at least able to push SMU back and then got the Sammy cross/shot goal. But it was ugly. 20+ minutes in shots were 3:3. 

Yes, SMU was pressing like crazy to start the game.  They weren't deep enough to keep that up for even a full half.  By the second half Stanford was able to dribble past the SMU players almost at will.  

Clemson did they opposite - they parked the bus for 75 minutes then pressed the last 15 minutes and were able to steal a tie.  Santa Clara used to give Stanford fits by pressing the whole game, but they don't have the depth any more.  Stanford may very well face an opponent who is able to press the whole game in, say, the 3rd round of NCAAs. I'm thankful for SMU for giving our starters some practice against that type of strategy.  It was key that Stanford didn't give up a goal in that first half.  Because then I'm sure SMU would have just parked the bus the rest of the way.