[Viking_Guy]

Jordan Morris gets behind the defense and tucks a ball home inside the right post early in the second half.

Ohio State is not in a full bunker, but is essentially playing 10 people behind the ball.  We'll see if they open up a bit having gone down a goal.

EDIT:  Goal remniscent of the UCSB game - lofted ball falls and the lone Buckeye forward goes up and pops a header over Epstein and just under the ball beating both Stanford center backs.

27 minutes left in regulation.

EDIT2: And Morris does it again.  After some severe pressure from Ohio State, Stanford works the ball down the right side.  Skunrich overlapped and touched the ball into Bashti (more on him in a bit), who has a nice bit of close control about 7 yards outside the near post.  He then delivered a wonderful backheel that found Morris closely marked just outside the crease.  Jordan controlled, turned, and his defender didn't dive in.  Morris then hit an absolutely gorgeous ball, from about 8 yards closely marked, using the outside of his right foot to crush the curving ball around his defender and into the upper left corner of the net.  Look for the replay, because it was just a wonderful finish.

The game is now getting REALLY physical.

EDIT3: And Corey Baird finishes it off, getting free in the center of the box against an Ohio State defense that was pushing forward and beating the keeper from 16 yards lower left.

VG

[Viking_Guy]

Jordan Morris gets behind the defense and tucks a ball home inside the right post early in the second half.

Ohio State is not in a full bunker, but is essentially playing 10 people behind the ball.  We'll see if they open up a bit having gone down a goal.

EDIT:  Goal remniscent of the UCSB game - lofted ball falls and the lone Buckeye forward goes up and pops a header over Epstein and just under the ball beating both Stanford center backs.

27 minutes left in regulation.

EDIT2: And Morris does it again.  After some severe pressure from Ohio State, Stanford works the ball down the right side.  Skunrich overlapped and touched the ball into Bashti (more on him in a bit), who has a nice bit of close control about 7 yards outside the near post.  He then delivered a wonderful backheel that found Morris closely marked just outside the crease.  Jordan controlled, turned, and his defender didn't dive in.  Morris then hit an absolutely gorgeous ball, from about 8 yards closely marked, using the outside of his right foot to crush the curving ball around his defender and into the upper left corner of the net.  Look for the replay, because it was just a wonderful finish.

The game is now getting REALLY physical.

EDIT3: And Corey Baird finishes it off, getting free in the center of the box against an Ohio State defense that was pushing forward and beating the keeper from 16 yards lower left.

VG

[fullmetal]

Here's hoping we beat them in this futbol contest :)

[fullmetal]

Here's hoping we beat them in this futbol contest :)

[Viking_Guy]

Really, do look for a highlight of the Morris gamewinner.  I'll post it here when I see it, but it was truly a special finish off a great feed from Bashti.

Speaking of Amir:  he's a great player, truly gifted on the ball, and technical in a way that is rare in college soccer.

But he's gotta stop the diving/embellishment.  He drew a yellow tonight for an obvious dive midway through the second half.  He's so small and slight of build that it doesn't take a lot of contact to knock him down, but strong breezes seem to put him on the ground at points.

I know this, because I watch my similarly undersized nephew hit the ground a lot for his team.  And then smile when he draws a foul.

So, Stanford to take on top-ranked Wake Forest on the road in the Elite Eight next Friday or Saturday in Winston-Salem.  The Deacons beat perennial power Indiana 1-0 earlier today on an 88th minute shot.  Interestingly, the goal was assisted by Wake Forest's Ian Harkes, son of John Harkes of the USMNT, born in England while the elder Harkes played in the EPL.

The Deacons have lost 2 home games this season, so it's doable.  And the way Stanford is playing right now, they're dangerous to anyone.

Gameball should go to Morris, for both goals, but especially the ridiculous second.  But I'd like to give a strong nod in the direction of Ty Thompson, the tireless workhorse of a holding midfielder (read: destroyer) playing in front of the Cardinal backline.  It's difficult to keep track of the number of times Thompson cuts off the pass, cuts in front of a player who takes too long of a dribble, and utterly disrupts the ability of teams to transition from the midfield into the offensive third.  Tonight, a good Ohio State team only really continually threatened for two periods - the last 10 minutes of the first half and the middle 20 of the second (from the go-ahead goal to Morris' second).  Other than that, it was mostly dump and chase, or try to hit a long ball over the top to their lone forward, which admittedly worked once.  But a lot of the time, it was Thompson cutting the ball out at midfield and putting the Cardinal right back into the offensive flow.

Other than the women's soccer match, not a bad weekend for the Cardinal sports fan!

VG

[Viking_Guy]

Really, do look for a highlight of the Morris gamewinner.  I'll post it here when I see it, but it was truly a special finish off a great feed from Bashti.

Speaking of Amir:  he's a great player, truly gifted on the ball, and technical in a way that is rare in college soccer.

But he's gotta stop the diving/embellishment.  He drew a yellow tonight for an obvious dive midway through the second half.  He's so small and slight of build that it doesn't take a lot of contact to knock him down, but strong breezes seem to put him on the ground at points.

I know this, because I watch my similarly undersized nephew hit the ground a lot for his team.  And then smile when he draws a foul.

So, Stanford to take on top-ranked Wake Forest on the road in the Elite Eight next Friday or Saturday in Winston-Salem.  The Deacons beat perennial power Indiana 1-0 earlier today on an 88th minute shot.  Interestingly, the goal was assisted by Wake Forest's Ian Harkes, son of John Harkes of the USMNT, born in England while the elder Harkes played in the EPL.

The Deacons have lost 2 home games this season, so it's doable.  And the way Stanford is playing right now, they're dangerous to anyone.

Gameball should go to Morris, for both goals, but especially the ridiculous second.  But I'd like to give a strong nod in the direction of Ty Thompson, the tireless workhorse of a holding midfielder (read: destroyer) playing in front of the Cardinal backline.  It's difficult to keep track of the number of times Thompson cuts off the pass, cuts in front of a player who takes too long of a dribble, and utterly disrupts the ability of teams to transition from the midfield into the offensive third.  Tonight, a good Ohio State team only really continually threatened for two periods - the last 10 minutes of the first half and the middle 20 of the second (from the go-ahead goal to Morris' second).  Other than that, it was mostly dump and chase, or try to hit a long ball over the top to their lone forward, which admittedly worked once.  But a lot of the time, it was Thompson cutting the ball out at midfield and putting the Cardinal right back into the offensive flow.

Other than the women's soccer match, not a bad weekend for the Cardinal sports fan!

VG

[washingtonismoney]

I suspect Bashti falls over so frequently because:

a) his physicality, or lack thereof
b) he wasn't getting whistles early in the year

So I imagine he feels aggrieved by that.

[washingtonismoney]

I suspect Bashti falls over so frequently because:

a) his physicality, or lack thereof
b) he wasn't getting whistles early in the year

So I imagine he feels aggrieved by that.

[Viking_Guy]

Here's the highlights:

http://pac-12.com/videos/highlights-stan...aterfinals

The Morris second goal sequence starts at about 1:29.  The first was off a wonderful assist by Eric Verso, who will definitely be missed next year, a weighted ball in behind the defense right on to Morris' stride.

The Morris goal shows both his strength and his weakness - he's got a wonderful right foot and a subpar left - the first half highlight shows him again trying to curve the ball around a keeper with his outside right foot rather than striking with his left.

But man, that was a pretty finish.

VG

[Viking_Guy]

Here's the highlights:

http://pac-12.com/videos/highlights-stan...aterfinals

The Morris second goal sequence starts at about 1:29.  The first was off a wonderful assist by Eric Verso, who will definitely be missed next year, a weighted ball in behind the defense right on to Morris' stride.

The Morris goal shows both his strength and his weakness - he's got a wonderful right foot and a subpar left - the first half highlight shows him again trying to curve the ball around a keeper with his outside right foot rather than striking with his left.

But man, that was a pretty finish.

VG

[BobK]

Top Drawer now ranks Stanford # 1 in the nation. 

[BobK]

Top Drawer now ranks Stanford # 1 in the nation.