2021 Game Notes

[d4_Pace]

Hey coach I don't have time to go on a long diatribe here right now but i'm sure i'll squeeze it in down the road but heres a quick thought. Maybe consider differentiating passes in your own half versus the attacking half. In terms of the mental exercise I sometimes explain to people that are new to soccer that when you have the ball in your own half it is more akin to being on defense in how we think about other American sports. The odds of you passing the ball around the back four and then eventually scoring a goal are miniscule. Instead you are increasing your chances of winning not by scoring but by essentially preventing the other team from scoring.

[Gregory Sager]

@Backheal18  I don't disagree.  And I think most coaches, with a couple of exceptions want to do better than they do.  And sure, I know that recruiting a kids can be a tough proposition.  I guess what I am starting to think is that if you are Burnley, maybe aspire to be Aston Villa or Southampton first.  Not everyone can be Man City.

How many are Richmond?

(In the spirit of Walt Whitman, I'm just being curious, not judgmental. )

[Centennial1]

This thread is really distilling the beauty--and limitations--of D3 soccer. I love SCs work of putting data to what works at this level. D4s addition above is stated better than what I attempted before: holding the ball in the defensive third is not a huge challenge for a skillful and well-organized side, while doing so in the offensive third separates the greats from the rest. Turns out that playing football the 'right' way, vs. lump-n-dump are equally effective in D3 soccer at the top level.

One other comment in defense of D3 coaches who claim to want to teach the beautiful game: I coached for a decade in D3, and telling recruits that the team we coach strived to possess the ball and attack with control and creativity was aspirational and not a disingenuous sales pitch. With a few notable exceptions, that's the way we want to coach. Results may vary.

[PaulNewman]

Not an Amherst fan, but still.........


AMHERST, Mass. – Amherst College (4-1-0) blanked Saint Joseph's College (3-1-2), 3-0, in a non-conference men's soccer contest on Thursday afternoon.

Both teams entered the game ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Region I Poll, as Amherst is sixth and Saint Joseph's is seventh. One of the elite programs regionally and nationally, the Mammoths have participated in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 14 seasons and advanced to the 'Sweet 16' 11 years in a row.

Senior Jack O'Brien (Milton, Mass.) scored in the 42nd minute and the Mammoths netted a pair in the second stanza as freshman Ben Clark-Eden (Littlehampton, U.K.) and junior Ignacio Cubeddu (Davie, Fla.) hit pay dirt to account for the final score.

Amherst held the lead in shots (27-3), shots on goal (14-0), and corner kicks (4-0) on the afternoon. SJC graduate student David Walbridge (Hampden, Mass.) made 11 saves in the setback.

[SimpleCoach]

Hey coach I don't have time to go on a long diatribe here right now but i'm sure i'll squeeze it in down the road but heres a quick thought. Maybe consider differentiating passes in your own half versus the attacking half. In terms of the mental exercise I sometimes explain to people that are new to soccer that when you have the ball in your own half it is more akin to being on defense in how we think about other American sports. The odds of you passing the ball around the back four and then eventually scoring a goal are miniscule. Instead you are increasing your chances of winning not by scoring but by essentially preventing the other team from scoring.

@D4_Pace.  Thanks for the  observation.  There are multiple directions I could go with this.  Started out as pretty benign as just counting but find myself looking are different aspects, this could be one.  My only issue with this is that I am a 4 corners coach.  I don't care where you are on the field, if you are maintaining possession, you will invariably be in a better position to score, regardless of where you start your possession.  Will say, again, anecdotally, that yes, lots of teams pass around the back, then hoof it. But from what I watched those who do that generally speaking are lower down the pass ratio scale.  Maybe I will run an experiment and take a look at a game through that lens and see what it yields.

[OldNed]

Not an Amherst fan, but still.........


AMHERST, Mass. – Amherst College (4-1-0) blanked Saint Joseph's College (3-1-2), 3-0, in a non-conference men's soccer contest on Thursday afternoon.

Both teams entered the game ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Region I Poll, as Amherst is sixth and Saint Joseph's is seventh. One of the elite programs regionally and nationally, the Mammoths have participated in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 14 seasons and advanced to the 'Sweet 16' 11 years in a row.

Senior Jack O'Brien (Milton, Mass.) scored in the 42nd minute and the Mammoths netted a pair in the second stanza as freshman Ben Clark-Eden (Littlehampton, U.K.) and junior Ignacio Cubeddu (Davie, Fla.) hit pay dirt to account for the final score.

Amherst held the lead in shots (27-3), shots on goal (14-0), and corner kicks (4-0) on the afternoon. SJC graduate student David Walbridge (Hampden, Mass.) made 11 saves in the setback.

As many of you know, I am a former St. Joe's parent (my son graduated) and what was painfully clear to me is that there is a huge gap between St. Joe's and most of the top Nescac teams like Amherst or Tufts.  St. Joe's will do well in their conference and may win it and get to the NCAA tournament, but they simply are not good enough to play and beat really good teams.  Some may debate whether Amherst is in that category, but after watching them impose their will on St. Joe's, I'm convinced.

[SimpleCoach]

Wabash v Chicago
Wabash
Bias? – They have a good football team, and I went there on business ... a lot.

   This game is from September 3rd.  Interested in seeing what Chicago is made of.
   What a great little stadium from what I can tell.
   Both teams move the ball, but Chicago is much more effective and is getting into dangerous spots.
   Chicago recovers a bad ball about 25 yards out, gets it to the center mid #6 who hits a ball past the keeper for the go-ahead goal.  Wabash 0 Chicago 1.  I think his name is Ben and clearly his mom was at the game. 5 gone on the clock.
   Wabash struggles to gain some control beyond what they give them in the back.
   Chicago moves the ball well and forces them Wabash to sit deeper and deeper.  Not afraid to get it to the midfielders who get the ball moving up top.
   Most of the play is happening in the Wabash half.  Not even sure that in the first ten minutes the Chicago keeper has even touched the ball.
   Wabash is trying to play but Chicago closes space very effectively.  On the attack they spread the field very well.
   Wabash on one-on-one defending is not being effective.  Could stop a lot of forward movement if they could go in a little quicker.
   When Wabash gets the ball moving, they have some success getting through Chicago.  But this is few and far between.  18 minutes in.
   Chicago can play and think this is a top team.  And the numbers show it. 
   Wabash just not accurate on passing out of the back.  Chicago is waiting and forcing Wabash into very tight spaces.  That said, Chicago's back line is very organized and disciplined on both ends of the ball.  And team knows to be patient.
   Think Chicago can clean up some of the lost balls but think that's a function of moving forward and not sitting back.
   Chicago switches attack very well.  They never go back into pressure unless there is a legit opening.
   Wabash defense is doing Yeoman's work keeping Chicago at bay.
   Chicago is falling prey to guys wanting to do too much.  They were much more effective playing 2/3 touch.   25 minutes in.  When they do play quick, Wabash is playing catch up.
   Chicago is peppering Wabash, and they don't have an answer.  Usually would say at this point that it is a matter of when not if, but the shooting has been off.  So maybe there is Saran Wrap on the goal.
   I will say that for all the work, Chicago leaves a bit on the table.  Not lethal or cold blooded in front of goal.  Reminds me a bit like Messiah.  If they were as ruthless in front of goal as say Tufts, they would be awesome.  36 minutes in.
    Think that's it for me. 
   From a statistical stand point, this is what I got –
   For Wabash –
o   First Five Minutes
   23 Passes
   9 Passes defined as bad
   2.56:1 Pass Ratio
   And something new I looked at.... Of the 23 passes, only 5 were in Chicago's half
o   Second Five Minutes
   24 Passes
   3 Passes defined as bad
   8:1 Pass Ratio
   Of those 24 passes, none were in Chicago's half.
o   In Aggregate
   47 passes, 12 defined as bad.
   3.92:1 pass ratio
   Only 11% of their passes (5) were in Chicago's half.
   For Chicago –
o   First Five Minutes
   35 Passes
   4 Passes defined as bad
   8.75:1 Pass Ratio
   Of those 35 passes, 14 were in Wabash's half
o   Second Five Minutes
   30 Passes
   3 Passes defined as bad
   6.67:1 Pass Ratio
   Of those 20 passes, 15 were in Wabash's half
o   In Aggregate
   55 passes, 7 defined as bad.
   7.86:1 pass ratio
   53% of their passes (29) were in Wabash's half.
   That's speaks to Chicago's movement off the ball, and their precision passing. 
   Oh, and special thanks to @D4_Pace who suggested I track where the passes are made.  Will try to do this in future game reviews.  Think it is a good measure of relative dominance in a game.

[PaulNewman]

Not an Amherst fan, but still.........


AMHERST, Mass. – Amherst College (4-1-0) blanked Saint Joseph's College (3-1-2), 3-0, in a non-conference men's soccer contest on Thursday afternoon.

Both teams entered the game ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Region I Poll, as Amherst is sixth and Saint Joseph's is seventh. One of the elite programs regionally and nationally, the Mammoths have participated in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 14 seasons and advanced to the 'Sweet 16' 11 years in a row.

Senior Jack O'Brien (Milton, Mass.) scored in the 42nd minute and the Mammoths netted a pair in the second stanza as freshman Ben Clark-Eden (Littlehampton, U.K.) and junior Ignacio Cubeddu (Davie, Fla.) hit pay dirt to account for the final score.

Amherst held the lead in shots (27-3), shots on goal (14-0), and corner kicks (4-0) on the afternoon. SJC graduate student David Walbridge (Hampden, Mass.) made 11 saves in the setback.

As many of you know, I am a former St. Joe's parent (my son graduated) and what was painfully clear to me is that there is a huge gap between St. Joe's and most of the top Nescac teams like Amherst or Tufts.  St. Joe's will do well in their conference and may win it and get to the NCAA tournament, but they simply are not good enough to play and beat really good teams.  Some may debate whether Amherst is in that category, but after watching them impose their will on St. Joe's, I'm convinced.

ON, thanks for chiming in.  Those of us following along in New England for at least a few years know that St Joe's has emerged as a very good D3 program that has caused some damage in recent NCAA tourneys, and if iirc took Tufts to PKs.  I would have presumed a very tight match with Amherst likely pulling out a 1-0 or 2-1 win.  There are obviously any number of data points, but aside from Amherst's passing performance or lack thereof they obviously found a way to thoroughly overwhelm the Monks as reflected by the shot and corner stats.  Getting off 27 shots against a good opponent (and holding them to 3) means you are finding some way to get ahold of the ball and make something happen.  I was very surprised to see those stats after initially hearing about the game.

[Hopkins92]

Johns Hopkins v St. Mary's College
John's Hopkins
Bias? – For Halloween I dressed up as a doctor once and I say a Hail Mary every morning.


   Will say JHU looks coached to pass to cones.  Not sure they are looking at some of the runs that are being made and the options available to the player with the ball.  They seem to have their mind made up ahead of time.  As an example, outside back is looking for a pass down the wing or to drop it back.  Irrespective (Because "irregardless" is not a word and is a double negative...) of the fact that there is a center mid 20 yards away. 

dingdingdingdingding

Winner!

[Hopkins Walk-On]

I saw the Hopkins-Swarthmore game in person and several other games streaming this season. Hopkins still plays a lot of ball control from the back but there does seem to be a greater willingness to try some long, reasonably direct balls. Both of the goals vs. Swarthmore originated with long passes over the top.

[Hopkins92]

Hilarious user name, first off. Secondly, I'm headed up to see them in person tomorrow at Haverford. Lucky to have a fellow alum as a wife who will sit through a game to enjoy the weather and the leaves changing up that way.

[Hopkins Walk-On]

Do top programs even take walk-ons anymore? I had a discussion with some of my former teammates and noted that the practice ended at Hopkins after my first year.

The coach when I walked on, who was the assistant lacrosse coach first and the head soccer coach second, went on to become one of the greatest lacrosse coaches of all time with 7 D-1 national championships. He was by no means a soccer expert but he had a good tactical mind and was a master motivator. We would have walked through fire for him. In our recollection, staging walk-on tryouts sent a message that he was willing to do whatever it took to improve the team.

[Hopkins92]

Do top programs even take walk-ons anymore? I had a discussion with some of my former teammates and noted that the practice ended at Hopkins after my first year.

The coach when I walked on, who was the assistant lacrosse coach first and the head soccer coach second, went on to become one of the greatest lacrosse coaches of all time with 7 D-1 national championships. He was by no means a soccer expert but he had a good tactical mind and was a master motivator. We would have walked through fire for him. In our recollection, staging walk-on tryouts sent a message that he was willing to do whatever it took to improve the team.

Yeah, I was (as my username hints) on the last squad at Hopkins that carried on the tradition of having a Lax coach.

I think there are probably still instances of kids that aren't recruited that contact the coach and let him know they'd like a shot. Coaches would be kind of silly not to at least give those kids a run. If they're a hidden gem, great. No skin of the coach's teeth just to cut him W1 if they aren't up to it.

(Interestingly, my sophomore team was probably one of the best of that era, which was the last year of the lax coach tradition. The "soccer background" coach that came in was a disaster. He was fired the year after I left and the coach they brought in took that team to the national finals. The goalie on that team was a freshman my senior year and he TOTALLY stole my pre-game ritual... I was quite flattered, frankly.)

[d4_Pace]

Tufts under Shapiro had walk on tryouts every year with a few making the team. Notably Drew Stern who started on the last national title team in 2019

[blooter442]

Tufts under Shapiro had walk on tryouts every year with a few making the team. Notably Drew Stern who started on the last national title team in 2019

Even the guys who got cut did pretty well for themselves, like four-time D3 800m champ and Olympic Trials qualifier Mitch Black: https://www.gotuftsjumbos.com/sports/mtrack/2020-21/releases/20210615nl8eco