Found them! WSOC | @uvusoccer_w takes 1-0 lead over Washington State after this goal by Amber Tripp in the 73rd minute. pic.twitter.com/TSkFMFlJGW— UVU Wolverines (@GoUVU) September 15, 2017 75'58" 1-1 Weaver(?) backpass to Anker-Kofoed(?) at 27m arc right, LB #19 Maddy Haro sneaks past the diagonal back line to 22m mid-left, held onside by the RB at 18m arc right. Fast crossbody chip cross bounces through box top mid-right to 12m mid-left, Haro runs around it to 6m 7-left, right instep shot rattles off both of GK #1 Sarah Davis's shins, bounces out to 2m 6-left. Haro chases first, defender shields her body but not her left foot -- shot rises tight across mouth, maybe takes a deflection, into back right high. The 2nd shot window was more difficult than the 1st one, but the save angle was harder, too. Haro goes top shelf with the putback to tie the game at 1-1, her 2nd goal of the year #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/EVRYVO8ZxD— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) September 15, 2017
83'56" 2-1 UVU fk at 30m wide right, sailed to 9m center. Hancock heads away high past arc top left, Breanna DeWaal flicks ball further out to 25m ~left post. #8 Sydney Fitzpatrick lifts a waist-high right foot half volley punt/dump 15m up --- ball drops to goalline right, Dederick backpedals and jumps but must pull her hand away from crossbar -- ball drops through the tiny window between her glove and 1/5 right crossbar, bounces well past goalline into back right high. Is it a golaaaaazo if it's freefalling ballistically? WSOC | @uvusoccer_w soccer takes 2-1 lead over Washington State in the 84th minute on this goal by Sydney Fitzpatrick. pic.twitter.com/PufacE3gny— UVU Wolverines (@GoUVU) September 15, 2017 89'28" 2-2 Branch chips high from 27m arc left to 6-top 4-right, Haro gets behind the LB and glance-nods a header down, bounces up just inside right post low, past Davis's dive. Last minute saving header by Haro sends this game into overtime #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/WNlN5Ig7lI— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) September 15, 2017 Onward to OT
AE1 2-2. Passing on both sides is somewhat less sharp; runs are labored. No serious chances, many arm-tugs. 10' more. 100'30" 2-3 #18 Ashlyn Farnes passes across midfield mid-right, #8 Jordan Branch steps in front at circle back mid-(our)left and counters to circle top -- 3-v-4, but UVU are caught in a 2-back 2-up quadrangle. Branch diagonal pass to #3 Makamae Gomera-Stevens unmarked at 28m arc right, she turns and goes to 25m center, draws the attention of 4. Diagonal pass picks out #5 Jamie Rita unmarked through box top mid-left -- as #6 Morgan Weaver backpedals across box top to arc right with eye contact, setting up a 2-v-1. Rita chases to 11m 7-left, has one-touch right instep bend -- instead she plays one-touch left instep square pass to 11m right post. Weaver has inside position on a recovering defender, steps to ball, one-touch left instep shot across mouth low, under Davis's right hand and dive, into left side netting 2/3 back. A beautiful build up and an equally beautiful finish by Weaver nets the game-winner for WSU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/irbUiQgkv7— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) September 15, 2017 Two diagonal passes! We've been working on that pattern all preseason, and we finally pattern-matched it at full game speed. One crazy goal after another
2017/09/17 Sun 13:00 PDT: Montana - Washington State (Big Sky stream -- select it from the menu) (statsbroadcast) Cool day, overcast? Air quality in Missoula is a tad sooty, due to wildfires.
HT 0-0. WSU 5(3)-(0)3 shots(sog), 6-2 fouls, 0-3 corners. WSU seems a tad slow in chasing, with fewer full-team surges or build-ups past midfield (actually, zero?). Much of 1H consisted of Montana controlling the ball and probing us. WSU's occasional medium chips to lone runners has created some long shots (or solo freshman 1-v-4 for a shot ), all caught.
AER 0-0. WSU 12(5)-(1)8 shots(sog), 16-9 fouls, 6-4 corners, 0-2 offsides. WSU has ... heavy legs. Chasing and runs are ponderous, cuts and spins don't work, and our acceleration to catch up to Grizzlies running past us feels labored. Passing has been off all day, lacking crispness. The ball doesn't seem to roll on this mix of long grass + hard patches, and we've underweighted or misjudged passes, flicks, touches, and clearances all day long. Montana is much more familiar with it, and has constructed numerous 10+ short pass sequences. WSU chases from behind and tugs at shoulders a lot, hence the fouls. Our shots are mostly from box perimeters, no real threat yet. Montana has had a couple of goalmouth scrambles that they couldn't poke in. On offense, we've sent in several wistful crosses to nowhere (with head down, no target picked out), while Montana prefers to drive inward along endline for some corners, or cross to people already posting up. 60ºF, mostly cloudy, slightly bad air from smoke. At least it isn't 90ºF. 091' 0-0 OT1 begins.
092'45" 0-0 Just off the camera at ~circle top box right, straight red card on Montana's #15 Kaitlin Crowell -- as #5 Jamie Rita is down on one knee. For -- an elbow? Not shown -- the stream pbp guy describes seeing a replay in the booth. Accidental? Must have been deemed dangerous play? 093' 0-0 Off the fk to arc top, WSU flagged offside, turn-and-shoot bounces past GK Claire Howard into back left low. Play on ... 10-v-11.
099' 0-0 WSU is making tired lunges to intercept, and Montana's precise short-passing yanks us around like kittens chasing a laser pointer. Montana dump a long ground pass to arc top, #28 Ashlee Pedersen(?) chases Hancock 10m+ as GK Dederick comes way out -- some indecision. Disasteriffic collision -- Dederick and Hancock both go down, ball bounces off both and spins to a stop at arc top left. Crenshaw is there to hoof away, otherwise Pedersen was the only one upright AE1 0-0.
~106' 0-0 Montana attacks 10-v-11, outruns us into our box, through it, down box right, and gets off three crosses that Dederick punches away, all back into traffic -- finally for a box top volley just wide. They're faster to every loose ball, faster to their spots, faster accelerating/running past us, and they think faster than we've shown today. ~108' 0-0 Backpass to Hancock at own arc top. She thinks 10m+ of space is enough -- Pedersen catches her in possession, slide-tackle pokes ball free and Hancock goes down. Hancock pops up first, passes away. We've been underestimating Montana's closing speed all day long -- part of the team-wide speed disadvantage we somehow brought today. Travel does weird things to your recovery? FT 0-0. WSU 15(6)-(2)6 shots(sog), 17-12 fouls, 7-5 corners, 1-2 offside. We hold on for a point on the road Montana had more gas than we did, and attacked with more teamwork.
2017/09/21 Thu 18:00 PDT (+5=2-1) Washington State - Stanford #2 (+7=0-1) (Pac-12 Network, Bay, Washington) (statsbroadcast) 51ºF partly cloudy => 47ºF clear, 0% precip, ~5 mph breeze (Palo Alto 66º => 60ºF) To us is given the privilege of opening the Pac-12 woso conference schedule! We're the GotW, national on Pac-12 Network, and the only Thursday match this week. (In upcoming weeks, Pac-12 is typically Thu/Sun, so there will be several Thursday matches, but only one of them will be GotW.) The PNW has seen dreary rain for the last 1-2 days. Lower Soccer Field might still be soggy ... for well-cushioned slides. I shall be atop the E. hill behind goal, so no tweetpasting until well after dark.
I'm way behind! Catching up slowly -- 2017/09/21 Thu 18:00 PDT Washington State 1-2 Stanford #2 9(5)-(8)23 shots(sog), 4-10 corners, 2-0 offside, 12-9 fouls Attendance 987, 51ºF -- perfect weather, no wind no clouds I stayed for 1H only, then left early (to team-tinker with some optics). In 1H, Stanford attacked toward the E hilltop where I sat, so I can fill in some broader details. Stanford still has the mind-boggling edge in team speed, which let them uncork numerous 30m+ runs up centerline faster than we could chase or react. Both goals ultimately came from this. We don't tweet their goals, they don't tweet ours 24' 0-1 Tierna Davidson collects 5m behind own circle back right, cruises up centerline faster than any of us can intercept -- to 22m arc top. RCB Hancock and RB Crenshaw react to that, both drift inside to own arc (our) right, lose touch with Carusa lurking alone at box top left. Davidson taps square left and continues her own run to right post. 2nd player taps diagonal pass down to 10m mid-left for Carusa -- meanwhile, Kuhlmann backcuts fr. Alger through box top arc right to spot, and wins that race, too. Hancock rotates down to 6-top left, Carusa slips a square pass to 8m 1/3 left. Kuhlmann one-touch left instep dink pass (or cross) to 3m right post, Davidson stretches and taps in. OK, we haven't seen speed like that coming at us, and we got all scrmabeld on defense. 🎥 » @Tierna_Davidson finishes what she started. 🌲️⚽️ #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/fRG0xE4Irx— Stanford Women's Soccer (@StanfordWSoccer) September 22, 2017 34' 0-2 IIRC, Stanford did another waterfall to our box top, faster than we could disrupt. Macario chases across 18m center, shoots right instep low hard across mouth to left post, beats Dederick's kick-save try at 6-top. Hancock blocks ball off goalline at left post -- but it pops up to 5m 1/5 left, Boissiere is right there and dive-heads in. Second goal in as many games for Boissiere. Stanford leads 2-0 in Pullman. Watch: @Pac12Network #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/XAVj7uzG0G— Stanford Women's Soccer (@StanfordWSoccer) September 22, 2017 In years past, Stanford has irritated me because they seemed to rely exclusively on physical attributes with a smidgen of learning. This year, they showed something clearly a level beyond what we're teaching: the fast give-and-move, or rotating triangle. Everybody can do standing triangle ping off one stationary fulcrum to a stationary target -- we do it when we're not pressed. Stanford's version is you pass to the fulcrum, immediately run behind the spinning chaser, and receive a short one-touch return pass to your new position. That's a basic give-and-go, but used defensively just to beat a press, not to create attacks, which is a new wrinkle. They do this in the back, along the sidelines, at midfield, at your box top -- it's their 2017 way to beat pressure. That's new. It's evident they spend time drilling this, else it wouldn't work at all. 35' 1-2 I have the most foreshortened angle from behind the other endline. Weaver cuts across box to ~8m 6-right, sprawls face-first. Foul, pk, Haro chips left instep to 1/4 right high, just over Jahansouz's fingers. .@WSUCougarSoccer takes one back!2-1, @StanfordWSoccerWatch #Pac12Soccer: https://t.co/YfMNDWtSGW pic.twitter.com/Fg3NrOKWW0— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) September 22, 2017 I missed 2H, but met ... two live chinchillas, which is a bucket list item Think: mouse ears, mouse body, mouse tail, but about the size of a rabbit. And they jump, easily 2' up or down. 62' 1-2 Weaver fouled again. Hancock pk, right instep to left post low, Jahansouz dives and saves. Not today. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/pmY3IQd926— Stanford Women's Soccer (@StanfordWSoccer) September 22, 2017 I wonder what we did better in 2H to shut out Stanford's attack.
2017/09/28 Thu 17:30 PDT (+5=2-3, +0=0-2) Washington State 0-2 Colorado (+7=2-2, +1=0-1) 13(5)-(5)18 shots(sog), 9-2 corners, 1-1 offside, 8-7 fouls Attendance 827 I finally sat in the newfangled bleacher seats at midfield. Briefly: we offered little to nothing in attack, and got outworked along our backline. This is the downside of having four frosh sub in for four frosh up top: that bag of HS senior stud tricks carry no oomph at this level, and we haven't yet mastered new ones. We were individualistic, disjointed, a tad meek, and not up to our own level. Welcome to the Pac-12, frosh. Colorado played a 4+sweeper backline, and we never really tested them: 3/4 speed runs between the lines, dink passes we couldn't control, one-touch ping passes that didn't connect. We never tried endline sprints to turn them for crosses, or fast build-ups to pierce them with runs in stride. I actually suspect Colorado's Ds were simply faster than us. We tried many long shots to nowhere, several solo-freshman-vs-4-older-DFs for a rushed long shot not on frame, and numerous HS stud spin-and-drive moves for a shot and goal -- except the DF at this level is older, bigger, faster, has seen it before, and just backshields you off for yet another effortless steal. For their part, Colorado defended in depth, then played for explosive runs through midfield. They were content to play medium-long quick passes into 2-v-5s and lose 30+ of them, and we tired late and lost control of those. Their attacks at our box top involved speed: fast runs onto our flat back line backpedaling, where any one stretch-poke touch behind an anticipating defender could backcut her. They could drive hot passes to feet in our box top and control them perfectly, then spin-cut off them. Add this up, and they had more and better chances, and were a threat all game long. 30' 0-1 Rasmussen bicycles to herself at circle top right over Branch, chests ball into own stride to 24m mid-right, splits Branch and LB Haro and gets to 16m arc right, 1-v-1 on Hancock backpedaling -- then cuts hard past her to 15m 1/3 right. Dederick sprawls at 7m and blocks but doesn't catch, ball rolls loose along 6-top to 2-left. Puketapu lurks unmarked at 15m left post, wins that race and drives one-touch left instep across mouth, into 1/4 right back low. Here's another look at Puketapu's goal #WSUvCU 0-1 pic.twitter.com/8CXlZ2Qryj— Colorado Buffaloes Soccer (@CUBuffsSoccer) September 29, 2017 Team effort on this goal by @CUBuffsSoccer is the @OpusBank #12Best Moment. pic.twitter.com/w7fGwEXrKm— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) September 29, 2017 I won't complain about rebound goals because we not so long ago went almost an entire year where our every second touch in the box was a rebound goal We lost two (or more) races on the same play, and we didn't win one race on their end. Rasmussen was 1-v-4 and she still created a clean shot window -- a microcosm of the whole game. 52' 0-2 Rasmussen 1-v-1 on Branch at 5m box right -- beats her with a double-move, cut left + crossover dink right -- Branch bites on the inside move and gets wrong-footed. Rasmussen goes to 2m 6-right, backpass try toward Korniek storming up right post lane deflects of Whieldon's foot -- perfect lob over Dederick, bounces at 1.5m left post. Pulver shields Kinzner off, but Kinzner body-bumps Pulver into the ball -- off her chest and just inside left post. Here's another look at that own goal that gives CU a 2-0 lead in the 2nd half | WATCH on Pac-12 Network #WSUvCU 0-2 pic.twitter.com/RZUHw2TYHe— Colorado Buffaloes Soccer (@CUBuffsSoccer) September 29, 2017 Colorado's forwards consistently got better starting positions around our box, and did more with them. More than anything, we needed an infusion of energy.
2017/10/01 Sun 11:00 I thought it was at 13:00 (+6=2-3, +1=0-2) Washington State 3-0 Utah #24 (+5=2-4, +0=1-2) 10(8)-(6)15 shots(sog), 6-3 corners , 12-9 fouls (we always win fouls) Attendance 706 Crowd and town were still abuzz after the Friday night mfb showdown vs. (then-)#5 USC -- that's surely better than a somber pall for the alternative. We revamped our line-up and formation for Utah, with Pac-12 stream pundits freely opining that we were sending messages about earning starts during practice -- later very not-denied by HC Shulenberger. We still platoon at most F/M positions, but starting means you get to sub out and back in, so it does imply two stretches of being in, instead of 1. As an amateur astronomer, I approve of new RB fr. Aaqila McLyn (after Aquila, the Eagle -- whose bright star Altair is part of the Summer Triangle, still visible in the evenings) I guess we played a 4-3-3? Utah HC Manning later said he well-scouted what we used to do. Energy and activity was infinitely better throughout than vs. Colorado, and we strung together passes, chased balls down, and combined on some decent shot combos. Utah was discombobulated by the fall sniffly cold bug, with a couple of defenders out, and not much time to teach their replacements where to stand on ... corners and such. 50' 1-0 Haro left ck, outswings to 5m right post. Maegan O'Neill sneaks up unmarked from ~8m, outjumps #17 Cacciacarne, nods a header down just inside right post. Post defender #5 Kearl gets caught cheating 1 step centerward, lunge-stretches postward but the ball drops over her leg -- at would-have-been-torso-height. O'Neill's 1st goal! O'Neill header goal off the corner kick from Haro to give the Cougs the lead. #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/CL9v2Px59w— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) October 1, 2017 65' 2-0 Haro right ck, inswings to 4m 1/4 left -- just over the head of Pulver crashing 2/5 left but missing, yet freezing GK Nelson. Ball continues untouched to O'Neill, who outjumps Cacciacarne and heads over the scrum, with Nelson stranded. O'Neill's 2nd goal O'Neil with another goal assisted by Haro. #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/CW3dzimMYa— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) October 1, 2017 WSU has somehow consistently won corner kicks for ~5 years, and not scored on them. Today was the day! 68' 3-0 RB McLyn joins the attack at arc top wide right, early cross to 10m 1/4 right. Weaver comes across in front of Kearl, lifts thigh-high right instep full volley chip into 1/5 right high, over Nelson's fingertips. Morgan Weaver with a side volley assisted by Mclyn. #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/Yiy7gfs7jQ— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) October 1, 2017 Weaver has shown deadly precision on one-touch shots of all sorts, and off her dribble. Her ball-receive while closely marked is ... a work in progress, often resulting in 5m clangs that we don't keep. Hence, I see her shot try as the smart choice Utah attacked well, but our whole team was up for the fight today, and had energy and exuberance. I hope our ck goal rate stays above 0 for the next 5 years.
2017/10/05 Thu 17:00 PDT (+6=0-6, +0=0-4) Oregon 1-2 Washington State (+7=2-3, +2=0-2) 6(2)-(8)15 shots(sog), 3-5 corners, 1-0 offside, 15-14 fouls Attendance 272, 70ºF, dry turf Oregon got to our box many times, but couldn't quite get shots off. Their midfield was as active as ours, but their back line played a very high trap, and we were able to run past it a few times. We don't do that in the back; our defense tends to cede space and rely on an active midfield to chase and disrupt. 20' 0-1 Harkins(?) chips (too) long from behind circle back, ball bounces to arc top left. Starter-turned-sub Alger chases from 10m+ off, just to apply pressure, as GK Hinriksdotter comes out above box top to clear. Alger (with eyes wide shut ) sole-blocks ball through box top mid-left, chases it to 13m, shoots one-touch left instep across mouth and actually pulls it behind CB Hinojosa overpursuing to near post, across mouth into right side pipe. This one play was against the run, but we led shots 3-2 and that was the 4th. Brianna Alger with the hustle play as she blocks the clearance and finds the back of the net for her 2nd goal #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/x5OmK3FirW— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) October 5, 2017 32' 0-2 We get 3 more sog (all saved). Then we hoof an outlet pass to circle right, Oregon quacks a clearance header to circle top right, and we have a 2-v-2 toeing the line just onside, as Oregon's back line is that high up. Weaver one-touch header into space springs 5'10" Bennett up box right lane. Bennett is fast like Guetlein was, opens up a 2m gap dribbling through box top mid-right to 9m -- meanwhile Weaver trails up right post lane, outraces the RB pinching in. Bennett rolls a perfect square pass between the two CBs to 9m right post, Weaver one-touch right instep beats Hinriksdotter under her left hand, just inside right post low. Threading the needle just a bit, but I figure by now Weaver can place her shot with complete control when she has that long to measure it. Weaver slots home the great feed from Bennett as the freshman grabs her 1st assist | 2-0 WSU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/gy61RAsNwD— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) October 5, 2017 We ended 1H with 14 shots. Oregon held us to 1 shot in 2H (ugh). 58' 1-2 Gomera-Stevens defends way back at own box top right, loses ball to Seaman, turns and fouls. Oregon fk at 16m just outside box left -- at the other side of the box, Mia Costa times her run perfectly from ~10m wide right past a screen/scrum (which may have been designed for exactly this reason). Marissa Everett drives right instep inswinging through our wall-and-box, past Dederick frozen by a stooping header try at 7m left post. Ball bounces untouched at 4m right post (freeze the 2nd tweetcap and you can see the black pellets). Hancock sees Costa's run (from the inside of the scrum), tries to backpedal into her way, but Costa rounds her toward endline to ~1.5m 1-right, one-touch right foot hop-volley rises just inside right post. Wow, low-percentage pass and shot, perfectly executed at high speed. (And if that's not a scripted play, we should totally steal it and make it so) HIGHLIGHT | Mia Costa puts away the lone Oregon goal of the game off a Marissa Everett free kick in a 2-1 loss to Washington State. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/1k7ASS2Ii1— Oregon Ducks Soccer (@OregonSoccer) October 6, 2017 Right place, right time. @OregonSoccer get on the board on a great free kick. Watch #Pac12Soccer: https://t.co/YfMNDWtSGW pic.twitter.com/h17xTZgdzO— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 6, 2017 Oregon created some havoc down box right, with Dederick making at least one diving arm-save to break up a tap-in. We did enough to grind out the clock.
2017/10/08 Sun 14:00 PDT (+3=3-6, +0=1-3) Oregon State - Washington State (+7=2-3, +2=0-2) (no stream today) AER 0-0. On to OT. 6(2)-(3)13 shots(sog), 7-16 fouls, 0-1 yellow cards, 1-1 offsides (plural ), 4-4 corners This is OSU's 5th OT game in 7 home matches -- they're tough to score upon.
101'28" 1-0 OSU fk (dunno from where), Natalie Higgins taps to Emma Jones, over wall into an upper 90. That can always happen. Neither team has tweeted from whence, which foot, which 90 tsk tsk 7(3)-(3)14 shots(sog), 8-19 fouls, 1-1 offsides, 4-5 corners. Their 1st shot in either OT. More data for our freshmens' long learning curve. I'm pleasantly amazed how well we're doing this early in their cycle. Lesson of the Day: Do Unto Others First
OSU's recap has video of the goal (only). 22m arc left, tap square right, left foot over wall into right 90, unsaveable.
2017/10/19 Thu 19:00 PDT (+8=2-5, +3=0-4) Washington State 1-0 #2 UCLA (+12=2-1, +5=1-1) 11(7)-(5)13 shots(sog), 5-8 corners, 14-8 fouls, 1-2 offsides Attendance 782 Clear, dry, cool, no wind, high clouds. Nice weather for running around! I skipped an astronomy meeting to sit on the hill. UCLA showed darting passes and side-to-side runs, and sent a great many crosses into danger. Every fk/ck was driven into the box scrum, very exciting. WSU hoofed medium-long balls into 1-v-2 chases with a purpose, and it probably did maximize the pressure we put on UCLA's backline. We found one hustle goal, they didn't construct one ping goal. We reverted to our past-years tendency of shooting directly at the GK -- I think Micah took 0 steps total for her 6 saves, as every ball would have hit her in the chest if she didn't catch it. And ... we held on. 01' 0-0 fr. Elyse Bennett turns corner at box left foot, cutback pass to fr. Brianna Alger unmarked at ~14m 6-left, one-touch left foot shot directly to Micah! 03' 0-0 Morgan Weaver shoots from box mid-right, directly to Micah! 04' 1-0 WSU right ck, Maddy Haro inswings to 6m 1/3 right -- Maegan O'Neill swims past #25 Winter through 6-top 3-left, gets sandwiched between/behind Winter and #15 Cerda -- she's out of the play RB fr. Aaqila McLyn runs up from 15m center, broad-jumps between #17 Sheehan/#8 K.Rodriguez/#21 Fleming, misses a header -- meanwhile, O'Neal splits Cerda/Winter to 6m left post. Ball continues to Fleming's head, reflects off McLyn's torso, bounces at 4m center. O'Neill lunges past Winter, sliding left outstep rises hard over everybody, off crossbar, bounces down into 1/4 right low. Scramble off a ck, but aggressive spirit put both players in the perfect positions. 4' | GOOOOAAAALLLLL Maegan O'Neill off the scrum on the corner | 1-0 WSU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/LQ6Ek9fDGz— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) October 20, 2017 16' 1-0 Bennett breakaway up right post lane, shoots centerward tailing away from Micah -- kick-save? 17' 1-0 fr. Sydney Pulver ground cross from mid-left, poked away. Weaver shoots one-touch from box top right post, Micah dives and misses(?), off right post bouncing rightward. Kelsie Crenshaw shoots from ~5m mid-right, ball hits Micah still on ground. HT: We lead 7-4 shots. 49' 1-0 Pulver shoots at Micah! 52' 1-0 Weaver shoots at Micah! 60' 1-0 Long pass up centerline, Bennett breaks away past 2, dribbles to ~10m 1/5 left, shoots over Micah crossbar Ball bounces back to Bennett sit-falling away, she lunge-heads but twists it wide left. 60' | A great counter by the Cougs ends with Elyse hitting the crossbar as the FR is a bit unlucky | 1-0 WSU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/9OXPhYgbF3— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) October 20, 2017 UCLA excels at making fast lateral and short diagonal passes, with a passing tempo we can't match and couldn't always disrupt. WSU responded by allowing UCLA to run laterally under duress, pass freely side-to-side across their own backline, and inviting forward passes that we then challenge by reaching or stepping around the post-up receiver. It was enough tonight: we disrupted many of UCLA's buildups, and mostly kept UCLA's frenetic activity contained ahead of us. When UCLA found wide lurkers for drives down either box side, we channeled them down either side and ceded corners, rather than give up any centerward run. The last ~30' consisted of an endless stream of UCLA reloads for more box-side attacks and long crosses, occasionally interrupted by a WSU longball for a chase. Hence UCLA finally overtook us in shots -- mostly blocked by bodies in the way. They correctly dialed up their level of frenzy as time wound down, but never really had a clean look. WSU has things to work on First, when GK is here, aim for that post! Unsung hero of 1H (but I saw it) was fr. Pulver repeatedly shin-blocking UCLA pings away for steals, using positioning to let their speed beat itself. More broadly, everybody in midfield was up for the challenge, and harassed UCLA from one side to the other. I also noticed that UCLA is just ... calmer in their high-speed play: you can tell that they track where teammates are, and ping/bounce/head/one-touch the ball in those directions, even under pressure. In contrast, we were maybe a bit manic with huge eyes, happy just to boot/clear the ball going a-ny-where. Partly we were unlucky in that those bounces didn't land at our feet -- but mostly UCLA makes their contacts bounce toward each other, and so we're just noting the contrast. Hence all those UCLA reloads! We'll learn ... or else! Next up is #6 Southern California on Sun 10/22, after they won 2-0 at Washington. USC likes fast ground crosses to 6-top to somebody winning a centerline race, plus they can shoot long, or post up and spin. WSU tries to defend in midfield, but as we saw vs. Stanford, we are vulnerable to cross-combos in our box if we lose 2+ races in one play. So ... don't do that. And don't give them the ball. And shoot to where the GK isn't
2017/10/22 Sun 12:00 PDT Washington State - Southern California 52ºF, 20 mph wind, damp (after driving rain last night) I am somehow stuck indoors with Internet 04' 0-0 McKeown chips from midfield box right to Anthony cutting behind the defense at arc top right. Dederick comes out to 6m 5-right, Hancock makes a recovery run down own centerline past spot, Anthony chases to 15m mid-right and chips a mini-lob. Dederick tips ball with right hand, slows it down juuuust enough, Hancock full-volleys ball off own goalline and sprawls into the back pipe. Grace Hancock saves a sure goal off the line in the 4th minute. | 0-0 #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/XbX2vi8IH1— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) October 22, 2017 08' 0-1 USC chips up box right to 27m, LCB Branch heads ball straight up, Anthony shields her off and backs her down to 18m mid-right, facing away. Square tap left to Pruitt trailing to arc top left, one-touch left foot drive just inside right post low, past Dederick's dive. Pruitt slots it for the 1-0 USC lead! #FightOn @ROOTEDTORISE pic.twitter.com/yjr0b1uoND— USC Women's Soccer (@USC_WSoccer) October 22, 2017
27' 1-1 Weaver dribbles to 24m mid-left amidst 3, Bennett is winning her wide-right race with inside position. Weaver taps inside-out to 18m box right into Bennett's stride, Bennett fends off pressure to 11m mid-right, shoots right foot across mouth past Collins's dive, into left edge 1/3 high. Her 1st goal! Elyse Bennett scores her first career goal to notch the equalizer in the 27th minute, off an assist from Morgan Weaver. | 1-1 #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/J3erWrUQdz— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) October 22, 2017 42' 1-2 Pruitt stands on ball at circle top wide right, 1-v-1 on RB Haro -- then solo-drives past Haro with sheer speed, to 5m wide right. Cross on the run floats over Dederick, drops at 5m 2-left -- and Plumptre stretches at the tape to win her far-post race, reaches right shoe past fr. McLyn and grasstop-volleys a mini-lob over Dederick again, bounces into back right edge. Canonical USC goal, speed drive for a cross and just win 2+ races and finish the shot. Ladies and gentlemen, Ashleigh Plumptre's first career goal! USC leads it 2-1 in Pullman! #FightOn #ROOTEDTORISE pic.twitter.com/h7EntsQXAj— USC Women's Soccer (@USC_WSoccer) October 22, 2017 OK, the one thing we don't have on the backline is skill and size and straight-line speed. Haro, Branch, and Crenshaw when she was RB can/could all be outsprinted ... by high draft picks
48' 1-2 #35 Pruitt(?) fk at 22m wide left, inswings to 6m 2-left. #24 Hite tries a facing-away right-heel donkey kick around her defender, both miss, ball bounces untouched to 4m 1/4 right. Rooney lunges right outstep but misses, ball bounces down off her chest, off Haro's left foot facing goalward, trickles past Dederick to goalline 1/5 left. Hancock, coming along goalline, lunge-slides right outstep and clears ball away through box (our) left. That's two Grace Hancock with her second HUGE defensive save, keeping it a one-goal game. | USC 2-1 #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/vxnBCIue0t— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) October 22, 2017
FT 1-2. We can't win two races in the same play against USC's athletes, so our 2H crosses never had a clear target. We get one lucky bounce at 89'58" when a frantic ball to box top arc left bounces past a defender whiffing, and fr. Rita half-settles up onto left foot at 13m mid-left, but pulls the half-volley just wide right. I think she rushed the contact, and shanked it off her inside anklebone. Volleys are hard, and take years to master.
Thu 2017/10/26 19:00 PDT (+4=3-9, +1=2-5 = 9th) Arizona State - Washington State (+8=2-6, +3=0-5 = 6th) Stream: http://pac-12.com/live/pac-12-plus Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=180032 HT 0-0. 4(0)-(9)18 shots(sog) , 3-4 corners, 6-6 fouls, 0-1 offside. WSU broke our previous 2017 shots-per-game record (16) in the first half! ASU GK Nikki Panas has 9 saves in the 1st half! (maybe that's her record too ) ASU has at least 1 team save for a goalline clearance behind Panas! Tactically ... we're kind of sitting in the seam between ASU's backline and midline, resulting in easy ground passes into essentially a high pivot. From there, we make cuts and passes. Many quick low forward crosses toward lurkers already in the box -- mostly intercepted, but it's a new wrinkle. We seem to be buzzing around ASU's box top a lot. On their end, ASU struggled to get to their own box top for 5', hoofed long to us for about 20', then created some long inside-out chases to wide left for cross mayhem -- all cleared. The two pbp guys even foreshadowed it: It can be tough on a GK to have almost nothing to do for 60', and then have to clear a cross -- and then that actually happened around 30'.
57' 0-0 #2 Christine Edwards fk at circle top box right, sent high dropping to 13m center, just misses everybody and bounces untouched to 6-top 3-left. #10 Jazmarie Mader wins her back-post race (past fr. McLyn), hop-flicks a mini-lob over Dederick, Dederick jumps and pushes it over the bar for her 1st save. SO 😱 CLOSE 😱 pic.twitter.com/aMLXkAlKrk— Sun Devil Soccer (@SunDevilSoccer) October 27, 2017 62'03" 0-1 fr. #9 Sydney Pulver crosses from 2m wide right, outswings to 8m 1/6 right. fr. #13 Elyse Bennett trails unmarked at 12m right post, goes to ball and outjumps 1, heads down across mouth past Panas's dive, bounces up into back left edge. Pulver's 1st career assist 63' | GOOOOOAAAALLL The freshman does it again, Bennett with the header puts the Cougs on top | 1-0 WSU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/wWVR0OQ3Ok— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) October 27, 2017
FT 0-1. 9(3)-(12)25 shots(sog), 4-6 corners, 14-13 fouls, 1-3 offsides. That's a lot of shots! Dederick 3 saves, Panas 11 saves (ASU gets 1 team save for that 1H goalline clearance) 24 pts: 1.Stanford (winning 1-0 at UCLA -- in 70') 25 pts: 2.USC (won 1-0 at Cal) 19 pts: T3.UCLA (losing 0-1 vs Stanford) 19 pts: T3.Cal (lost 0-1 vs USC) 17 pts: 5.Arizona (won 2-1 vs Washington) 12 pts: 6.Washington State (won 1-0 at ASU) 11 pts: 7.Colorado (won 1-0 at OSU) 08 pts: 8.Washington (lost 1-2 at Arizona) 06 pts: 9.Oregon (won 3-0 vs Utah) 05 pts: 10.Arizona State (lost 0-1 vs WSU) 04 pts: 11.Oregon State (lost 0-1 vs. Colorado) 02 pts: 12.Utah (lost 0-3 at Oregon)