UVA lost 4 pros, but more importantly lost much of the toughness as well. Monsters in the air win balls, get knock ons, score goals from corners and crosses. What am I missing? Today she lost almost every 50/50 as did most of the UVA team. UVA also is playing without 2/3 rds of its starting midfield and lost Spaanstra early. Not at all surprised by the way the game went today. The difference between Clemson and UNC is not necessarily willingness. Maybe that not the game plan. Clemson doubled the RW and dared the LW to actually win 1 vs 1. Great coaching.
Some of the home crowds, NC State, Clemson even Tech can be very hard on opposing players. PSU as well. Like Ive said before, home field advantages are going to vary this year form huge to none.
Also interesting to note of the so called big 4..UVA the only one to start ACC with three straight road games at three of the harder places to play.
I’m happy Pitt pulled off the win but you are right very lucky to get out of there with a result. But a result is a result! Pitt will definitely struggle with the top portion and probably middle portion of the ACC. I still think they can beat Boston College and Miami. They already beat Syracuse so if they can beat the other two that puts them at 9 points. I think 10-12 points can get you into the ACC tournament this year
My thinking was correct that Navy would give Pitt a better test than its first two opponents. They held West in check for almost the entire game and Pitt went scoreless in regular time. Navy was playing with three freshmen on their back line as well. Although Pitt earned the win it was not a ringing endorsement of their offensive depth. We will see if Pitt can continue to improve as the season moves along but I agree with you Ping they are not yet ready for prime time in the ACC. I am now convinced that any team with fast wingers can feast on Pitt's outside backs. If they have size and speed it will double the trouble for Pitt's defense. I am willing to be patient with Pitt's powder puff schedule to see if it helps or hinders the team once they face more competitive ACC opponents. With a win over Syracuse already secured and Miami collapsing early this season Pitt stands to make moves up the ACC pecking order. Pitt is definitely a more confident team than they were this time last year. At this point I am most interested to see how Pitt fares against Virginia Tech.
007 said, "UVA lost 4 pros, but more importantly lost much of the toughness as well. Monsters in the air win balls, get knock ons, score goals from corners and crosses. What am I missing? Today she lost almost every 50/50 as did most of the UVA team." She produced the produced the most dangerous chance on goal with an excellent header. I could be wrong, but I don't think most GKers stop that one. Being 6'4" and athletic has its advantages. IMO, she is your most dangerous player in the box. When FSU plays UVA, I will be holding my breath with every UVA corner and set piece. JMHO. Losing skill and toughness is hard to make up. Our 18 natty team gave up 13 goals all year. Last year's team gave up 26 or 27. I really believe losing Kuikka was a huge part of that. Having a rash of injuries just made it worse. Kuikka was skilled, fast and tough. Point being, I relate to your comment about losing toughness.
She didnt produce it, the team and LW did. Her job was to finish it. Finishing is a singular skill and arguably the hardest thing to do. It gets even harder when you are playing tough physical competition. Having watched the game, there was at least one better chance produced. My post BEFORE the game re referees stands. The way games are called makes it very hard for finesse players. I bet the passing numbers yesterday are not pretty for either team.[/QUOTE]
What she did would have produced against most teams. No one does it every game. IMO scoring in and around the box is a singular skill, like you say. Much like baseball, there is more failure than success. In baseball a player who hits over .300 is considered very good. I don't know what the equivalent success rate at High D1 soccer would be. Suffice it to say, I would take Ordonez in a heartbeat at FSU. As to the refs, you can only hope the ref is consistent. While I saw a couple of bad or missed calls IMO, I didn't see one-sidedness in his calls. If permitted, I suspect many teams will play UVA physically. I think many will bunker against FSU, UNC and UVA. I look forward to playing some non-bunkering teams.
Pitt's win streak (now 6-0) continued today with a second win over Citadel. An amazing finishing shot in the closing minutes of regular time by Amanda West sealed the win. She really is a fun player to watch. Speed and ability to create. Congrats to the team and coaching staff for some splendid results to date. The team has improved from last year. Am I completely sold on what they have accomplished to date? Not yet. Reality check time is looming as they face UVA on Thursday. Notwithstanding the wonderful breakaway shot by West today she was held in check in regular time by both Navy and Citadel in their first meetings. She was staring at a third straight match of not scoring in regular time until her timely break away run late in the game. Can Pitt get away with that against better competition in the ACC? I suspect not. Any team that holds her in check and has at least equal team speed will stand a good chance of beating Pitt in my opinion. They look very, very average without her on the field and she does have to rest at times. I hope I am wrong but I will go out on a limb this week by saying UVA will win going away in Charlottesville this Thursday night and introduce Pitt to their first speed bump in conference play.
Watched Duke UNC yesterday. Interesting to watch the tactics Duke employed. https://goduke.com/watch/?Archive=3891&type=Archive In the interview above, Church makes some very good points about the game. This "season" is abnormal and it would be foolish to draw too many conclusions from it, but Duke played like team who was not in the slightest bit fearful of UNCs attacking players. Moving Graham to the wing suggested that they did not think UNC could do much damage in wide areas.
UNC losing Wuben Moy and Russio really hurts them. Both of them were among the best half dozen players on UNC.
they were #12 2 weeks ago and that was the programs highest ranking. the only other time they were ranked was in 2009 when they were ranked #25 for a week
agreed still a massive gap. I was hoping that gap was smaller but pitt is still pretty far off athletically from the elite ACC teams. I think here has definitely been growth with the pitt program but definitely need better athletes if they want to be a big player in the ACC. Still in the 9-12 range of ACC
The only thing that surprised me was the final score. I thought Virginia would pull away from them at some point. Pitt was out shot 30-4, corners 13-1 and shots on goal 9-1. Looking forward to Pitt v Virginia Tech on Sunday.
Score is rarely an indicator of how the game went. UVA are decimated with injuries. Looked like they lot another CM last night. They also play passing, possession soccer, building out of the back. It makes them easier to sit in against because they rarely stretch you vertically unless its off the direct dribble. Pitt sat deep and hoped to counter, but they dont have the athletes up top or in midfield to play that deep. The "penalty" was pretty soft.
You have to watch these games or rely on more advanced metrics to gauge how your team and individuals played. UVA have conceded 3 penalties this year. Thats pretty unlucky given 2 have been handballs of the close range variety and that They also "beat" Duke if you believe that header crossed the line. They are also a passing team that has played most of its games in pretty horrendous weather with an injury riddled roster. I think the starting XI vs Pitt contained 4 outfield players that would make UVAs best XI. For me, the top 3 teams in the ACC are exactly the same as last year in no particular order. UNC are best suited to win for a host of reasons.
UVA was far superior and dominant on the night. Unlucky not to be up 4-1 at end of regulation. Oh well that’s soccer. Pitt or any fan can’t really be paying any attention to the ranking right? It’s...not real. and maybe I’m a curse but I think I’ve seen an acl tear in almost every game I’ve watched. So sad. Maybe I shouldn’t tune in any more.
Even with the injuries UVA was far superior at every position. Very impressed with Godfrey and Ordonez. Showed very good control of the ball even in challenging conditions. Pitt lacks speed at some key positions and it showed. UVA went unchallenged in the middle and Pitt was unable to keep up on the outside. Pitt will benefit from the schedule. No UNC, no Duke, no Notre Dame, and no Louisville. Speaking of Louisville. They looked horrible against Syracuse in the first half. Came alive in the second half to rack up 3 goals but that will hurt them against better teams. Miami is a train wreck. Out shot in the first 4 games 68 to 11. Have yet to score and play UVA on the 4th.
You are right about the rankings especially as it applies to Pitt. They had a nice run against slower non-conference teams but obviously it did not mean much. The writing was on the wall as far as their outside backs go. I was waiting to see what happened once they faced faster opposition and now we know. As you pointed out, the team is still suffering from a lack of speed at many positions just as they were last year. I do not think the new recruits Waldrum brought on have improved that situation very much. The Virginia Tech game is a pivotal one for Pitt this yearin my opinion. I am waiting to see if they can beat a struggling Tech team that has managed only one goal this year albeit against better competition. Pitt has had the wind knocked out of their sails for the first time this year so it will be interesting to see how they respond. If they intend to make the ACC tournament and demonstrate that they are ready to move up the ACC ladder than I think that this is a must win for them on Sunday.
You are right about the rankings especially as they apply to Pitt. They had a nice run against slower non-conference teams but obviously it did not mean much. The writing was on the wall as far as their outside backs go. I was waiting to see what happened once they faced faster opposition and now we know. As you pointed out, the team is still suffering from a lack of speed at many positions just as they were last year. I do not think the new recruits Waldrum brought on have improved that situation very much. The Virginia Tech game is a pivotal one for Pitt this year in my opinion. I am waiting to see if they can beat a struggling Tech team that has managed only one goal this year albeit against better competition. Pitt has had the wind knocked out of their sails for the first time this year so it will be interesting to see how they respond. If they intend to make the ACC tournament and demonstrate that they are ready to move up the ACC ladder than I think that this is a must win for them on Sunday.