ETSU 1-2 Mercer I really don't understand it. They've changed formations, they've changed personnel, and they clearly have more talent than most of the teams in this conference, if not all of them, but they've gone winless in five and dropped their conference opener to a team that tied a D-III school. Granted, I thought Mercer's defense was great at containing ETSU's biggest weapons (particularly Geno, who might not have had the ball 10 times all game), and Ranjitsiingh was exceptionally strong in goal, but ETSU outplayed them in possession. They really needed this one, if for on other reason than to break their run of lousy results. UNF comes in on Friday. They're one of the worst teams in the country on paper, giving up 3.62 goals per game. If we lose to them, we're in serious, serious trouble. We're already on the verge of "paper tiger" territory, and a loss to the Ospreys would be disaster beyond disaster for a team that had aspirations for a possible NCAA tournament run at the start of the season. They have to turn it around, and it has to start on Friday.
Lefty, Lefty....unfortunately I believe it is quite simple to understand. You mentioned in your post that ETSU has "changed it's formation and changed it's personnel" which tends to be at the root of it all. You can have the best 11 individuals on the field, but if they are not playing as a unit or there is no "heart" to the unit, it is often times hard to win. I've followed ETSU, but won't say I am as big of a fan as you, but I'm scratching my head at the abscense in recent weeks of key players that have been with the program for the past several years. Don't know if they are injured or just benched for the "better personnel", but when you bring in new faces every season and stick them in crucial positions rather than building a heirarchy in a program you unfortunately run into the situations that ETSU is currently facing. ETSU only lost a couple of key players last year, so you would think the program would carry on, fill those spots the best they can, and move into this year strong and ready to contend in the NCAA. It seems though, they've chosen to go with bringing a load of new foreign guys in that might be physically good, but they have not yet developed the "heart" to win for ETSU that goes into practice after practice, season after season, year after year of playing in a program. I would love to see some of the old faces back on the pitch (we get a glimpse of them here and there), but don't think that's gonna happen. Let's just hope the new personnel this season find a way to get back on the right track.
ETSU 4-0 North Florida The winless streak is done. Doesn't that feel better? Geno, Doumbe, Pugh, Yang with the goals (in order). So much of soccer, particularly offense, is psychological. It's about confidence. It's why the hulking central defender gets eyes the size of Kennedy half-dollars if/when he gets the ball in the box. After being flustered time and again by Mercer's defense and Furman's and Kentucky's, a game like this is what they needed. The Ospreys will get better - just four upperclassmen, two of which didn't play, and the other two played a combined 58 minutes - but they still have some work to do. Garcia, Valderruten and Mulamba, and Morrell all stuck out to me at one point or another. I hope they give Marinatos time to put his stamp on the program, which will take at least one recruiting cycle. Jacksonville needed overtime to beat USC-Upstate, which sent the teams to 2-8-1 and 2-6-1, respectively. JU has a -9 goal differential on the season and has averaged just 1 goal per game (with 2 of their 11 coming in Spartanburg). They've been shut out in 6 games this year. It's another game that the Bucs should win and need to win. If they can get three points and Stetson can beat or draw Mercer, then this race is blown wide open with five games left for ETSU.
ETSU beat Jacksonville at the last possible moment - with 1:22 to play - but dominated the game once again. I think the final shot count ended up 29-12 or something like that. Set pieces proved to be a huge factor - JU's goal came from a free kick, and ETSU's winner from Hodges came on a free kick. Both were outstanding shots, perfectly placed. Now the Bucs have Wake tonight. If they can win this game, I won't even know what to think anymore.
When you get a free kick that's 65 yards from goal, you typically don't expect much... or you did until last night. ETSU 2-2 Wake Forest Emmanuel. Wilson. AJDKFL. On his left foot, turning away from the box, ties the game with three seconds left. Overtime produced some chances, but nothing for either team that really looked like it could be a winner. Geno got another record with a phenomenal goal. Went up in the air, struck the ball with his lower (right) foot and steered it past Lisch. Can't think of a better way to become a team's all-time leading scorer. Hodges picked up yellow #5, so he'll have to sit on Saturday, but better for him to pick that card up and sit now than, say, getting it in Spartanburg in the last game of the regular season then missing the first game of the tournament.
Been away for a while. Lots of computer problems, but if they keep playing like they have for the last couple of weeks, maybe I should stay gone, eh? ETSU placed five players on the all-conference first team: David Geno (also Player of the Year), Ryan Coulter (also Goalkeeper of the Year), Alesi Osorio, Itode Fubara, and Maximilian Muemken, plus Blaike Woodruff on the second team and Kristoffer Ibsen and Dalton Guzman on the all-freshman team. Oh, and they won 1-0 over Jacksonville in the quarterfinals today. Fuby gets his second of the year from Geno. Since losing to Mercer, the Bucs are 6-1-2, have been shut out once (FGCU) and have conceded multiple goals once (Wake Forest). Tack on five shutouts for Coulter and the defense, and it looks like the Bucs have picked the right time to start playing their best soccer. Mercer are 5-3 since, with two shutouts and two times shut out. The rematch on Friday should be a dandy. I fully expect Lipscomb to get trounced by FGCU, but anything can happen in a one-off game, so we'll see.
This thread has been silent for a long while, but with Aaron Schoenfeld contributing to an MLS playoff team, his story deserves a bit more of a footnote. In-state kid who joined ETSU for its inaugural season, remarkable how far he's gone.