SLU won the C-USA game 2-1 in OT last night in Charlotte. From what I saw, there's no way SLU is a top five team, but maybe I caught them on a bad night. My take on this game. SLU scored an early goal when Charlotte failed to clear the ball, and Vedad Ibisevic (sp?) pounced on it, scoring a pretty volley. SLU controlled the first half, especially in the midfield and Charlotte had very little possession. SLU knocked it around real well, built an attack, and could have led 3-0 at the half. Charlotte's Juan Munoz-Airey scored a beauty late in the first half with a great shot from about 21 yards out. He was maybe the best player on the field for either team in this match, but both keepers played extremely well. Hutton had a terrific save for SLU in the second half on a shot by Munoz-Airey from about 10 yards out. SLU won it in the second OT on an own goal. I can't remember who it was, but the SLU player was crossing it, it deflected off a Charlotte defender and into the far corner of the net for the winner. Some observations. SLU is vastly overrated. And IMO, the most overrated player in America is Wickart. The guy is tall, and that's it. Oh, he can kick the ball pretty far too. He showed me nothing. SLU's national teamers were okay, but not great. DiRamaindo was average...nothing special. Same with Grazier. SLU's best player last night was certainly Hutton. If SLU is a top five team, then it's really a down year for D1 soccer. For Charlotte, Mackanos (GK) was terrific, as was Munoz-Airey who actually came off the bench. Why he isn't starting is a mystery...the kid can really play. Half of Charlotte's team had that look of a deer caught in the headlights. Most of their guys love to get the ball and try to dribble through traffic. Charlotte's number 10 was constantly dribbling, and losing it to the other team. This game brought me to the realization that college soccer just isn't very good, and at times, it's brutal to watch. In that entire game last night, I can't remember seeing either team with a give and go. SLU would knock it around the back a little, then Wickart would send a long ball trying to find Ibesivic up top. They didn't use their midfield very often to mount an attack. As for Charlotte, it's like their players said, "let's see how long I can dribble before I lose the ball." Their goal came on a great effort by Munoz-Airey, but it was all him.
LDB, While your observations may be a fair assessment of how SLU is playing right now (i.e. possession in the back and long balls - not enough midfield play), I think you short change them a bit and overlooked one detail. First they are undefeated, having knocked off at least 5 ranked opponents including 2 perennial ACC powers - that says a lot for their ability to get the job done. While several of the games have been close, they did come out on top and all but one of the games have been away. Second, you must remember 7 of the starters for SLU are freshmen - they only have 4 upperclassmen on the roster, the starting 3 backs are seniors & the GK is a junior. That may help explain the tendency to rely on the back play. The young players on this team are outstanding and will continue to improve and develop as the season moves on. They are off to a remarkable start and hopefully will truly peak at the end of the season. I think they deserve their ranking based on their record and who they have beaten - how many other teams are undefeated and have faced a similar number of top ranked teams?
Completely agree, DS. What a croc, LDB! Soundly beating Clemson and Virginia on the road I would think would impress LBD a little more. You saw Wickart play one game and can conclude that he is the most overrated player in America. What an stupid statement that is. The Bills have given up one even-strengthed goal in 7 games, but I guess Wickart has nothing to do with that. I think maybe you are a little miffed because SLU keeps beating your ACC teams on the road. I would be a little upset too. The best 4 attacking players on SLU's team are all freshmen! Name a team that young that is producing the results the Bills are.
First of all, I'm a Donigan fan. I think he's one of the top 5 coaches in the country. This guy can flat coach. Concerning Wickart....I've seen him more than once...I've seen him play several times, dating back to his days at Wake Forest. And I saw him twice last year. If you think SLU beating ACC teams is an indication of how good they are, you need to think again. The ACC is not that good this year, other than Maryland. And by the way, I saw Maryland throttle Duke today. If Maryland played SLU right now, the Terps would hammer them too. When you talk about the best four attacking SLU players as freshmen, so what?
Is it that difficult to figure out?? A team playing almost entirely underclassmen with little experience playing together but still having terrific results is impressive. It is also not a stretch to think that they will improve significantly as the season goes on. Wow! The ACC sucks. It must if SLU keeps beating them. Genious call to say Maryland is better than SLU. No kidding! But other than them and UCLA, who is playing better than SLU right now? Who has more impressive wins? Who has won five road games? Creighton? Indiana? UCONN? Furman? Help me out here???? Again, you didnt address the fact that other teams tend not to score against us when Wickart is playing. My guess is there is not a team in the country on which he would not be starting.
Guess I struck a nerve, huh? Remember dude...these are opinions here, that's all. Just chill out a bit. I didn't say the ACC sucks...I said it wasn't very good this year. I'm not the only one who thinks so. I have thought for years that the ACC is overrated anyway. After Bruce Arena left UVA, the ACC has gone downhill.
All I can say is this: 3 OT wins on the road. All the teams SLU has beaten minus Charlotte have been or are in the Top 25. More than half the starters are FRESHMAN. Is it ugly sometimes? Maybe, but they're getting the job done period.
Bluntly: He's overweight. Otherwise, I've liked what I've seen out of him but he's got a lot of competition and he's really playing as a "freshman" because he got hurt last year right at the beginning of the season so he's starting at square one with all the newbie's. I think the same question could be asked of Wynn but the answer is Dongan has better talent as his disposal. Do. I think Hopson could grab a spot? Absolutley. Just my opinion though.