Wolfpack makes it back-to-back ACC wins toping the Cavaliers 1-0. Goal at the 35th minute by Aaron King with the assist by Santiago Fusilier. The first half was owned by State, the second half they went into a defensive mode and Virginia had the better of the play. Virginia had a couple of quality chances: one great save by Gonzales mid way through the second half, and then a great save by the post with about five minutes remaining.
Like Clemson fans last week, us UVa fans have to take this one on the chin. State really does seem like they are improving and King IS for real. Big, powerful and strong. Amazingly, State is now in second place in the ACC.
Best injured? Any truth to the rumor that UVA GK Ryan Best is injured and may be out for the season? Another tough loss for UVA.
Players looking to leave early I remember an earlier post that said that none of the UVA players on the current team were looking to leave school early and enter the draft. I am aware of three players with those plans - West, Johnson and Vide - since none of them are having outstanding years, those plans may change. If the team doesn't make the NCAA playoffs, it would be difficult for those players to get noticed.
congrats state... got me a nice internet connection before heading back to c'ville. got a chance to see the ladiy cavs on friday, some local games on sat. and the men play today. state kicked uva's butt. more in the first half than the second, but nontheless it was a spanking. same story for uva, fell behind and don't chase well. can't finish a lick, and the defense is terribly slow of foot. even the midfield was dominated. also saw the dark side of uva caching today. the state keeper was awesome. he made one point blank save on a cristman redirection that was as pretty as you'll see in this division. he was as steady the rest of the way. state's forward #12 (king?) abused the slow of foot cav defense. when not getting burned by him, they were getting their ankles broken by #12, #11 and #20. the state fans were just laughing across the way. cavs keeper did a good job, and can't be blamed for the goal. it was a defensive breakdown. forwards missed shots all day long. they pass up on so many opportunities that even the fans are yelling shoot. there was even an open shot missed from the 6 yard box corner with only the keeper to beat. midfield today was totally uncreative, and got schooled by the elegant play of state's midfield. the cavs fielded a different look today. surprised me because i thought they had been playing well as a unit the last week or so. someone tagged gg as bgg, and i can see why. it would not have taken much to step up and play better today, but there was no heart on the field. bgg is not even s(smal)gg. credit to gt for keeping his state unit focused - as nutty as he is - at least there is passion. their defense has gaps, but they deserve credit for kicking gg and the cavs around today. long bus ride home, with lots of uncertainty if the coach keeps playing games with his squad.
Re: Players looking to leave early don't know who west is, but i would think that anyone with an opp to leave this program should go as soon as possible. the more i read about gg, the more i think that players today are coming to uva because they were influenced by the good yrs when uva was a powerhouse. the achievements of latter day uva teams under gg are only disappointments.
Paul Johnson is currently injured. Ryan Best is also injured, they gave his right quad a hardcore icing halfway through the William and Mary game, and put Burke in. I don't know how long he'll be out for, but I'll find out Saturday.
I strongly disagree with KR that those guys won't be able to go pro. Look, most, it not all professional coaches, won't be influenced too greatly by what a kid does in college. Here's why. There are lots of good players on poor teams that don't get any recognition. In UVA's case, BGG is like most college coaches...stubborn, egotistical, and clueless. I know several kids who are having "below average" seasons, and they would impress many pro coaches overseas. Hell, half the time, the better players are sitting on the bench because college coaches play so many mind games with these kids. If I was a pro coach, let's say, in Italy...and a kid came to tryout for my team....I wouldn't give a rats a__ what he did in college. College soccer is a joke compared to the pro game, and everyone knows it.
LDB, I believe that you have it right. In my view, there is only one player on UVA that could make it in the pros next season - Oliver. Others can try, but I just believe that they would peter out like so many before them. There are very few college coaches that I have witnessed that know how to develop talent. They train athletes not soccer players. They f$$k with the players' minds to break them into what they think they should be. Most players don't know how to handle this, and lose confidence. What good does that bring the team? Nada! I also agree with you in that any player that has an opportunity to get the h$ll out of the college program and go to play where soccer is the king sport should do it. If you want to be a basketball player come to the US. If you want to be a soccer player, get the f$$k out of the college system.
Well its clear that this team is going to have its ups and downs this year. Typical of any young team. They had been playing well EVEN in the games that they lost so what gives with the change to the lineup? While I did not see yesterdays match and can't comment on the play. The defense has been solid and the the mid field had been dominating. ( and against tough teams, ie wake, unc). But, given the amount of scoring opportunities that are created the finishing has been poor. Not only that but that but the lack of anticipation by the forwards leaves a lot great balls to be picked up by opposing defenders. BUT the change was not with the forwards. Injuries? Hope to make the next game and see the Cavs get it together for a win.
Seems like everyone in the ACC says they are young this year (except Maryland and Wake Forest) NC State and Virginia have one senior starting and UNC has 2 seniors starting. I read a Clemson supporter claim last week that Clemson was young - but they have 6 seniors. "Earth to Clemson - you have a veteran team."
Clemson To: PB04 Clemson's team is young to the extent that there are quite a few freshman playing, and sophomores and juniors who in some cases saw little playing time in previous years. Plus the GK's are basically all first year's, including Hunter Gilstrap, who was redshirted and then backup to Doug Warren last year. The team is also still contending with injuries to key offensive players, especially senior forward Steven Rhyne.
Re: Clemson I stand by my statement that this year Clemson has more seniors playing, even with some injuries, than most teams in the ACC. According to Clemson statistics 4 of the 7 seniors listed on their roster have played and started all their games. Many ACC teams this year don't have 4 seniors on their roster - let alone starting all their games. A lot of teams have injuries and have freshmen playing.
I think you're both right. Clemson is kind of a doughnut in that they do have the seniors - Cutler, Hilgenbrinck (who I really like), Rhyne, Sounders and Borges but they also start a LOT of freshmen and guys that didn't play very much. Other than Branan and Moor, I don't think they have any sophs and juniors that play much. Clemson also lost a LOT from last year. stating GK, best defender (both to MLS), leading scorer, D-mid and playmaking mid. That's five players who are tough to replace. That said, Clemson SHOULD be doing better. There's no shame in losing to VCU, Saint Louis and Coastal as those are all good teams, and NC State is obviously no longer the doormat it was the past four years. But tying Winthrop and Air Force? Getting "Ts" instead of "Ws" from those games could come back to bit the Tiggerrrs in the ass if they are on the bubble come tournament time.
I know next to nothing about Winthrop but I can say without question that Air Force is a fine offensive team and overall in my opinion is an above average NCAA team.
The impression I got was that Johnson and Vide are looking to get drafted by the MLS, not go to Europe. I think Johnson needs to get some better defensive skills before he tries out for the MLS. Speed isn't the sole qualification for pro defenders. Vide is having a sub-par year. He needs to pick it up if he is serious about leaving UVA. His flashes of brilllance are getting less and less each game. Both players should stay in school if they don't go the European route and improve their games. UVA should recruit the best forwards in the country to get back on tract. Fortunately, the schedule is less demanding the next few weeks so UVA should get more wins and less losses on their record prior to tournament time. UVA still has a shot at the playoffs. PS - the Air Force references are great