Preseason Analysis (so far)

[Rover]

Originally Posted by Jim Umber

Remember that those were the players that were playing that day, with some exceptions. I think that was the main reason for the result, and that is going away, fast.

You nailed that one, Jim!

[Dadof3]

I did not see the games, but I can definitely speculate...

DC could have been the worst possible match-up for our squad at that time...high midfield pressure, very few offseason changes...against our brand new team whcih did not yet have a chance for the D to work together.

No big surprise, immediately after the game, Coach commented on our lack of D organization, and spent the rest of the week working on it, leading up to the U-17 game. In that game, there was an offside trap breakdown, then an inability to hit the net = 1-1. A good second game, less pressure from the young-uns, chance for us to gain confidence.

Then came the last 3 (I am ignoring the Amatuer game)...2 shut-outs, a pk goal and a late goal in garbage time against...obviously the D organization practice has worked, and it is pre-season where all the other teams are trying to gel offensively so are not as danagerous as they will be later = good results...

None of this should be much of a surprise. It is easier to teach defense and defensive organization than it is to teach offense...if we had continued to give up tons of goals in the later games that would not have been a good sign for the season...as expected we got the D sorted out...

What was not expected, and what has me extremely excited for the season :D , is the fact we are hitting the goal with regularity. We've been working the D, not trying to sort out what offense we're going to play, yet we are scoring...often! This is a testament to the creative players we have on the field.

Will this continue in the season? Maybe...if I'm against RSL I pack up the midfield because I don't believe the RSL forwards are fast or tall enough to play over the top, and make RSL try to pass their way through the middle third with a D-mid who is not known for his passing and a D that is adequate on the ball at best. This puts a ton of pressure on either Mathis or Williams to work their butts off to create space for themselves in a crowded mid...something neither is known for. Don't be suprised when the next coach-speak comments we hear from Ellinger is related to working our way through the middle third of the field against pressure.

...is it April yet?