We are playing a team coached by the "John Wooden" of college soccer. UNC has won 21 NCAA titles. Their roster reflects that. Their team is littered with players who have been called up to U17, U20, and the National Team, here or in England. After, watching the USC game in full, they have better ball skills than we do, play the ball with more pace, they have a high work rate and are aggressive. They have great depth, allowing their first team (less defenders) to play only 60 minutes with little drop off.
That said, they have won only 1 title in the last ten years. You wonder why? For all their talent, they play from the "how to" play soccer text book, with little flare or imagination. They are a team you can prepare for defensively.
They are aggressive offensively, pushing numbers forward, and their defenders play a very high line. They try to make it very difficult for you to play (dribble) out of your own end. But because of their aggression they don't make it difficult for you to possess the ball. They don't play Tiki Taka, i.e. keep away.
What does this mean for the Cougs? Assuming they play this same style against us (Remember, South Carolina chose to play with numbers back against us, afraid of our pace), we will be under assault, defensively. This won't be South Carolina, where they had only 1 solid shot on goal all game, in OT. We will need to defend in numbers, and resist the temptation to foul in or around the box. The ref could easily have awarded a penalty kick to South Carolina on a play that wasn't even remotely “do or die.” UNC is the blue blood, they will get that call. We need to trust that Dederick will make the stop on breakdowns.
Based on what I saw, Emily Fox, their best and most dynamic player, will miss our game due to injury (she was carried off the field with a leg injury).
UNC is ripe to be countered with our pace -- if they play their game. I have to believe that sheer hubris will not allow their coach to fundamentally change how they play, to a more defensive style, against the upstart Cougars. Because their defenders play so high, there will be plenty of space behind them to play the ball. Their goalie tries to neutralize this by coming up field to cover these balls. But this can be countered by playing the ball into the channels to the left or right of the goal mouth. Goalies are far more reticent to go after these balls because the goal becomes completely exposed.
USC was able to counter these guy with Penelope Hocking, wearing a full knee brace. So while the UNC defenders are clearly a cut above the South Carolina defenders, pace wise, they don’t have elite pace. To get the ball on the feet of Bennett and Weaver, we need to win the ball, pass quickly to Collins or Gomera-Stevens, centrally, who should turn and immediately deliver the ball into space allowing Bennett and Weaver the opportunity to run onto the ball. We need to resist the urge to try to dribble the ball into the mid field. We will get dispossessed quickly, and they will continue to attack without concern or pressure on their defense. Their defenders were not rested during the USC game, assuming that is the plan against us, also, their pace should fade down the stretch, if we make them work early, and often.
That said, they have won only 1 title in the last ten years. You wonder why? For all their talent, they play from the "how to" play soccer text book, with little flare or imagination. They are a team you can prepare for defensively.
They are aggressive offensively, pushing numbers forward, and their defenders play a very high line. They try to make it very difficult for you to play (dribble) out of your own end. But because of their aggression they don't make it difficult for you to possess the ball. They don't play Tiki Taka, i.e. keep away.
What does this mean for the Cougs? Assuming they play this same style against us (Remember, South Carolina chose to play with numbers back against us, afraid of our pace), we will be under assault, defensively. This won't be South Carolina, where they had only 1 solid shot on goal all game, in OT. We will need to defend in numbers, and resist the temptation to foul in or around the box. The ref could easily have awarded a penalty kick to South Carolina on a play that wasn't even remotely “do or die.” UNC is the blue blood, they will get that call. We need to trust that Dederick will make the stop on breakdowns.
Based on what I saw, Emily Fox, their best and most dynamic player, will miss our game due to injury (she was carried off the field with a leg injury).
UNC is ripe to be countered with our pace -- if they play their game. I have to believe that sheer hubris will not allow their coach to fundamentally change how they play, to a more defensive style, against the upstart Cougars. Because their defenders play so high, there will be plenty of space behind them to play the ball. Their goalie tries to neutralize this by coming up field to cover these balls. But this can be countered by playing the ball into the channels to the left or right of the goal mouth. Goalies are far more reticent to go after these balls because the goal becomes completely exposed.
USC was able to counter these guy with Penelope Hocking, wearing a full knee brace. So while the UNC defenders are clearly a cut above the South Carolina defenders, pace wise, they don’t have elite pace. To get the ball on the feet of Bennett and Weaver, we need to win the ball, pass quickly to Collins or Gomera-Stevens, centrally, who should turn and immediately deliver the ball into space allowing Bennett and Weaver the opportunity to run onto the ball. We need to resist the urge to try to dribble the ball into the mid field. We will get dispossessed quickly, and they will continue to attack without concern or pressure on their defense. Their defenders were not rested during the USC game, assuming that is the plan against us, also, their pace should fade down the stretch, if we make them work early, and often.
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