CUSA Soccer Tourney

[Mean Green Matt]

Any chance north Texas could ever host the tournament???

The host site is determined before the year starts. The NT Athletic Department would need to bid for it. We hosted the Sun Belt tournament probably 6 or 7 years ago. I believe that was the last time a conference soccer tourney was in Denton.

[THOR]

The host site is determined before the year starts. The NT Athletic Department would need to bid for it. We hosted the Sun Belt tournament probably 6 or 7 years ago. I believe that was the last time a conference soccer tourney was in Denton.

With the success our girls have, you would think that our ad would do this...would be awesome

[GrandGreen]

Jackie Kerestine gets her 14th shut out of the year (out of 16 wins).

This was her 7th shutout in a row against conference teams.

Hat tip: @MeanGreenSoccer

#DefenseU

GMG

Make you wonder why she was beat out of the first team all conference goaltender position by a UTEP player which was behind her in all the statistics. Speaking of that, you would have thought Rice won the regular season championship looking at the post season awards. Rice had three first team CUSA players including the midfielder of the year and the offensive player of the year plus coach of the year. Counting all three teams named plus the freshman team, Rice had 7 players recognized versus NT's three with no POY's awards.

Hope that is enough to really fire up the NT girls on Sunday.

[CMJ]

I'll be at work Sunday - wish I could watch this. Good luck Ladies!

[EagleD]

That is a lot of soccer in a short amount if time.

[Mean Green Matt]

Almost game time. Let's Go Mean Green!

[Mean Green Matt]

Rice dominating the game so far.

Rice up 1-0 midway through first half. Our team thought she was offside (irrelevant at this point), but TV broadcast gave no angles to be able to tell one way or the other.,

[NT03]

Playing terrible so far & Jackie just went down. Doesn't look good

[Mean Green Matt]

I actually thought NT looked much better the last 15 minutes or so. Jackie being out is a concern...sort of looked like seeing her go down motivated them to step up the play a bit. Hopefully she returns in the second half. I think Flobeck is just sort of winging it in goal (she is not a GK) but she's done just fine so far.

[Mean Green Matt]

2-0 Rice on what may end up being an own goal. Deja vu from last year. Going to take something really special for NT to get back into it because the offense has looked hapless.

[10Eagle10]

any way we sneak into the NCAA tournament with our RPI at 61? or was winning the tourney championship our only way?

Edited November 9, 2014 by 10Eagle10

[Mean Green Matt]

any way we sneak into the NCAA tournament with our RPI at 61? or was winning the tourney championship our only way?

If we had beaten OU and Gonzaga (two games we gave up equalizers in the final minute at home and lost in OT) I think we may have an outside shot, but as it stands it is extremely, extremely unlikely.

We are going to have to score twice in the last 10 minutes to have a shot I think.

[Mean Green Matt]

Final 2-0 Rice.

NT was completely dominated in all aspects of the game. Rice was superior tactically and technically. Terrible performance. There's just no other way to put it. The injuries to Kerestine and Davis certainly didn't help but it should not have resulted in getting dominated quite that bad. Flobeck actually played very well in goal for not being a goalie.

NT now outscored 5-0 in the last two CUSA championship games.

EDIT: There is hope though. NT graduates only two seniors from this team.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Mean Green Matt

[THOR]

The girls looked slow compared to rice. ..

[untcampbell]

Jackie tweeted she got 10 stitches and a fracture (nose I believe0.

Heckuva season, ladies.

First CUSA conference championship team will be remembered.

GMG

[oldguystudent]

This is why I've never been a fan of conference tournaments in any spots. One bad game totally negates the body of work over the season.

[Travis]

It is hard to fault a coach like Hedlund who wins so often and keeps us in it year after year. So, his job should never be in jeopardy because we have a very solid, winning program.

But, his style of play drives me crazy and it is a reason why we never win "the big game". He likes the long ball-type game using speedy forwards to run underneath on quick runs. It is either that or set pieces that he gets most of the goals from. There is a reason we have never won a NCAA tournament game-even when we were fortunate enough to play teams like SMU or Tech.

Possession wins big games. Possession wins tournaments. Most of the time we lose in such games because long-ball relies on a lot of fortune bouncing your way... literally. It runs out because most of that play. And as you saw yesterday, the players seemed to get desperate and take ill-advised, low-percentage shots. We were never in this game. Possession can always trump that style of play as you saw yesterday from the championship game. We aren't the best at making crisps passes and we aren't really all that creative with our movement. Based purely on the game yesterday, it is really hard to see how we won the regular season. But, we did because Hedlund does a good job of bringing in good players from a soccer hot-bed that is North Texas area.

Rice exemplified what creative movement, possession, ball control and smart runs look like. Play like that, and we will win even more games... say a 'big game' or two.

And by big game, I mean a conferance tournament championship/NCAA tournament championship game.

Just my two cents.

[Mean Green Matt]

I'm not the biggest fan of the long ball style of play either, but it CAN work. It takes a lot of discipline and shape in the back and midfielders that work their butts off to get back on defense. There was an unmanageable (from a NT perspective) of space for rice to work with in the middle third which, with the creative runs they were using all day, was ultimately our downfall.

[greenminer]

This is why I've never been a fan of conference tournaments in any spots. One bad game totally negates the body of work over the season.

Inversely, it gives good teams that had crappy seasons a chance to redeem themselves.

[Travis]

I'm not the biggest fan of the long ball style of play either, but it CAN work. It takes a lot of discipline and shape in the back and midfielders that work their butts off to get back on defense. There was an unmanageable (from a NT perspective) of space for rice to work with in the middle third which, with the creative runs they were using all day, was ultimately our downfall.

I agree. I think it can work. But, rarely, if at all. And primarily against teams of like style. Possession tends to win out most every time.

But, you rely on luck because long ball really limits creativity and lateral movement. It predominately is longitudinal with most efforts to hit the flags and send it in or hit the streaking forward. It is the easiest to defend because all you need to do is create smart and timely offensive traps or simply drop your defense back and cover. Our midfield looked rather weak during the game. Possession increases luck more than the long-ball style.

[KRAM1]

History lesson.....generally speaking of course...

Long ball.....British and European soccer/football

Possession Soccer.....Latin American soccer/football

All in what you like. Both work given the right players...both don't work with the wrong players.

Sort of harsh to say you can't win a big game with the long ball style.

Edited November 14, 2014 by KRAM1

[Travis]

History lesson.....generally speaking of course...

Long ball.....British and European soccer/football

Possession Soccer.....Latin American soccer/football

All in what you like. Both work given the right players...both don't work with the wrong players.

Hey Mark! Thanks for the contribution.

Hmm.. i am not sure I would agree with that. I do actually think central america and many african nations are known for the long ball (and America too). Which is why you rarely see them go deep at all in the World Cup. But, Europe is known for a different style of play altogether that is a hybrid form of both possession and physical (England, Netherlands, Spain, and especially Germany are known for that) while South America I would describe as more finesse and possession mostly (brazil, chile, and argentina come to mind).

I can not think of a true long-ball style of play that has ever won a tournament- Champions Cup, World Cup, or Regional Cups or otherwise.

[KRAM1]

Travis...I am talking history here. Long before you were a twinkle in your Dad's eye. When England won their last World Cup they did it with the long ball. During the heyday of Boluvian soccer it was all possession ball...as it was pretty much with Pele and Brazil. Many many hybrids now for the very reasons you discuss. Not many pure "kick and run" teams going on these days, as ISU the case with the Brazilian "beautiful game" of yore. Defenses are different as well, thus the rise of hybrid play. Players are so skilled today that the European and especially English kick and runof yore, while fast and fun to both play and watch, just doesn't work when one reaches the big championships these days.

Sort of how we have watched the evolution of American football play in the last 40-50 years.

Even at the youth level we have seen a big transition in play styles...just being big and fast doesn't cut it today...again the English have paid the price for believing that big was better. Muscle is great and speed still "kills", but the game also favors the smaller, quicker and highly skilled players as well in today's hybrid offensive styles.

One reason soccer is such a great sport.

Check out the book "How soccer Explains the World"... Or something close to that regarding how soccer has impacted the geo-political landscape in the word. Really good read...not on this topic, but a really good soccer fan read.