Soccer team has tough schedule ahead

MeanGreen61 · September 7, 2006

Head coach John Hedlund hopes to create chemistry

Lindsay Williams

Issue date: 9/7/06

Three games into the season that could possibly lead to a third Sun Belt Conference title and the Mean Green has already begun to show its strengths as a team. NT is now 2-0-1 and still has a challenging non-conference schedule left to play.

NT will travel to Lincoln, Neb. this weekend for match ups against the University of Nebraska on Friday and the University of Southern California on Sunday. The two nationally ranked schools look to push the Mean Green to perform at its highest level possible.

"Obviously we're the underdog," said head coach John Hedlund. "For me, I want us to go out and play good soccer."

Playing good soccer and attacking the goal are two things Hedlund feels are vital aspects of this weekend's games.

The veterans on the team are accustomed to playing in big games and facing competitors that are equivalent to that of USC and Nebraska. However, the team also consists of many young players. Coach Hedlund said that for the veterans this is nothing, and the rookies he has played have really stepped up and handled the pressures rather well.

It is hard for any team to establish a strong sense of chemistry among one another both off and on the field. Hedlund said getting the team chemistry going was his main focus for the offense in practice this week, as it prepares for the tough competition in Nebraska.

Hedlund is looking to attack with six players on the offense and he will have those six do drills together all week in practice. He hopes this will get the women to really start working together and integrate more combination passes into their game.

Chemistry will take time for the offense, but on the defensive side of play it seems as though Hedlund has already worked out any possible kinks. Junior goalkeeper Kandice Ellis has already proven herself to be the possible backbone of the NT defense. Ellis had a career-high 13 saves in the game against rival Southern Methodist University.

NT has changed up its formation to benefit the defense in the past two games; the team has been in a 4-4-2. That formation has varied a bit, sometimes shifting into a 4-3-3.

"I think it helps us to have that extra defender," Hedlund said.

The outcome of the games this weekend will help clarify what the Mean Green soccer team is capable of doing this season.

nortx9 · September 7, 2006

Soccer team has tough schedule ahead
Head coach John Hedlund hopes to create chemistry
Lindsay Williams
Issue date: 9/7/06
Three games into the season that could possibly lead to a third Sun Belt Conference title and the Mean Green has already begun to show its strengths as a team. NT is now 2-0-1 and still has a challenging non-conference schedule left to play.
NT will travel to Lincoln, Neb. this weekend for match ups against the University of Nebraska on Friday and the University of Southern California on Sunday. The two nationally ranked schools look to push the Mean Green to perform at its highest level possible.
"Obviously we're the underdog," said head coach John Hedlund. "For me, I want us to go out and play good soccer."
Playing good soccer and attacking the goal are two things Hedlund feels are vital aspects of this weekend's games.
The veterans on the team are accustomed to playing in big games and facing competitors that are equivalent to that of USC and Nebraska. However, the team also consists of many young players. Coach Hedlund said that for the veterans this is nothing, and the rookies he has played have really stepped up and handled the pressures rather well.
It is hard for any team to establish a strong sense of chemistry among one another both off and on the field. Hedlund said getting the team chemistry going was his main focus for the offense in practice this week, as it prepares for the tough competition in Nebraska.
Hedlund is looking to attack with six players on the offense and he will have those six do drills together all week in practice. He hopes this will get the women to really start working together and integrate more combination passes into their game.
Chemistry will take time for the offense, but on the defensive side of play it seems as though Hedlund has already worked out any possible kinks. Junior goalkeeper Kandice Ellis has already proven herself to be the possible backbone of the NT defense. Ellis had a career-high 13 saves in the game against rival Southern Methodist University.
NT has changed up its formation to benefit the defense in the past two games; the team has been in a 4-4-2. That formation has varied a bit, sometimes shifting into a 4-3-3.
"I think it helps us to have that extra defender," Hedlund said.
The outcome of the games this weekend will help clarify what the Mean Green soccer team is capable of doing this season.
←

Tough indeed...I'll be there for the game, want to see the offense get untracked. We do need to manage possession better with connected passes and look for the weak side switch to jump the attack. It has been there every game, but we have struggled with connecting the pass to the weak side player, or with possessing long enough (or too long) to release the ball. Side note: We need to win more 50-50 balls in the air, our win ratio on contested headers is horrible, and two competitor's goals this year have come from corners won on the back post. SMU missed a couple of others Sunday. Looking for more aggressive play here too! Looking for a win with Nebraska, and a draw with USC if we can win more balls in the air.

nortx9 · September 12, 2006

Soccer team has tough schedule ahead
Head coach John Hedlund hopes to create chemistry
Lindsay Williams
Issue date: 9/7/06
Three games into the season that could possibly lead to a third Sun Belt Conference title and the Mean Green has already begun to show its strengths as a team. NT is now 2-0-1 and still has a challenging non-conference schedule left to play.
NT will travel to Lincoln, Neb. this weekend for match ups against the University of Nebraska on Friday and the University of Southern California on Sunday. The two nationally ranked schools look to push the Mean Green to perform at its highest level possible.
"Obviously we're the underdog," said head coach John Hedlund. "For me, I want us to go out and play good soccer."
Playing good soccer and attacking the goal are two things Hedlund feels are vital aspects of this weekend's games.
The veterans on the team are accustomed to playing in big games and facing competitors that are equivalent to that of USC and Nebraska. However, the team also consists of many young players. Coach Hedlund said that for the veterans this is nothing, and the rookies he has played have really stepped up and handled the pressures rather well.
It is hard for any team to establish a strong sense of chemistry among one another both off and on the field. Hedlund said getting the team chemistry going was his main focus for the offense in practice this week, as it prepares for the tough competition in Nebraska.
Hedlund is looking to attack with six players on the offense and he will have those six do drills together all week in practice. He hopes this will get the women to really start working together and integrate more combination passes into their game.
Chemistry will take time for the offense, but on the defensive side of play it seems as though Hedlund has already worked out any possible kinks. Junior goalkeeper Kandice Ellis has already proven herself to be the possible backbone of the NT defense. Ellis had a career-high 13 saves in the game against rival Southern Methodist University.
NT has changed up its formation to benefit the defense in the past two games; the team has been in a 4-4-2. That formation has varied a bit, sometimes shifting into a 4-3-3.
"I think it helps us to have that extra defender," Hedlund said.
The outcome of the games this weekend will help clarify what the Mean Green soccer team is capable of doing this season.
←

Good effort from the team this past weekend. Like SMU game, really could have won or tied the Nebraska game if someone could have marked Timken (3 goals) once. USC just gave us an old fashion butt whippin'. Could not generate any offense, and several players were half lame from leg maladies. Defense played well against USC and kept the game close, marking was better in 2nd game too. While the losses were a disappointment, the games were good skill sharpeners and we were playing much faster soccer by end of the tournament, thanks to the pressure defenses of both Nebraska and USC. See everyone at TWU match I hope on Wed night? I think we met the stated goal ( Playing good soccer and attacking the goal are two things Hedlund feels are vital aspects of this weekend's games. , hope we can find the net a few more times this week!