FrazierFanatic
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 15,574
Member is Online
|
Post by FrazierFanatic on Sept 29, 2017 10:54:49 GMT -5
b and b - there is certainly interest here, some for soccer/ Hoya fans, some for just Hoya fans in general. Usually waits for the season to get going.
Looks like the women have a real strong group, will be following them and hoping they play far into the post-season.
Hoya Saxa!
|
|
GUJook97
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,445
|
Post by GUJook97 on Sept 29, 2017 12:07:23 GMT -5
I've probably gone to as many women's games as men's games in the past few years. But, in general, college soccer isn't marketed well. On both sides. It's a shame.
|
|
|
Post by HoyaSinceBirth on Sept 30, 2017 18:48:41 GMT -5
Surprisingly dominant win by the ladies against DePaul. Not that I think we're not talented, but normally the games against DePaul are much more competitive. Looks like clear sailing to another big east title. * knock on wood *
|
|
RusskyHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
In Soviet Russia, Hoya Blue Bleeds You!
Posts: 4,620
|
Post by RusskyHoya on Oct 1, 2017 16:15:20 GMT -5
Surprisingly dominant win by the ladies against DePaul. Not that I think we're not talented, but normally the games against DePaul are much more competitive. Looks like clear sailing to another big east title. * knock on wood * DePaul is having a down year. I guess Alexa Ben can't carry the team all by herself. She also sounds pretty weary, to be honest - not at all like a 21/22 year old: For that matter, the DePaul coaching staff sounds weary too: The Hoyas have also never won the Big East regular season title, so that would be an important and long overdue first. A third of the way through the Big East, the Hoyas and Butler sit on top at 3-0, with Xavier just behind at 2-0-1, having inexplicably failed to score against Seton Hall. The Pirates (winless on the season!) and the Blue Jays have sunk toward the bottom, where they will surely remain. The rest of the league is all within a point of each other in the middle of the standings. Marquette came away with a 1-0 win at St. John's to stop a three-game skid - no idea what's been going on with the Golden Flu. Injuries, I suppose? The last week of the season looks like it will prove decisive: on the road on October 22nd at Butler and the season finale at home against Xavier on 10/26.
|
|
RusskyHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
In Soviet Russia, Hoya Blue Bleeds You!
Posts: 4,620
|
Post by RusskyHoya on Oct 1, 2017 17:17:52 GMT -5
A 5-0 wipeout of Seton Hall this afternoon to punctuate the celebration of the 25th anniversary of women's soccer on the Hilltop. The match followed what's become something of a pattern in many of the Hoyas wins: they start out, if not slow, then certainly not as dominant as you might expect given the disparity between the teams on paper. The defense does its job, but offensively, the attack looks a bit predictable - go down the flanks, try to cross the ball into the box or win a corner off a deflection. It's a sound approach, but it requires precision timing to pull off successfully on the fly, and it's never good to be too predictable. So while the Hoyas dominate possession and largely stay on the front foot, they have a hard time cashing in.
Eventually, though, the other team gets tired from defending so much, makes a mistake, Georgetown punishes them for it, the field tilts further and suddenly there's a couple more goals on the board. The other side keeps it close - scorewise at least - for a half or so, but the final tally is lopsided.
All that by way of saying: maybe the Hoyas should be a bit more direct early on, mix up the attack a bit more. My hope is that this will emerge over the remainder of the regular season, as Amanda Carolan works her way back into a groove and Paula G-W gains more experience and confidence. Amanda in particular has the size and footwork to be a good target #9, capable of cracking defenses through the middle of the field and preventing them from flooding the corners with defenders to crowd the wings. And that, in turn, makes the flank-and-cross game work better, as demonstrated by her goal off of a Caitlin Farrell cross today. It was great to see Amanda back and in full swing.
|
|
Nevada Hoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 18,485
|
Post by Nevada Hoya on Oct 5, 2017 16:43:20 GMT -5
The women and Creighton fought for a 1-1 tie. Hoyas have nine wins, Creighton nine losses. Creighton goalie had nine saves, the Hoya goalie no saves.
|
|
FrazierFanatic
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 15,574
Member is Online
|
Post by FrazierFanatic on Oct 5, 2017 17:05:34 GMT -5
That hurts a little. Gotta take better advantage of opportunities - a problem the men had last year.
|
|
RusskyHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
In Soviet Russia, Hoya Blue Bleeds You!
Posts: 4,620
|
Post by RusskyHoya on Oct 5, 2017 17:12:52 GMT -5
The women and Creighton fought for a 1-1 tie. Hoyas have nine wins, Creighton nine losses. Creighton goalie had nine saves, the Hoya goalie no saves. Got to watch the last half hour. Very disappointing to drop points to the last place team at home - lots of opportunities, just couldn't convert beyond the one game-saving goal form Paula. Hats off to their keeper, but it feels like there were plenty of balls out there that would've gone in if they'd just been on frame. Hopefully they come out with the killer instinct on Sunday up at Villanova. EDIT: Upon review of the stats...you have to assume/hope this was a fluke. For a game to end a tie with this kind of disparity is just...wow: "Georgetown outshot Creighton, 36-2, and took 16 corner kicks while the Bluejays were awarded none."
|
|
|
Post by HoyaSinceBirth on Oct 6, 2017 12:17:31 GMT -5
yeah hard game to watch. Should've had at least 5 goals. So many shots wide of the post. Couldn't get anything on target.
|
|
|
Post by bearsandbulls on Oct 6, 2017 18:55:44 GMT -5
Absolutely painful to watch knowing it was Creighton, but in retrospect, must give the Blue Jays credit. They took the lead on a penalty shot just outside the box to the right of center with an excellent shot----matter of fact their only one of the day. The Hoyas pounded the goal all day and Paula G-W finally fired a goal in. The stats were not only unbelievably in our favor, so was the game. When it went into overtime we won the toss and selected having their goalie look right into the sun in the first OT, thinking we could win it right there. After if remaining tied, there was literally very little worry about the sun in Airielle's eyes for she was not even touching the ball except when coming far out of the box to be part of the offense.
The lesson: the longer you let an obvious weaker opponent, and Creighton was definitely weaker, around the more confidence they build. I will give them credit though, even with the lead they did not bunker in defensively as did St. John's earlier this season right from the start. They tried to play straight up, but Georgetown just had the ball down their end all game long, especially for the last 90 minutes of the 110 game. Fortunately for us Xavier tied Butler, and noone really moved to threaten us or put us in jeopardy in the standings. So it was just over 700 straight minutes of shutout soccer for the Hoyas and hopefully a lesson learned. Net the ball. I suspect Nova on the road should be a different story. I would expect our side will come out strong and early. If not, my prognosis for post season success would go down, as I had every impression this team was building significantly since the early season losses to Stanford and WVU.
|
|
|
Post by bearsandbulls on Oct 6, 2017 18:56:07 GMT -5
Absolutely painful to watch knowing it was Creighton, but in retrospect, must give the Blue Jays credit. They took the lead on a penalty shot just outside the box to the right of center with an excellent shot----matter of fact their only one of the day. The Hoyas pounded the goal all day and Paula G-W finally fired a goal in. The stats were not only unbelievably in our favor, so was the game. When it went into overtime we won the toss and selected having their goalie look right into the sun in the first OT, thinking we could win it right there. After if remaining tied, there was literally very little worry about the sun in Airielle's eyes for she was not even touching the ball except when coming far out of the box to be part of the offense.
The lesson: the longer you let an obvious weaker opponent, and Creighton was definitely weaker, around the more confidence they build. I will give them credit though, even with the lead they did not bunker in defensively as did St. John's earlier this season right from the start. They tried to play straight up, but Georgetown just had the ball down their end all game long, especially for the last 90 minutes of the 110 game. Fortunately for us Xavier tied Butler, and noone really moved to threaten us or put us in jeopardy in the standings. So it was just over 700 straight minutes of shutout soccer for the Hoyas and hopefully a lesson learned. Net the ball. I suspect Nova on the road should be a different story. I would expect our side will come out strong and early. If not, my prognosis for post season success would go down, as I had every impression this team was building significantly on the offensive end since the early season losses to Stanford and WVU.
|
|
RusskyHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
In Soviet Russia, Hoya Blue Bleeds You!
Posts: 4,620
|
Post by RusskyHoya on Oct 8, 2017 17:19:30 GMT -5
Well that's more like it! A 5-0 washout at Villanova, with Amanda Carolan one-upping Alex Ovechkin by completing a hat trick in 2:46! And four for the game. The ever-entertaining Wildcats announcers were adamant that she deserves national player of the week recognition for this showing, and when they're right, they're right.
It still took half an hour to get on the scoreboard, but the Hoyas absolutely dominated possession and displayed a nice diversity of attacks, probing from every which angle. I had harped on their being a bit one-dimensional at times and, well, there you have it. Ultimately, all roads lead to goal, but the variety really put Nova under heavy pressure. Interestingly, as Nova's coach highlighted in the post-game, the dam broke when the Wildcats made their first sub. That disruption was enough to upset the defensive bend-not-break structure they'd been able to establish. Next thing you know, it's 3-0 and everyone is thinking about their upcoming mid-terms. At least, that's what I assume the Nova midfielder Fouque was thinking about when she cleanly deposited a Caitlin Farrell cross into the back of her own goal.
A word, now, about the defense, which featured Arielle Schechtman collecting another clean sheet despite not being called on to make a single save. The composition is probably a bit different from what we expected coming into the season... but it's hard to argue with this kind of success. There's no question that Liz Wenger's leadership and continuity from last season have been critical, and to quote Nova's coach, Meaghan Nally "can run for days" and has established herself as a true offensive weapon without sacrificing her defensive responsibilities.
What I'm most struck by, though, is the play of freshman Kelly Ann Livingstone. If I didn't know it to be a fact, I would not believe her a freshman. She certainly doesn't look like or play like one. She looks like a seasoned college veteran who has spent years in a high-level strength & conditioning program and has dozens of top-flight games under her belt. Pretty much every newcomer to this level displays some tentativeness, some hesitation, as they try to adjust to the speed and physicality of the game. I have not seen that happen once with this player. I was slightly startled to see her listed at 5'7 - she somehow plays much bigger and dispossesses attackers in multiple ways.
She's already picked up a Big East Defensive Player of the Week honor to her credit, and I expect many, many more plaudits to come her way moving forward as the rest of the league starts taking notice.
|
|
|
Post by bearsandbulls on Oct 9, 2017 8:47:44 GMT -5
As always an excellent summary Russky. I could not agree more with your assessment of the team. One of the important things is to look what you lose from year to year and how well you back fill. Well, we enjoyed Marina Paul for years and many thought irreplaceable. And now we see Stoudt, Nally, and Livingstone stepping up on the backline to compliment Wenger and Topor. The bigger concern was the loss on offense with Grace and Crystal graduating. And then slowly our new offense builds beautifully. Three five goal games, two four goal games to compliment ten shutouts by the "D". This team is growing into the post season just like a coach's dream. Everyone else seems to be beating up on each other in the Big East with Marquette 7 points behind us in the standings, and DePaul down 8. We are well situated with a two point lead over Butler and Xavier. 36 goals to 6, 263 shots to 64, 127 corners to 22 (105 more corners). The numbers are staggering, and yet this team is young except in the midfield. The numbers allow playing time for the future in the midfield as well, and that will be next years building process that is starting now. Very nice position to be in.
|
|
RusskyHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
In Soviet Russia, Hoya Blue Bleeds You!
Posts: 4,620
|
Post by RusskyHoya on Oct 15, 2017 12:01:43 GMT -5
Interesting quirk of the schedule: the Hoyas end the season with the top four teams in the league other than themselves, starting with today's road match at Providence. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Hard to say. It does seem like it took this Hoyas team a tad bit longer to gel than last season's edition, who scored the kinds of early season victories over West Virginia and Rutgers that eluded the current squad. On the other hand, with the exception of the Creighton draw, this year's group has taken care of business in the Big East so far, putting themselves in a strong position for the first ever regular season. With the conference tournament moving to a "at higher seed" format, that will prove crucial.
|
|
RusskyHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
In Soviet Russia, Hoya Blue Bleeds You!
Posts: 4,620
|
Post by RusskyHoya on Oct 15, 2017 15:06:50 GMT -5
*sigh* Give credit to Providence, who clearly watched the Rutgers tape and picked up on how to take advantage of the Hoyas' reliance on crosses from the wings. Georgetown spent plenty of time inside the Provy 18, but when you're banking on getting a sharp reversal of direction to get it past the keeper, you're agreeing to let chance play a larger role in the matter than if you've got your players taking the shots. Unfortunately, outside of Nally and every-once-in-awhile Farrell, the Hoyas have not been great at directing shots on frame. Would like to see Corboz be more assertive in this regard.
Marquette dropped Xavier yesterday, and DePaul managed a draw with Butler, so the Hoyas still sit atop the conference and control their destiny with 13 points. Butler and Providence now have 12 each, while Xavier sits at 11.
Marquette is up next on Thursday, and the Hoyas match up well against them. Hopefully they would rebound from this one as well as they did after the Creighton tie.
|
|
|
Post by bearsandbulls on Oct 16, 2017 8:14:02 GMT -5
Ball is in the ladies court/hands to do what they want/can with it. All the teams directly beneath them in the standings will be played in the next two weeks, two of the three at Shaw.
My euphoria about the offense after the five goal win two games ago was obviously overstated. We seem to steamroll teams that are either weaker personnel wise or just not bunkered in defensive posture, but sides who pack it in give us fits. The other comment is that we seem to start games with overconfidence (as in slowly) and allow teams to hang around too often. So the youthful offense I fawned over just two weeks ago may be a year away.
I feel the job will still be done in the BEAST, but worry about stronger sides in the tourney.
Meantime, protect the home side, win out and seal first place. The rest will play out thereafter. Go Hoyas.
|
|
RusskyHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
In Soviet Russia, Hoya Blue Bleeds You!
Posts: 4,620
|
Post by RusskyHoya on Oct 19, 2017 20:12:53 GMT -5
Apparently Rachel Corboz missed a PK today. Shocking! No matter - Hoyas roll right along.
|
|
|
Post by bearsandbulls on Oct 20, 2017 11:25:04 GMT -5
First off, at season's beginning, no one would have predicted Butler at 2 and Xavier at 3 along with Providence at 4.....No DePaul or Marquette in the top four....So the schedule works out that the ladies just have to take care of business....Butler on the road Sunday is big, big, big...We have 16 points, they are with 15....Home field advantage at stakes with the new Big East playoff format....Would be lovely to have all games at Shaw...
When this team jells it is a thing of beauty. When they stall it can be a bit ugly. This is what is scary for the NCAA tourney...Any stalling could be fatal with one and out...By stalling I mean goals shot, corner kicks, time of possession in the five to one category with no production. This just cannot happen from here out. Yesterday they left two bunnies on the pitch..Ferrell had one as did Rachel with her PK...That game could easily have been five to nil or even up to seven nil..We match up well with Marquette, but can't get cocky..Would be nice for Marquette to win its play in game and then have them beat #2 and draw them at Shaw for the final, but that is a few games away.
DePaul is really not scary this year. It seems to be Cleri and Ben and then not much. I have seen them play a number of times and they just barely hang on. So strength seems to reside with Butler and Providence this year, to some extent Xavier (but they are not overly impressive).
Go Hoyas, win out in the BEAST.
|
|
RusskyHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
In Soviet Russia, Hoya Blue Bleeds You!
Posts: 4,620
|
Post by RusskyHoya on Oct 21, 2017 19:29:58 GMT -5
When this team jells it is a thing of beauty. When they stall it can be a bit ugly. This is what is scary for the NCAA tourney...Any stalling could be fatal with one and out...By stalling I mean goals shot, corner kicks, time of possession in the five to one category with no production. This just cannot happen from here out. Yesterday they left two bunnies on the pitch..Ferrell had one as did Rachel with her PK...That game could easily have been five to nil or even up to seven nil... I think Dave Nolan would agree with you: I assume he means in conference play, since, um, that Stanford game is a thing that happened. Anyway, I like the Hoyas at home against any Big East foe, so clinching homefield for the tournament will be crucial. It's hard for me to imagine Butler losing to Villanova, although Xavier has to go on the road to St. John's. Regardless, the Hoyas can't expect to get any help - they will need to take care of business themselves.
|
|
RusskyHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
In Soviet Russia, Hoya Blue Bleeds You!
Posts: 4,620
|
Post by RusskyHoya on Oct 22, 2017 16:57:37 GMT -5
I hadn't realized what Butler's approach to this season was until the game today. They have turned turtle-and-counter into an art form, giving up only 3 goals this entire season at the cost of multiple draws against inferior opposition. 4-0-4 is a strange conference record indeed. The Bulldogs almost pulled off the win in 2OT, with only a Meghan Nally slide onto the ball preventing a shot into an open net, and they had a handful of other dangerous opportunities. The Hoyas, for their part, had the majority of possession and run of play, but they continue to experience struggles putting ball on frame. I'm getting unpleasant visions of this team being sent up to Piscataway or down to the Carolinas in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament and finding themselves on the wrong end of a 1-0 or 0-0 PKs defeat. One does have to give credit to Butler and their slightly ridiculous 3-6-1 formation for negating Amanda Carolan and limiting the Hoyas set pieces.
Having said all that, Georgetown has a clear advantage when at home, and they enter the season finale in control of their own destiny. Xavier seems to be fading a bit late - they fell at St. John's in 2OT today, and have found themselves leapfrogged by Providence. They will be plenty motivated heading into their last game, as they now have Marquette and St. John's nipping at their heels. If the X fall to the Hoyas, either of those teams could pass them in the standings and Xavier would fall all the way to 6th.
Just Win, Hoyas.
|
|