GoZips Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 The 2011 men's soccer is simply not running on all cylinders.The talent is present and at times shines. Still there seemsto be something missing. Like heart or passion.What we are often seeing is way, way, way too many "through"balls as opposed to control and possession. A past hallmarkof Porter led teams has been the "death by a thousand passes".All to often it is a few passes then a long through ball often to"nobody home". Looks and is ugly.The Zips play without patience and without good communication.Plays are passed too weakly or passed late and often not at all.Indecision runs rampart. Players fail to come to the ball and stand and watch.With all these flaws there is still usually an opportunity to win.In most games the Zips lead late only to cough up a tying or winning goal as in overtime. Or, the sorry case against MichiganState.Think back; we give up late goals with just a few minutes to play.Wake Forest tied the Zips with barely three minutes to play.Michigan State scored the game winning goal with less than four minutesto play. We can point out several other games as well.And, there is a reason, an obvious reason. Our kids are playing ontired legs. Realize that Porter is old school and does not like tosubstitute. Michigan State substituted freely in the minutes leadingup to their game winning goal. Fresh legs.The argument goes, "our defenders just did not get back". Of coursenot, they were playing on tired legs and the attackers were on freshlegs.The solution is simple: put in fresh defenders late in the game toprotect our goal and possible lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisbee Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 I don't think tired defenders is the problem. Defenders are typically never subbed for in any soccer match. Problem is lack of consistent finishing. The goals are there but we are not taking advantage of the opportunities we have. If you don't score you can't win. In exactly one third of our games (6) we have scored no more than one goal and in 3 we have been shut out. Other problem is that we don't "show up" offensively until the second half in too many games. This is my first year of watching Zips soccer . I think the talent is there but it needs to be displayed on a much more consistent basis.Better to have lost yesterday then in NCAA playoffs. Porter seems to still be searching for the right combination of guys. I think there have been 11 different starting lineups so far this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zip37 Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 Couldn't get the live streaming, and now I'm glad, from Frencie's description it musta been UGLY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTank123 Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 The 2011 men's soccer is simply not running on all cylinders.The talent is present and at times shines. Still there seemsto be something missing. Like heart or passion.What we are often seeing is way, way, way too many "through"balls as opposed to control and possession. A past hallmarkof Porter led teams has been the "death by a thousand passes".All to often it is a few passes then a long through ball often to"nobody home". Looks and is ugly.The Zips play without patience and without good communication.Plays are passed too weakly or passed late and often not at all.Indecision runs rampart. Players fail to come to the ball and stand and watch.With all these flaws there is still usually an opportunity to win.In most games the Zips lead late only to cough up a tying or winning goal as in overtime. Or, the sorry case against MichiganState.Think back; we give up late goals with just a few minutes to play.Wake Forest tied the Zips with barely three minutes to play.Michigan State scored the game winning goal with less than four minutesto play. We can point out several other games as well.And, there is a reason, an obvious reason. Our kids are playing ontired legs. Realize that Porter is old school and does not like tosubstitute. Michigan State substituted freely in the minutes leadingup to their game winning goal. Fresh legs.The argument goes, "our defenders just did not get back". Of coursenot, they were playing on tired legs and the attackers were on freshlegs.The solution is simple: put in fresh defenders late in the game toprotect our goal and possible lead.Its finishing, pure and simple. If any number of chances had been converted last night the game is totally different, Akron isn't throwing eveyrone forward and they dont get caught on an unlucky counter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fknbuflobo Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 I appreciate both opinions offered here, GoZips’ and bisbee’s.Of the two, I lean toward bisbee on this one. No score = no win. There is too much indecision in the final third. They are not sure how they want to attack and when. Zips had better figure it out or they risk not even winning the MAC tournament. Northern Illinois are salivating for another shot at the Champs.If poor communication is a problem, it can only be exacerbated by a different lineup every match, not to mention copious substitution. Porter is substituting more liberally than at any other time is his Akron tenure. I am not sure what he is after with all the lineup changes, but he is clearly not happy with something. Players are recruited to this program that can play 100+ minutes without noticing the running. If they cannot run, Porter will pass on recruiting them. I refer to the oversized players who stereotypically go to Big 10 schools. These programs substitute at every opportunity during matches because their players cannot run well and also because it automatically breaks the rhythm and flow of the match. They play a bastardized version of the game that does translate to the next levels. In the international game, agility and technique trumps size and strength. Size and strength are bonus.Porter wants to change not only collegiate soccer but American soccer as a whole. He seeks to make NCAA soccer relevant again to the international stage by cultivating the right type of American player. That is why Klinsman wants him on the USNMT staff. I invite any response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbozeglav Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 i agree with fknbuflobo.. too much indecision in the final 3rd. luke seems to be the only one making plays while the rest aren't pressing. only when we went down 1-0 did I see them really try to fire at the goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisbee Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 It would be interesting to look at goals scored to this point in the season from last year to this year. I believe that last year we had at least 2 guys with double digit goals. Besides Mattocks there really has been little production from any one else. Guys who scored early in the season have been no where to be found on the scorers sheet since then. I know Kofi had I think 8 last year. It's very difficult to replace all the guys we lost and i think this is obvious. Still we ought to get a first round bye and the NCAA tournament always brings surprises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UAZipster0305 Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 i agree with fknbuflobo.. too much indecision in the final 3rd. luke seems to be the only one making plays while the rest aren't pressing. only when we went down 1-0 did I see them really try to fire at the goal.I disagree. As I stated in the game thread, Luke and Yedlin added a dimension of attack down the wings that was not present in the first half. I think if they had both started, we win the game. That is not to say that I'm second guessing Coach Porter. He knows what's best for the long-term. Mattocks also pressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ando Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 I pick Aodan Quinn as the scapegoat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisbee Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 I pick Aodan Quinn as the scapegoat Huh? What do you mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyake Posted November 4, 2011 Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 We were spoiled last year. Overall, this has been a great year for what we lost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted November 4, 2011 Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 We were spoiled last year. Overall, this has been a great year for what we lost+1. This is an amazing program. We lost 5 (right?) starters to the pros yet we're still a Top 5-ish team. And incredibly young. We're on top of the American soccer world right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 We were spoiled last year. Overall, this has been a great year for what we lost+1. This is an amazing program. We lost 5 (right?) starters to the pros yet we're still a Top 5-ish team. And incredibly young. We're on top of the American soccer world right now.We lost seven starters. Kept only Barson, Meves, Mattocks and Caldwell. I defy you to find another team that lost that kind of talent that had to be replaced and did as well as the Zips (trick question, no other college soccer team has ever lost that much talent to the pros in one year). We have 16 new players this year. I'm still very pleased (but the important thing is that Caleb is not). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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