Soccer Penalty Kicks

[a-zip]

I have NEVER liked that after 120 minutes of exhausting soccer, a match is decided by guessing which direction a penalty kick is going….because THAT IS what a goalie has to do. ESPN did a piece on what the hardest thing to do in sports is and a goalie stopping a PK was the hardest. Most people thought hitting a major league pitch but;

• A PK from a soccer kick travels faster (125 MPH) than a MLB fastball
  
• A soccer goalie has to cover a space that is 8 feet tall and 8 yards wide (192 square feet to cover)
  
• A baseball strike zone is essentially just underneath the players shoulders and the kneecap and 17 inches wide (3.73 square feet)
  
• The baseball hitter knows in order to make a good swing the ball will be in this small zone
  
• A soccer goalie has no idea if the ball is going to go high or low…….right or left
  
• A soccer PK is taken from 12 yards away
  
• Distance from pitchers mound to home plate is 60 feet 6 inches
  
• The soccer goalie is not allowed to come off the goal line
  

I am not saying this as sour grapes (OSU won fair and square, UVA beat us for the National Championship in 2009 and thousands of other games have been decided this way…..WE have won this way) BUT when you look at how difficult it is to stop a PK it is essentially a guessing game and I do not think a match should be decided by guessing. My suggestion would be to have a shootout similar to hockey. Give the offensive player the ball just inside mid field and have them attack the goal (allowing the goalie to come off the line and defend just like a break away in regular play). I think this would be MORE exciting and involve more skill than guessing.

This uses the pythagorean theorem to calculate BUT with the ball only traveling at 60 MPH

http://www.khanacade...v/soccer-thiago

http://www.scienceof...by-numbers.html

[yazan07]

It's not really just a guessing game. A skilled goalkeeper can read a player's body language to try to figure out which way they will go. Also, MLS used to have shoot outs like you described, but they axed them because no one else in the world does it like that. I have posted a video of this below for your viewing pleasure. As you can see, it does give the GK a better chance of stopping the kick though. This was San Jose's 4th shoot out in a row in only their 5th game, and they would end the season with 12 because games couldn't end in ties at the time. Cameos in this MLS relic include an obnoxious amount of the "charge" cheer, the squad # 0, and a goalkeeper wearing a baseball cap. Aodhan Quinn's father was San Jose's coach that year.

[MDZip]

I've long advocated for reducing the number of players on the field for each overtime. Go to 9 then 7 then 5 with no goalie. It opens up the field and at least would be a little more "soccer like" to decide critical games like the playoffs. Regular season games have no shootouts but they do have overtime.

[Zip_ME87]

As long as the rest of the world continues going to PKs as they are currently done, I'm totally against the NCAA doing otherwise. In fact, I would like to see the NCAA change its soccer rules to be more inline with FIFA rules. Perhaps not limiting subs to 3 per game, but at least limiting it to once a player comes out, the player cannot go back in for the remainder of the game. College baseball follows the same sub rule as pro baseball; I don't understand why college soccer cannot at least get closer to the FIFA rule. The only way that the USA is ever going to compete for a Mens World Cup is to do everything possible so that every level develops players for pro soccer, and that includes the NCAA.

[fknbuflobo]

As long as the rest of the world continues going to PKs as they are currently done, I'm totally against the NCAA doing otherwise. In fact, I would like to see the NCAA change its soccer rules to be more inline with FIFA rules. Perhaps not limiting subs to 3 per game, but at least limiting it to once a player comes out, the player cannot go back in for the remainder of the game. College baseball follows the same sub rule as pro baseball; I don't understand why college soccer cannot at least get closer to the FIFA rule. The only way that the USA is ever going to compete for a Mens World Cup is to do everything possible so that every level develops players for pro soccer, and that includes the NCAA.

I cannot possibly agree more with you. FIFA substituting would subsequently reduce OT due to player fatigue.

[a-zip]

My comment was not specific to the Zips, the NCAA, MLS or FIFA. I think it is a crappy way to decide a soccer match in general. And Yaz.....yes it is a guessing game. Most any player NCAA and above can and will go to either side of the goal and they also do moves and shudders as they approach to throw the goalie off. It is impossible to react to 100 mph + shot taken from 12 yards away.

Interesting article

http://www.scienceofsocceronline.com/2009/04/penalty-kicks-by-numbers.html

[Zip_ME87]

Good luck changing the PK rules, wherever. The NCAA could go a long way to eliminating the need for PKs by changing the substitution rules as I suggested. If teams weren't allowed to almost substitute at will, the fitness level and fatigue would weed out the lesser team either in regulation or OT.

While they're at it, why can't the NCAA have the clock start at 0 and count up? They can still stop the clock rather than use stoppage time, but at least it would be closer to the professional rules. We did it once at FES-CCF for a nationally-televised game.

[fknbuflobo]

I hate PKs when we win; I hate PKs even more when we lose.

My preference would be to keep playing 45 minute "halves" until someone scores.

FIFA substitution allows for only 3 per match. Someone would score sooner than later.

But PKs is how The World does it, and they have done it that way for a long time.

FIFA is not like the NFL where there are major rule changes every five years. Or, for that matter, the MLS where they evidently change administrative rules on a whim.

FIFA is more like MLB, where change comes at a geologic pace.

NCAA MSOC would gain relevance by adopting FIFA rules, falling in line.

[Z.I.P.]

While they're at it, why can't the NCAA have the clock start at 0 and count up? They can still stop the clock rather than use stoppage time, but at least it would be closer to the professional rules. We did it once at FES-CCF for a nationally-televised game.

The rule book (and I have specifically asked the SID and official scorer of Hawaii women's soccer about this -- I have to assume it applies to both men and women) states that the home team has the option of running the clock either up from 0:00 to 90:00 or down from 90:00 to 00:00. In my travels I have noticed that many schools that used to run their scoreboard clocks up have switched to running them down -- why I have no idea, I'm with Zip_ME87 on this issue. BUT -- if you want the clock run the opposite direction you should direct your opinion to coach Embick, as he would seem to control the clock operation. This season I watched men's and women's games at Cal State Northridge and UC-Irvine, and the clock at Northridge ran up, while I seem to recall the one at Irvine ran down. In Hawaii, for several years our clock ran up, but a few years ago they switched it. I think it's just playing to the less knowledgeable spectators, who might be confused by the "backwards" (to American thinking) timekeeping. Let's get in the swing of the international (FIFA) system.

[ZippyRulz]

"It appears the NHL will have a new overtime format for the 2015-16 regular season. That should be music to the ears of anyone that despises the shootout."

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25223123/report-three-on-three-overtime-coming-to-nhl-pending-board-approval

[skip-zip]

I hate penalty kicks most of all because it cost us winning back-to-back National titles. It's just very nervous for me watching them, when my team is involved too.

I wonder if this Stat is available: How many PK's are MISSED simply because they missed the goal area completely with the shot? And not because the Goalie stopped it?

For me, hitting a baseball pitch ranks behind hitting a precision golf shot. You have to be nearly perfect when hitting a golf ball to have any kind of success. In baseball, you can succeed with almost any contact with bat and ball. Just my thought.

[Dr Z]

I've long advocated for reducing the number of players on the field for each overtime.

A league that tries to avoid shootouts. (similar to ZR post above)

While I enjoyed world cup last year, 2009 was my last college soccer game I will pay attention to until the kickball competition to decide a game is altered. I realize some enjoy it. I do not.

[zippy5]

For me, hitting a baseball pitch ranks behind hitting a precision golf shot. You have to be nearly perfect when hitting a golf ball to have any kind of success. In baseball, you can succeed with almost any contact with bat and ball. Just my thought.

A pro baseball player is a hall of famer when he does that 30% of the time. A golfer would be off the tour if he didn't hit good shots 30% of the time. Though it is probably best if another thread was made for this discussion

[skip-zip]

And.....a baseball player doesn't even have to hit it well. He may be rewarded simply by making any kind of contact whatsoever with the ball.

Yes Zippy5, certainly getting off topic.