I felt like they were putting a lot of pressure on our defense in the first half and doing a good job of splitting our 3-back look, but fortunately they couldn't finish. Seems like at the half we were able to lock that down a bit. Offensively we were maybe a bit too patient, would have liked to see more hunger from the forwards.

Not too bad for a road opener vs a top 25ish team.

Definitely too close for comfort and I think a tie would have been disappointing. I think we're having some issues adjusting to the 3-5-2 now that we're playing real opponents. One of the things I worried about was the low level of competition (outside of the pro club) in the Spring and pre-season really didn't prepare the team or give us an accurate picture of how this team plays together, and I think we saw that today in the 1st half when a solid opponent could actually fight back.

The lack of possession in the midfield throughout long stretches of the game is very troubling for an experienced and talented team. Harvey was not involved in the play enough so she will need to be more assertive going forward. The 2nd half was certainly much better and we got a glimpse of what the attacking forwards are capable of when they apply pressure, but we need to finish chances in front of goal if this is going to be a special season. It was great to see Lopez get the game winner in a truly great goal as she dribbled through about 3 defenders and rocketed the winner to the far post from 20 years out.

I think we'll play better on Sunday against San Diego, especially with the communication between the backline and midfielders. Overall it was a good win and we kind of "survived and advanced", but remember this team is going to be judged at a much higher bar than the last few years. Unless we're all way off on the expectations for this year, I expect a high level of play from this team on a consistent basis, so hopefully today was just first game jitters.

Good game today. Good to see our freshmen make an impact. Was impressed with Lopez even before the goal. Addie also showed some flashes. Pepperdine is a very good passing team. Thankfully they couldn't finish - they had several dangerous opportunities diffused by poor strikes.

HiddenAg2 said:

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Unless we're all way off on the expectations for this year

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What are your expectations for the year? I've seen some talk about what could happen, but not a whole lot about what is expected to happen.

I expect a top 2 finish in the SEC (If we were still in the old Big 12 I'd for sure expect to be double conference champs, but SEC has several good, physical teams).

And expectations for the NCAA tournament kinda depend on our draw, but at least sweet 16 and elite 8 if our bracket doesn't suck.

Were you at the game Hidden?

Excuse me Mr Redd, the preferred title is "******BTHO Opponent******"

This game would have finished in regulation had you used the established naming syntax

redd38 said:

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HiddenAg2 said:

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Unless we're all way off on the expectations for this year

---

What are your expectations for the year? I've seen some talk about what could happen, but not a whole lot about what is expected to happen.

I expect a top 2 finish in the SEC (If we were still in the old Big 12 I'd for sure expect to be double conference champs, but SEC has several good, physical teams).

And expectations for the NCAA tournament kinda depend on our draw, but at least sweet 16 and elite 8 if our bracket doesn't suck.

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I had assumed through most of the discussion this offseason that the expectation was Elite 8 with a decent shot at the College Cup. Sweet 16 would be floor but I would personally be disappointed with that. The talent level is certainly no worse than Top 8 in the country this year. I do expect to win the SEC as well, assuming we beat Florida at home. But you are right that making a Final Four means a decent draw and hopefully a #1 or #2 seed to make it easier. In 2014 we had that #1 seed and still had to get through two tough homes games against Notre Dame and Penn State. I will say that after watching some of the other top teams this year already this weekend, this is going to be one of the most competitive seasons ever for the College Cup as there is a lot of parity among the top 10 teams.