******BTHO Butler******

3,577 Views | 50 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by mullokmotx
HiddenAg2
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First of all, that Butler coach is one heck of a coach. That team is so fundamentally sound defensively it's pretty amazing. There were almost no gaps or mistakes all night, even when we stretched them and had good crosses into the box. Yes, A&M missed a few chances to connect in front of goal, but there was always a defender right on their hip. The best chance to score was from distance and we had a couple of shots go off the crossbar. We clearly got frustrated and that led to the ejections but the game was over long before then. There were a few controversial calls - Harvey taken down in the box and an offsides call that negated a goal - but right now the offense is just not dangerous in front of goal. When was the last time Watt actually connected on a header in the box? Why do we not take more shots from the 18-20 yard mark when there is an opportunity? Why do all our slotted passes or long balls go way too far? Why do we continue to play a 3-back set that is giving up goals left and right and cannot defend on counter attacks because we don't have the speed to recover?

At this point I have to admit that right now it doesn't look like this team is going to be the team I expected in the offseason. There is a lot of individual talent and super athletes on the roster, but they aren't able to connect enough passes in the final third to be dangerous or create enough chances to offset our very poor conversion rate on shots on goal. A&M dominated possession tonight but Butler played the perfect counter attacking style. It's really not acceptable to give up 2 goals to that squad though. The 2nd goal was just poor GK. I've been calling for Ausmus to be given an opportunity but maybe she's injured? The defense is just a mess right now when trying to defend counter attacks. It's time to put 4 players on the backline.

I really do think the season is in the balance on Sunday because a loss to a good Kansas side will really kill our chances for a high seed in the NCAA tourney. Now with Harvey out (I assume) that will only complicate things in the midfield. We really need this team to regroup and dig deep to pull out at least a tie on the road. Then we can prepare for a tough test at Auburn. The team needs to mentally fight through these next two games or the season could be derailed quickly. Man, this is really depressing because we seem to be wasting a lot of talent out there.
BigJim49 AustinNowDallas
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AG
3 back. beat one - no one to back you up .= goal
BigJim49AustinnowDallas
Aggie Futbol
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I'm beginning to think that this team isn't as good as we had hoped they would be.. although they should easily score more this year than last year, it has not looked promising thus far. The offensive players have not worked well together and has made far too many poor decisions in addition to executing poorly. Defending with three in the back can be tougher, however; with five in the midfield there should be plenty of coverage. Three issues: the back three do not possess great speed, they have not played together before this season and, the midfielders are not covering back consistently. Yes, Butler was a good team but we should have known this. Losing at home to Butler should not happen. Harvey should know better as a senior captain. G has no great excuse either.

Kansas will be tough.
Gap
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Our expected offensive threats aren't very threatening so far.
mullokmotx
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I counted only 18 players suited up tonight. So unless someone comes back we will have only 17 on Sunday. Mikaela needs to be real careful the rest of the season as another red will result in a 2 game suspension the way I read the rules.
Here4goodSoccer
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I don't get why one of the team's top talent is stuck on the left side where she isn't used. Bates should be playing up top or out on the right. I'm not sure I've seen a single game this season that has had a good buildup on the left. I don't think this is a team of individual superstars who can't play as a team. I think it's a few superstars playing out of position and not being able to utilize their skills to benefit the team. The worst part is the 3 back, but I'm not sure when the coaches will realize it is not clicking, the USWNT can barely play it, how can this team?

On a positive note, I really think Hajdu has looked more impressive this year on her limited minutes. I really hope she starts getting serious minutes.
CDub06
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The game completely changed after that first goal. A&M was dominating completely. Then the goal came against the run of play. Both goals came from some horrible defending TBH.
vwbug
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Agree on Hajdu. Will Coach G have to sit out Sunday as well?
tamufan
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On the first goal a midfielder failed to keep up with her mark. Her mark got goalside of her, got the ball, and scored. One shot, one goal. Nice movement off the ball by the Butler forward, and nice pass to get her the ball.

On the second goal we ended up in a 3v3 and then 4v4 situation on a quick counter, and Butler's forwards made good runs, managed to get open enough to get off a shot that was partly deflected, and our keeper allowed a slow roller to get by her.

A terrible night for our D.

On offense, early on we missed at least one shot that we really shouldn't miss. We really need to quit wasting our opportunities to score, but past history suggests this may be unlikely.

In the first half, it often seemed that our forwards (and some mids ) were too stationary, waiting for a pass instead of making a run. Is it impossible for our forwards to make a diagonal run across the defense? We have forwards with the speed to get free of their marks, and mids that should be able to deliver the pass.

Our movement was somewhat better in the second half..

It is frustrating that with our talented and experienced forwards and mids we cannot seem to generate a sequence of passes that get us a nice shot on goal.

Butler was a joy to watch. Good D, nice movement on O when they did get the ball. Good goalkeeping.

I thought Harvey was fouled in the box, but I'd like to see the replay. Still, seniors and captains shouldn't pick up red cards the way Harvey did. It's selfish and hurts the team this game and next..

The referee did seem to make bad calls -- or bad no-calls -- toward the end of the second half, and I suspect he lost his temper and gave that second yellow to Harvey out of anger. It was not necessary and he needs a thicker skin, although she might have been begging for it. I thought he wasn't bad in the first half and the first 20 minutes or so of the second half, other than sometimes being too quick to blow the whistle instead of allowing advantage. He even called Butler for shirt-pulling, something that should be called more often in my opinion.

Finally, don't know why this bothers me so much, but why is it necessary that for 80~90% of our throw-ins we wait patiently for our back to run up and take the throw, thereby also waiting patiently for their D to make sure every player is marked?
sharpdressedman
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I read the score with disbelief. Thanks very much to those who provide detailed commentaries/analyses of the games. I admit to being completely bewildered by our team thus far after building high expectations during the pre-season.

I certainly don't condone Harvey's behavior, but I understand it. She is a warrior and has taken a beating since she distinguished herself early in her Aggie career. She plays aggressively, and that is sufficiently contrary to the style G favors that she becomes an obvious target, often unfairly it seems to me, for the refs.

G completely losing his composure is a rarity, and it likely had a very negative affect on the team.

Seeing the same suggestions expressed by multiple, informed observers causes me to hope G reads this board.

With our other football program becoming a huge dumpster fire, I was, like many I am sure, looking to soccer to carry the Aggie flag successfully this Fall. It's still early, but the prognosis is very concerning.
redd38
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AG
sharpdressedman said:


G completely losing his composure is a rarity, and it likely had a very negative affect on the team.


Game was basically over by the time the red cards were handed out. There was still some time on the clock but the game was out of reach.

Team chemistry is/was supposed to be great this year, but I'm sure that'll be tested as frustrations mount. How that will be impacted by the ejection of the head coach and team captain remains to be seen.
Pro Sandy
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Pro Sandy said:

Ags win 2-0
Missed it by that much
HiddenAg2
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One reason the coaches may be hesitant to go back to the 4-back set is that now Ritchie seems to be injured so we're left with no true outside back left on the roster that is healthy. The loss of Hill was a tough blow. But I'd still find a way to put 4 back there. Maybe we need to become a more defensive minded team and use our speed up top for counter attacks, which usually provide more space to maneuver as we don't do well when a defense is packed in the final third.

I'd really like to see more of an emphasis on running to space after a pass in the offensive third, meaning give-and-goes from Harvey, Pounds, Watt, Bates. It's really difficult to defend and it stretches a defense. At the very least it will provide more space to move. And in the box we need to work on headers because quite honestly outside of Piper it's been dreadful.
Aggie Futbol
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Two "generations" ago we had two speedsters as outside defenders in Balaguer and Lenz. They didn't have remarkable skill but they were very fast, aggressive and hard working. They got the job done nicely . The next "generation" involved two players,
Edwards and Mueller, that had very nice speed and exceptional skill on the ball. Neither was a traditional defender but had converted from either forward or midfielders. They became very solid defenders but their real value was their ability to attack effectively. The current generation is less clear to me. Fair speed, decent skills and ok defenders. They don't have that one thing that sets them apart. It is further complicated by the three back formation they are playing. I do believe that the right answer is moving to a four back but for the fourth back you've either got to go with a pure defender or an offensive minded convert. Hill isn't available but wasn't the answer anyway.
Here4goodSoccer
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Why not try to convert Watt like Crystal Dunn, who can play anywhere these days?
Aggie Futbol
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Not a bad idea. She would create havoc down the wings. The only issue there is that you loose an regular offensive attacker on a team that desperately needs attackers.
mullokmotx
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AG
We helped the Butler keeper make the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week.
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