Obviously, this was a frustrating loss tonight, but during the match I started to ponder why the program is struggling right now to get results. We just lost our third home game of the season in four games, and overall we've now lost 5 of the last 7 home conference games. That's just unthinkable for a program that used to dominate opponents at Ellis Field. Sadly, I'm not sure if Ellis provides much a home field advantage anymore. It was just 16 months ago that A&M was in the Elite 8 pushing North Carolina to the brink. Currently, the team sits at 0-2 in SEC play, barely above .500 and coming off the worst season in school history. We now face a daunting road schedule and a tough path to make the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row.
The easy answer is to just say the talent level has dropped off and some key injuries and offseason losses set us back. Yes, losing Olivieri was a big hit to the midfield and losing Geczik was a much bigger hit to the offense than most thought. And losing Kniffen to an injury didn't help either. While there have been stretches of good play and possession and scoring, we are setback by lapses on the back line or at GK. The midfield doesn't cover enough ground to help the back line after turning it over. And when the defense is solid, the offense can't generate enough chances or convert easy shots in front of goal. Usually when a team begins to find ways to lose or underachieve, it means it isn't a very good team. Unfortunately, that is the way it's trending for this A&M team right now.
But tonight reinforced my belief that the issues run deeper than talent. I lost count of the number of times we simply lost possession because we allowed the ball to bounce too far out in front of a player instead of keeping on a one-foot radius. First touches were not good, which means we're not effectively trapping the ball, which leads to easy takeaways or limits the ability to move forward quickly into the attack. Basic passes were off target, or a lack of touch put the receiver in a bad position. When all these issues are combined and when you play an opponent like Mississippi St, which loves to disrupt with pressure and physical play, it's impossible to create any rhythm. This also limits your chances on goal, so when you do have a shot in front of goal, it creates pressure that forces hesitation or a weak shot with no purpose or chance to score (see McDonald).
Some of the chemistry we saw in the TCU and Georgia game in the midfield and forwards disappeared tonight. We played 5 in the midfield at times tonight and we still couldn't maintain possession or move forward in a cohesive manner. The book on how to play Coach G teams has been out for a while now, which is why I'm puzzled why every opponent doesn't apply pressure the entire match. If you can get A&M out of rhythm and play physical, we usually aren't effective and can't create enough chances to score. In turn, that leads to frustration and mental lapses and turnovers that put the back line under pressure. And eventually the damn is going to break. Tonight was a unlucky own goal that Caldwell tried to push wide on a cross, but unfortunately bounded right into Sample's leg and bounced into the goal while trying to cover the goal line.
The lack of fundaments has been an issue for many years. I remember discussing this ten years ago at times, but A&M has been able to use its talent advantage via a one-on-one play or a free kick to find the needed score for victory. However, when that advantage dissipates, you can now see the result. A&M simply doesn't have any dangerous players that can create their own shot and win a game like this. Pante is the closest we have but it's difficult to attack the goal from the outside and get quality looks on goal. And when good crosses are sent into the box, the forwards are not positioned properly or freeze up when the ball lands at their feet. I really believe A&M should spend an entire offseason working only on dribbling, passing and trapping with no Spring games. And we need to only recruit players that show the ability to do these three things consistently. At times, we probably recruit more athletes than fundamental soccer players (especially at forward), which makes us very fast but doesn't necessarily result in as many goals as we could otherwise have had with more valued possession and good shot takers. What would we do for another Kelly Monogue right now?
Finally, I think the mental aspect of the game has become a big issue as well for the program. This team has a fragile psyche and no real leadership on the field. We don't have the ability to overcome bad moments or crushing mistakes in the back. After we fell behind tonight, I didn't see any spark or energy until the last ten minutes of the match. The coaches have a very difficult task in front of them in convincing this group that it can still be a successful season. Right now it doesn't look good.