Hayes is gone, truly believe that now

And he hasn't recruited a forward in 3 years

Valiant effort! They don't give up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WVAg18 said:

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Unimpressed with G's post game interview. The girls fought til the end but never once did he credit them for the hard fought game they put up. Then proceeds to essentially put out an advertisement for forwards in the transfer portal…first of all, nice to know you have confidence in the players YOU recruited. Second, why are you acting like the season is over. At the end of the interview says he hopes he gets the chance to compete for a national championship, yet you don't even believe in your team. The team he has built is solid and extremely talented, but not gonna go far if the head coach doesn't even believe in you.

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It was, indeed, an interesting message to the current team. I think he's really frustrated. Understandably, I think he is a bit worn down by the hard results and criticism, and thus we see some of that come out in the post-game interview.

I'm sure Coach G talks to the team in a very different way than to the media.

Jernigan played sparingly at halfback and should have played more - very good crosser but not a forward

Coach G's comments after the game were pretty interesting. I've never heard him speak like that about his team and basically put out an APB that we are looking for any talented forwards that want to come score goals at A&M next year. He is clearly very frustrated with how this season has played out because I think he and Phil truly believed they had a great team that should be highly seeded. But when you can't finish off simple scoring chances in front of goal, it leads to less than stellar results.

I also agree with the above that Hayes is most likely gone and that the coaches know it, thus the advertisement. I also wonder if he is basically sending a message that some major changes could be coming in the offseason and we'll see a lot of new faces next year. And because recruiting has dipped in the upcoming classes, he has no choice but to raid the transfer portal for proven players. It's going to be interesting to watch.

I guess I don't see how raiding the portal helps. If you couldn't recruit better athletes to begin with how you recruit a transfer then. Unless we have some better NIL goodies in soccer that other schools don't have. I just don't us competing for the top level transfers. Our program isn't anything special right now.

Biggest question is why do our players get worse the longer they are in his program?

I blame Addazio.

The girls consistently play admirably hard and their effort makes us proud.

Their lack of success is most likely due to a combination of a deficiency in overall team talent and unsuccessful coaching/development. These issues are G's responsibilities.

The recent decline in the successful recruitment of a sufficient number of elite players to have a championship level team is well documented by knowledgeable sources on this forum. Moreover, both development and coaching have failed to remedy that deficiency.

Georgia immediately transformed its team into a championship contender by acquiring transfer portal players. Perhaps the portal is G's best opportunity to make the team more successful but, as others have mentioned, elite portal players, especially those with limited remaining eligibility, want to play for championships and do not regard the Aggies under G as championship material. I would not fault any of our top players from leaving to pursue their soccer aspirations at a more nationally competitive program.

I understand that G is frustrated, and his presser was uncharacteristically discouraging. However, he owns the issues facing the team and the program.

I just watched the post-game interview of G, and I have to say his talk on the portal is a pathetic embarrassment. I truly hope the current players do not see this as that portal may gain several others from "his" team. You just have to wonder if this is the open discussion for the media, what is he saying directly to them? Understood he is frustrated after this year, but his name is on this team, so it's his responsibility.

And do we not recruit any longer, or is he acknowledging that several other Texas teams do it better now that he cannot live off the "best in Texas" slogan that served for so many years? I'm sorry, but this look of begging and crying is not a good look for the team, and these girls deserve better.

AgsSoccerFan said:

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I just watched the post-game interview of G, and I have to say his talk on the portal is a pathetic embarrassment. I truly hope the current players do not see this as that portal may gain several others from "his" team. You just have to wonder if this is the open discussion for the media, what is he saying directly to them? Understood he is frustrated after this year, but his name is on this team, so it's his responsibility.

And do we not recruit any longer, or is he acknowledging that several other Texas teams do it better now that he cannot live off the "best in Texas" slogan that served for so many years? I'm sorry, but this look of begging and crying is not a good look for the team, and these girls deserve better.

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Jazmine Wilkinson (goal leader) and Sammy Smith (assist leader) both came this year via the transfer portal. They have been great additions to this team.

Yes, finishing is a big issue. We lack the composure to slide the ball on the ground into the corner of the net, even when we are shooting from the edge of the 6 yard box. The Georgia keeper was good, but the number of saves she recorded were mostly shot right at her.

Two very different styles of play last night. I prefer the style of play Georgia played last night. Much more controlled, using the middle of the field and at the same time stretching the field on the outside. Georgia's outside midfielders are playing on the chalk creating more space when the ball is switched in the attack. Lots of buildup through the midfield into the box. We tend to like to swing for the fences. Long balls from the backline to the forwards and we are off to the races. Our one center back loves to send the long ball and turn it over, even when the smart play is to make the simple pass. This has been an issue all season and the coaches seem to like this style of play at the expense of any kind of build up with the midfield. Sure, take a chance once and while, but don't constantly put our forwards in a foot race. We seem to have the mentality that we are just going to outwork the other team. We have to play smarter. Center backs also have to be more disciplined. The dribbling up the field and playing high cost us a goal when one of them was caught out of position. Let your outside backs do the dribbling. If you want Calzada dribbling into the box put her on the outside. She is a threat, but at the same time you're at risk for a counterattack. Very interested to see what kind of game plan the coaches come up with for the tournament. With G's comments after the game I would expect lots of practice on finishing. Talent is there, just need the execution and the game plan.

I would make the opposite argument. Our lack of embracing transfers has been detrimental to our success as compared to our competitors. Give me more Jaz Wilkinson's and Sammy Smith's. And maybe some that aren't one year grad transfers. .

Soccer1 said:

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Two very different styles of play last night. I prefer the style of play Georgia played last night. Much more controlled, using the middle of the field and at the same time stretching the field on the outside. Georgia's outside midfielders are playing on the chalk creating more space when the ball is switched in the attack. Lots of buildup through the midfield into the box. We tend to like to swing for the fences. Long balls from the backline to the forwards and we are off to the races. Our one center back loves to send the long ball and turn it over, even when the smart play is to make the simple pass. This has been an issue all season and the coaches seem to like this style of play at the expense of any kind of build up with the midfield. Sure, take a chance once and while, but don't constantly put our forwards in a foot race. We seem to have the mentality that we are just going to outwork the other team. We have to play smarter. Center backs also have to be more disciplined. The dribbling up the field and playing high cost us a goal when one of them was caught out of position. Let your outside backs do the dribbling. If you want Calzada dribbling into the box put her on the outside. She is a threat, but at the same time you're at risk for a counterattack. Very interested to see what kind of game plan the coaches come up with for the tournament. With G's comments after the game I would expect lots of practice on finishing. Talent is there, just need the execution and the game plan.

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Yes, this is very good analysis. I also preferred Georgia's style of play and ability to work through the middle of the field first before going wide to cross into the box. It's ironic that for years Coach G has touted his preference to put the ball on the ground and play the "beautiful game," only to now be forced to play a very direct style, kicking long balls and hoping our athletes and speed will create chances on goal. This only works if you have efficient strikers in front of goal, which obviously we do not. If G is going to load up on transfers, we need to focus mainly on some quality midfielders who can control the ball and distribute well like Becerra. She can't do it all by herself.

And I agree on Calzada as well, I've been saying this all year, she should be playing on the outside so she can play a high line and be more involved in the attack. But you can't do that as a center back, that's just asking for trouble on the counter.

What I saw as the problem was the backline not connecting with the central midfielder. Becerra didn't get on the ball that much and that starts with the backline. They prefer to play more up the lines or play more direct passes up to the forwards. Georgia on the hand played the ball to their center mid and then she would distribute wide closer to midfield. You can have great attacking mids, but if they can't get on the ball they aren't going to make an impact.

Sadly, McDonald creates MANY chances but cannot finish!

A few thoughts . The team put forth a massive effort. I appreciate that. The loss was more painful for them than it was for those of us who support them.

The coaches are good at what they do. Winning as consistently as they have is tough. Recruiting consistently high quality talent is just as difficult, particularly if you aren't Stanford, UCLA, North Carolina, Florida State, USC, Notre Dame and all of the other usual suspects. We have good players, just not enough of them to compete consistently with the best of the best. Our current team did compete well against almost every team they played against this season.

We did make some critical mistakes this year and did have a difficult time in scoring against the better teams. Too many mistakes and too little scoring. It's hard to determine which issue was bigger, the defense or scoring.

Our back line is very young, what worked for them in club and high school inset going to work as well at this level. They will improve next year. Tracking back and marking more closely is something that our back line and midfielders must do better.

Scoring is a different animal. This team has a handful of players that can score. Not enough of them and not consistently enough. MacDonald improved year over year but she is too right footed and too indecisive on the ball. She'll be better next year. Hayes struggled this year but what I saw in the Georgia game was very promising. As the game progressed her confidence grew and she became more aggressive offensively. No goal but definitely a threat to score. I love her attitude and believe she can be a game changer. Let her take the PKs. We do need more of the players get into the box. Wilkinson was good at being consistently threatening in the box. Our forwards need to flood the box and our attacking mids need to press forward to or into the box.

Our central mids were serviceable but not always present and certainly not dominant. Their defensive effort was mediocre and their offensive contributions were modest. Bacerra has real potential. She is very good in the ball and has very good shooting skills. I'd like to see her move with more speed. Boekman has excellent skills and, like Bacerra, is very creative . She would do even better if she cleans up her give-always. Pante is a superb player and puts forth a fantastic effort 100% of the time. It would be great if the team had her for another year.

Assuming they make it to the NCAA tournament, I'd hate to be the team that has to face the Aggies in the first round.