I don't think this happens every game.. maybe from a team standpoint but not individually??
Thought we played good soccer just nothing to show for it. Made a mistake and it costed us. I see improvement.

The sequence before the goal started with a throw-in in the offensive end that was played back to Paredes who played it wide to Sexton who lost it. Bell was the closest to the goal scorer but she was watching the ball instead of the Bama player. With 2:40 left Hoang messed up a throw-in in our defensive end and Bama got the throw-in instead. We had 2 giveaways in the defensive end in the first 2 minutes and were lucky they didn't score. Only played 4 substitutes tonight.

On the Alabama goal…
With 3:00 to play Ciara Jade Mitchell received a pass deep in front of the Alabama goal but just off to its left. Alabama's defense had not gotten set. We had Churchill, Buchanan, and Carrapazza all near the top of the box. Any of them could have cut toward the right side of the goal and received a pass that would have been a super opportunity to score. None of them moved though.

As such, the ball got played back out. Which soon became a goal kick for Alabama. And then a throw in for us at 2:30 to play on their half of the field which we threw in backwards and played it all the way back to our goalie. Our goalie passed it to Sexton who received it flat footed and was spooked when an Alabama player rushed her. She played it too far away from her and had it stolen. Bell never caught up to who she was marking at midfield even though she had the opportunity and was beaten by a step for the game's only goal at the 2:00 mark.

This team has 0 identity when it comes to soccer. We only won the possession game because Bama didn't press. And Please stop blaming the Freshman! Only 4 were on the field tonight and the result was the same. Let's not forget Sexton is 17 and should technically still be in HS. She needs time to adapt to the speed of the game. The decision to continue to play her is questionable when she's not getting help from the mids. If you're going to stick with a player that young you need experience around her. Not many freshmen contributed tonight and against Vandi when they came in the first half were some of the best moments this team had in that game. Coach has obviously made a decision to live and die on the hill of playing upperclassmen. This will be a long season for sure.
Bama was clearly not playing on the front foot and hasn't played well in the last 2 games. Rankings mean NADA! IMO, coach should've leaned on the bench more. Hopefully he's playing the transfers to have conversations about next year, this can't be the Bar for the standard. Our outside mids are very MID in my opinion. They rarely contribute in the build up and are never in the correct position. The ball can't move freely if the outside backs have to wait for them to get back outside to make a pass. I think coach is mistaking great soccer with pointless hustle. This team looks like a team that shows up every Sunday for Pick Up games. They looked good because this was a slow, lethargic game.
Been trying to keep the post positive, but this game as a whole was not good! The forwards combining for 10 shots and 1 on goal is not a step forward. It was good to see Taylor back on the field. Not sure I would play her that many minutes, she is definitely an asset to the team when completely healthy. If she was totally healthy, she buries that opportunity.
To be fair, the SEC is getting better, but the soccer in this conference has a long way to go. You have to be able to play a balance of possession and direct soccer to be dominate. Which one are we trying to be? Again, I don't see an identity being developed with this staff.

You're putting an awful lot on one player when this is a team sport. I'd love to hear your assessment of the Vandy game since you kept pretty quiet on that 0-5 loss. Again, you have to score goals in order to win games. If we can't figure out how to score, we aren't going to win games.

Can't keep blaming the Freshman. Only 4 started and played tonight. Upper class man seem to be towing the load. IMO he should've subbed somewhere and different players. He's obviously picked his lineup for the remainder of the season. 7 Games left, 0 points!

I posted the video above. What both of us stated is accurate.

Ball played to Sexton, Sexton to Paredes, Paredes back to Sexton.

Far too little credit being given to Bama on this sequence IMO. Bama read the QB's eyes, got a jump on the ball and intercepted the pass, so to speak. That's a heads-up play by Bama. By the time it gets back to Sexton, she's swarmed by four Bama players with very few options and very little time to make a decision.

Yes, Sexton turned the ball over. But was it the best choice for the keeper to play it to her given what she was going to face next?

We repeatedly hear Bobby say, "What's next?" I think that applies to the rest of the team here too. Once the ball is dispossessed in the defensive third, the immediate focus has to be stopping the big chance. Againwhat's next?

And I think that's what this clip really highlights. It's not just about the turnover. It's about what happens before it, what happens next, and making the simple decision in each moment.

We connected and possessed the ball much better tonight, and we did that best by playing simple and fast not hurried. There's a difference.

Simple, fast play. Low-risk decisions. Move the ball, move the defense, take what they give you, and occasionally throw the Hail Mary. We created some meaningful chances doing exactly that.

Too often we're making the game more complicated than it needs to be. We're trying to eat the elephant in one bite.

Trying to hit a home run every at-bat doesn't work too well, and it's unnecessary. Hit some singles. Get on base. Then hit the grand slam.

Different sports, same concept.

This team is on the verge of a breakthrough. We're about 90 seconds from three games being in our favor. The difference between where we are and where we want to be really isn't that big.

aggie-1997 said:

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aggiesoccerfan67 said:

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I don't think this happens every game.. maybe from a team standpoint but not individually??
Thought we played good soccer just nothing to show for it. Made a mistake and it costed us. I see improvement.

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The problem is we make the same mistakes every game. Not sure why we keep passing back to our goalie and then continually pass in front. The other team knows we keep doing this and start moving up, forcing us to make a bad pass and give away opportunities.

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IMO Bama's entire offense was to pressure the defenders into making bad passes, which we did and they scored on

Ok, is nobody going to call out #14 for letting that ball be received in front of your goal? And 13 for letting her player run free to the back post? Wow!

Yall are definitely over thinking this. Maybe a pass or two could have been different, but ultimately it was simply a bad giveaway. 6 was clearly upset with herself and will hopefully play smarter moving forward.

Personally, on this play, the keeper is most at fault. She is the only one that can see the Alabama press coming. In this situation, she needs to not pass into the trap. She needs to reverse field or clear the ball. At very least, needs to communicate to sexton to get rid of it, out of bounds if necessary.

I have seen several times were the pass to a defender either is ill-advised, as it is passing into a trap or to person that will have zero time once receiving the ball. Or what I see is the pass does not have the pace needed and the opponent now has the time to trap the ball because we are not playing at the pace needed.

Sometimes we are blaming the person receiving the pass for the turnover, but it is actually the person passing the ball into a poor spot that is to blame for the turnover.

Much like a QB throwing a pass high over the middle and getting a wide receiver blown up.

Maybe Sexton will turn out to be useful eventually, but she's been a disaster all season. Bobby needs to give her a break and try something new or any postseason hopes are going to slip away.

I think there has been progress. If you compare all the mistakes in the Kentucky debacle to the performance against Bama, I think you see better strings of passing and better decisions about where to send the ball.

Bobby has been mixing up the lineups a lot. I don't think he's settled on any particular lineup yet and perhaps won't, even to the end of the season. He knows this is a culture change and he's trying to figure out who learns and adapts to the things he wants done. The veterans had been learning under a different staff (whether at A&M or at other schools) and the first-year players are obviously still adjusting to the step up in talent and physical play and learning from a coach they've not known before this season.

This was never a season to hope for a championship. Rather, it's the first chance for Bobby to figure out who he is as a HC and for these players to see who he is and decide if they want to play his way or not. He knows the game. The question will be whether his style resonates over a few seasons. I think it will, but we won't know that this season.