Yes, we've shown we can win--though not always convincingly--against average/decent teams. Can we beat good teams with this 3-back system that Kirt seems strangely attached to? We'll find out over the next couple of weeks. The 3-back does put Huff in the middle of the field and gives he more room to make runs--yet we're not scoring more goals with the 3-back. We scored 4 goals against Kentucky but one was an own-goal and two came late in the game, and Kentucky will finish last in the conference. We scored one against Ole Miss and two against Missouri--the second coming in the last minute of the game. Defensively, we simply were stronger last year with Katz and Rain at outside back with Renie and French at centerback.
Katz and Rain were quite a bit better outside than Dipasupil and Nelson are now. In the North Carolina game this year, Nelson was not good and in the second half UNC gave us major problems on her and Katz's side of the field. Last year Dipasupil (and Zaluski) played outside on the left--but they didn't have to cover as much territory along the touchline as they do now--and, importantly, they had Rain behind them offering huge defensive cover. Rain is still providing cover on the left--but she's got to cover a lot more of the field now herself-- as usually one of our 3 centerbacks has ventured forward. One problem with Nelson is that if she's gotten forward, well into our attacking half, and we lose the ball, she does not have the pace to get back defensively--and that's a problem. Any outside position requires pace. She is not slow--but she is not speedy, and if you watch when we lose the ball on her side of the field when she's forward, the opponent has acres of space to move forward and Huff or Fusco have to chase back and cover that side of the field.
I would have liked to see if Hennessey could play either Katz's spot in the 3-back or have her take French's spot, pairing with Renie, and roll with the same 4-4-2 we used last year. THAT is that I thought I'd see this season--why mess with something that worked so well--but Kirt has not only stuck with the 3-back but stuck with the same starting group all season--except for the bama game, when the coaches opted to start Hennessey and Midgley as our outside mids. Hennessey, sure--she plays a lot as outside mid now in relief of Nelson--but putting Midgley on the left didn't make any sense. Coach Morgan said the other day, in a Daily Beacon story, that the coaches "overthought" the tactics. They perhaps over-thought the personnel, but the formation was the same, I believe.
It's all moot: Kirt is sticking with the 3-back, and we'll see how we fare. I hope well!
Ally Brown
