Stanford and FSU are through to the College Cup.
I was shocked that Nebraska scored with 3 minutes to go in the game to tie Stanford. I watched large chunks of the match and Nebraska never looked a serious threat to score---though Stanford, which completely controlled the first half with their ball possession, did seem to be losing momentum when I stopped watching with about 20 minutes to go after Nebraska pressed forward more aggressively. Turns out the Stanford keeper, like the St. Louis keeper, made a bad mistake--coming way out to punch away or gather a long ball into the box, but she missed it and a Nebraska player headed into the goal. Had she stayed back, a comfortable safe.
I have not been all that impressed by Stanford in the last two games--odd the thing say about a team that has not lost a game. They are /very/ possession oriented and deliberate--too much so, arguably. The play a lot like FSU played under Kirkorian--dominating the ball but not being very aggressive. If you've scored a goal and have a lead--and that Stanford as done in its NCAA games--and play good defense, then it's a fine strategy, but it's not a strategy for building on a lead, because all that pinging the ball around means that your opponent has numbers back in defense--8/9 players--and so no matter how good you are with the ball, it is hard to score. And that is what happened to Stanford tonight--clearly the better team, scored within the first 11 minutes of the game, but kind of dithered around for most of the game and Nebraska ended up equalizing late. They are not an especially dynamic team in the way that FSU is.
As for FSU, it looked like the Pitt--FSU game would be tight and compelling, and it was until a Pitt defender foolishly stuck her arm out at an FSU shot: handball, and Huff belts it in for the go-ahead score, and then FSU scores two more--including another on a PK--and ends up beating a very good Pitt team comfortably.
I was shocked that Nebraska scored with 3 minutes to go in the game to tie Stanford. I watched large chunks of the match and Nebraska never looked a serious threat to score---though Stanford, which completely controlled the first half with their ball possession, did seem to be losing momentum when I stopped watching with about 20 minutes to go after Nebraska pressed forward more aggressively. Turns out the Stanford keeper, like the St. Louis keeper, made a bad mistake--coming way out to punch away or gather a long ball into the box, but she missed it and a Nebraska player headed into the goal. Had she stayed back, a comfortable safe.
I have not been all that impressed by Stanford in the last two games--odd the thing say about a team that has not lost a game. They are /very/ possession oriented and deliberate--too much so, arguably. The play a lot like FSU played under Kirkorian--dominating the ball but not being very aggressive. If you've scored a goal and have a lead--and that Stanford as done in its NCAA games--and play good defense, then it's a fine strategy, but it's not a strategy for building on a lead, because all that pinging the ball around means that your opponent has numbers back in defense--8/9 players--and so no matter how good you are with the ball, it is hard to score. And that is what happened to Stanford tonight--clearly the better team, scored within the first 11 minutes of the game, but kind of dithered around for most of the game and Nebraska ended up equalizing late. They are not an especially dynamic team in the way that FSU is.
As for FSU, it looked like the Pitt--FSU game would be tight and compelling, and it was until a Pitt defender foolishly stuck her arm out at an FSU shot: handball, and Huff belts it in for the go-ahead score, and then FSU scores two more--including another on a PK--and ends up beating a very good Pitt team comfortably.
