armchair
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I hope and expect to see a more formidable UT soccer team this year. We've got some good players coming back and a bunch of good freshman coming in, so the Vols should be improved and certainly a contender for the NCAA tourney, which they missed last year.
It will be interesting to see what formation coach Pensky uses this year. Last year, correct me if wrong, we seemed to play a lot of 4-3-3, which didn't work out so well because our midfield wasn't strong and with an injured Wilkinson we not only struggled to score goals but gave up a lot of shots by our opponents.
This year the midfield should be quite a bit better, led by returning Baldwin and Christy and the addition of phenom Katy Cousins. Among the forwards, in addition to Wilkinson there will be returning Amy Neal, McClung, Creighton and the highly regarded Anna Bialczak, who did not play last year. The big question in the back is who will fill Allie Sirna's key centerback position.
I wonder if Pensky will consider playing a 4-2-3-1 formation, with two holding midfielders and Wilkinson as the lone striker. It would be a way to get more of the attacking talent on the field while playing at the same time keeping the defense solid with the holding mids, who can adjust their positioning as needed. The U.S. women's national team did that in the recent World Cup, changed their formation after the group stage, took out one of their two strikers and added to the midfield--and it made all the difference. With a stronger midfield, we ought to be a better possession/combination team and not have to simply thump long balls down the field all the time and hope Wilkinson can get on the end of one and score. We might see the other forwards get more scoring opportunities. In any case, should be an exciting year for UT Soccer.
It will be interesting to see what formation coach Pensky uses this year. Last year, correct me if wrong, we seemed to play a lot of 4-3-3, which didn't work out so well because our midfield wasn't strong and with an injured Wilkinson we not only struggled to score goals but gave up a lot of shots by our opponents.
This year the midfield should be quite a bit better, led by returning Baldwin and Christy and the addition of phenom Katy Cousins. Among the forwards, in addition to Wilkinson there will be returning Amy Neal, McClung, Creighton and the highly regarded Anna Bialczak, who did not play last year. The big question in the back is who will fill Allie Sirna's key centerback position.
I wonder if Pensky will consider playing a 4-2-3-1 formation, with two holding midfielders and Wilkinson as the lone striker. It would be a way to get more of the attacking talent on the field while playing at the same time keeping the defense solid with the holding mids, who can adjust their positioning as needed. The U.S. women's national team did that in the recent World Cup, changed their formation after the group stage, took out one of their two strikers and added to the midfield--and it made all the difference. With a stronger midfield, we ought to be a better possession/combination team and not have to simply thump long balls down the field all the time and hope Wilkinson can get on the end of one and score. We might see the other forwards get more scoring opportunities. In any case, should be an exciting year for UT Soccer.
