armchair
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The Vols and Auburn battled to a 1-1 tie tonight at Regal Stadium. The result means that UT is still unbeaten--but it was a disappointing outcome as we had a 1-0 lead throughout the second half and looked to be on our way to our 2nd straight SEC victory, and then we let Auburn tie the game with a goal with under 6 minutes to play. That was tough. The teams played on through two overtimes, but there were no scores and the game ended 1-1.
We have more talent, IMO, than Auburn, but the tigers are well-organized and very well coached, and tough, and our inability to score a second goal in the second half cost us. Meghan Flynn scored fairly late in the first half to give us a a 1-0 lead at the break. We actually played better, I thought, in the 2nd half than the first---had a lot of the ball--but we did not create enough quality scoring chances--and when we did we did we missed the net, and when you don't score that second goal you leave yourself vulnerable to getting tied, and we got burned. We had 15 shots in the game--but only three were on goal. That's not good. Auburn had more shots and more shots on goal than we did tonight. While we had the ball a lot, we also had periodic defensive lapses that gave Auburn scoring chances. Our midfielders seems to be out of position quite a bit in the first half, less so in the second.
I think Auburn's tough non-conference schedule helped them tonight. While they've got 4 losses, they've played some very good teams--including powerhouses UNC and Duke. They lost both of those games, but when you play UNC and Duke, it's probably going to make you better. And they beat Texas A&M in their first SEC game. Like us, I think A&M is more talented than auburn--but on-paper talent doesn't mean a lot if you can't put the ball in the net.
I thought Khadija "Bunny" Shaw, who's been such a good scorer for us, was a bit flat tonight--not as active as she needed to be. Auburn kept at least one defender close to her at all times, and Shaw seemed to be flat-footed a lot when she got the ball and then made some bad passes, lost the ball a few times as well. She did make a beautiful back pass that helped to create Flynn's goal--nice assist--but otherwise didn't really threaten auburn as much I would have expected. It is going to be tougher for her in these SEC games against solid opponents who play strong defense, and she's got to be a bit more active, I think. She was too stationary tonight, it seemed.
I think D. Marcano has got to play more. She's a good, physical player and didn't even get 40 minutes tonight in a way that was quite physical. I'm not sure where you play her, to be candid, but that's for the coaches to figure out. She is strong on the ball, like Cousins, and that was an issue for us tonight--we got dispossessed too often.
The next game--Sunday at South Carolina--will be every bit as tough as this one. South Carolina is ranked 3rd in the country right now. They are not that good--but they are also very defensive and well-organized, well-coached, and they've got a super-talented forward, McCaskill, who will make you pay if you don't mark her closely at all times. I think we'll need to score at least two goals to get a result (win or tie) in that game. It will be tough--but the truth is we need tough games to get better, and so we might as well have them now. We missed an opportunity tonight, but don't have to wait long for the next one.
We have more talent, IMO, than Auburn, but the tigers are well-organized and very well coached, and tough, and our inability to score a second goal in the second half cost us. Meghan Flynn scored fairly late in the first half to give us a a 1-0 lead at the break. We actually played better, I thought, in the 2nd half than the first---had a lot of the ball--but we did not create enough quality scoring chances--and when we did we did we missed the net, and when you don't score that second goal you leave yourself vulnerable to getting tied, and we got burned. We had 15 shots in the game--but only three were on goal. That's not good. Auburn had more shots and more shots on goal than we did tonight. While we had the ball a lot, we also had periodic defensive lapses that gave Auburn scoring chances. Our midfielders seems to be out of position quite a bit in the first half, less so in the second.
I think Auburn's tough non-conference schedule helped them tonight. While they've got 4 losses, they've played some very good teams--including powerhouses UNC and Duke. They lost both of those games, but when you play UNC and Duke, it's probably going to make you better. And they beat Texas A&M in their first SEC game. Like us, I think A&M is more talented than auburn--but on-paper talent doesn't mean a lot if you can't put the ball in the net.
I thought Khadija "Bunny" Shaw, who's been such a good scorer for us, was a bit flat tonight--not as active as she needed to be. Auburn kept at least one defender close to her at all times, and Shaw seemed to be flat-footed a lot when she got the ball and then made some bad passes, lost the ball a few times as well. She did make a beautiful back pass that helped to create Flynn's goal--nice assist--but otherwise didn't really threaten auburn as much I would have expected. It is going to be tougher for her in these SEC games against solid opponents who play strong defense, and she's got to be a bit more active, I think. She was too stationary tonight, it seemed.
I think D. Marcano has got to play more. She's a good, physical player and didn't even get 40 minutes tonight in a way that was quite physical. I'm not sure where you play her, to be candid, but that's for the coaches to figure out. She is strong on the ball, like Cousins, and that was an issue for us tonight--we got dispossessed too often.
The next game--Sunday at South Carolina--will be every bit as tough as this one. South Carolina is ranked 3rd in the country right now. They are not that good--but they are also very defensive and well-organized, well-coached, and they've got a super-talented forward, McCaskill, who will make you pay if you don't mark her closely at all times. I think we'll need to score at least two goals to get a result (win or tie) in that game. It will be tough--but the truth is we need tough games to get better, and so we might as well have them now. We missed an opportunity tonight, but don't have to wait long for the next one.
