I watched a bit of Auburn's last game, against Georgia, and they could be a tough nut to crack offensively. They were quite conservative
and defensively oriented. Georgia was clearly the better team, had a decided possession advantage, but when Georgia was in possession in Auburn's defensive half, Auburn was in a low block with at least 8 defenders behind the ball, which made it difficult for Georgia. Playing that low block style makes it difficult for everybody. Georgia had a decisive edge at game's end in shots, SOG and corners--but didn't score. The Auburn coach seemed quite pleased with the tie in her postgame remarks.
I figure Auburn will play similarly against us---fairly conservative and look for opportunities to counter. We tend to be a bit more open and aggressive--we did not sit back against Georgia-- and we'll have to be careful not to expose ourselves in the back. Michel, a good centerback, will come forward with the ball to set play--but it's risky when one of your centerbacks gets caught too far forward. We would want Auburn to come out and play and then look for transition opportunities---winning the ball in midfield and then pushing it straight at their goal before they get a bunch of defenders back. Let's see how both teams play it.
In the tournament we'll be back to playing overtime if the match is tied after regulation play. I think that means 2 10 minute extra periods, if necessary, first team to score wins. Golden Goal overtime. I'm not positive that it's Golden Goal overtime, but I think so. We've had the benefit of a first-round bye the last two years. There is no overstating what an advantage that is in a one-week tournament. You only have to win three matches to win the tourney. Without the bye, we and the other teams would have to win 4 matches--in a week. I'd be very curious to know if it's ever been done. I don't think so, but not positive. Playing 3 games in a week is grueling; four, nearly impossible--the players would be exhausted. Upshot: there is little chance of winning the tourney.
This is the problem with the SEC tourney--it's too big. Too many teams and too many games. Consider that the NCAA this year eliminated overtime from the regular season because it felt that the extra minutes puts too much strain on the student-athletes and risks injury. I don't necessarily agree with that rule change, but I understand the reasoning--and regular season is two games in a week, most weeks, but two or three weeks we played only one game. And yet here is the SEC with a 10-team tourney, which means some teams will be playing 3, possibly 4 games in one week--AND there could be overtime, and often is. So the format completely defeats the purpose of the no OT rule designed to mitigate against injuries. The SEC tourney should be 3 games max. The ACC only has a 6-team tournament--and the top two teams get a bye and so play at most two games! They are automatically in the tourney semifinal. Another issue with 10 teams and a lot of matches is that the field gets worn down quite a bit by the end of the tourney.
We'll see how regular-season champ Arkansas does. I believe they've been in the tourney final 6 of the last 7 years, or somseuch--and lost every one of those finals. Crazy. The lost to us two years ago. Arkansas was not in the final last year, however, when SC beat bama in the final to win it by the classic good defensive team score, 1-0. We have to play Arkansas if we beat Auburn. I have to think we must win this first game to get in the NCAA tourney. I do't know what the experts have projected for us now--I stopped following it when we were losing late-season games. We have a losing conference record--3-4-3: That usually translates to bubble team. I'm afraid to check our status, frankly! We need to win.
and defensively oriented. Georgia was clearly the better team, had a decided possession advantage, but when Georgia was in possession in Auburn's defensive half, Auburn was in a low block with at least 8 defenders behind the ball, which made it difficult for Georgia. Playing that low block style makes it difficult for everybody. Georgia had a decisive edge at game's end in shots, SOG and corners--but didn't score. The Auburn coach seemed quite pleased with the tie in her postgame remarks.
I figure Auburn will play similarly against us---fairly conservative and look for opportunities to counter. We tend to be a bit more open and aggressive--we did not sit back against Georgia-- and we'll have to be careful not to expose ourselves in the back. Michel, a good centerback, will come forward with the ball to set play--but it's risky when one of your centerbacks gets caught too far forward. We would want Auburn to come out and play and then look for transition opportunities---winning the ball in midfield and then pushing it straight at their goal before they get a bunch of defenders back. Let's see how both teams play it.
In the tournament we'll be back to playing overtime if the match is tied after regulation play. I think that means 2 10 minute extra periods, if necessary, first team to score wins. Golden Goal overtime. I'm not positive that it's Golden Goal overtime, but I think so. We've had the benefit of a first-round bye the last two years. There is no overstating what an advantage that is in a one-week tournament. You only have to win three matches to win the tourney. Without the bye, we and the other teams would have to win 4 matches--in a week. I'd be very curious to know if it's ever been done. I don't think so, but not positive. Playing 3 games in a week is grueling; four, nearly impossible--the players would be exhausted. Upshot: there is little chance of winning the tourney.
This is the problem with the SEC tourney--it's too big. Too many teams and too many games. Consider that the NCAA this year eliminated overtime from the regular season because it felt that the extra minutes puts too much strain on the student-athletes and risks injury. I don't necessarily agree with that rule change, but I understand the reasoning--and regular season is two games in a week, most weeks, but two or three weeks we played only one game. And yet here is the SEC with a 10-team tourney, which means some teams will be playing 3, possibly 4 games in one week--AND there could be overtime, and often is. So the format completely defeats the purpose of the no OT rule designed to mitigate against injuries. The SEC tourney should be 3 games max. The ACC only has a 6-team tournament--and the top two teams get a bye and so play at most two games! They are automatically in the tourney semifinal. Another issue with 10 teams and a lot of matches is that the field gets worn down quite a bit by the end of the tourney.
We'll see how regular-season champ Arkansas does. I believe they've been in the tourney final 6 of the last 7 years, or somseuch--and lost every one of those finals. Crazy. The lost to us two years ago. Arkansas was not in the final last year, however, when SC beat bama in the final to win it by the classic good defensive team score, 1-0. We have to play Arkansas if we beat Auburn. I have to think we must win this first game to get in the NCAA tourney. I do't know what the experts have projected for us now--I stopped following it when we were losing late-season games. We have a losing conference record--3-4-3: That usually translates to bubble team. I'm afraid to check our status, frankly! We need to win.
3:30 CT/4:30 ET
SEC Network
es.pn/3s3Tkbp
