Men’s soccer

Cornell knocked off High Point 4-1 today after dropping a 2-1 game in 2 OT at #18 Wake Forest in which the Red were down to 10 men after a red card. Cornell looked terrific today; High Point is no slouch, having made the NCAA’s last year and being their conference’s favorite this season.

Lots of talent for Cornell throughout the field, but especially in the attack and in the midfield. They play an entertaining aggressive style, and should be Ivy contenders (picked 2nd behind Yale in the preseason coaches’ poll).

scoop85
Cornell knocked off High Point 4-1 today after dropping a 2-1 game in 2 OT at #18 Wake Forest in which the Red were down to 10 men after a red card. Cornell looked terrific today; High Point is no slouch, having made the NCAA’s last year and being their conference’s favorite this season.

Lots of talent for Cornell throughout the field, but especially in the attack and in the midfield. They play an entertaining aggressive style, and should be Ivy contenders (picked 2nd behind Yale in the preseason coaches’ poll).

looking for the highlights and i read the recap: Cornell was down to *9* men for the OT because of a pair of red cards that the recap does not otherwise comment on. Yikes.

I watched some of the High Point game and they do look good in part because High Point looked good. I stopped watching when we were up 2-1 and was very surprised to see that we pulled away so decisively.

Pulling this up and out of the football thread. With the 3-0 win at Penn, the Big Red have jumped to 19 in RPI. NINETEEN. Probably a function of the flaws in RPI as a metric but also incredible. Also probably greatly aided by playing two ACC teams in Syracuse (23 despite a 5-5 record because of their SOS) and Wake Forest.

ugarte
Pulling this up and out of the football thread. With the 3-0 win at Penn, the Big Red have jumped to 19 in RPI. NINETEEN. Probably a function of the flaws in RPI as a metric but also incredible. Also probably greatly aided by playing two ACC teams in Syracuse (23 despite a 5-5 record because of their SOS) and Wake Forest.

The Penn win was an absolute smack down, as we dominated all over the field. Preseason favorite Yale has been mediocre, so that path is there for a league championship. But lots more soccer to play.

Here is the RPI table. Some fun WTF teams. UNH, Hofstra, Grand Canyon, Marshall, Central Arkansas, "UTRGV". Go Vaqueros!

Trotsky
Here is the RPI table. Some fun WTF teams. UNH, Hofstra, Grand Canyon, Marshall, Central Arkansas, "UTRGV". Go Vaqueros!

How does the ncaa tourney work? League champs and top so-and-so ranks in the RPI? Basically, do we have a legit chance to make the tourney as an at-large or would we need to win Ivy?

CU2007

Trotsky
Here is the RPI table. Some fun WTF teams. UNH, Hofstra, Grand Canyon, Marshall, Central Arkansas, "UTRGV". Go Vaqueros!

How does the ncaa tourney work? League champs and top so-and-so ranks in the RPI? Basically, do we have a legit chance to make the tourney as an at-large or would we need to win Ivy?

It’s a 48-team tournament with 24 automatic bids (every conference gets one). The top 16 seeds get first-round byes. The Ivies used to frequently get 2 teams in but I don’t think that’s happened recently.

Not that it matters for selection purposes, but the Big Red is now #24 in the Coaches' poll.

Trotsky
Here is the RPI table. Some fun WTF teams. UNH, Hofstra, Grand Canyon, Marshall, Central Arkansas, "UTRGV". Go Vaqueros!

UTRGV is the result of the merger of UT Brownsville, where I worked from 2000-2002, and UT Pan-American. When I was at UTB, or more properly "The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College", the sports teams were playing in the Junior College league via TSC's membership.

CU2007

Trotsky
Here is the RPI table. Some fun WTF teams. UNH, Hofstra, Grand Canyon, Marshall, Central Arkansas, "UTRGV". Go Vaqueros!

How does the ncaa tourney work? League champs and top so-and-so ranks in the RPI? Basically, do we have a legit chance to make the tourney as an at-large or would we need to win Ivy?

Hard to say. I do think we have a chance at at-large this year but I figure our trip through the ivy league will slowly whittle away at our SOS even as we win games and a single loss could be a deathblow. Not a lot of margin for error.

jtwcornell91

Trotsky
Here is the RPI table. Some fun WTF teams. UNH, Hofstra, Grand Canyon, Marshall, Central Arkansas, "UTRGV". Go Vaqueros!

UTRGV is the result of the merger of UT Brownsville, where I worked from 2000-2002, and UT Pan-American. When I was at UTB, or more properly "The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College", the sports teams were playing in the Junior College league via TSC's membership.

I remember the sports teams being the Scorpions (people even made some weird scorpion hand-gesture), which apparently is still TSC's mascot. In the brief period between the separation of UTB and TSC and the formation of UTRGV, UTB was (according to Wikipedia) the Ocelots, a name I never heard, since I haven't been to Brownsville since my Hurricane Sabbatical in 2005.

jtwcornell91

jtwcornell91

Trotsky
Here is the RPI table. Some fun WTF teams. UNH, Hofstra, Grand Canyon, Marshall, Central Arkansas, "UTRGV". Go Vaqueros!

UTRGV is the result of the merger of UT Brownsville, where I worked from 2000-2002, and UT Pan-American. When I was at UTB, or more properly "The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College", the sports teams were playing in the Junior College league via TSC's membership.

I remember the sports teams being the Scorpions (people even made some weird scorpion hand-gesture), which apparently is still TSC's mascot. In the brief period between the separation of UTB and TSC and the formation of UTRGV, UTB was (according to Wikipedia) the Ocelots, a name I never heard, since I haven't been to Brownsville since my Hurricane Sabbatical in 2005.

HE REMEMBERS ME!

Cornell 4, Harvard 0 after 30 minutes.

Al DeFlorio
Cornell 4, Harvard 0 after 30 minutes.

Wow.

5-0 at halftime after an “Olympico” goal that curled in directly off a corner kick. An absolute beat down of a team that last week had a scoreless tie with preseason league favorite Yale.

We are damn good, folks.

5-4 now with 5:40 left. is this a joke?

blackwidow
5-4 now with 5:40 left. is this a joke?

We hung on 5-4. Coach Smith started the 2nd half with a number of reserves on the field, reasonably believing that a 5 goal lead would be plenty. But we got sloppy on the back end and Harvard scored a couple and gained confidence. At 5-3 Smith put back in our starters, but Harvard popped in one more in the last 10 minutes. We were able to hang on and avoid an all-time collapse.

Lessened learned, one hopes.

I didn’t think you were allowed to put someone back into game once removed in soccer.

CU2007
I didn’t think you were allowed to put someone back into game once removed in soccer.

Not the case in college soccer.

Cornell up to 15 in RPI

scoop85
Cornell up to 15 in RPI

13 in the official NCAA RPI (which may also have been calculated after some other Sunday games)

Cornell men's soccer is #13 in the first NCAA Men's Soccer RPI rankings of the season! The Big Red is back in action on Tuesday night, facing Colgate at 7 p.m. on Berman Field. #YellCornell

STORY: [t.co]

(📸: Madison Epperson/Cornell Athletics) pic.twitter.com/FNkkgSGPaV

— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) October 11, 2021

ugarte

scoop85
Cornell up to 15 in RPI

13 in the official NCAA RPI (which may also have been calculated after some other Sunday games)

Cornell men's soccer is #13 in the first NCAA Men's Soccer RPI rankings of the season! The Big Red is back in action on Tuesday night, facing Colgate at 7 p.m. on Berman Field. #YellCornell

STORY: [t.co]

(📸: Madison Epperson/Cornell Athletics) pic.twitter.com/FNkkgSGPaV

— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) October 11, 2021

They should be playing at Schoelkoph, let the football team play at Berman.

Let the football team play in Varna.

Two nil over Colgate, now 8-1-1! I’m watching Ted Lasso to try to develop an appreciation for this game.

George64
Two nil over Colgate, now 8-1-1! I’m watching Ted Lasso to try to develop an appreciation for this game.

saying "nil" shows you're 90% of the way there

I watched a replay on ESPN+ of the first half of the match against Harvard this morning. The announcers noted that soccer and lax All-American, Bruce Arena ‘73, was present. He’s now GM or something for the New England Rebels, Revolution or whatever, and probably scouting our team. It’s a good sign.

George64
I watched a replay on ESPN+ of the first half of the match against Harvard this morning. The announcers noted that soccer and lax All-American, Bruce Arena ‘73, was present. He’s now GM or something for the New England Rebels, Revolution or whatever, and probably scouting our team. It’s a good sign.

Arena is sporting director and head coach of the Revolution.

George64
I watched a replay on ESPN+ of the first half of the match against Harvard this morning. The announcers noted that soccer and lax All-American, Bruce Arena ‘73, was present. He’s now GM or something for the New England Rebels, Revolution or whatever, and probably scouting our team. It’s a good sign.

While Arena may well have been scouting a few of our players, I think he was there primarily because it was a soccer alumni reunion.

Congratulations to @CornellMSoccer's Tyler Bagley who was named TopDrawerSoccer's #22 player in college soccer on its Midseason Top 100 rankings. #YellCornell

(📸: Ryan Griffith/Cornell Athletics) pic.twitter.com/syAVQ8x0ID

— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) October 15, 2021

JFC I turn the game on and within 5 seconds Yale scores to make it 1-0 with 5:45 left.

ugarte
JFC I turn the game on and within 5 seconds Yale scores to make it 1-0 with 5:45 left.

I knew there was someone to blame. Damn shame because we’ve dominated the game, but that’s soccer

I was at the game at Yale today. We were definitely the better team, but that døesn't always mean a win in soccer. We had sø many quality chances that didn't pan out. In the first half, there was a sequence following a Cornell corner kick where twice we beat the goalie only to have a Yale defender head the ball off the goal line. We had a shot go off the crossbar in the second half, and the Yale goalie made some great saves. Until they scored, Yale's only quality chance in the second half was a breakaway where their forward shot the ball just wide.
This really hurts our chances at the Ivy title, as it drops us into third behind undefeated Princeton and Yale, which has only a tie on its record. We have to win out, including beating Princeton, and hope that Yale picks up a loss or tie somewhere along the way and that way we might at least get a share of the Ivy title. Yale and Princeton haven't played yet, so at least one of those teams will get a loss or a possible tie for both. We should root for Princeton to beat Yale, and that way if we win our last four games, we at least clinch a share of the title.
This year's team is a lot of fun to watch, with some great speed and individual skills. Just wish we could have shot the ball a little better today.

dbilmes
I was at the game at Yale today. We were definitely the better team, but that døesn't always mean a win in soccer. We had sø many quality chances that didn't pan out. In the first half, there was a sequence following a Cornell corner kick where twice we beat the goalie only to have a Yale defender head the ball off the goal line. We had a shot go off the crossbar in the second half, and the Yale goalie made some great saves. Until they scored, Yale's only quality chance in the second half was a breakaway where their forward shot the ball just wide.
This really hurts our chances at the Ivy title, as it drops us into third behind undefeated Princeton and Yale, which has only a tie on its record. We have to win out, including beating Princeton, and hope that Yale picks up a loss or tie somewhere along the way and that way we might at least get a share of the Ivy title. Yale and Princeton haven't played yet, so at least one of those teams will get a loss or a possible tie for both. We should root for Princeton to beat Yale, and that way if we win our last four games, we at least clinch a share of the title.
This year's team is a lot of fun to watch, with some great speed and individual skills. Just wish we could have shot the ball a little better today.

Do the Ivies use the 3-1-0 point system, so that it takes three draws to equal a win?

i think if we win out we get an at-large so that's good.

ugarte
i think if we win out we get an at-large so that's good.

I hope you’re right, as it would be a damn shame for yesterday to derail the season.

jtwcornell91

Do the Ivies use the 3-1-0 point system, so that it takes three draws to equal a win?

i was going to say yes because that's what it looks like on the RPI rankings site, but it isn't clear from the ivyleague.com site. i hope so, because if it's 3 points for a win, if we win out and princeton and yale tie, we'd win the ivies.

is there now playoff in ivy soccer?

upprdeck
is there now playoff in ivy soccer?

Yale announcers said "no."

Yes, 3pts for win, 1 for tie
[ivyleague.com]

In another football match, Cornell 4, Brown nil, with 37 minutes remaining.

With Yale’s scoreless tie against Penn, we are now alone in 2nd place behind 4-0 Princeton. We play the Tigers next Saturday in Jersey in the battle for 1st place. If Cornell prevails we’d then have Ivy also-fans Dartmouth and Columbia to finish out the season, so next week could be for all the marbles.

scoop85
With Yale’s scoreless tie against Penn, we are now alone in 2nd place behind 4-0 Princeton. We play the Tigers next Saturday in Jersey in the battle for 1st place. If Cornell prevails we’d then have Ivy also-fans Dartmouth and Columbia to finish out the season, so next week could be for all the marbles.

Is the first tie breaker for the championship and ncaa autobid the head-to-head game??

CU2007

scoop85
With Yale’s scoreless tie against Penn, we are now alone in 2nd place behind 4-0 Princeton. We play the Tigers next Saturday in Jersey in the battle for 1st place. If Cornell prevails we’d then have Ivy also-fans Dartmouth and Columbia to finish out the season, so next week could be for all the marbles.

Is the first tie breaker for the championship and ncaa autobid the head-to-head game??

I haven’t looked up anything but that seems most logical.

CU2007

scoop85
With Yale’s scoreless tie against Penn, we are now alone in 2nd place behind 4-0 Princeton. We play the Tigers next Saturday in Jersey in the battle for 1st place. If Cornell prevails we’d then have Ivy also-fans Dartmouth and Columbia to finish out the season, so next week could be for all the marbles.

Is the first tie breaker for the championship and ncaa autobid the head-to-head game??

I think the Ivies award co-championships whenever two teams are tied in the standings, so it would be a tie-breaker for the autobid. (Unless there's a tie-breaker game.)

If this is still current: [ivyleague.com]

ah we're fucked

MSOC | FINAL | Cornell got a late goal from junior Griffin Garrard, but it wasn't enough to top Princeton on Saturday afternoon. #YellCornell

(📸: Madison Epperson/Cornell Athletics) pic.twitter.com/fW1SyZEAMW

— CornellSportsGameday (@CUBigRedGameday) October 30, 2021

ugarte
ah we're fucked

MSOC | FINAL | Cornell got a late goal from junior Griffin Garrard, but it wasn't enough to top Princeton on Saturday afternoon. #YellCornell

(📸: Madison Epperson/Cornell Athletics) pic.twitter.com/fW1SyZEAMW

— CornellSportsGameday (@CUBigRedGameday) October 30, 2021

Lots of misery again

ugarte
ah we're fucked

MSOC | FINAL | Cornell got a late goal from junior Griffin Garrard, but it wasn't enough to top Princeton on Saturday afternoon. #YellCornell

(📸: Madison Epperson/Cornell Athletics) pic.twitter.com/fW1SyZEAMW

— CornellSportsGameday (@CUBigRedGameday) October 30, 2021

We got a straight red card on a foul about 10 minutes into the game, which seemed overly harsh. Princeton then scored a moment later off a corner. Despite being down a man, we had a number of chances in the 1st half, especially an open net with about 5 minutes left but our guy Ka couldn’t control the ball and tap it into the open net.

What a waste of such a talented team.

scoop85

ugarte
ah we're fucked

MSOC | FINAL | Cornell got a late goal from junior Griffin Garrard, but it wasn't enough to top Princeton on Saturday afternoon. #YellCornell

(📸: Madison Epperson/Cornell Athletics) pic.twitter.com/fW1SyZEAMW

— CornellSportsGameday (@CUBigRedGameday) October 30, 2021

We got a straight red card on a foul about 10 minutes into the game, which seemed overly harsh. Princeton then scored a moment later off a corner. Despite being down a man, we had a number of chances in the 1st half, especially an open net with about 5 minutes left but our guy Ka couldn’t control the ball and tap it into the open net.

What a waste of such a talented team.

Red Card was not surprising. grabbing someone from behind when they have an unimpeded path to the goal is a red card offense. Cornell was lucky it happened outside the box, otherwise there would have been a penalty kick awarded in addition to the red card.

With that loss to Princeton, Cornell is not just out of the NCAA top 25 but is 12 places down among the teams also receiving votes, putting Cornell (6 total points) about 37th in the mind of the NCAA coaches. Also-mention Princeton has 12. Nice while it lasted.
[www.ncaa.com]

In its next-to-last regular season game, 11-3-1 Cornell beats 16-11 Dartmouth, 2-1 in double OT. [cornellbigred.com] (If those records are right, how is it Cornell has played 15 games and Dartmouith 27?) [edit add: because I read the wrong line of a stats sheet. Dartmouth is 2-11-1, .179, which adds to the sense that the last third of Cornell's season has been a letdown, 3-2 the last 5 games)

NCAA has Cornell 28th in RPI. Princeton is 70th, Yale is 69th in games through Nov. 11. [www.ncaa.com]

billhoward
In its next-to-last regular season game, 11-3-1 Cornell beats 16-11 Dartmouth, 2-1 in double OT. [cornellbigred.com] (If those records are right, how is it Cornell has played 15 games and Dartmouith 27?)

Dartmouth’s record is more like 2-11

billhoward
In its next-to-last regular season game, 11-3-1 Cornell beats 16-11 Dartmouth, 2-1 in double OT. [cornellbigred.com] (If those records are right, how is it Cornell has played 15 games and Dartmouith 27?)

Probably, because Dartmouth is 2-11-1.

Cornell heading to 2OT against 1-10-4 Columbia. Columbia has almost no possession but Cornell can't buy a second goal against this goalie.

ugarte
Cornell heading to 2OT against 1-10-4 Columbia. Columbia has almost no possession but Cornell can't buy a second goal against this goalie.

Eneli didn’t play for some reason. You would think the announcers, who were never shy to tout their soccer expertise, would’ve found out why he didn’t see the field.

Columbia only had one shot on goal all game, and it was a goal. In our loss to Yale and tie today, we dominated play, had a lot more shots and scoring chances, but couldn't finish. We had 19 shots today, including 9 on goal, but only scored once. Talent-wise, we probably had best team in Ivies this year, but don't have a title to show for it. The one goal we did score today was an amazing free kick by Tyler Bagley, who is one of the leading scorers in the country. Today's tie most likely cost us a shot at an NCAA at-large bid.
As for the announcers, they should have had something on why one of our best players didn't play at all today. They also get carried away making comparisons to famous European soccer players. But we did learn that one of the announcers was in a freshman history class with one of the Columbia players when they were in high school.

Seems like a bit of a waste of a very talented team. What does the future look like? Recruiting classes? Losing a lot of talent to graduation after this season?

RPI down to 46. Season has to be over.

CU2007
Seems like a bit of a waste of a very talented team. What does the future look like? Recruiting classes? Losing a lot of talent to graduation after this season?

We had five 5th-year seniors, including Bagley. But we have some talented underclassmen and our coach has done a great job of turning the program around. We should be an Ivy contender in the foreseeable future.

No idea if this website is particularly accurate, but it has Cornell as the 4th team out. It seems to assume the committee will go straight down the RPI list. Cornell has two wins against teams they project in the field, Marist and UC Santa Barbara, but they are auto-bids with RPIs below Cornell. Otherwise, the best result is the draw with Syracuse RPI 56).

TL/DR: ugarte is right, the season is over.

mountainred
No idea if this website is particularly accurate, but it has Cornell as the 4th team out. It seems to assume the committee will go straight down the RPI list. Cornell has two wins against teams they project in the field, Marist and UC Santa Barbara, but they are auto-bids with RPIs below Cornell. Otherwise, the best result is the draw with Syracuse RPI 56).

TL/DR: ugarte is right, the season is over.

Shame. Perhaps we can hope this motivates the team next year. Look at this year's USMNT.

Cornell soccer finishes 2021 at 11-3-2. But the last 30 days were a disappointing 3-2-1. Bounce of the ball can explain the outcome of a single game, but this was not the finish Cornell was capable of. Let's hope Cornell builds on the overall success of the season.

Games Oct. 16-Nov. 13
L 1-0 @ Yale
W 1-0 @ Binghamton
W 4-0 Brown
L 2-1 @ Princeton
W 2-1 @ Dartmouth 2OT
T 1-1 Columbia 2 OT

billhoward
Cornell soccer finishes 2021 at 11-3-2. But the last 30 days were a disappointing 3-2-1. Bounce of the ball can explain the outcome of a single game, but this was not the finish Cornell was capable of. Let's hope Cornell builds on the overall success of the season.

Games Oct. 16-Nov. 13
L 1-0 @ Yale
W 1-0 @ Binghamton
W 4-0 Brown
L 2-1 @ Princeton
W 2-1 @ Dartmouth 2OT
T 1-1 Columbia 2 OT

I think if you roll it back one more game (not checking) you get to the 5-4 win over Harvard where we took a 5-0 lead and nearly blew it.

thats soccer.. give up 1-0-0-2-1-1 and go 3-2-1. The margin is so small and the reward for the D when you get ahead is to make it even harder by bunkering. A modified scoring system might help a bit but many would think it would ruin the game to try to have teams try to score and not just play 10 in the box. Even something simple like on set pieces limit how many can start in the box. Lax doesnt allow the whole team to cross midfield why does soccer? But then often the only plays that create chances are when a D comes up and the counter can work. if the D was kept at midfield those would go away as well.. But limiting players in the box might help and the D could still come up high.

billhoward
Cornell soccer finishes 2021 at 11-3-2. But the last 30 days were a disappointing 3-2-1. Bounce of the ball can explain the outcome of a single game, but this was not the finish Cornell was capable of. Let's hope Cornell builds on the overall success of the season.

Games Oct. 16-Nov. 13
L 1-0 @ Yale
W 1-0 @ Binghamton
W 4-0 Brown
L 2-1 @ Princeton
W 2-1 @ Dartmouth 2OT
T 1-1 Columbia 2 OT

The Yale game started our late-season slide. We controlled play, but their goalie made some great saves. We still had a shot at the Ivy title when we played Princeton, but we had a player receive a somewhat questionable red card early in that game and had to play a man short for most of the game. Even so, we were still in the game until Princeton went up 2-0. That game cost us a shot at the Ivy title. Columbia was a team we definitely should have defeated, but their goalie played the game of his life and one of our forwards singlehandedly failed to score on three excellent chances. Meanwhile, our second-leading scorer sat out the game for undisclosed reasons. The Columbia goalie also made some good saves. But even so, this was a game we should have won. If we couldn't beat one of the worst teams in the league on our home field we didn't deserve an NCAA berth. For what it's worth, we were unbeaten at home.

We had a lot of games that should have gone differently. We lost to Wake Forest in 2OT after outshooting them over the first 90 minutes when we got hit with TWO red cards in the last 10 minutes of regulation. We lost to both Yale and Princeton well against the run of play. On the last game of the season, needing a win to survive, we again failed to put home any of the chances we created and the ONE decent opportunity Columbia got for itself was perfectly struck.

I agree with what you said, @upprdeck, it's just a bummer.

upprdeck
thats soccer.. give up 1-0-0-2-1-1 and go 3-2-1. The margin is so small and the reward for the D when you get ahead is to make it even harder by bunkering. A modified scoring system might help a bit but many would think it would ruin the game to try to have teams try to score and not just play 10 in the box. Even something simple like on set pieces limit how many can start in the box. Lax doesnt allow the whole team to cross midfield why does soccer? But then often the only plays that create chances are when a D comes up and the counter can work. if the D was kept at midfield those would go away as well.. But limiting players in the box might help and the D could still come up high.

Lax does allow D players in the offensive zone; you just have to keep 4 players (including the GK) back in the defensive zone.

A mark of an excellent soccer team is the ability to break down the other team's defense even if they're parking the bus in front of goal. Last Friday's USMNT v Mexico game had two good examples. Pulisic's goal came from a halftime adjustment that isolated Weah on the right against his marker. Then, when Mexico had to adjust to a wider U.S. offense, space in the center opened up for McKennie's clincher.

None of this refutes what you said. The ability of a weaker team to combine parking the bus with quick counter attacks (ala Ted Lasso) does allow better teams to lose more than they should. It's sort of like basketball before the shot clock, when stalling afforded weaker teams the opportunity to beat stronger ones. Maybe bigger goals would help.

Swampy

upprdeck
thats soccer.. give up 1-0-0-2-1-1 and go 3-2-1. The margin is so small and the reward for the D when you get ahead is to make it even harder by bunkering. A modified scoring system might help a bit but many would think it would ruin the game to try to have teams try to score and not just play 10 in the box. Even something simple like on set pieces limit how many can start in the box. Lax doesnt allow the whole team to cross midfield why does soccer? But then often the only plays that create chances are when a D comes up and the counter can work. if the D was kept at midfield those would go away as well.. But limiting players in the box might help and the D could still come up high.

Lax does allow D players in the offensive zone; you just have to keep 4 players (including the GK) back in the defensive zone.

A mark of an excellent soccer team is the ability to break down the other team's defense even if they're parking the bus in front of goal. Last Friday's USMNT v Mexico game had two good examples. Pulisic's goal came from a halftime adjustment that isolated Weah on the right against his marker. Then, when Mexico had to adjust to a wider U.S. offense, space in the center opened up for McKennie's clincher.

None of this refutes what you said. The ability of a weaker team to combine parking the bus with quick counter attacks (ala Ted Lasso) does allow better teams to lose more than they should. It's sort of like basketball before the shot clock, when stalling afforded weaker teams the opportunity to beat stronger ones. Maybe bigger goals would help.

Yeah Bigger goals would be an interesting idea to try out. Hockey has talked about it as well. How much bigger though.. You go look at games and would bigger goals me more shots. more wild shots. or more goals.

upprdeck

Swampy

upprdeck
thats soccer.. give up 1-0-0-2-1-1 and go 3-2-1. The margin is so small and the reward for the D when you get ahead is to make it even harder by bunkering. A modified scoring system might help a bit but many would think it would ruin the game to try to have teams try to score and not just play 10 in the box. Even something simple like on set pieces limit how many can start in the box. Lax doesnt allow the whole team to cross midfield why does soccer? But then often the only plays that create chances are when a D comes up and the counter can work. if the D was kept at midfield those would go away as well.. But limiting players in the box might help and the D could still come up high.

Lax does allow D players in the offensive zone; you just have to keep 4 players (including the GK) back in the defensive zone.

A mark of an excellent soccer team is the ability to break down the other team's defense even if they're parking the bus in front of goal. Last Friday's USMNT v Mexico game had two good examples. Pulisic's goal came from a halftime adjustment that isolated Weah on the right against his marker. Then, when Mexico had to adjust to a wider U.S. offense, space in the center opened up for McKennie's clincher.

None of this refutes what you said. The ability of a weaker team to combine parking the bus with quick counter attacks (ala Ted Lasso) does allow better teams to lose more than they should. It's sort of like basketball before the shot clock, when stalling afforded weaker teams the opportunity to beat stronger ones. Maybe bigger goals would help.

Yeah Bigger goals would be an interesting idea to try out. Hockey has talked about it as well. How much bigger though.. You go look at games and would bigger goals me more shots. more wild shots. or more goals.

Yes, Yes, and Yes. Don't do it. They shouldn't have lowered the mound in baseball, and they never should have let palming become the crossover dribble in basketball.

Swampy
Pulisic's goal came from a halftime adjustment that isolated Weah on the right against his marker

To be fair this also needed a spectacular pass and a damn fine header.

Trotsky

Swampy
Pulisic's goal came from a halftime adjustment that isolated Weah on the right against his marker

To be fair this also needed a spectacular pass and a damn fine header.

Exactly, which is why I went out of my way to mention Weah (pun or malapropism intended). Weah was also involved in McKennie's goal. Weah well deserved the coach's Man of the Match award.

BTW ("By the Weah" ), Weah scored a highlight reel goal tonight against Jamaica, but the USMNT was lucky to tie the Reggae Boyz. Other games are still in play, and the online scoreboard is having a hard time keeping up.

2021 MEN’S SOCCER ALL-IVY AND MAJOR AWARDS
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kevin O’Toole, Princeton (Sr., M/F – Montclair, N.J.)

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Elian Haddock, Yale (Jr., GK – Whitefish Bay, Wisc.)

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Alessandro Arlotti, Harvard (Fr., F – Monaco)

COACH OF THE YEAR
Jim Barlow, Princeton*

FIRST TEAM ALL-IVY^
Lucas Gen, Princeton (Jr., D – Sacramento, California)
Jeremy Haddock, Yale (Jr., D – Whitefish Bay, Wisc.)
Wilson Eisner, Cornell (Fr., D – Menlo Park, Calif.)
Leo Burney, Penn (Fr., D – Seattle, Washington)
Elian Haddock, Yale (Jr., GK – Whitefish Bay, Wisc.)
Tyler Bagley, Cornell* (Fifth Year., M – San Clemente, Calif.)
Derek Waleffe, Brown (Sr., M – Madison, Wisc.)
Willem Ebbinge, Harvard (So., M – Queenstown, New Zealand)
Alessandro Arlotti, Harvard (Fr., F – Monaco)
Kevin O’Toole, Princeton* (Sr., M/F – Montclair, N.J.)
Emeka Eneli, Cornell (Sr., F – Dublin, Ohio)
Paolo Carroll, Yale (Jr., F – Sao Paulo, Brazil)

SECOND TEAM ALL-IVY^
Louis Weisdorf, Dartmouth (Fr., D – Copenhagen, Denmark)
Issa Mudashiru, Princeton (Fr., D – Bethesda, Md.)
Alex Charles, Princeton (Sr., D – Durham, N.C.)
Jack Roberts, Princeton (Sr., GK – Wellesley, Mass.)
Harry Fuller, Cornell (Fifth Year., M – London, England)
Jonah Kagen, Cornell (Sr., D – Savannah, Ga.)
Daniel Diaz Bonilla, Princeton (Jr., F – Vienna, Va.)
Ohad Yahalom, Dartmouth (Sr., M – Brookline, Mass.)
Ben Stitz, Penn (Sr., M – Baltimore, Md.)
Malik Pinto, Princeton (So., M – Durham, N.C.)
Isaac McGinnis, Penn (Sr., M – Brighton, N.Y.)
Martin Vician, Harvard (Jr., F/M – Bratislava, Slovakia)
Kahveh Zahiroleslam, Yale (So., F – Saratoga, Calif.)
Owen Schwartz, Brown (Jr., D – Mill Valley, Calif.)

Ivy champs Princeton down 0 - 1 to St. Johns in NCAA 1st round game at halftime.

St Johns wins 1-0 and as a prize gets Oregon State (#1 ranked team) out in Oregon on Sunday afternoon.

Nice to see a freshman make first team, but otherwise it looks like a rebuild job for Coach Smith.