Once again, UMass coach Jim Rudy helped myself and beat partner David Brinch out a lot with this game. The one remarkable thing about the game was his scouting report that he shared with me was dead on.Yesterday’s game might have felt a little short compared to the Massachusetts women’s soccer team’s previous three games. That’s because it was the first game of the regular season to end in regulation, but even more important for the Minutewomen was ending the game with a 2-0 victory over Bryant.
The Bulldogs (1-4-0) played with an aggressive offense, bringing as many as five players forward in addition to an attacking defense. The strategy caused a few problems for UMass (1-1-2) as it was forced to end some of its runs prematurely with nine offsides calls charged against the Minutewomen.
“I think we were at times perplexed by the highness of the offside line and how often they played it,” UMass coach Jim Rudy said. “We’re always looking for the though ball and it was hard to build up. I wish we could’ve gotten in again earlier and lock [the game] up in the first half.”
He predicted that Bryant would stay resilient through the game, play five offensive players forward and that they had a really inconsistent goalkeeper. All three of those came true. In fact, the second goal came because he knew she could kick a ball short at anytime.
That exact situation happened late in the game and junior Christina Adams hit a relatively easy second goal, keeping the game out of reach even if the Bulldogs were to make one last run.
The next game is Sunday against Holy Cross.
1 comment:
YAY!go UMass Women's Soccer! Coach's scouting report was dead on for sure. He also mentioned that the team was much better than they looked and that while they're not the most athletic or quick out there, they sure are dogged in their persistence.
I can say that the pressure came until the final whistle blew.
I can't wait to read the rest of the story in tomorrow's paper.
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