UCSB Game Thread

[tgc225]

Last year we were unseeded right? That was a nice run for sure.

The Gueros might do ok, they are a good team - surprised they lost 7 times this year...

It's the Gauchos

Anyway, one of the biggest problems we had was inconsistency this year, especially on the road. For example, we lost to fellow Big West division Riverside on an away game, and they were the worst team in our division, then beat them 4-0 at home. We lost to another division team, Northridge, 5-0 at an away game, and then beat them at home. We were kind of all over the place during the regular season and just sneaked by to win the automatic seed this year (Big West doesn't have a conference tournament). When we play solid soccer though, the team is pretty good.

Anyway, good luck to you guys next year.

[Pony_Fan]

Whatever, terrible mascot...

[Pony_Fan]

We're suddenly the Indianapolis Colts of soccer. Dominant regular season play only to get sent home w/ tails between our legs in the postseason (even w/ homefield advantage).

This loss really bugs me. The difference between good teams and great teams is that great teams beat the teams they are supposed to beat. An early tournament game, seeded to our advantage, at home is a game we should win.

I'm left to wonder how the team can come out and just get doused like that...

Agreed, we didn't show up at all and got drilled...weird how that happens. The DMN said today he brought in a sports psychologist - hmmm.. - they weren't prepared to play tonightl...

[ponyup10]

SMU just looked like a high school JV team...

with the exception of Matt Wideman...

[mustangbill67]

Very disappointing result. We did not match up well with USB nor were we ready to play. I do not know if this is coaching or simply players' attitude. UCB played a very physical brand of soccer with a better than average level of skill and they matched us pretty well in overall team speed. In the first half against the wind, we seemed more interested in holding the ball than attacking the goal. With the wind, we did not do much better. We could not control the midfield and our attack was very disorganized. The late goal before the half really hurt. It was difficult to tell what happened. On a corner kick a total melee in front of the goal resulted in a goal. A lot of complaining afterwards by SMU apparently about pushing and holding. We also had a goal nulified on a late off side call by a linesman. Difficult to say if this was a correct call. Bottom line is we were totally outplayed and deserved the result. So much for rankings.

Schellas has been to the dance every season but one since he began coaching SMU. Been to the final four twice. But no Cigar! Historically we have always played a beautiful highly skilled game but physical teams sometimes eat us up. Don't know the answer. If Schellas were to leave for MLS, I would think that SMU is probably one of the top college soccer coaching gigs in the country. A new coach would walk in with a cupboard full of tallent and one of the top recruiting areas in the country in his backyard. I wonder who Schellas would recommend for his job?

[smu diamond m]

Schellas has been to the dance every season but one since he began coaching SMU. Been to the final four twice. But no Cigar! Historically we have always played a beautiful highly skilled game but physical teams sometimes eat us up. Don't know the answer. If Schellas were to leave for MLS, I would think that SMU is probably one of the top college soccer coaching gigs in the country. A new coach would walk in with a cupboard full of tallent and one of the top recruiting areas in the country in his backyard. I wonder who Schellas would recommend for his job?

We'd need somebody with feet the size of Shaq's.

[soccerfan]

UCSB is not some unknown team, they made the National Championship game in 2004 losing to Indiana in PK's, and have one at least 1 game in each of the last 5 NCAA tournaments, it sounds like you guys greatly underestimated them. I read some of the other posts and they were all "when we win", "in our 3rd round game" etc. Sounds like you were all served a big slice of humble pie. UCSB is one of the top teams in the Western US and it looks like your team looked past them just as much as your fans did. How did SMU only give up 11 goals all season by the way, that defense was terrible, they gave up so many good chances it could have been 5-1 or 6-1.

[PonyPride]

I disagree. Yes, Matt Wideman was terrific -- as Schellas Hyndman said, if he hadn't played as well as he did, the score would have been more lopsided. Overall, the team didn't have a fabulous night, that's true. The forwards, in particular, struggled against an enormous defense, especially Paulo da Silva, although he clearly was nowhere near to being 100 percent after missing a bunch of games this year with an abdominal injury (and Scott Geppert missed much of the season after blowing out a knee). Losing midfielder Ben Shuleva to a knee injury (don't know how serious it was, but when he went down, he was in obvious agony, and later sat on the sideline with his leg in a big brace -- had the Ponies won, I highly doubt we would have seen him again this season).

But some players did play well:
Ryan Mirsky was terrific, maybe his best game (or at least best home game) of the season. Jay Needham was solid, as always. Bruno Guarda played his heart out, although he was the primary focus of UC-SB's defensive attention, and the Gauchos basically marked him out of the game (with, ironically, a guy UC-SB's coach said "typically doesn't like to defend"). Jeff Harwell played very hard, at times trying perhaps to do too much himself, but at times, he was the Ponies' best player possessing the ball in the offensive end. Dario Saintus at times ran more, and harder, than anyone on the field; when the Ponies seemed to be completely out of gas, he kept flying. Chase Wileman, if he was a little bigger, would have had a huge game -- very active, and one of the few players to aggressively attack the UC-SB defense.

But these guys weren't enough. UC-SB was big and athletic and strong. Their coach claimed they have "the smallest midfield in the country," which is just not true. They have two little guys in the midfield, but in the 4-5-1 formation that Hyndman said "caught us a little off-guard" they had three others who -- if not big -- had at least adequate size. D Andy Iro (all 6'5" of him) won every head ball in the UC-SB, and when they took Guarda out of the game, it was like taking the basketball out of a point guard's hands. Everything runs through Guarda, and when he was marked out of the game, the Ponies faltered.

Very disappointing, because I really thought this team was going to go deep into the tournament. A disappointing finish, to be sure, but overall, a very good season when you consider the injuries this team has overcome. Great run, fellas, and to the seniors: thanks for everything you've given to the program. You're a terrific class, and have been a real pleasure to watch.

[jkflamebo]

I disagree with you. In pretty much any game this year I'd agree with you on each player's performance tonight, but it just wasn't there at all. They completely shut Bruno/Harwell down in the middle, thus we really did not have any counter-attack whatsoever. Our forwards, with crippled Paulo were absolutely ineffective as usual and with that giant Liverpool guy all over, nothing was going to happen. Chase did stir up a few runs on the wing but once they double teamed him he was shut down as well. When Shuleva went out (torn ACL by the way) Grant was forced to play a position he clearly wasn't ready for. Yes Wideman made some crazy saves but it didn't matter, it indeed shoulda been at least 4-1 with a non-called pk that was ridiculous. Mynor had an atrocious game too. I'm a huge smu soccer fan, tonite just wasn't our night. Lets get em next year

[Pony_Fan]

I didn't see impressive play from anyone except Wideman.
They dominated us.

We need to recruit more physical players who can win the battles - see Maryland last yr. SMU didn't look aggressive or make any types of adjustments.

Sure would be nice to have a field w/out the track. Do we still have women's track?

[EastStang]

Losing Ben probably hurt the most. He was our most physical player this year and gave us some physical strength in the middle. Once that happened I suspect the larger more physical team just manhandled us as Maryland did last year. We have never seemed to have the big bruisers but the small skill players. We will continue to be the bridesmaid until we can handle the physical play or elude the tackles.

[Billy Joe]

Lesson: don't put any hope into SMU athletics. You will be let down every time.

[Pony4Life]

First of all, thanks to Ben Shuleva, who quietly had a fantastic season. Hope you and Geppert and da Silva are quick healers, and ready to go next year.

I agree with a lot of what PonyPride and jkflambo said. Wideman kept it close. I'm sort of in between you two on Harwell's performance, but considering he was pushing forward more than he usually did, I thought he did a nice job, especially in the heavy traffic. He had two or three of the better shots, and was able to maintain possession in the offensive end well enough to spring Wileman and Saintus on a couple of runs.

One thing that struck me was the non-card/non-call on Wideman in the second half, when he charged out of the goal, and when the ball got by him, absolutely wiped out the UCSB guy in the box. Anyone know why that wasn't a PK, or at least some kind of a "just outside the box" the referees always seem so fond of?

Question for MustangBill67: You're not REALLY suggesting replacing Coach Hyndman, are you?

[mustangbill67]

Question for MustangBill67: You're not REALLY suggesting replacing Coach Hyndman, are you?


No, just responding to someone who indicated that the SMU position would not be attractive to top coaches. However, I admit I have pondered for years whether our style of play is condusive to winning national championships or even going to the final four on a regular basis. It is fantastic for SMU athletics in general and the soccer program that we are always invited to the dance but very frustrating as a hard core fan that we are not able to take the next step. But fire the coach no. Schallas has done and continues to do what is expected with class and an extremely high level of achievement.

[Pony_Fan]

Question for MustangBill67: You're not REALLY suggesting replacing Coach Hyndman, are you?


No, just responding to someone who indicated that the SMU position would not be attractive to top coaches. However, I admit I have pondered for years whether our style of play is condusive to winning national championships or even going to the final four on a regular basis. It is fantastic for SMU athletics in general and the soccer program that we are always invited to the dance but very frustrating as a hard core fan that we are not able to take the next step. But fire the coach no. Schallas has done and continues to do what is expected with class and an extremely high level of achievement.

Yea, I just have a serious question as I am not much in tune w/ the college soccer scene but - as people have pointed out, what is it that the other teams do in terms of recruiting and style of play? What does Indiana and Duke do with formations, etc?

To say a 4-5-1 formation "surprised us" at this level seems very odd to me.