W Soccer beats OK State in shootout

[tristatecoog]

1-1 tie in regulation. Very nice crowd with about 1/4 OSU fans to add some competitive spirit. I sat next to two football players (WR and QB).

One SMU player seemed to possibly tear her ACL. Was that the case?

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

The match ended 1-1 in regulation. They had a mock shootout which SMU won 5-4 with a save by Lauryn Bodden.

Yes, Taylor Robinson did appear to suffer some sort of injury in the first half - likely a knee but no official word yet.

As for the game, the Mustangs looked great against the highly ranked Cowgirls. Standout performances were from Shelby Redman, Courtney Smith, and Mallory Baum.

The great Courtney Webb was also huge in goal - making a gigantic point blank save to keep the Mustangs in the match.

Kenzie Scovill scored the equaliser after a great hustling effort from Ryanne Lewis.

One of the great revelations was the play of incoming freshman Rikki Clarke in midfield. Wow.

Overall, a nice effort from the Mustangs tonight against some great opposition.

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Women's Soccer Ties No. 14 Oklahoma State 1-1 In Exhibition
Scovill nets equalizer in the 66th minute

Aug. 13, 2011

DALLAS (SMU) - In front of an enthusiastic crowd, SMU and No. 14 Oklahoma State played to a 1-1 draw Saturday night at Westcott Field.

"It was a great mixture in the crowd," SMU Head Coach Brent Erwin said of the atmosphere at Westcott. "I thought our fans were great, they were loud, and Oklahoma State had their fans as well. You want to replicate a game situation for your players so that's why you play at night under the lights against a good opponent. Both teams knew they were going to get a good game tonight."

In the32nd minute, the Cowgirls struck first as Annika Neimeier broke down the Mustang defense, getting inside the six-yard box before slipping the ball past Courtney Webb.

Down 1-0 at the half, both team's intensity picked up in the second half as both sides saw chances come and go. Bolstered by a group of substitutes 15 minutes into the second half, SMU began to hit its stride.

In the 66th minute, junior Kenzie Scovill scored the equalizer that the Mustangs were looking for. Sophomore defender Amelia Ambrose got a clean shot off from short range which All-American keeper Adrianna French could only knock away. Scovill was in the right spot, knocking the rebound home.

With just under 10 minutes remaining, SMU nearly saw the game slip away as OSU's Kendra Boydstun ripped a shot from 16 yards outs that sailed over the out-stretched hand of Lauryn Bodden. Fortunately for the Mustang keeper, who came in during the second half, the kicked off the left side of the crossbar.

SMU pushed for the game-winner with several chances late, but were unable to find the back of the net.

"We had our chances and they had their chances so it finished 1-1 so now it's on to the regular season," Erwin said.

SMU opens the regular season on Aug. 19 in Fayetteville, Ark., against the Arkansas Razorbacks.

[tristatecoog]

When Courtney Webb stopped that mock shootout attempt, the crowd erupted, so I call it a win. Who went home happier? Great game Ladies!

[Soccerfan08]

Actually I think it was Bodden in goal that stopped the PK. Keepers alternated.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Actually I think it was Bodden in goal that stopped the PK. Keepers alternated.

Yeah - Bodden had the save in the shootout. Webb took the first two I think.

I don't remember the first SMU shooter but Gaines, Lewis, Baum, and Cox took the rest.

The whole shootout thing was just silly though. If the coaches wanted to have one in a competitive environment for practice, were they going to do it even if the game didn't end up in a draw at full time? Plus, if you want a competitive practice shootout, shouldn't you at least follow the basic rules?

OK - switching keepers and using shooters who may not have been on the pitch at the end of regulation is probably forgivable since it gets more players some practice.

However, you would think they would at least go through the formalities of having the ten active outfield shooters in the center circle, etc. I'm actually surprised the officials didn't enforce this kind of stuff. Otherwise, what's the point of doing it in the first place?

[SMUguy]

Anyone get an update on Robinson's injury? It looked pretty bad when she went to the ground, and they took her off on a cart at halftime. I don't think she came back out to the bench in the second half, did she?

[SMUguy]

I thought the Ponies played well last night. The defense looked organized and confident for most of the game. There were a few times when it got a little sloppy and let OSU shooters get through unchallenged, but for the most part, they were solid. The offense also looked OK, with Redman and Scovill and Lewis and Burgardt, although Lewis (I think) looked like she had a couple of chances to go to goal but chose instead to find a teammate she could pass to. Whoever is in there has to attack as aggressively as possible.

My concern is in the midfield. The new freshman (Clark?) was very impressive. She isn't going to overpower anyone, but she has very good technical skill, zig-zagging through traffic and making quick touches and sharp passes - she kind of reminded me of Marci Miller. Not that she's as polished as Marci, but she looks like she can possess the ball in the midfield and distribute quickly. She'll be interesting to watch as she develops.

In addition to Clark, Mallory Baum is impressive, too, but especially if Robinson is seriously hurt, there isn't a lot of proven depth there. Bartol is back from an injury, so hopefully she can be a factor in the midfield, but we're going to need another youngster or two to step up.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

My concern is in the midfield. The new freshman (Clark?) was very impressive. She isn't going to overpower anyone, but she has very good technical skill, zig-zagging through traffic and making quick touches and sharp passes - she kind of reminded me of Marci Miller. Not that she's as polished as Marci, but she looks like she can possess the ball in the midfield and distribute quickly. She'll be interesting to watch as she develops.

In addition to Clark, Mallory Baum is impressive, too, but especially if Robinson is seriously hurt, there isn't a lot of proven depth there. Bartol is back from an injury, so hopefully she can be a factor in the midfield, but we're going to need another youngster or two to step up.

Other than right back, I was most interested to see what we did in midfield this season. We were already short there, and now if Robinson is out for any period of time it will get very interesting to see what we do. Erwin already limited the exposure to our lack of depth in midfield by going with more of a 4-3-3 look too.

Clarke was extremely impressive - she has some fantastic ball skills and a nice tenacious attitude. She was going to get tons of minutes anyway. Baum is very solid - no problem there. Bartol looked a bit shaky when she first came in (understandable since it was her first college action since her injury), but she looked much better and more comfortable in the second half. Nigh does some nice things, but it would be hard to have Clarke and Nigh on together for long periods because of the lack of size. I didn't see enough of Shannon Canty to know if she can step in.

It's possible somebody else will get an opportunity to get more minutes this season by playing some midfield. Courtney Smith was in at midfield at the end last night but there is no way Erwin would move her from left back. It should be interesting.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Obviously, this is very very unscientific, but based on the starting lineups from last season and which position players usually played, we actually started in a 4-3-3 quite a bit. Naturally, we changed formations during games with substitutions and there were certainly some times where some forwards might have played midfield or the other way around.

But, a best guess is we started in a 4-2-2 in 12 games and a 4-3-3 in 10 games. So, if we go to more of a 4-3-3 look this season out of necessity, it certainly won't be that foreign of an idea for most of the players.

We actually had a bit better record in games where we "started" in a 4-3-3. We were 7-4-1 in a 4-4-2 and 6-2-2 in a 4-3-3.

Of course, we might have started in a more offensive set in some games because of the competition.

As I said, this is extremely unscientific. I just wanted to point out a switch to a more permanent 4-3-3 wouldn't be totally outlandish.