Lots of interesting processors going off in my noggin while watching the first half live last night with Maryland vs North Carolina and then watching the terps and heels battle through 2 Overtimes via the wonders of a DVR player. First of all in the first half UNC had Maryland going backwards on roller skates. UNC’s talent is superb as you have to start with the Schuler kid. Here’s Sasho whom seems to get praticly every New Jersey kid (Doug Rodkey, Matt Kassell to Steve King to the 3 true frosh on this years team) and I’m saying to myself , “Sash you missed one”. That kid would of looked good in a Maryland Uni. With Ben Speas, the Hernandez kid, Robbie Lovejoy and the rest of the UNC hydra, the heels unleashed a blistering attack on Maryland. I had a bad feeling about this game as far as the matchups goes with the Maryland midfield especially with no Sunny Jane. Without naming a couple of Maryland midfielders, for the most part of the first half, a couple of Maryland kids left their game in college park and it was pedestrian heaven for the UNC attackers to go through Maryland like a hot knife through butter. Casey Townsend and Patrick Mullins looked like a couple of wooden Indians up top as nobody was getting them the ball. The midfield couldn’t connect a plug to an outlet let alone try to slice a pass to the two Maryland attacking forwards. Thus when halftime came, I said to myself, “We have a chance”.
Maryland needed a score and they needed it quickly to change momentum. The quick score in the second half came from John Stertzer(whose a lock for 1st team All ACC as he's having a hell of a year) and I said “HMMM this is getting interesting”. Then came a decisive ruling by the official in a bellicose environment. A questionable handball (actually it wasn’t a hand ball) gave UNC a PK and a redcard to Maryland’s best Defender (London Woodberry). Forget about whether if the call is right or not, just “WHEN” is FIFA and the rest of these cowboys going to use instant replay on penalty box calls and whether the ball crosses the goal line. A long debate here for instant replay but back to the game. So Woodberry is out and then Alex Lee , Maryland’s other central back goes out with a clipped wheel. So now Sasho starts firing in live bodies off the bench with Kyle Roach going to the back (true frosh whose going to be very good) and moves Helge Leikvan to Central Back to shadow Schuler and the Metzger kid who broke a couple of UNC defenders ankles on a few moves as that kid is Maryland's next star from the northeast. These moves to me is where Sasho outcoached the UNC coach as he kept live legs out there to try to hold possession and to protect the tie. Carlos Somoasa (sp?) I believe only substituted twice in the game. I couldn’t figure that one out. The TV announcers said that the move of Leikvang bothered Schuler but from my cheap seats I think Schuler ran out of gas in late in regulation. Where’s a UNC body to give the kid a blow? Coach Somoasa, please speak up.
It had to be a pretty fulfilling experience for Matt Oduran, Jordan Cyrus, Kyle Roach, Daniel Metzger and even semi-fit Alex Shinsky got quality minutes against the number 2 team in the country. The end of the game camera shots of both teams told the tale with the UNC kids hanging their heads a little while the Maryland kids weren’t kutting cartwheels but they were slapping hands as they escaped with a point without there best player on the pitch. And speaking of best players on the tundra for Maryland, give it up to Wil Swain the Maryland goalie. Some of the shots were right at him but this kid was solid, directing a hodge podge back line and came up with some stops when this game could have been over early.
Pretty kool also with the Maryland followers down there raising noise with their chants down there on TV. Dam I thought the game for the moment was in Ludwig field. Job well done guys…
Tman
Maryland needed a score and they needed it quickly to change momentum. The quick score in the second half came from John Stertzer(whose a lock for 1st team All ACC as he's having a hell of a year) and I said “HMMM this is getting interesting”. Then came a decisive ruling by the official in a bellicose environment. A questionable handball (actually it wasn’t a hand ball) gave UNC a PK and a redcard to Maryland’s best Defender (London Woodberry). Forget about whether if the call is right or not, just “WHEN” is FIFA and the rest of these cowboys going to use instant replay on penalty box calls and whether the ball crosses the goal line. A long debate here for instant replay but back to the game. So Woodberry is out and then Alex Lee , Maryland’s other central back goes out with a clipped wheel. So now Sasho starts firing in live bodies off the bench with Kyle Roach going to the back (true frosh whose going to be very good) and moves Helge Leikvan to Central Back to shadow Schuler and the Metzger kid who broke a couple of UNC defenders ankles on a few moves as that kid is Maryland's next star from the northeast. These moves to me is where Sasho outcoached the UNC coach as he kept live legs out there to try to hold possession and to protect the tie. Carlos Somoasa (sp?) I believe only substituted twice in the game. I couldn’t figure that one out. The TV announcers said that the move of Leikvang bothered Schuler but from my cheap seats I think Schuler ran out of gas in late in regulation. Where’s a UNC body to give the kid a blow? Coach Somoasa, please speak up.
It had to be a pretty fulfilling experience for Matt Oduran, Jordan Cyrus, Kyle Roach, Daniel Metzger and even semi-fit Alex Shinsky got quality minutes against the number 2 team in the country. The end of the game camera shots of both teams told the tale with the UNC kids hanging their heads a little while the Maryland kids weren’t kutting cartwheels but they were slapping hands as they escaped with a point without there best player on the pitch. And speaking of best players on the tundra for Maryland, give it up to Wil Swain the Maryland goalie. Some of the shots were right at him but this kid was solid, directing a hodge podge back line and came up with some stops when this game could have been over early.
Pretty kool also with the Maryland followers down there raising noise with their chants down there on TV. Dam I thought the game for the moment was in Ludwig field. Job well done guys…
Tman
