I thought maybe I could provide a little more detail from someone who was at the games...
Marquette really spanked us. Our defensive line was awsome in the first half, given that the ball barely ever crossed midfield. But we had absolutely no offense. The stats made that apparent whenever you see a team outshot 35 to 0. They gave the Marquette keeper the shutout, but the reality is that the keeper only touched the ball twice in the game off a Bengal touch. The Marquette back four were incredible. This team was ranked 22nd by soccer times, but I believe this is the best team the Bengals have ever played.
When it became apparent that we could generate no offense, coach moved Henage-Fisher to midfield. With Ashley Jones home recovering from a concussion, we are really hurting at the center-midfield position. When Henage-Fisher moved forward, that left two freshmen, a sophomore and a junior on the backline. Given their lack of experience, they were incredible. The mid-field actually came alive for a few minutes with the insertion of Henage-Fisher, but it was quickly apparent that the four months she was prohibited from conditioning while recovering from her concussion has left her terribly out of shape. Coach was only able to play her about 15-20 minutes at a spell.
Despite the loss, the Bengals have little to be embarrassed about. Not only were they playing one of the top teams in the nation, Coach Gibson had a great opportunity to experiment with a variety of players in a number of positions. She saw some fantastic effort by numerous underclassmen. Bailey Williams, despite giving up three goals, was tremendous in front of the net. Eleven saves given the power of those shots was spectaculor. I believe the team left Milwaukee much the better for their experience.
Loyola was a totally different story. Loyola is no easy mark and would be one of the better teams in the WAC or Big Sky. They have played with some of the best in the nation and held their own.
Despite the win, the game was really much closer that it looks. True, we were up 2-0 going into the end of the game. Some bizarre officiating gave the Bengals 21 fouls (and three yellow cards), while only calling Loyola 6 times. That same official gave Loyola a PK to put them back in contention, while ignoring an obvious foul in the box on our end of the field. Still, we only managed to get off five shots in the game. True, our efficiency was high, but over two games... five shots? That's barely a little over one shot per half. We cannot expect to win a heck of a lot of games this year unless we can increase our shot output.
What is wrong with our offense? For one, we have a lot of freshmen on the field who need game experience. Of course, some of the veterens are making similar mistakes. The main errors the offense is making? 1. Trying to dribble though the crowd rather than making smart passes. 2. Holding onto the ball too long. 3 Kicking the ball without an objective... no target. 4. Clumping in the middle rather than spreading the field. 5. Getting caught offside because of not paying attention to the defense.
By the way, Coach Gibson left Henage-Fisher off of the backline again, starting her at midfield. That means that the back four (Freshman Kelsea Godfrey and Liv Zabka, Sophomore Morgan Olson, and Junior Megan Stainbrook) almost helped Bailey Williams earn her first shutout of the year. Despite some intense pressure, they were able to limit Loyola to only four shots on goal. This defense will get better and better as the season continues. Megan Stainbrook had a particularly strong outing, as did Morgan Olson.
What does the rest of the season look like for this team? For one thing, their biggest weakness is lack of experience and that will improve every week and should be no problem once conference play rolls around. The defense looks incredible. When AJ returns from her injury and Henage-Fisher gets her stamina back, our midfield should be tight. We have a lot of potential offensive weapons: veterens Lauren Ryan, Taylor Powell, and Rachel Strawn all had brilliant moments over the weekend. Alisha Cairl and Laura Perez looked much stronger than their freshman season. Several of the other freshmen had some good moments: Tara Bice, Andrea Beseris, and others. And don't forget that we left some tremendous talent at home due to injuries and other problems: Lauren Hough, Allyson Stainbrook, Donya Oliviera, and more. Put all this together, and I still expect to see the conference tournament played in Pocatello this year at ISU captures the regular season title.
