I havent missed a home soccer game yet this year, went to the game in Waco, and follow the team very closely...and ive noticed one thing that worries me and im lookin for answers.

can anyone tell me why we dont play the duo of Linda Pierson and Annie Burnett on defense?? they gave up fewer goals all of last season than we did in as few as maybe the first 6 or 7 this year. also, Linda is nearly flawless at getting possession of the ball and controlling it out to the wings and letting us build an offense...the group we are using this year, when they dont get burned and leave KJ with one on one situations, just clear the ball without any care of where its going, and the midfield rarely gets control of it, and its back to the attack for whoever we're playing.

can someone let me in on any inside info on why G has benched Linda and Annie??
(only thing i know is that annie had a back injury, but from what im told shes recovered)

Good question. Can only guess that G is high on Falcuson and thus Burnett is the odd one out. I agree that no defender goes forward like Burnett did last year and that is missing. G won another Big 12 championship so he must know what he's doing. Can't understand Dewoody as center back instead of Pierson or better yet why not Burke. She played there two years ago and was superb. She would be a great addition to the defense. Wonder why the coaches haven't thought of that?

G may know what he's doing to some extent -- but he could have won the Big 12 outright had he put some faster players on the field vs. Missouri and Kansas. A&M's weaknesses show against fast teams, and A&M needs its best players on the field to compete with the likes of UNC, Notre Dame, Penn State, etc. Pierson and Burnett proved last year they were two of the best Aggie defenders -- Pierson was better at patroling the back line and distributing the ball, and Burnett was better at winning the ball and possessing it down the field. DeWoody and Falcuson add size to the defense, but that's about it. My fear is that unless G makes some adjustments, we are not going as far in the playoffs, but from what I've seen G doesn't make substitutions in his defense.

Falucsan has been the best one-on-one defender I've seen the Aggies have in a while. Plus, she wins possession rather than just kicks it out. The problem, in my opinion, is two parts:

1. A&M plays kickball rather than ball control offense, and as a consequence, opponents are able to gain more time of possession and make more attacks. Eventually the defense wears down.

2. The Aggies haven't found an effective defense for stopping set-piece plays. Corner kicks and free kicks have hurt the Aggies in some critical matches. But realize that defending those plays includes having midfield support as well, and that might be where the breakdown occurs.

Early in the season, A&M got beat after pushing the defense way up, but having Paige set up in front of the back line has seemed to help.

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[This message has been edited by BBRex (edited 10/26/2004 2:47p).]

I do agree that Falcusan is a straight up baller. she needs to be part of the starting rotation just like pistorius (also a baller)...however...dewoody rarely played last year, and annie and linda started every game for us and we had one of the premier defenses in the league. in fact you could almost say we were known for our defense. so im thinking pierson, burnett, and falcusan is our primary talent, speed, and skill when it comes to taking work away from KJ...

also...im not entirely sold on paige yet...she gets burned far too often for her to be solid...linda rarely if ever let her defender get by her with the ball, and she had that special control to get the ball to our midfield so we could run some controlled offense. im not seeing that with paige. she plays more of a game which focuses on one shot at getting the ball away from the opposing team, and if she misses, shes burned. when she DOES get the ball, she doesnt have the placement that linda has as far as putting the ball back into play...just my 2 cents and observations

[This message has been edited by AgSoccer2007 (edited 10/26/2004 4:21p).]

[This message has been edited by AgSoccer2007 (edited 10/26/2004 4:24p).]

I also agree that Falcusan is a good defender and should be on the field. She does get to the ball, but not with a lot of control. And don't sell Burnett short. She had a lot of speed, rarely got beat 1 v 1 and was known for controlling the ball better than any of the Aggie defenders I've seen over the last 3 years. All of the defenders this year just stab at the ball or kick the ball out far too much for this level of soccer. I'm ready to see a pretty passing game like I know the Aggies can play.

exactly!! the defense needs to be more solid and control the ball...it all starts with that. once we can get our girls doing that, its all about using carrie's speed and lauras left foot to get the ball to pistorious so she can go to work.

I think we should just play with 12 players. That could solve the lineup problems.

On a more serious note, I don't know why G doesn't use more defenders. He could potentialy have two styles of defense and play them accordingly. Obviously the defense has had trouble with faster players so counter that with a faster marking back like Annie. When they have a player more like Pistorious, he could use Jordan and her excellent 1v1 skills to mark her. What I don't understand is if his bench is so deep, then why isn't he using it?

I've wondered that, too. A&M has talented defenders on the bench, but they don't rotate like the offense does.

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Hey, quit your whining!

Let's give coach G the benefit of the doubt. Last year's "outstanding defense" lead the Aggies to a glorious 5th place finish in the Big 12. This year's questionable defense won the Big 12.

If Burnett had a back injury at the start of the season, it's understandable that Falcusan would be given the shot, and she's done well back there.

It looks like DeWoody replaced Pierson after the defense gave up 4 to Clemson (and lost) then gave up 2 in a loss at Princeton and 2 more in a win at Penn. It seems like the Defense started winning more games since Dewoody came in.

Maybe G made some good decisions? Maybe we should just enjoy some success and a championship when it comes our way.

Good luck to the team this weekend and in the post-season!

Would still like to see Burke as the center back.

Or put Burke right in front of the backs where Paige is playing now. That could work, too.

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No disrespect intended, DFW AG, but I don't think anyone was whining. I think people are just questioning why strong players have seen very little grass this year. If Burnett was injured at the start of the season, then you are right, Falcusan should be given the shot at starting and she has done okay. But why not try to get Burnett back on the field in some capacity? If I remember correctly, she's faster than Falcusan or Paige for that matter and could have probably helped out in some game situations. And Pierson or Burke could contribute in either DeWoody's spot or in Paige's spot. Pierson and Burke may not be as physical, but they have a better field sense. Regarding the losses to Clemson and Princeton, did anyone realize how good those teams were? A&M almost lost to Michigan because they were faster. A&M lost to Clemson and Princeton because they were faster. The team started winning after those early season losses because the competition got weaker. The Big 12 is weaker this year and we will not see 8 Big 12 teams invited to the NCAA playoffs. Last year's team did finish 5th in the Big 12, but not because of defense. The outstanding defense was what got the team to the Sweet Sixteen. Outside of Strutz, the Aggies did not have anyone up top who could score consistently. G has a lot of talent on the team this year. Too bad he didn't try to develop more players for the play-offs.

The problem is the OFFENSE! Teams are doubling up on Pistorius which should lead to another forward or HB open. One goal against Missouri, zero vs Kansas, one vs Iowa State.

Don't have the answers but if the other team scores - we are in trouble. Is it possible our team is so young we are sagging at the end?

That would be my thought. Our girls just havent had to play a schedule like the one we did this year. It looked to me like they just ran out of gas at the end of the season. Hopefully we play some backups against unt and let the starters rest.