The early word out of Gopher Soccer camp this fall was that the squad had more attacking chops than years one and two. The freshmen group has mountains of potential (even with highly touted attacker Caroline Birdsell out this fall recovering from a knee injury) and they brought in All American Megan Nemec to wreak havoc from the wing. In theory, their ceiling in 2023 should be higher. But after two exhibitions against NDSU (2-0 win) and Iowa State (0-1 loss), it’s not clear whether their floor moved much. As Minnesota approaches their 2023 regular season opener against Niagara on Thursday, August 17th, let’s take a detailed look at this year’s squad. Quick glance at the core stats The best way to describe the Gopher Soccer program early in the Erin Chastain rebuild would be “solid.” They score more goals than they allow. They essentially score and defend the way the stats (expected goals) say they would. They pass and possess ok. And they’ve been quite a bit better at home (11-6-2) than on the road (5-8-4).
As the season gets rolling, here are two things to watch for in order to gauge the kind of progress the program is making in year three of the Chastain era.
How they’re going to line up Coming into camp, we might have predicted a 4-1-4-1. Early in camp, we might have predicted a 4-3-3. Before the Iowa State exhibition, we would have been pretty comfortable putting down money on a 4-2-3-1. While the “double six” look still appears to be the odds on favorite, it’s worth noting Chastain is not a purist when it comes to formation or even the rotation. When the Gophers were struggling to create true chances against Iowa State, she moved holding midfielder Amelia Brown to centerback in an attempt to unlock some offense. Then, when Iowa State went up 1-0 (in part due to some defensive miscues on the back line), Minnesota shifted to a 4-3-3 to try and get numbers forward. In other words, the starting formation and lineup is not only *not* carved in stone for the season, it’s not even cemented from opening to closing whistle. Still, if we assume 4-2-3-1 is where we’re starting, here’s how the rotation might look. Captain Megan Plaschko will be in goal with Abi Frandsen, Jordy Rothwell, and Elizabeth Overberg starting from right back to left center back. Left back appears to be a three horse race between Christa Van Loon, Jelena Zbiljic, and freshman Taylor Heimerl – with Heimerl likely to be given the chance to claim it once she’s fully cleared, presumably by opening night. The Gopher need for more offensive spark may drive the choice here. And Heimerl’s ability to absolutely HUCK the ball all the way into the box should not be overlooked. When they’re rolling with their double holding midfielder look, expect freshman phenom Kate Childers, Amelia Brown, and Sophia Barjesteh to split those 180 minutes among the three of them. Paige Kalal, Sophia Boman, Megan Nemec, and Sophia Romine appear to have the three attacking midfield spots on absolute lock down, due to both talent and fitness. Which leaves a sole forward spot for Izzy Brown, Khyah Harper, and Sadie Harper to do their damage. Izzy was out for the NDSU game and maybe showed the best of the group against Iowa State. But make no mistake, this spot (and any front line attacker minutes) will be based entirely on production. If someone catches fire and gets themselves in form, they will start. Now, could Sadie also see minutes at one of the “outside mid” spots? Absolutely. If they have to shift to a 4-3-3, could all three of the “forwards” (Harper, Harper, Izzy) be out there? Definitely.
And, if things do bog down in the 4-2-3-1 and they go a bit more offensive in the 4-3-3, don’t be surprised if that’s when we see Romine at the tip of the spear for stretches as well. As I mentioned in the early camp preview, that look in particular could be where you see the most pressing potential. Sadie, Romine, Nemec up front, Kalal and Boman behind them running a wild, high work rate press. Bring on Izzy and/or Khyah once the opposing team is tired and flustered to beat the defense in the half court to close out the first half? I can see it. Or maybe I’m just day-dreaming about it/hoping for it. We’ll see. Either way, after seeing the two exhibition games, it’s clear the Gophers could use more creativity and creation on-ball, more movement off-ball to stretch the defense and give the ball handler the *chance* to create, and better corner/free kick service to create offense when the first two things aren’t happening. Where will the Gophers finish? We have yet to see the Big Ten coaches poll results, but Chris Henderson of Woso Independent slates the Gophers in at 8th for 2023 – where they finished in 2022. If they play like they did against Iowa State every single game, they could certainly fall well below that mark. If they play like they did against NDSU, 8th place and an opening road matchup against the best team in the conference in the Big Ten Tournament feels about right. If they play to the potential that had coach Chastain excited early in camp – even for stretches – I’d bet they have a shot to climb.
Captain Sophia Boman said the team’s goal is for a Big Ten Championship. Using the most generous definition of *either* a regular season or tournament championship, Minnesota’s most likely path to that goal is almost definitely by doing well enough in the regular season (top four in the conference) to host an opening round game of the conference tournament. From there, hope to play your best and for other matchups to fall the right way. It is absolutely within the *potential* of this year’s Gopher Soccer team to work into form and finish top four. If they’re able to pull off a season like that, it will have meant a significant jump in game to game discipline (read: not dropping games they shouldn’t), a jump in set piece effectiveness (read: both service and finishing improving), and some seriously impressive individual seasons (read: Nemec, Romine, Boman, Izzy, Khyah, whoever going OFF offensively, regularly). Stay connected with us! If there are elements of this team you’d like to see us cover more of, please reach out via Twitter, Instagram, email, or anywhere you see us. MJ will be live tweeting all Gopher games this fall, I (Matt) will be broadcasting home games and making it to as many road games as I can. We’ll be hanging out in the parking lot at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium for the home games and, if folks are interested, we can throw road games on at Black Hart, Makwa, or another women’s soccer supporting location. Just let us know!
0 Comments
The Gopher Soccer program is entering year three of the Erin Chastain head coaching era. So as they prepare for their two exhibition matches this week, let’s dive into five things for you to track as you watch Minnesota suit up for the first time this fall. Where do all the attacking midfielders go? While one holding midfield spot is essentially settled (hard to imagine Amelia Brown being anything other than a 90 minute mainstay if she’s healthy and fit), the rest of the midfield picture is a little more wide open. There are essentially three starter-quality players for, presumably, two attacking midfield spots: Sophia Boman, Sophia Romine, and Paige Kalal – a freshman who enrolled early last January and showed really well during her spring reps.
The nice thing is that Head Coach Erin Chastain has options. The curious thing will be seeing how she uses them. Captain Sophia Boman is almost certainly going to claim one central midfield spot. Romine would theoretically be the obvious fit right alongside her (with Kalal moving out wide or coming off the bench) except Romine has shown *so* well when she’s played up top in a “tip of the spear” type front line role that you have to consider her there as well – particularly because of Chastain’s long time wish for more offensive production from her forward line. Our guess is we see both versions of this setup. If the team uses something like a 4-5-1, you might see Kalal outside, Boman and Romine in front of Brown in the middle, and a central Khyah Harper or Izzy Brown up front. If the team opts for a more high pressing (more on this later), 4-3-3 lineup it could go full chaos with Megan Nemec, Romine, and another high work rate winger across the front, and Boman and Kalal sitting right behind them as attacking midfielders. Does a standout freshman like Kate Childers work her way into what would be a double holding midfield look, further pushing other attacking mids into more advanced roles…? We’ll see what they try out in the exhibitions AND how things shift after a few non-conference games. Look for things to shift quickly if a certain look doesn’t host up to tough matchups. Chastain is not known for letting a lineup weakness (even if just in an individual game) fester long. Do we see a press, and how frequently? Let’s get it out in the open. I am obsessed with the press. I want high work rate chaos at all times. I want counter attacks and turnovers in space. I want easy goals that unlock typical grind-it-out games. And I want to see opposing teams just *squirming* on the ball because they don’t know what the hell to do as all-hustle players relentlessly force them into uncomfortably quick decisions. Now, does a press always make sense to deploy? No, not when you’re playing a team that has enough composure and talent on the ball that they carve you apart as you create space with your high defensive line. And not if your team lacks the fitness, work rate, and cohesion to run a press effectively for meaningful stretches of time. But for a team that has struggled to score in the run of play and (other than during Gabbie Cesarone’s *absurd* season last year as a corner kick scoring destroyer) on set pieces, a press has always felt like a tool to unlock a bit of offense while putting opposing teams off balance. Certain impact players for Minnesota do better in more “half court” situations with the ball at their feet, with the chance to take defenders on, use their strength and touch, and rip a few shots on goal (your Khyah Harpers, your Izzy Browns, etc). But with the additions of “break the beep test” Megan Nemec, there continues to be *just* enough ridiculous work rate players to make me think a lethal press really could be possible – at least for stretches.
If, for instance, we get to see Nemec, Romine, Sadie Harper (or former track star Heimerl) across the front with Boman and Kalal in front of Amelia Brown running a full on, high pressure, break your spirit press *even just a few times* this season, we will die happy. Until then we’ll shut up about the press (probably). Who solidifies at outside back? The wing-to-outside-back pipeline continues to be alive and well as Christa Van Loon joined fellow former winger Abi Frandsen at outside back for large portions of spring (and during early reps in camp). And it’s possible the backline is essentially all but set, with (from left to right) Van Loon, Elizabeth Overberg, Jordy Rothwell, and Frandsen inked into their roles.
But if things do shift (either due to injury or dramatic change in form, etc), don’t forget that Sophia Barjesteh played a bit at outside back over the summer, that freshman Taylor Heimerl comes very highly rated (crushed the fitness test) and could seeing minutes at wing or outside back, and that Chastain has shown a willingness to try a three-back at times when needed. And, should there be some thinning of the attacking unit, Van Loon might also be helpful up front. We’ll see. Which freshmen push their way into the rotation? Kalal has dozens of practices and a couple scrimmages under her belt and is all but cemented into the rotation. Heimerl and Childers, as mentioned above, have shown some good chops early. Other than that, it’s incredibly possible that some random freshman or two impresses in training and squeezes their way into some wing minutes this fall, as well.
We rarely track recruits prior to their time landing on the college teams we are covering, so it should be noted that – for all we know – Stadden, Raymond, Fogerty, and others are going to burst on the scene and play from minute one. But adjusting to the college level is really hard. Chastain asks a lot of her players. And players really do have to earn their game minutes by showing well in training. So it can take some time for them to make that impression and progress up the food chain. Does Jordy/anyone replace even a portion of Cesarone’s set piece prowess? For years the Gophers have been toward the top of the Big Ten (and the country) in producing corner kicks. Due to a lack of consistent service AND true aerial threats to convert that service, corners haven’t always led to much (or really any) offensive production. Last fall, grad transfer Gabbie Cesarone single handedly changed that – notching 6 goals and 2 assists almost entirely via her perfectly placed forehead. We’ve heard directly from the source that incoming centerback transfer Jordy Rothwell is also strong in the air. And we’ve seen with our own eyes that Taylor Heimerl can aim a perfectly placed throw-in essentially all the way to the PK spot. Let’s see if the service and finishing from those two and others can help earn Minnesota a handful of set piece goals this year. UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS Gophers vs NDSU 6PM, Monday August 7th Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium Gophers vs Iowa State 6PM, Thursday August 10th Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium Matt sits down with incoming Gopher Soccer transfers Cam Xu, Jelena Zbiljic, Megan Nemec, and Jordy Rothwell to talk about how they chose Minnesota as their new soccer home, what they were looking for when they entered the transfer portal, how they might fit in Erin Chastain's system, and more! You can watch the show on YouTube or you can listen to it as a podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, Google Play, or Stitcher. Show presented by Pentz Homes (pentzhomes.com)
|
Supporters giving $10/month and up Jean Privratsky Samantha Privratsky Jeremy Olson Scott Privratsky David Olson Jim & Kristen Gray Bernhard Kuehn Michelle Chmielewski Heather Buisman Nate Pentz Brett Harper Josh Forsythe Elisa Vicuna John Wegner Anne Becker Richard Heichert Kerri Knack John Wegner Brian Decker Jay Jansen David Martin Melanie Birke Tanner Curl Josh Velasquez Beth Dahlman Join them in supporting our work! Full Archive
January 2024
|