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The Daily OrangeMSOC | Orange unable to get on track after sluggish 1st half
By Michael Bonner
Posted: 9/12/08, 1:01 AM EST Section: Sports
Dean Foti walked off the field disgusted at his team's first-half performance. He looked down at the stat sheet, which said it all. Syracuse attempted only two shots in the first half.
"I think it was a game of two halves," the head coach said after the Orange's 0-0 draw with Monmouth. "They came out and really took it to us in the first half, and I felt like we were a little sluggish. In the second half, we regrouped and changed a couple of things."
At the half, Monmouth led Syracuse in shot attempts, 6-2. The Syracuse Soccer Stadium scoreboard may have shown SU with a pair of shots, but the Hawks goalkeeper didn't have to make a save until the 59th minute.
Two shots in 45 minutes forced a change in strategy for the second half. After expressing disappointment in his team play, Foti decided to switch formations to a 4-5-1.
The switch to the 4-5-1 was due to the fact that the Hawks were pressing the Orange's forwards.
"Because they were dominating the game," said Foti of the switch. "And we felt like we've got to stop them somehow. In stopping them, you end up having a little bit more of the ball. And we started to get some things going. Before you knew it, we had the momentum and kind of took the thing over."
The new formation was the same alignment Monmouth was using, which allowed SU to transition into offense easier. And when they got the ball in the second half they held onto it, which Foti also said helped in the second half turnaround.
Still, it was a rough first half for SU.
"We came out pretty flat," said forward Spencer Schomaker. "In the first half, we weren't really working that hard. The other team was outworking us. They were first to every ball. We were just on our heels. We were flat."
Considering Syracuse's porous first half, the scoreless tie was not necessarily a bad thing.
"We got a free lesson," said midfielder Kenny Caceros referring to the mindset at halftime. "We came out really flat and we didn't have to pay for it. We didn't get scored on so we should just leave it at that and forget about it and come out as a new team, come out on fire. Just forget about the first half."
"I think it was a game of two halves," the head coach said after the Orange's 0-0 draw with Monmouth. "They came out and really took it to us in the first half, and I felt like we were a little sluggish. In the second half, we regrouped and changed a couple of things."
At the half, Monmouth led Syracuse in shot attempts, 6-2. The Syracuse Soccer Stadium scoreboard may have shown SU with a pair of shots, but the Hawks goalkeeper didn't have to make a save until the 59th minute.
Two shots in 45 minutes forced a change in strategy for the second half. After expressing disappointment in his team play, Foti decided to switch formations to a 4-5-1.
The switch to the 4-5-1 was due to the fact that the Hawks were pressing the Orange's forwards.
"Because they were dominating the game," said Foti of the switch. "And we felt like we've got to stop them somehow. In stopping them, you end up having a little bit more of the ball. And we started to get some things going. Before you knew it, we had the momentum and kind of took the thing over."
The new formation was the same alignment Monmouth was using, which allowed SU to transition into offense easier. And when they got the ball in the second half they held onto it, which Foti also said helped in the second half turnaround.
Still, it was a rough first half for SU.
"We came out pretty flat," said forward Spencer Schomaker. "In the first half, we weren't really working that hard. The other team was outworking us. They were first to every ball. We were just on our heels. We were flat."
Considering Syracuse's porous first half, the scoreless tie was not necessarily a bad thing.
"We got a free lesson," said midfielder Kenny Caceros referring to the mindset at halftime. "We came out really flat and we didn't have to pay for it. We didn't get scored on so we should just leave it at that and forget about it and come out as a new team, come out on fire. Just forget about the first half."
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