The Daily Orange

Media Credit: Courth Hathaway

Defender Laura Jackson was moving the ball into the defensive box with a Louisville player trailing on her right. As Jackson started to turn from the net to kick the ball out of play, goalkeeper Eliza Bennett-Hattan started yelling for Jackson to pass the ball back - but Jackson ignored Bennet-Hattan's calls.

Despite the possibility for confusion, Syracuse women's soccer head coach Phil Wheddon is OK with it. Wheddon wants his players to make their own decisions on the field, and not run set plays.

"I'm not going to get into conservations between players," Wheddon said Sunday. "As a coach, I want the players to figure it out on the field. I'm not on the field playing."

If you listen carefully, you can hear Wheddon during the game, but he is not shouting orders. Wheddon and his coaching staff have a more passive style, allowing their players to make decisions on the field, rather than executing patterns. The freedom to be creative is something that the players enjoy about Wheddon's coaching style.

Sophomore midfielder Hayley George said that the staff gives its players a framework for how to play in practice and expects the team to implement those adjustments in games.

"We practice it out here, and then it's expected on the field so (Wheddon) doesn't have to keep on yelling at us," George said. "It's more like fine tuning your positioning when he's saying something from the sideline during a game."

While the players enjoy the freedom, there is an added responsibility to make in-game adjustments. They have to be quick to recognize if their style is not working against an opponent and make the appropriate changes.

George suggested that this is a drawback, but she believes that the players should be held accountable because they have been given the tools to adjust.

"One of the disadvantages is if we are behind or our style is breaking down," George said, "It forces us to become more responsible and step up as a team rather than having him initiate it. So it can be a disadvantage because it doesn't work as fast, but it's our responsibility to do it."

Senior forward Tessa MacDougall agreed that players need to be accountable, but also noted the importance of discipline. Though players have the freedom to be creative, they still have to make smart decisions on defense and stay strong on the back.

MacDougall claimed that this style is different from Wheddon's predecessor, Patrick Farmer, in that the team can be creative and not worry about making mistakes in running plays.

Continued...

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