Mullen vs. Windsor
Match Report: Mullen vs. Windsor
Location: Mullen High School Soccer Complex (3601 S Lowell Blvd)
Time: Both teams play at 4:30
Apparel: Varsity - Navy all the way down, JV - Navy, White, Navy
Notes: There will be snacks available throughout the day, make sure you are keeping up with your hydration and your resources. Varsity Team meeting is in C5 at 2:45 - Team Picture is at 3:40 - Warm up for all teams starts at 3:50 (Players must be dressed, booted up, and ready to go)
Windsor Strengths:
Players of interest-
2: Ella Mooney - is a good player who operates in the middle of the park. She leads the team in assists, she can dribble, and shoot from range. In many ways, she is their most dangerous player. The key is for our defensive midfielders to constantly be aware of her presence on the field. We do not want to allow her to build momentum, and we just need to harass her all game long. She should never get the ball with out pressure. If she constantly feels like there is a player on her back, she will operate more conservatively. Additionally, when she drops deep to get the ball, our 10 needs to pick her up and make life difficult.
15: She just finished a long basketball season, but she is a real attacking threat for Windsor. Her main asset is her speed, and she is fast. She will press the ball and work through the middle and the wings. She is possibly their most athletic and dynamic player, and we need to be prepared for the effort she will bring to the game.
Center Forward: I thought she wore the number 8; however, their roster is wonky... Anyway, she plays underneath the defense in the half space, she has a good one touch finish, and she is pretty dangerous. Our CBs and CDMs need to constantly have an eye on her and not allow her to build momentum in the gap or go into the box unmarked. When she checks to receive a ball, our strong side CB needs to step with her and drive her back into the game.
Girls returning from Florida... Against Pine Creek, Windsor was missing a couple of girls who were playing in Florida. So anticipate them having a couple of weapons that we didn't see in the film. They will be dynamic and athletic, but if we remain organized we can absorb a lot of their talent.
In addition to there players, Windsor is an all around competitive 4A team. They played in the final last year (and probably should have won it) so they have some girls with experience who are hungry for a deep run in the playoffs. They will play hard and try to shoot from range when we let them. This is a statement game for both us, and them, and they will be super motivated to leave with a win.
Lastly, they have a couple of tricks up their sleeve. They run a two woman corner (like our number two) for which we will need to send out two players. Additionally, on set pieces, they hold this super high line, and then charge forward at the last minute in an effort to make everyone off sides. If we can anticipate these things, we can limit the impact of their tricks.
Windsor Weaknesses:
In my opinion, this is a team that doesn't have a lot of weaknesses; however, this season (at least here at the start) there seems to be a couple of cracks in the veneer.
1. They seem to still be trying to figure out how to organize their midfield against the attack. This is leaving gaps and half spaces between the defense and midfield that we can try to exploit. Like we have discussed, our nine and ten need to try to find the ball in those spaces and look for shots on goal or opportunities to move the ball wide.
The other piece of this puzzle is their marking assignments out wide. Sometimes they are marking wing to wing, which leaves the wing back open, and sometimes their winger is leaving the wingback totally open, and not marking at all because they have stayed too high, or tucked inside too tight. Either way, the involvement of our outside backs will be imperative to our success tonight. We should be making runs all the way into the box to try and score.
2. Windsor seems to rely heavily on individual talent instead of a team system. Now, this isn't always a bad thing when individuals are playing well; however if we can stop their strong players with a well organized press and block, we may be able to stifle their attack - the biggest evidence of this was in last years final. Their stars couldn't get the job done, and they had no answer beyond that. Additionally, when we played them last year, we gave up a poor goal early, and a banger from outside late in the game, but beyond that, our organization gave them a world of problems. If we can stop their key players, they will struggle to build something as a team.
3. Outside backs - against Pine Creek, their OBs really struggled. PC exploited the corners and pressed the OBs into a series of mistakes. If we execute our press well, Windsor does not always move the ball quickly, and it should give us opportunities to capitalize on their mistakes.
4. I think their goalie is good, but I think she is inconsistent. She had a tough game against PC, and they let one in last night against Mountain View, so we need to test her, we definitely need to crash on shots, pick up rebounds, and execute our set pieces. She struggles from high and outside.
Mullen Keys to Success:
The number one thing we need to do tonight is be organized in our press and in our block. Everyone gets under the ball. These are the defending finalists, and they can play. But if we condense the area, execute our marks, and close down shots, they are really going to struggle down here. DO NOT DIVE IN, CONTAIN THE GAME.
When we stay organized and recover, and then transition quickly into attack, we will give this Windsor team a world of problems.
Secondly, we can't make mistakes in the back. Let's play conservative soccer, when in doubt, boot it out. Windsor is not going to find a way to score on us unless we open the door.
Lastly, we need to use our set pieces well. Free kicks and corners will be essential.
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