UNC at Duke

[Wheels]

UNC's size and athleticism all over the field is impressive.

[Kikin]

ok, Since you said it first. I was thinking the same thing. Sloppy, slow, bad passes. I am no expert, just like the sport. These two teams are supposed to be better then Maryland? I am not seeing that.

[10stone5]

Definitely didn’t figure on Dyson Williams
as an X factor.

[Matnum PI]

These two teams are supposed to be better then Maryland? I am not seeing that.

To be fair, I've seen both teams play much sharper. Just sloppy right now...

6-5. These 2 teams are very good.

[Matnum PI]

As a semi-aside, Wilson Stephenson seems to get a *lot* of penalties.
O'Neill's shot accuracy seems off tonight.
And the goalies are outrageous tonight.

[wgdsr]

Statistically, Duke has a better defense. Will be interesting to see how they handle UNC's big and athletic midfield corp. They got a taste of it against Cuse, but Cuse doesn't have as complete of an attack unit as UNC. You can't double-pole UNC's midfield. You can't get away with moving JTG off-ball they way Duke did against Hiltz for Cuse.

For UNC, do you mix in gimmick defensive looks like shutting off Sowers? Or do you make Sowers score 7 goals instead of getting 7 assists? UNC typically slides slow. Might be a good strategy here, too. Also, if you get physical with Sowers, and UNC has some physical dudes, how does he respond?

Tired: Gray vs Sowers.
Wired: UNC's ride vs Duke's clear.

disagree on attack units. syracuse's is every bit as formidable as unc's, and moreso after the first guy. imo.

duke didn't double pole 'cuse that i remember, either. we'll see if unc's "others" at attack produce.

unc's undefeated with gray (and all other frosh, sophs and recent transfers, obviously) over 2 years. looking that's denver twice, uva and.... richmond? hmmm....

pains me to say it, seeing blue devils.

Hm. We must have watched different games. Rehfuss even had a shorty on him for parts of that game. Scanlon is the easiest attack to short in the ACC. Duke sent poles up Cuse's first midfield line.

that's ok. syracuse runs a lot of inverts, often with rehfuss picking big little switches. probably what you saw.
i doubt duke poles up unc even with their mids, don't remember them ever doing it. plus as you said, unc's attack is pretty good, too.

[DMac]

Love the pace of this game, right up my alley.
Gonna be an intense final 30 minutes.
Adler's been just nuts, crazy 2 saves just before the half.

[calourie]

These two teams are supposed to be better then Maryland? I am not seeing that.

To be fair, I've seen both teams play much sharper. Just sloppy right now...

6-5. These 2 teams are very good.

No real way to compare how top teams would do against each other until they go head to head. So far we've got a somewhat sloppy, amazingly well goal tended (particularly by Adler) up and down game between two obvious heavyweights. UNC seems to have had a slight edge facing off, and have found a way to get Gray more involved and more effective than Sowers. Enjoyable game to watch, and with no real dog in the fight I am curious to see what the second half brings. UMD is likely to get a chance to prove themselves against one or the other if not both of these teams down the road if things go according to form.

[wgdsr]

can a ref clarily that? did he not dive so landing in crease doesn't matter? can't replay.

[Matnum PI]

can a ref clarily that? did he not dive so landing in crease doesn't matter? can't replay.

I think they're calling that he was pushed into the crease.

Apparently O'Neill adjusted the scope in his stick during halftime.

[Matnum PI]

Maybe a shortie on Cook isn't a good idea...

[wgdsr]

can a ref clarily that? did he not dive so landing in crease doesn't matter? can't replay.

I think they're calling that he was pushed into the crease.

Apparently O'Neill adjusted the scope in his stick during halftime.

i thought he was "diving", too. doesn't matter if he was pushed in that case at least. goal should be wiped. not sure if "not diving" would mean clean goal if pushed, but by the fact they allowed it i would guess so.

[Wheels]

UNC wants this game sloppy. Even with a 9-9 score, UNC is still dictating the play.

[HopFan16]

Wouldn't be shocked if Duke comes back to win this, but UNC looks like the better team to my eye. Adler and Naso are singlehandedly keeping this close. Carolina is better everywhere else, especially in the middle of the field.

[Matnum PI]

So many bits and pieces which you know wont happen 2 months from now. Mostly turnover type stuff. This game is almost irrelevant. Except as a place to learn to prep for 2 months from now.

[HopFan16]

Might matter for tournament seeding purposes. Could be the difference between playing the NEC winner first round or a possible at-large team like Georgetown or Lehigh or something.

[Wheels]

Wouldn't be shocked if Duke comes back to win this, but UNC looks like the better team to my eye. Adler and Naso are singlehandedly keeping this close. Carolina is better everywhere else, especially in the middle of the field.

Agreed.

[DU-fan]

UNC's offense seems to run out of steam in the second half. It reminds me of the UVA game. Maybe with all the big leads, they are not able to play at the same pace all game?

[Matnum PI]

Might matter for tournament seeding purposes. Could be the difference between playing the NEC winner first round or a possible at-large team like Georgetown or Lehigh or something.

...and they should be able to beat all 3 teams.

Tied... 11s.

[Wheels]

UNC's offense seems to run out of steam in the second half. It reminds me of the UVA game. Maybe with all the big leads, they are not able to play at the same pace all game?

Neither team is moving much off ball at this point. There's a lot of iso or pick-and-roll going on.