Conference USA Champ Game Thread

[HuffyCane]

Anybody else watching?

Nice crowd. Nice facilities. Even a competent announcing team on the TV news coverage.

UNCC has some big trucks down the middle.

 

[HuffyCane]

Freshman keeper looks solid early. That's the first and last nice thing I'll say about keepers

 

[Gold*]

We have done some nice things. Announcing team is pleasant.

 

[HuffyCane]

They are starting to put some positive passes.

That high school kid refereeing the game needs to get the book out on those two legged tackles.

 

[Gold*]

Charlotte flops like a euro team. We've been lucky. Great play by the elder Matta.

 

[HuffyCane]

Nice job by the boys keeping shape despite high pressure.

Good to see them not be tempted by that space on the left wing.

 

[HuffyCane]

Nice early shot by Mata. Should loosen up the passing on the top half.

Empty passes from the back third needs to stop. That will bite them when fatigue sets in.

 

[Gold*]

Judy2?

 

[HuffyCane]

Lmao. I was listening to her but didn't know her name, then saw she was named Judy and couldn't help by make the comparison. I'd like to know why they are hosting the tourney after quitting the conference two years ago.

Let's hope we can get some diagonal passing with the ball near the ground towards the backside. They look vulnerable over there on their right.

 

[Gold*]

Charlotte sucks at crosses.

 

[HuffyCane]

We've got to find that third man running on that right side. Throwing away possessions. That's a big deal inside 10 minutes

 

[HuffyCane]

Midfield is tired. Too many giveaways. Need Cummings back in, btw.

 

[HuffyCane]

Right on cue, Cummings back in

 

[Gold*]

Bull crap flop.

 

[HuffyCane]

Good gamesmanship by UNCC. That's clearly simulation. After 20 minutes of pushing and shoving that's a soft pk call.

 

[Gold*]

We don't deserve to win. That was it.

 

[Gold*]

This is the problem with soccer. Too many crappy calls.

1 0 Charlotte wins on a crappy floppy flop.

TU probably won't make the tournament. Seems like a letdown of a season.

 

['Cane-man]

The ref lets the two teams knock each other around for 88 minutes then decides the game on a dive!

 

[GoldenCaneKC]

Here's the highlights of the CUSA Championship Game. The PK looks like a total dive. What a shame... Terrible way to lose a Championship/automatic berth in the NCAA's.

Championship Game Highlights

 

[goldfan83]

Was anyone else annoyed with the way that he pronounced Mata? That being said I thought the crew was fairly competent overall. I like UNC Charlotte's jersey's.

Man, that was a call at the end of the game. I thought we looked like hell most of the game.

 

[HuffyCane]

Pretty typical Tulsa soccer. Undersized, but quick and possession oriented. Smart pressure, rather than high pressure. Keep shape and keep the diamond going all down the center. Long passes to defeat high pressure. When the other team is physically bigger or simply more physical, those long balls turn into giveaways. Isolation vs one vulnerable Tulsa defender can be the death of the team. And that happened this time at the very end. Even without the pk, there's a good chance for a break down the last third on the right of Tulsa during the last minutes.

I'm not sure if TU is done for the year, but there were several upsets in conference tourneys which could end the Hurricane season. Specifically, USF won and Washington won. Teams like Tulsa will always have to make room for the UCONN and UCLAs of the world.

Selection show starts at 11am CST. Fyi

 

[HuffyCane]

Not selected.

Teams that should have won their tourney didn't, which makes me wonder if some of the big boys rested their players given the format of three games in five days for most conference tourneys. That hurt Tulsa's chances. Doesn't seem fair to not get a bid at all after beating a couple of days ago 3 to nil a number 3 seed who gets a bye and will play at home almost throughout.

Oh well. If you win, politics doesn't matter.

This post was edited on 11/18 11:18 AM by HuffyCane