Greenville, SC – In the opening game of the Diadora/Spinx Furman Invitational the University of Washington demolished the College of Charleston 4-1 on a warm, breezy afternoon at bucolic Furman campus. With a talented but impotent attacking team and an equally inept defensive team, College of Charleston has a lot of problems to solve.
Washington earned their first win of the season with a young group of attackers, a solid duo of central defenders and an experienced midfield. The score is better than Washington’s ability. They have a lot of work ahead of themselves, as well.
Starting Lineups:
Washington: pretty standard 4-4-2
G: Stephen Fung
D: Taylor Hoss, Taylor Mueller, Casey Cunningham, Brad Keller
M: Adam Lang, George John, Casey McCool, Raphael Cox
F: Brent Richards, Dylan Tucker-Gangnes
College of Charleston: Plays a 4-2-3-1 with 2 DM though they float to many formations such as 4-2-2-1-1.
G: Brendan Smith
D: Wes Knight, Ryan Kell, Branko Gavric, Drew Fuzy
DM: John Bello, Justin Fojo
M: Casey Gold, Zach Prince, Matt Morris
F: Kareem Yearwood
Washington Observations:
After dropping their first two matches, Washington tallied 4 goals with 4 different goal scorers.
In the 12th minute, Raphael Cox megged Justin Fojo before holding off the second defender before driving a low hard shot that the goalie didn’t cover his goal.
In the the 49th minute, Brent Richards scored the second goal off a long ball that was not cleared out by the CofC defense and Richards hit the ball low with the GK helpless to stop.
Less that 2 minutes later, Adam Lang got on the board gathering up a rebound from a bullet shot from Dylan Tucker-Gangnes that the GK blocked. Matt Van Houten started the play with a good pass to Tucker-Gangnes.
The last goal was scored by Tucker-Gangnes in the the 55th minute with a header from 6 yards from an accurate pass Adam Lang.
Senior George John is the central focus in the midfield for Washington. He retreats too far into the back opening large gaps in the middle. Additionally, it hampers the connectivity between the midfield and forwards. He left in the second half with an unknown injury to his “lower back”. He didn’t add a lot in the offensive side for Washington. I anticipate that he may be better as a central defender in the pros – though nothing is a lock for him.
The duo in the back sophomore and junior, Taylor Mueller and Casey Cunningham, respectively, complement each other exceptionally. Cunningham is cool bringing the ball out of the back. Mueller is tough in the air and he contributed several blocks while the game was still in question. Mueller could become very good if he continues to progress.
Freshman Casey McCool wasn’t on the scoreboard, but he plays very well. He is tough in the air and is quick to play the ball. He’s someone to watch.
College of Charleston (CofC) Observations:
CofC doesn’t play good defense. They allow people to hang around the box unmarked. Their transitional defense is even worse. They are as organized as the “Running of the Brides” at Filene’s Basement. CofC start 3 seniors and a sophomore. They are too unorganized to actually have been paying attention for the past 3 years.
Even the offense was attacking with numbers. On a break, they only sent 2 – against 6 defenders.
Junior forward Zach Prince is a good player but he must have a lung ailment. He may be the worse conditioned player in college. He looks like he lost weight since the spring, now he needs to improve his heart. In the second he was better playing 25 minutes.
Sophomore goal keeper Brendan Smith lacks confidence. He is indecisive.
All-American candidate Kareem Yearwood scored the only goal for CofC. Less than a minute after Washington had extended their lead to 4-0, he powerfully struck with his head a cross from senior forward Matt Morris. Yearwood disappeared for long periods of the first half. Not until his team was down 3 goals did he pick up his play, check back more assertively to get the ball.
Sophomore Jake Helmig is quick and aggresively attacks defenders. He’s going to be a good college player. In the second half, he panicked when pressured from behind.
Senior Casey Gold drives his corner kicks, but he wasn’t involved enough in the run of play. He needs to demand the ball more. He has the talent to deliver key passes. He was too slow on the dribble and was caught from behind.
Washington scored 3 goals in the beginning of the second half when defensive midfielder Justin Fojo was sitting on the bench. Coincidence – perhaps.
