White & Blue Review caught up with men’s soccer head coach Bob Warming for this week’s Futbol Friday. In light of the Bluejays’ 4-2-2 start, their 6 goals scored in 8 matches, and playing to their second scoreless draw of the season (a 0-0 tie at Missouri State on Wednesday), WBR asked Warming about Creighton’s opponents’ defensive strategies — a sore subject for die-hard Jays fans.
If you attended Creighton’s come from behind 2-1 win against Evansville last weekend, you saw a match the way one is meant to be played: open competition with both sides featuring an aggressive striking attack, playing to win the game. More often, though, the style you typically see when teams take on the Bluejays is one referred to as “packing the box.”
On Wednesday, Missouri State held Creighton scoreless in a 0-0 match, even though the Bluejays completely dominated the game in every statistical category. CU outshot MSU 12-6, took more corner kicks (12-0) and set pieces, and controlled the time of possession all afternoon. Yet neither team scored, a trend for the 2009 Bluejays side.
“The first half against Missouri State was awful,” Warming said. “It is really frustrating when you are playing a team that stacks their defense, and it really takes away from the game as a whole.”
As they have for years, teams taking on the Bluejays seem to be satisfied with forging a draw as it may reflect positively in areas such as record and RPI. And while this defensive style is frustrating, Warming is the first to acknowledge he and his team need to come up with some solutions.
“This is not an excuse for not finishing, but you really need to figure out how to deal with it. We need to be sharper on free kicks, try to open the game with a quick strike, and play strong, mistake-free soccer ourselves,” Warming said. One thing that certainly doesn’t help the situation is giving up an early goal that allows the opponent to emphasize its defense even more (see the 1-0 loss to MSU).
According to Warming, this style of play has been going on for years — Creighton is hardly the only team facing these defensive strategies. Entering 2009 St. Johns was ranked first or near the top in most major polls. The Red Storm returns the majority of its College Cup team from 2008, but only has 8 goals this season — resulting in 5 ties. SJU has attempted 41% more corner kicks than its opponents, but all of the Red Storm’s opponents’ goals have been scored in the first half.
So, why the lack of offense from some of the competition? The RPI may be a large part of the issue. That’s right; college soccer employs an RPI similar to basketball and the other collegiate sports. During its evolution the past few years, the ratings formula experienced a change in the weighting of wins and losses. So depending on your opponent and where the game is played, it may be better for a team to get a tie on the road than a win at home.
“This change has been a diabolical move for the game. It is really frustrating for coaches that want to develop their team and more importantly the game,” Warming said. For example, a team that plays in the MVC and travels to Morrison Stadium may play for the draw on the road, as they will earn more points than they would beating Creighton at their home field. This is bad news for teams like the Bluejays, who play in a round robin format in conference during 2009 and lost non-conference scheduling power for this year — thus losing non-conference opportunities that may help boost Creighton’s own RPI. This shift in ratings and the corresponding defensive strategies are situations Warming finds frustrating for a few reasons.
“This style of play has been a triple threat. It hinders your ability to develop the players. It is less enjoyable for the fans. And most important, it hinders your ability to develop the game,” Warming said. “Two teams want to play a good game. Unlike basketball, soccer coaches in the Missouri Valley are not going to get fired for going .500 on the season; they will get fired for other things. They will be fired for crimes or acting in an unethical manor. It is frustrating because it hinders the development of the game.”
“Twenty years ago, professional clubs saw the lack of offense in games and decided they needed players and coaches that would open the games up. Look at the English Premier League. Their games are fun to watch, even for non-soccer fans, because they have on open game that is competitive and both teams want to win.”
So what is the solution? How can collegiate soccer improve the current system to help the game? How can college soccer help develop the game and its players? Do we eliminate the tie; use sudden death overtime with a shoot out to determine a winner? Coach Warming said the game needs coaches in place who are creative and want to develop the game.
What are your thoughts?
