Part 1 in a 2-Part Story

This article contains my previous week’s travel to Baltimore, Maryland, Washington DC, Fairfax, Virginia and Akron Ohio. This article includes the following schools: Maryland, Maryland-Baltimore County, Towson, Loyola-MD, Cal State Fullerton, American, Central Florida, George Mason, Campbell, Loyola-MD², New Mexico, Syracuse, Cal Poly and Akron.

Next week, I’m catching a small Virginia school with a lightning fast forward, hitting the big Apple for a pair of games, a pair of games in the Ocean state, a game in the Nut Meg state and a pair of games in Philly.

Just a reminder, this year, I’m concentrating on just a few players at each game.

Catonsville, MD – In an electric contest between two schools in the University of Maryland family with campuses only 20 miles apart, Maryland beat Maryland-Baltimore County 4-3 in a thrilling double overtime victory.

It was a battle between 2 seniors. Maryland-Baltimore County right back Sean Rothe and Maryland forward Casey Townsend were integral in the majority of goals in this game.

 

F: Patrick Mullins, Casey Townsend

M: Sunny Jane, John Stertzer, Helge Leikvang, Jereme Raley

D: Taylor Kemp, Alex Lee, London Woodberry, Widner Saint Cyr

GK: Will Swaim

F: Pete Caringi, Andrew Bulls

M: Jordan Becker, Milo Kapor, Dave Vaeth, Michael DiCesare

D: Andy Streilein, Liam Paddock, Vince Savarese, Sean Rothe

GK: Dan Louisignau

 

From a Maryland perspective, this wasn’t a good performance. They gave up 3 goals in a single half after only giving up 2 goals in their first 5 games.

Casey Townsend scored a hat trick in the second half, but it was not enough as Maryland-Baltimore County matched his output. Townsend scored 2 header goals off corner kicks. I can’t help but wonder of the impact that suspended sophomore back Daniel Welsh might have had, if he had not been red carded at the end of the previous match against Navy. But, that is Welsh’s responsibility to his teammates.

Junior London Woodberry has exceptional speed and quickness. He is almost impossible to beat in a foot race. With his height, he’s hard to beat in the air. Woodberry is critical in reducing chances before they become dangerous with his command in the box. He overpowered senior forward Andrew Bulls in the 65th minute and another defensive header in the 76th minute, in the 3rd minute, in the 16th minute, etc. Controversially, Maryland-Baltimore County argued that Woodberry pulled Bulls down in the 66th minute. At best, it was a foul outside of the box, but it appeared that Bulls went down with too little contact.

Woodberry doesn’t make many mistakes, but he allowed sophomore forward Pete Caringi III (the player, not the coach) to toe-poke a ball from the top of the box in the 24th minute that would have scored, but senior Alex Lee cleared the ball off the goal line – his first of two saves off the line in the game. Woodberry needs to shield the ball better and senior goalkeeper Will Swaim either needs to get off his line quicker or instruct Woodberry to clear the ball.

Additionally, I’d like to see Woodberry to eliminate some of his inaccurate passes. In the 28th minute, he put the ball behind sophomore right back Widner Saint Cyr. This is a simple outlet pass that he should complete 100% of the time.

Nevertheless Woodberry is a professional prospect primarily because of his superior athleticism. His technical skills are not a liability for him, but I expect that his stock can rise as he continues working on that side of things.

Junior John Stertzer has the body, technical skill, understanding, work rate to be a Generation Adidas candidate this year. He’s easy to overlook, because his game is more cerebral. While he’s already scored 4 goals (as of 9/13/2011), including the game winning header in this match, his contributions aren’t always as obvious. For example, in the 65th minute, Stertzer played a simple ball to Townsend with such accuracy that Townsend didn’t change his pace at all receiving the ball. In the 30th minute, Stertzer was bumped off the ball, but he quickly regained possession, getting the ball to Woodberry who got it wide to Jereme Raley whose shot was wide.

Stertzer is a 2 way midfielder who is exceptional in the air, seemingly winning more than his share of balls, but he has the technical ability to aid in the attack. His game reminds me of former Terp and now at Sporting KC Graham Zusi (but Stertzer is a taller version).

Stertzer won the game with a 103rd minute header, but he should have finished his penalty kick in the 100th minute.

This was the worse game that I’ve seen junior left back Taylor Kemp play. In the second half, he had 2 whiffs on tackles – the first time that I’ve ever seen this happen to him.

I see the twilight of senior goalkeeper Will Swaim’s career emerging in the very near future.

 

Senior forward Andrew Bulls didn’t make sufficient impact in this game. He’s the most renowned of the Maryland-Baltimore County athletes, having teamed for several years with former Retriever (and now with the Philadelphia Union) Levi Houapeu in a proficient attack. But now, Bulls is the man and he didn’t show. I purposely observed Bulls against Maryland, because of the quality of their potential professional defenders.

It took him most of the first half to realize that standing next to Woodberry was a losing proposition. When Bulls did touch the ball in the first half, he wasn’t sharp. For example, in the 15th minute, Bulls took the ball down with his chest on his first touch, but his second touch was harsh and he turned over the ball. Minutes later, he impatiently took an early 35-yard shot that didn’t make it into the box before being blocked.

Bulls tried to draw a penalty kick, but the foul wasn’t called in the 66th minute. Bulls had a small part in the first 2 goals, but more as supporting cast, not as the creator or finisher. I project that this may be his role in the next level – as supporting cast. I suspect that Bulls may need to play defense at the next level and I’m not sure that he’d be able to reconcile his desire and mental self-image to do the needful, to be hungry enough to play defense. Additionally, teams will need to take a risk that he’d be tactically proficient as a defender since he’s playing forward in college. Bulls is a small, strong player but he lacks the speed to create separation and create his own shot. Bulls is normally a strong passer and finisher.

Bulls best play was from a hooking ball that he (and the Maryland defense) gave up on until it stayed inbounds late in the second half. Bulls dribbled the ball into the box using his powerful body, but his shot was wide.

Bulls has enough talent to require more than 1 look this season.

Senior goalkeeper Dan Louisignau kept UMBC in the game with countless critical saves. In 2009, he transferred from Virginia coincidentally the same year that Diego Restrepo (now starting at America de Cali in Colombia) transferred into Virginia. He started early eagerly diving to his right to stop a Townsend header in the 11th minute. Louisignau covered a looping Townsend header a minute later. In the 55th minute, he punched away a Karou Forbess corner kick. But, his most important stop was the 100th minute John Stertzer penalty kick.

Louisignau didn’t have a flawless performance. On the first Maryland goal, he came out, but didn’t get to the ball, opening his goal directly after halftime. I don’t blame Louisignau for the other 3 goals, because his defense was primarily responsible for not sufficiently marking the Maryland attackers. But, Louisignau needs to be more decisive and commanding on crosses/corners to clean up the problems in his box.

I don’t consider Louisignau to have professional potential, but I’ll continue to monitor his play for the rest of the fall.

The biggest surprise for me was the impact that senior right back Sean Rothe had on this match. He wasn’t a player that I was focusing on this match, but his performance drew my interest. He had 2 goals and an assist from his right back position.

The first Maryland-Baltimore County goal in the 52nd minute was initiated by Rothe from near midfield. He cut inside to beat a weak effort by Sunny Jane. Rothe shed sophomore “defensive” midfielder Helge Leikvang like Leikvang was exiting a bar at closing time with a simple cut to the right into the heart of the defense while Leikvang stumbled away. Rothe made a give-n-go with junior Milo Kapor for Rothe to have the ball at the top of the box. Rothe got the ball wide to Bulls near the corner before continuing his run to the near post. Bulls crossed the ball to Rothe’s feet and he flicked it to the far post and sophomore forward Pete Caringi dove through the ball heading it in from 1 yard. It was the best exhibition of tight, precise, ball control soccer that I’ve seen from Maryland-Baltimore County.

Rothe scored his first goal with a 30 yard blast that struck the underside of the crossbar in the 83rd minute. The play began with a Bulls’ corner kick that junior Liam Paddock contested, but the ball continued to the far side. Caringi (player again, not the coach) tracked it down dropping it to sophomore Travis Dennis who turned the ball into the center for freshman Michael DiCesare who touched it square to Rothe who simply crushed it. On the play, goalkeeper Swaim was not in the correct position – shading too centrally and Rothe capitalized on this opportunity.

Rothe’s second goal (and the goal pushing this game into over-time) was scored in the 84th minute on a bang-bang play that began with a goal kick by Louisignau. On the first ball, Stertzer didn’t win the battle and junior Dave Vaeth headed the ball forward with Rothe touching it to senior Andy Streilein. Streilein touched it around Taylor Kemp wildly swinging at the ball. With the Maryland defense behind him, he hooked a cross into the box for Rothe who used his chest (not his arm) to touch the ball down and he hit the ball low into the goal from 12 yards out. On this play, I was surprised that senior defender Alex Lee didn’t close Rothe down rather than giving ground.

I’ll need to look at Rothe more closely.

Baltimore, MD – Loyola-Maryland scored a couple of early goals and they were able to hold off cross-town rival Towson with a 2-1 victory.

 

F: Anthony Okodua, Olakunle Banjo

M: C. J. Corey, Enrico Skrypzak, Quinn Meehan, Javier Bermundez Roa

D: Michael Thone, Christian Hofer, Daniel Grundei, Josh Spivey

GK: John Steele

F: Diego McQuestion

M: Connor Thompson, Geaton Caltabiano, Wade McHugh, Stephen Dooley

DM: Hector Arellano

D: Kevin Curran, Gerwyn Jones, Jamie Libby, Zach Tweddell

GK: Kyle Wittman

Towson’s best players aren’t seniors.

Senior John Steele was hung out to dry by inferior defensive marking and an early penalty kick to put Towson down by 2 in the first 10 minutes. Steele made a nice snag in the 76th minute on sophomore Steven Dooley’s corner kick.

The penalty was caused by Javier Bermundez Roa obviously handling the ball in the 7th minute. Dooley hit the penalty kick with authority.

Loyola scored the game winner from a 35 yard free kick by sophomore Geaton Caltabiano that was slightly deflected near the penalty spot but junior Gerwyn Jones followed the play and touched it in from 2 yards while his Towson marker watched him.

Senior right back Josh Spivey was little more than a cone against freshman Connor Thompson in the second half. Spivey just doesn’t have the quickness or the wit to play against the talented freshman. When a player keeps torching you, it’s time to consider a different alternative rather than chasing him from behind.

The best players on the Towson team are German sophomore midfielder Enrico Skrypzak and two products from nearby Prince George’s county – sophomore Olakunle Banjo and junior transfer Anthony Okodua.

Skrypzak is a slick ball handler who is willing to hit shots from distance without trying to overpower them. I do have to question Skypak’s bio listing “Charlie Sheen as his favorite athlete” which calls into question what is Skypak’s favorite sport. The other outstanding question, how did a German get the first name of Enrico?

Okodua transferred from Prince George’s Community College. He’s a big, fast elusive forward with a penchant for finding open shots. This was my first time seeing Okodua and he deserves another look.

Banjo reminds me of a low cost version of the talented sophomore forward from Akron, Darren Maddox. He is quick, thin, determined with a nose for the goal. This attacking duo can be a dangerous combination.

 

I haven’t been a big fan of the rotund senior goalkeeper Kyle Wittman. But, he had a whale of game against Towson. Using his gargantuan fluke, he stopped several point blank shots. While I still don’t believe he has any professional potential, I have to commend him for being a quality goalkeeper – at least in this game.

Junior center back Gerwyn Jones scored the winning goal. He steps up quickly to shut down the passing lanes. He was out jumped by the athletic junior forward Okodua in the 25th minute.

Senior midfielder Wade McHugh earned the penalty kick in the 6th minute. He’s small and thin.

Like Towson, Loyola’s most interesting players are non-seniors. Sophomore and freshman wide midfielders, Stephen Dooley and Connor Thompson, respectively both have blazing speed and sensational technical skills. I’ll need to watch them more closely in a future match.

Washington, DC – Cal State Fullerton continued their undefeated season pushing their record to 6-0-1 with a convincing 3-0 victory against American on a cool fall overcast afternoon.

 

F: Jameson Campbell, Nick Posthuma

M: Oscar Aguero, Ritchie Gonzalez, Michael Denny, Kevin Venegas

D: Mario Alvarez, Roberto Vernaschi, Bobby Reiss, Jonathan Birt

GK: Trevor Whiddon

F: Colin Seigfreid, 

M: Jack Scott, Mark Wysocki, Alassane Kane 

DM: Ryan Morales, Marco Dej

D: Conor Osborne, Alex Tilatti, Adem Gokturk, Cristobal Soto

GK: Matt Makowski

 

After Oscar Aguero left the game in the 25th minute because of an injury that may have occurred because of something that an American player may have done (my view was blocked by the bench), Cal State Fullerton seemed to go out of their way to take cheap shots at American’s Cristobal Soto. First, senior Nick Posthuma made a “poorly timed” late, late tackle on Soto. Soto immaturely chest-bumped him and Posthuma went down like he was mortally wounded. Both were justly awarded yellow cards, and they should both be equally embarrassed by these shenanigans.

But it continued, after some legitimate physical play by several players, the ball was sent to the other side of the field, freshman Mark Vasquez needlessly intentionally kicked Soto as he ran by him in the 36th minute. If caught, Vasquez would have got to go back to Cali early.

The coaching staffs seemed to reign in their players at half-time.

At the top of the box, senior forward Nick Posthuma squared the ball to sophomore Eric Escobedo in the 14th minute. Escobedo hit an un-defensible shot looping it in the upper 90. The only way that American senior goalkeeper Matt Makowski could have stopped this shot would have been standing next to the post like he was covering a corner kick.

Posthuma is still nicked from some pre-season injuries and with the game well in hand; he didn’t see the field again after his yellow card in the 28th minute to be well rested for the next match against George Mason on Sunday.

I liked how Posthuma checked back into midfield to demand the ball, but he was willing to try to get behind the defense, as well. Hopefully, on my California trip in October that I get to see more – because right now, my assessment is incomplete for the average size senior.

Senior right midfield Kevin Venegas played 85 minutes, so I’m more comfortable with this assessment. Additionally, I got to see him play right back which I expect that he’ll need to play professionally. Venegas has a low center of gravity – losing little speed as he changes directions. He handled the ball well, but I want him to keep his head up while under pressure.

Venegas opportunistically scored the first goal in the 14th minute off a poor clearance by the American center backs. He brought the ball down quickly and buried it just inside the right post.

Venegas set up the third goal in the 37th minute essentially ending the game before halftime. On the play, he drove in a cross from near the side line and junior Jesse Escalante beat the American defender to the spot burying the ball from 12 yards.

While Venegas was playing right midfield, he would get very high whenever Cal State Fullerton won the ball. In the 50th minute, he received a long ball that he handled but not perfectly weighted. This caused him to drive into the corner where he battled, but his head was down missing his runners coming into the box. I’d like a tighter, more precise first touch and that he crossed it with his second or at the latest his third touch.

Venegas wasn’t challenged sufficiently defensively when he moved to right back in the 60th minute. However, he was able to thwart the athletic Alassane Kane. He was spraying the ball on long diagonals from midfield while he was the right back. Venegas can hold the ball with delicious cuts and quick turns. A couple of concerns are that in the 66th minute he turned the ball over on a sloppy pass on a full run. Additionally, he held American sophomore Chris Kuramoto onside in the 63rd minute. After these few items, he seemed to calm down and play well as a right back.

Junior center back Bobby Reiss is good in the air and he has nice feet.

Senior defensive midfielder Michael Denny has a thick body – reminds me of Nick Rimando. Denny gets around the field satisfactory and he is tactically alert.

 

Senior Jack Scott is more effective the further he gets away from the opponents goal. He played midfield today. He was effectively invisible in the second half, but this was better than his play in the first half. Because, he was turning the ball over so much in the first half, perhaps his team was avoiding giving him the ball in the second.

Scott looked tentative in the air and on the field.

Sophomore Colin Seigfreid played forward which I don’t think is his best position. While I like his quickness and his technical ability, he may not have sufficient quantities of either for the next level. He does so many positive things; he may develop, if he continues to train.

In the 43rd minute, Seigfreid checked back, quickly identified a dangerous runner, but his precision pass was intercepted. Additionally, I like how he never quit, dispossessing Venegas deep in the Cal State Fullerton area in the 81st minute.