This article contains my previous week’s travel to Morgantown WV and includes the following schools: Connecticut and West Virginia.

 

Next week, I’ll be in Southern California after attending a local DC area match.

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

 

Click here to see Joe's Big Board. 

Morgantown, WV – West Virginia shocked #1 and previously unbeaten Connecticut 2-0 on a cool fall evening in front of an electrified crowd.

The adjustments that West Virginia has made to their line-up since the beginning of the year combined with a key missing Connecticut player provided the opportunity for West Virginia to beat a #1 ranked team for the first time since 2007 (coincidentally against Connecticut, too). 

 

F: Allando Matheson

W/D F: Mamadou Doudou Diouf

M: Stephane Diop, Colin Bradley, Jossimar Sanchez, Tony Cascio

D: Max Wasserman, Michael Mercado, Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Nickardo Blake

GK: Andre Blake

F: Nick Claudio, Andy Bevin

M: Allan Flott, Shadow Sebele, Travis Pittman, Uwem Etuk

D: Paul Ehrenworth, Matt Drake, Eric Schoenle, Raymon Gaddis

GK: Justin Holmes

 

With sensational junior attacking midfielder Carlos Alvarez recovering from a minor strain, Connecticut was unable to dictate play and possession in the manner that I’ve become accustomed to see. Especially in the second half, West Virginia was able to pin Connecticut in their half for long periods of time.

Senior Tony Cascio had a mazy run eluding three West Virginia challengers in the 21st minute. He wasn’t able to finish the run with a shot on goal, but it seemed destined. Cascio links well providing service into space for sophomore Mamadou Doudou Diouf. Cascio hit a hard shot that was just high with his weaker left foot in the 62nd minute.

After junior Jossimar Sanchez left after a collision with one of his defenders in the first half, he was not as dominating when he returned. I think he was still a little shaken up and he was trying to play through it which I commend.

Senior right back Nickardo Blake is a captivating player with his speed and power. He enjoys joining into the attack and he’s quite competent on the dribble. Blake is a hard tackler – at times reckless. His touch is flakey and his footwork is unrefined. He doesn’t lock his ankle causing his foot to wobble on contact. Cleaning up this technique will make him even better.

Blake is one of the best senior right backs in college. He’s in the same class as Raymon Gaddis (West Virginia), RJ Allen (Monmouth), Mykell Bates (Santa Clara) and Aubrey Perry (South Florida) – each with strengths/weaknesses but none the clear choice.

Diouf playing the withdrawn forward came back more to receive the ball. He’s a sensational forward. He’s a big guy with quickness and exceptional technical proficiency. It was nice to see that he not only can run off the ball to receive it but that he has the creativity and vision to provide service to other players. Diouf is a talent that I could foresee playing professionally as soon as next spring.

I was dismayed to see Diouf so overwrought and inconsolable at the completion of the match. While I like his passion (that he showed after the Saint John’s match) and his dedication and desire to win, he is going to need to mature and keep a proper perspective on the big picture. In a long professional season, he’ll need to be more even-keeled to survive the roller coaster of wins and losses.

Freshman goal keeper Andre Blake has quick hands and feet, but lacks the maturity that I would expect from a 21 year old. After a penalty kick was called against Connecticut, he foolishly crushed the ball into the West Virginia student section just yards away striking a student. This nearly caused a fracas with students wildly approaching the field – only restrained by a rope barrier and several security personnel.

Blake has the talent, he’ll need to mature into handling the pressures of playing in front of hostile crowds, before I’ll think of him as ready for playing professionally.

Sophomore Michael Mercado was a disaster in the back. He conceded the penalty kick in the first half and he was victimized several more times by the quick footed West Virginia forwards. Freshman Andy Bevins was feasting on his mistakes in the back. I think this game is not representative of his defensive qualities and was just one of those days.

While sophomore Andrew Jean-Baptiste was better than Mercado, even he had a turn-over that resulted in a transition attack by Uwem Etuk. Worse yet, Jean-Baptiste didn’t urgently recover; instead he was content calmly strolling back with his defense in chaos. Jean-Baptiste has a professional body, but he wasn’t nearly as good as I’ve seen him.

Junior Stephane Diop was not as imposing on the pitch as he was against Saint John’s.

 

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Huge win for a team that desperately needed a huge win if West Virginia hopes to go far in the NCAA tournament. This team that I saw play Connecticut could easily be a final 16 team and with the right breaks could be in the College Cup in December.

West Virginia has made several tactical moves which has made them more dangerous since the beginning of the year. The key move was junior Travis Pittman playing defensive midfield although the addition of senior Matt Drake at left center back and starting freshman Paul Ehrenworth at left back was almost equally as important. This allows junior Peabo Doue to add a spark coming off the bench.

On the drive home, a friend (that sees a lot of college soccer too) and I spent several hours discussing whether we’ve seen a better defensive midfield performance for an entire game this year than Pittman’s game. We couldn’t come up with one. Remarkably, Pittman plays the lone defensive midfielder at the bottom of the diamond. Many colleges play 2 defensive midfielders to cover from sideline-to-sideline. We considered Creighton’s Greg Jordan, but he’s supported by Andrew Ribeiro. The closest players we had was Central Florida’s Kevan George (who did well against George Mason, but my friend didn’t think he was challenged against American) and William and Mary’s freshman (who I haven’t seen). Pittman was successful without this defensive midfield support.

Pittman wants the ball – it’s in his make-up. By playing more centrally, he’s much more likely to be around the ball more. He has the skills to be a critical contributor in the attack and the bite to be a significant impediment for the defense. Virtually every time that Pittman went up for a header, he was heading the ball to a team mate. To me this is a given, but Pittman’s play was so pronounced and precise, it was enjoyable to watch.

In his first 2 years, Pittman’s attitude and how he projected himself was a significant detractor from his talent and skill. In this game, he was focused on the task and he wasn’t interested in drama-queen histrionics worthy of an off-Broadway performance.

Pittman played so well AND if this game is the standard for his play for the rest of the season, I expect that DC United will sign him to a home-grown contract after this season. This might be the only thing that would prevent Perry Kitchen from moving to defensive midfield next year. DC United fans should be very excited if this happens – IF Pittman continues to demonstrate the level of maturity, the defensive tenacity and the consistency.

I was absolutely floored by Pittman’s performance.

Junior Shadow Sebele scored the first goal from a penalty kick in the 34th minute. The play started with senior Raymon Gaddis getting forward before finding freshman Andy Bevins in the box who was fouled by Michael Mercado.

The game was essentially over in the 78th minute when junior Eric Schoenle headed in a ball that started with a Travis Pittman corner kick that he sent to the top near corner of the penalty box to Sebele. Sebele hooked a cross that found Schoenle’s head high above the other players.

Sebele was much more dangerous than he was at the beginning of the year. His quick feet enabled him to cause havoc to the Connecticut’s defenders.

The insertion of junior Peabo Doue late in the first half gave West Virginia a spark off the bench. He almost scored after getting past the defense with a stop-start move leaving defenders in his wake. But, goalkeeper Andre Blake positioned himself well leaving very little space at the near post and Doue’s shot was shot wide of the post.

Senior Raymon Gaddis left the game right before halftime with an apparent deep bruise and he did not return. Without Gaddis, West Virginia has a serious problem replacing him that I don’t believe they can overcome and still be a final 16 team. I briefly chatted with him after the game and he stated that he was ok.

Schoenle played better as the game progressed. He looked nervous and tentative early and at times clumsy. He had a difficult chore trying to contain the extremely deceptive Diouf and did an acceptable job. I was delighted to see his recovery speed that I hadn’t seen before, because he is quite fleet. I’m not surprised with his superior leaping ability.

Junior Uwem Etuk is a fabulous athlete, but he is not consistent on the ball, nut megging a player in one moment and turning the ball over the next moment.

Senior Matt Drake held his own – now playing left center back. He partners well with Schoenle on defense and with his defensive midfield skills has above average ball handling skills for left center backs. He needs to continue to develop both offensively and defensively to have any chance for a professional look, but time is running out on his college career. For example, he made a sure defensive stop on freshman Allando Matheson in the 70th minute. Followed with a nifty first touch in the 73rd minute, but almost turned the ball over with an erratic second touch with limited defensive cover.

 

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