No. 1 FSU Soccer begins run for another title under Pensky

[ariya_massoudi]

With the departure of Mark Krikorian, the Seminoles began official practice with new head man Brian Pensky. I caught up with the team this week at practice.

TheOsceola - Notes: Changes don't diminish expectations for FSU soccer

Brian Pensky seeks to blend his style with personnel recruited and coached by Mark Krikorian.

floridastate.n.rivals.com

 

[Tom81]

It will certainly be an interesting season as it unfolds.
Do we play our normal 4 back? Late in the year, Mark played some 3 back bringing Gabby into the midfield.
Do we play a 3 back?
Heather seems to be a consensus for a back position, but I like her more up front. The year she played in the back (not saying it was her fault) is when we were more porous.
Jody Brown in the back is interesting given her pace, keeping up with speedy players like Jarrett from UVA will be easier. Having Jody back there means it's more difficult to get behind the defense on counters.
Does a newby like Denigan, Gilchrist or Descary step into a starting role in the back.
Does Clara take over Jaelin's position?
I can't wait to see how we look.
I'm anxious to see how these freshmen look and how Echegini fits in the system.

 

[GvilleNole]

It will certainly be an interesting season as it unfolds.
Do we play our normal 4 back? Late in the year, Mark played some 3 back bringing Gabby into the midfield.
Do we play a 3 back?

agreed key season .. need to establish we have not missed a beat and still in that top group

will be interesting to see if coach is able to fit the girls into his system or he adapts with what our player are best at.

 

[Tom81]

From everything I've seen and heard, I expect to keep the possession game, but be a bit more aggressive offensively. We'll see!

 

[Tom81]

agreed key season .. need to establish we have not missed a beat and still in that top group

will be interesting to see if coach is able to fit the girls into his system or he adapts with what our player are best at.

From the article. “He took the mindset of not wanting to change a whole lot for our sake, especially with the season happening so soon,” veteran midfielder Clara Robbins said. “It’s important for the older players to kind of help him along the way.”

 

[Tom81]

It would be great to get some feedback from soccer practice every week or so.
Too much to ask?

 

[fsufool]

It will certainly be an interesting season as it unfolds.
Do we play our normal 4 back? Late in the year, Mark played some 3 back bringing Gabby into the midfield.
Do we play a 3 back?
Heather seems to be a consensus for a back position, but I like her more up front. The year she played in the back (not saying it was her fault) is when we were more porous.
Jody Brown in the back is interesting given her pace, keeping up with speedy players like Jarrett from UVA will be easier. Having Jody back there means it's more difficult to get behind the defense on counters.
Does a newby like Denigan, Gilchrist or Descary step into a starting role in the back.
Does Clara take over Jaelin's position?
I can't wait to see how we look.
I'm anxious to see how these freshmen look and how Echegini fits in the system.

Saw Brown play against the USWNT. She held her own and they had her playing in the back some. While Jamaica was totally dominated, she seemed to be one of the few players that held up. Personally, I think having her in the back is the way to go. Use her speed back there and let her do some runs. I might be off, but I think Bissell is very talented offensive player. Think she needs to be on the field a lot. Olsson is a true striker, think her strengths got a little lost in our patient play last year. And Alagora is going to a tough match up for teams. I think Robbins does take over from Howell. Don't know anything about the transfer nor the Freshman, so wait to see them play. If they become more dynamic offensively..........look out. Defensively, they are going to take a step back, just missing too much talent from last year's team. But, with great goaltending and solid play combined with more fast paced transitions we should be a really tough out.

One more comment on Brown............talented she is.........speed to burn..........but she hasn't demonstrated to me a great shot.............she's a scorer from close in..........but I prefer offensive players with a dynamic shot.

 

[Tom81]

I'm excited about the offensive possibilities with this club, especially since Pensky is known to be more aggressive offensively.
That said, offense moves the needle, but defense wins championships.
Our D gave up 1 goal in the run of play during last NCAAT. That was to SMU in a blowout game.
In 18 we gave up 2 goals in the run of play during the NCAAT.
We gave up 0 goals in the 14 natty run. We only gave up 9 all year in 14.
BYU was an offensive juggernaut last year, but scored 1 goal against UVA, 4 against USCe and 0 against SC and FSU.
Defense wins nattys!

 

[Nolefan82]

How is Pensky viewed among his peers in the business? Have read a lot of stuff provided by FSU SI but would like to get a broader sense of his reputation.

 

[fsufool]

I'm excited about the offensive possibilities with this club, especially since Pensky is known to be more aggressive offensively.
That said, offense moves the needle, but defense wins championships.
Our D gave up 1 goal in the run of play during last NCAAT. That was to SMU in a blowout game.
In 18 we gave up 2 goals in the run of play during the NCAAT.
We gave up 0 goals in the 14 natty run. We only gave up 9 all year in 14.
BYU was an offensive juggernaut last year, but scored 1 goal against UVA, 4 against USCe and 0 against SC and FSU.
Defense wins nattys!

Another reason to have Brown in the back..............

 

[billanole]

Saw Brown play against the USWNT. She held her own and they had her playing in the back some. While Jamaica was totally dominated, she seemed to be one of the few players that held up. Personally, I think having her in the back is the way to go. Use her speed back there and let her do some runs. I might be off, but I think Bissell is very talented offensive player. Think she needs to be on the field a lot. Olsson is a true striker, think her strengths got a little lost in our patient play last year. And Alagora is going to a tough match up for teams. I think Robbins does take over from Howell. Don't know anything about the transfer nor the Freshman, so wait to see them play. If they become more dynamic offensively..........look out. Defensively, they are going to take a step back, just missing too much talent from last year's team. But, with great goaltending and solid play combined with more fast paced transitions we should be a really tough out.

One more comment on Brown............talented she is.........speed to burn..........but she hasn't demonstrated to me a great shot.............she's a scorer from close in..........but I prefer offensive players with a dynamic shot.

This reminds me of Krikorian moving Toni Pressley to the back, back in the day. She was a dominant defender and a very capable at starting counters.
My favorite memory of Toni is watching her nail a long PK in overtime to stun a big crowd in gunsville. This ended a 0-0 match. Her long career in the pros could be predicted from her performance as a Seminole.
Brown has the jets and the tenacity to really help solidify the back. You know that she would be dynamic in counter, due to not only foot speed but also a very underrated ability to make slick assists.

 

[Crazyhorse20]

This reminds me of Krikorian moving Toni Pressley to the back, back in the day. She was a dominant defender and a very capable at starting counters.
My favorite memory of Toni is watching her nail a long PK in overtime to stun a big crowd in gunsville. This ended a 0-0 match. Her long career in the pros could be predicted from her performance as a Seminole.
Brown has the jets and the tenacity to really help solidify the back. You know that she would be dynamic in counter, due to not only foot speed but also a very underrated ability to make slick assists.

Hard to argue but I think Toni could of been an All American striker and played pro as a forward, that awesome of an athlete.

 

[Tom81]

5 days from our opener against USCe.
Without Flynn, it will be a new back line sans Roque.
I suspect Heather Payne and Jody Brown may be 2 of the pieces along with a freshman if I had
to guess. I love HP up top, but am skeptical of her in the back. It just doesn't seem to fit her as well.
I feel strongly that Clara Robbins will fill Jaelin Howell's spot at HMFer, since she did do that on the few occasions that JH was either out for USWNT duty or other reasons.
The front and midfield should be fine, although I will miss the danger of Jody Brown's speed up top.
Lots of questions to be answered after we can watch a game or three.
How good is this transfer, and which freshmen can immediately play at this level?

 

[FLSnole]

I also read they were using Nesbitt in back. I didn’t think of her there initially but seems like that could be a great move with her toughness and skill set. Looking forward to see how it all plays out.

 

[Tom81]

I agree re: Nesbeth in the back. She is a physical player with good pace.
I actually like her in the back more than Heather b/c she is more physical, but
what do I know?