Louisville 0 Houston 1 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy David Mucker
Louisville is starting to look like a team that has simply run of out steam and ideas. The team has made strides this season, but it looks like they will ultimately come up short of their playoff dream.
There were some frankly candid quotes from Erceg last night. I think it would be tough not to agree with her assessment of the situation. The injuries at this point in the season start to pile up and if you don't have a full squad that is ready to go it can make life very difficult. We know that Coach Björkegren will always play a player he trusts out of position over a like-for-like player that he doesn't. I agree with Erceg's assessment that Pokorny is “not a defensive player” but also that she is “stepping in to do a job that's not hers.” The truth is that the roster isn't balanced with enough defensive depth. Louisville simply carries too many players that don't consistently tribute much to the team. There are a plethora of reasons, but those reasons aren't of much solace right now.
It's probably time to start asking the question if Coach Björkegren has done enough winning to secure a third season. I think the evidence likely points to “no”, and I think we have started to see signs of regression since the return of the World Cup players. This team might need a bigger personality to lead the squad next year because unless something drastic happens, I think you can firmly label it “veteran squad”. This team is a piece or two away from challenging next year, but needs to get more from some players that Björkegren simply hasn't gotten. I won't write his obituary yet, but I think it's coming.
I think Erceg's most telling quote from last night was “we stopped playing as a team.” The current starting XI are a disjointed group of players that don't seem to have any real connection with each other on the pitch. While they have been scoring some goals, there hasn't been much creativity recently. The win over Portland patched over that weakness to some degree as that goals in that match were more of a “scrappy” nature. Louisville has seemed to lose its ability to cut through a defense. Maybe they weren't ever good at it. They need to find a way to attempt to score a team goal because the individual efforts have dried up.
