University of Georgia Athletics
Dogs Seeking More Quality Shots
August 18, 2016 | Soccer
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Coming off a five-win season in 2015, the Georgia soccer team wants and needs to be better in every phase of the game this fall. Taking more shots is a must, but it's not just quantity that second-year coach Billy Lesesne is after, it's quality.
In Georgia's 1-1 exhibition draw against Georgia Southern last Sunday at the Turner Soccer Complex, the Bulldogs fired off shot after shot — senior forward Marion Crowder had 12 by herself, and Georgia's only goal — but a high shot total, 25 against the Eagles, doesn't mean much if few have a chance of finding the back of the net.
"We had some unrealistic shots (against Georgia Southern), when other options were available for us, and we showed those to the team on video," Lesesne said Tuesday.
It's a tricky balance, playing more aggressively and getting more shots off, something Georgia didn't do a lot of during its 5-12-1 run in 2015, while also being patient enough to wait for an opportunity for something more than a shot from long range or a bad angle, that has little chance of scoring.
Last season, the Bulldogs were last in the SEC in shots with 215. The top six teams in the league all had more than 300, with Texas A&M leading the way with 450. The Aggies were second in the league with 50 goals, so one in nine shots found the back of the net. Georgia scored just 16 goals in 215 shots, a ratio of one every 13.4 attempts.
"That was our issue a lot of the time last year, we'd have maybe three quality looks on goal," said Crowder, who was Georgia's leading scorer in 2015 with four goals.
The Bulldogs will try to do much better than that in 2016, starting with the season opener against Oklahoma State on Friday night.
"One of game goals for every game we play is to outshoot our opponent, and that will be measurable for us," Lesesne said. "But I don't want us to just outshoot, I want quality shots. The key is knowing the difference between the two, and we're working on that."
Crowder will likely play a big role in how much more efficient and aggressive the Bulldogs' offense is. Her career got off to a great start in 2013, when she scored 11 goals as a freshman. She scored six as a sophomore, after overcoming a knee injury, and four last season following a bad hamstring injury that cost her most of the preseason.
That big first season, Crowder said, led to high expectations and a lot of pressure, much of it coming from herself. Crowder said she hadn't played her best the past two seasons, both due to injuries and the pressure to perform she put on herself. This summer, however, she was able to get healthy and shed the weight of high expectations.
"It kind of just led me to being, can I find that love of soccer again? That's kind of what this summer was about for me, and I had a blast playing this summer," she said. "I was healthy and I was playing with some old teammates, and I just got a new perspective on a lot of things.
"I was able to take that here (to preseason practice) and it was great. I'm relaxed and I'm excited and it's my senior year, you know, and you want to go out with a bang and do everything you can to help your team succeed."
Crowder's health and spirit have been noticed by the coaching staff.
"She's got her buzz back," Lesesne said. "Her quickness is at a level we didn't see much last year. She came in injured and she couldn't get to full speed because we were in the middle of the season. She's had a better preseason leading up to this, so she's in a better place, and our whole staff has noticed a different kind of pop, another gear."
Another thing that should help Crowder and the Georgia offense this season is the return of forward Kelsey Nix, who missed all of last season with an injury. Nix, a redshirt junior, will be playing up top with Crowder, which will keep defenses from focusing so much attention on the dangerous Crowder.
Whether it's a defensive stop that leads to steady ball movement up the field to an attacking position, or a quick counterstrike to take advantage of Nix and Crowder's speed, Lesesne wants more aggression.
Georgia was tied for 12th in the SEC last season with 30 offsides calls, far fewer than league-leading South Carolina's 62. On the one hand that can be a good thing since being called for offsides is an unforced error, but on the other it can also mean you're not pushing the issue and pressing the defense enough.
Lesesne and the Bulldogs want to press and test the defense much more often this season, and it's often movement without the ball that makes that possible, and then work for the best shot possible.
"I think it should help us in our attack, and we'll see this weekend," Lesesne said. "It's looked better in training."
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
