What: Women's Soccer vs. Notre Dame
When: Friday, October 15th, 4:30 PM
Result: Tie 1-1, 2OT
Note: I was in attendance for the first half only due to First Night
Summary: There was heavy rain and wind for much of the game, but that didn't stop UConn from drawing. Unfortunately, the first half was goalless and that's all I saw because I went over to Gampel for First Night, but oh well. Nasty weather. But I loved how the man behind me tried to convince his children that the sun was coming out once they turned the light on (it did get brighter). Anyway, here we go. Note that ratings only apply to what I saw, with the exception of end result (which was a draw anyway.)
Ratings:
Environment:
Fan Friendliness: Very friendly crowd. Children and fans and students and free gloves for the first 200 fans (I needed mine. Between the game and the line for First Night, it was freezing.) Anyway, good crowd. Rating: 9/10
Fan Enthusiasm: They were active, for the most part, although not very knowledgeable. At one point when the ball went out of play, a girl a few rows behind me said "Goal kick.... I mean corner kick". It was a Notre Dame throw-in. But still enthusiastic, cheering the team on. Rating: 12/15
Event Atmosphere: Bad weather, but free gloves. And a good crowd.I don't know if anyone won the Goal of the Game contest because it came in the 88th minute by which point I was gone. But it wasn't me. I didn't pick Ruutu. I picked her last time (three weeks ago against Penn State before I had this blog.) But oh well. I wasn't there anyway when the goal game so it doesn't matter. But still fun. Rating: 12/15
Environment total: 33/40
On-field:
Quality of Play: Not a good game played. In soccer, a 0-0 game can mean great defense or that the offense struggled. Here it was the latter. Defense was unremarkable, but the offense missed a lot. Bad crosses, poor shots from way out that went wide, some of which just missed despite no effort by the goalie thinking it was way out. Rating: 10/20
Excitement: Not much. I was only into it because I wanted Shufelt to score the first goal so I could win the prize pack. I'll be there tomorrow for most of the first half before heading over to Field Hockey most likely. Hopefully the person I pick scores then. But the intern said she "couldn't say" what the pack was. Ooh, a secret. But anyway, not very exciting. Partly the weather and partially the poor play. Rating: 5/10
Quality of UConn play: Ditto to Quality of Play. Offense struggled, defense really didn't get many chances. Rating: 5/10
Result: Draw 5/10
On-field total: 25/50
Other:
Clarity of fan communication: Not much here, but no problems. Announced "Goal Kick" "Corner" etc. Rating: 5/5
Magnitude of Event: Notre Dame is the best team in the Big East. So pretty big. Rating: 11/15
Size of Crowd: Pretty crowded given the weather. It was about 2/3 full. Which is more than they usually get. I don't know how many of those people were using it as a "warm-up" for First Night, but still pretty good. Rating: 11/15
Other total: 27/35
Final Rating: 85/135
[...] would only attend a couple more women’s soccer games this year (the first half of Notre Dame and about two minutes of the DePaul game before heading over to Field Hockey) but hopefully [...]
ReplyDeleteWho were your favorite players at either soccer game you were at?
ReplyDeleteHow would you improve the environment? What was best and worst part of environment?
Edit: Disregard this comment. Apparently I can't read.
ReplyDeleteNick, first of all, thanks for the comment. I've been to pretty much every home game this year (other than the playoff game vs. Brown which was during break). I'm personally a big fan of Mamadou and Alvarez. I found that for weeknight games, we didn't seem to get that many fans other than students. There was a noticeable difference. If we could improve our non-student attendance at these games, that would be great. And as for the best part, I think the enthusiasm of the Goal Patrol is something that no other school even comes close to. It's just amazing to be with them.
Hey Nick, apparently I can't read. I just realized this comment was on WOMEN'S Soccer. Anyway, my favorite players were probably Schufelt and Ruutu. What I found, however, was that the crowd was nowhere near as active or large as men's soccer. This probably accounts for both the best and worst parts of the environment. Worst, because the crowd seemed almost dead at times. But at the same time, I'd say it was far more family friendly than the men's game. Despite what I say about the Goal Patrol, I would not want a young child exposed to that. I won't reprint the comments in question, but they're pretty brutal at times. At the women's soccer game, it's a much better atmosphere for young children. Which is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, when I lived in Poughkeepsie, I often attended Marist College basketball games. I found a similar connection between the men's basketball and the women's basketball. The men's crowd was louder and more boisterous, but also less family-friendly with what they said. (This isn't as much true at UConn due to the success and domination of our women's BB team, though).