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Travis Whillock looks at the back of a Stanford. Whillock tied for 10 tackles.
Alison Albelda / Senior Staff Daily
Alison Albelda / Senior Staff Daily
Travis Whillock looks at the back of a Stanford. Whillock tied for 10 tackles.
Soccer
STANFORD, Calif. – With less than five minutes left and North West at 10-7, Stanford quarterback Davis Mills has mismanaged the transfer of the ball. Senior defender Joe Gaziano recovered the ball.
It was not the first time that the Wildcats' defense was gaining momentum and playing a decisive role.
Throughout the match, the NU defense (0-1) kept the Cats in the game, despite a dismal offensive performance that saw the defense spend more than 38 minutes on the burning grass of Stanford Stadium Bermuda in the Cardinal stage No. 25 (1-0). ) 17-7 victory.
"They spent about six and a half hours there," Fitzgerald said. "I think that a team in a lesser state that must be on the ground would have been killed for 40 minutes. These guys were up to it.
The Stanford offense (1-0) lasted 38 minutes and 12 seconds, including more than 13 minutes in the first quarter. And although the NU defense granted 365 yards, the cardinal only entered the red zone twice.
On one of these assets, Stanford started on the Cats 38-yard line after an interception by Hunter Johnson. Mills had a big pass to lead the team to the 12-yard line, but the Cats managed to hold the cardinal to an attempt at placement. The attempt was blocked and once again, the defense played to stay in the game.
In total, the team forced three fumbles and recovered two. In addition to Mills' procrastination in the fourth quarter, the substitute also missed his first ball in the third quarter on a false reading option. The Cats had a great run, while second-in-hand Greg Newsome II recovered the fumble and brought it back to the 21-yard line.
But the NU offensive was not profitable as Charlie Kuhbander missed an investment.
The defense was far from perfect however. Ten seconds into the first half, K.J. Costello scrambled and began to slide. While slipping, Junior Earnest Brown IV defensive wing hit Costello on the forearm.
The game was sanctioned with a 15-yard penalty and a 51-yard placement attempt, which the Jet Toner kicker managed to end at half-time.
Fitzgerald said the team knew that Costello – who did not return to play – liked to slip, and that the defense should learn from this mistake.
"It's a game that obviously can not happen," Fitzgerald said. "Earnest owned it right away as I knew it would do it."
Missed tackles were the greatest weakness of the defense. Several times, especially off the numbers, the UN defenders have been unable to bring their opponents to the ground. When these Stanford players overtook Cats' isolated players, they found themselves in space.
Sometimes these games have led to first trials. Other times, they set up great games. Junior safety Travis Whillock – who had a total of 10 tackles – recalled a second and long run in which he participated in a safety blitz and missed a tackle. Instead of keeping Stanford in a game at the 3rd and the distance, the cardinal had managed to get a much more manageable third.
Stanford converted the third test and Willock said that little things like that make the difference.
"If I attack it and it's third and long, we'll be able to give our offensive another minute and a half or two minutes," Whillock said. "It's about me … I know I'm a player who can play those games."
About the plethora of missed tackles, Fitzgerald referred to an old defense that had said at his post-game press conference: Game.
Paddy Fisher said Monday that fighting was a priority for the team. After Saturday's game, he said the team could do better.
"We have to do better," Fisher said. "I know we missed a few critical tackles that resulted in explosive games, which resulted in big talk games."
While Willock said he did not think the defense was doing his job and Fisher had a lot of work to do for the defense, the Cats had a chance to win because of their efforts.
The final Stanford touchdown came from a turnover, the NU defense gave only 10 points throughout the match. Most of the time, it will be more than enough. Unfortunately for cats on Saturday, this was not the case.
"I thought our defense gave us every chance to stay in the game," said Fitzgerald, "but credit to Stanford, their defense was better."
E-mail: [email protected]
Twitter: @thepeterwarren
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