NICEVILLE WOMEN'S SOCCER
WHY GOALS ARE SCORED


1) Lack of pressure on the man with the ball. The forward that breaks
through for an uncontested shot. The midfielder with enough space to play
the ball forward to the striker. Any player that can play the ball forward
poses problems for the defense.

2) Lack of support for the pressurizing player. Attackers look for 1v1
opportunities in the attacking third. Here the return is worth the risk.
Defenders try to minimize these situations. They try to keep enough players
behind the ball so that when the first defender is beaten another is close
enough to control the damage.

3) Giving the ball away. The careless square pass in midfield. The lost throw
in. With so many players placing so little value on ball possession it's not
hard to see this as a major factor in goal scoring.

4) Restarts. This is an opportunity for the attackers to use a rehearsed play.
It is also impossible for the defenders to put pressure directly on the player
with the ball.

5) Failure to track players down. When opponent's run at the defense late
and from deep positions the defenders are faced with a significant soccer
problem.

Note that reasons 1, 2 and 5 are directly related to a player being in the
wrong position. The player is either too close, too far or at the wrong angle
to the opponent. Reason 4 is partly because direct pressure cannot be
applied to the ball. In all 3 out of 5 reasons why goals are scored are
because a player was not at the correct place at the proper moment. This is
often more of a breakdown in the decision making process then in
execution of any technique.