Tell me...I am not a soccer fan and not informed

[Guest wildrover]

I get very tired of soccer fans saying football is a weak sport.  Vice versa also isn't great.

But seriously, football players HAVE to wear pads because of they way they take hits in certain situations.  If soccer allowed that kind of hitting, they'd wear pads too.  And, I'd play soccer.

WTF does that have to do with Brad's question?

Soccer players are on the field for 45 minutes straight each half, plus penalty minutes.  I forget the college rules, but at the FIFA level, once you sub out, you cannot go back in the game, so players will walk off injuries to stay in the game - even direct shots to the groin.  Have you ever been the recipient of an unexpected slide tackle in soccer?  You have no pads or helmet to deflect the fall.  It is the equivalent of jogging down the street, someone pulling a "Tonya Harding" on your ankles, and then slamming to the ground face first at top speed.

Both sports are very strenuous, so hats off to football and football (soccer) players everywhere.

Yes, it is sad that I do not remember the college rules, and I have not attended a USF soccer game in years.  Sorry USF soccer team, my bad, and one of these days I will rectify that situation.

No time like the present.  Its a nice relaxing evening or would be except for the fists that keep getting thrown.  I couldn't make the Pitt game but agaisnt both Wooford and WV there were some heated moments that included either a fist or elbow meeting someone's face.  

As far as the rules go I believe you can sub back in after an injury but it does take away from the total number of subs allowed.  So if a player is injured they may leave the game for a few moments to get some medical attention but then go back in after that.  All the while their team is playing a man down so as not to subtract from the total number of subs.

[Who'sYourData?]

I get very tired of soccer fans saying football is a weak sport.  Vice versa also isn't great.

But seriously, football players HAVE to wear pads because of they way they take hits in certain situations.  If soccer allowed that kind of hitting, they'd wear pads too.  And, I'd play soccer.

At my daughter's middle school game last night (12-14 year olds), one girl dislocated a shoulder and another went down with a bruised kidney.  I'm not sure which one is in worse shape, but I am sure that soccer is a very physical sport.

[Who'sYourData?]

Neither was a cheap shot, by the way.

[Jamie]

Soccer's one of those games where the better team doesn't necessarily win every game. If you catch the right break, or the goalie misses one, or someone gets tossed out of the game on a bad call, you can win a game you have no business winning.

[Kyle]

This team seems to have trouble finishing.  They control the midfield great but seem to lack genuine stricker ability up front.

That goes back to the injuries. Our two best midfielders (read: playmakers), in my opinon, are Rigo Hidalgo and Keevon Neaves. Both are currently forced to play out of position due to injuries. Rigo is playing up front due to Hunter and Simon being banged up and Keevon was playing on Defense to make up for the absense of Yohance Marshall. Take them out of the midfield and add in an injury to Kris Raad and suddenly you're playing guys in the middle who otherwise wouldnt see the field. These are the ones who feed those forwards the easy balls...once they're able to move those guys back, i think you'll see the goal production go up.

They have some solid strikers, look at what Hunter has done in his time here (hurt), Simon was CUSA freshman of the year and puts up good offensive numbers (banged up)...and Jordan was our leading goal scorer last year as a freshman. They can put the ball in the net, but they are reliant on good balls coming out of the midfield.