Originally Posted by Anonymous
losing draws, poor shots, and turnovers was the difference in last nights game. Turnovers
Just watched the game on YouTube and I agree with some but I think SP had more turnovers overall. Here is my uneducated version of comparison. And let me state that both teams are very talented and clearly are very strong:

Offense - MCD relied on isolations from the top and had trouble adjusting when stopped by a good defense but just pushed to get to the 8 as much as possible. SP relied more on cutting when dodging was met with solid defense and was able to find holes but also led to some forced passes and turnovers on the offensive side. Pretty even but if forced I would give the slight nod to SP as they had more shots on goal including 4-5 pipes while MCD had more shots sail high/wide and they used their entire offense where MCD relied on just 3-4 girls

Defense - MCD reputation for strong defense showed and they have some very fast defenders who clearly can mark up 1 on 1 but made some key mistakes with cutters leaving their goalie exposed. They are really active with checks and collapsing and strong on the clear as well. SP defense lived up to the hype of lowest goal total, they looked big, strong, and fast and handled the isolation dodgers well without calling for early slides this caused MCD to take some lower percentage shots than what they are used to. They did however draw a lot of shots from the 8 but seemed to defend them well with speed to the shooter. Nod to SP here as they looked to operate as a cohesive unit vs individual stars

Goalie - MCD has a very active and athletic goalie who had some very impressive saves when the defense faltered. SP goalie was more traditional staying in the crease and did well against the 8 meter shots. Both goalies were strong in crunch time and neither gave up a goal in the final 10 minutes of the final quarter with a ton of pressure both ways. Nod to SP simply for sheer number of saves (10 vs 8) and the final save of the game

Draw - Both really talented in directing and self draws and both circles have great ability to get and maintain possession, they both dominated us when we played them so I was excited to see this matchup. Most of the draws were directed well and not many “scrambles” with luck of the draw(pun intended). Nod to SP as they got 3-4 more possessions than MCD

Coaching - This was a ridiculously close game that could have gone either way and there is some amazing coaches with ridiculous talent on both sides. It seemed to me that SP played more as a team though while MCD relied on specific talent and never adjusted when push came to shove. Sometimes talent beats teamwork but last night wasn’t one of those times and the win gives the nod to SP

Now we have to wait until next year to set the stage again. Looks like MCD looses the majority of their midfield, attack, and draw while keeping their defense and goalie in place. While SP loses the majority of their defense, goalie, and draw but keeping their midfield and offense in place. I assume that both will be favorites in 2025 but will both have gaps to fill for the next girl to step up