SMU soccer...this kid should play!

[Rehydralyte]

Can anyone tell me why Adam Robertson is not seeing the freaking field...are you serious? He is the next best thing to homemade bread! He wins every ball in the air, has a shot that Ronaldo wishes he had and has more experience than any of the baby [deleted] freshmen playing in front of him. Tell me why!!!!!!!!! Adam you rule keep your head and stay ready you're only 5 injuries away from getting your shot buddy and giving the coaches the suck it sign.

[Horseshoe]

Adam isn't riding the bench because of anything he's done wrong, he's just been beaten out -- so far. The two forwards who are starting are very short, and therefore don't win a lot of balls in the air, but Adam is pretty slender and gets bumped around a little, so he doesn't win a lot either. Kellan Zindel is the early surprise of the season. The freshman striker from Flower Mound looks like he's 10 years old, until he gets the ball - he's lightning-quick and extremely agressive, so he can race by people and also isn't afraid to run into heavy traffic. And he has a hammer of a shot - teams don't seem to realize he's left-footed, and his shot is as accurate as it is powerful. He's leading the team in scoring, and he was named the offensive MVP of the SMU/MiCocina Classic this weekend. The other starting forward, Duke Hashimoto, is just as small as Zindel, if not smaller. And while Zindel is a powerful shooter, Hashimoto is almost a midfielder on the front line - he's also super-quick, but instead of crashing the goal, he is able to juke defenders out of their shoes and find the open man with his passes.

Believe me, neither is going to play a full 90 minutes every time out, but for the moment at least, they've earned the starting positions. They still have learning to do, and they'll go through some growing pains, as almost all freshmen do. Adam will get some time - he's too talented to just disappear. And if he works hard and takes advantage when he gets his chance, he'll get more and more time.

[ClassOf81]

What's up with Diego Walsh? He had numerous scoring chances this weekend, and it seemed like he was hesitant to pull the trigger. He didn't shoot. He's the best passer in the country, by a large margin, but he's also the only senior on an otherwise young offense. He needs to bury some goals to get the offense untracked.

[MustangFan]

Diego will get it going this Friday when SMU pounds TCU Friday night (7:30 at Westcott Field.) He's in better shape than he's ever been and he's been working his tail off in practice. He'll break out of it Friday.

[PonyFan]

Rehydralyte: Not sure how to say this without coming across as rude, but perhaps the reason Adam Robertson isn't playing is because he's not fit. Were you at the TCU game? He played in the second half, and after about 5 minutes on the field, he looked completely gassed. He didn't challenge defenders bring the ball out of the back, he didn't run on to balls unless there were played right on his feet, and he showed zero speed.

I'm not bad-mouthing him - he showed a ton of promise last year. Is he injured? Or did he have an injury in the spring or summer that caused him to play his way back into shape this season? Adam can be a hell of a player, but at the moment, there are several at his position who can better help the Mustangs win.

With that said, I like Adam for the ability he showed last year and his size - the team's starters up front are tiny, and we could use a big body on corners and crosses. But until he gets in much better shape, he will continue to see only garbage time.