Early-season formation switch proves beneficial for Gulf

By STEVE LEE

NEW PORT RICHEY - Gulf coach Shari Schau tried to sell her players on what she called a "flatback" formation that lined up four defenders side-by-side.

They weren't buying, and she knew it.

So after a 1-3-1 start, the girls were relieved when Schau reverted to a standard 4-4-2 formation with a sweeper and stopper in the middle, flanked by two outside defenders.

"I just felt we had the kids this year to try something new and it didn't work," Schau said. "I think probably because we didn't have much time with it - four days of practicing it after tryouts."

Gulf was outscored 8-7 in its first five games, so, like Schau said, "It wasn't like we were getting blown out or anything. I asked them to give an honest shot at the flatback defense, and they did."

Gulf is 6-2-1 since and has outscored its opposition 25-5 in that stretch. Coach and players alike agree that changing the defense might not have been such a good idea after all.

"Once we switched back to the sweeper and the stopper, I think the kids just had a lot more confidence in themselves," Schau said.

Added senior outside defender Katie Schulman: "I don't think it was really working. We liked our regular diamond-shaped defense."

The current unit is an experienced foursome that includes three juniors - sweeper Courtney Cohen, stopper Amanda Gardner and outside defender Courtney McAuliffe.

During the flatback experiment, Cohen switched to forward, and center/midfielder Shelby Grafton played in the back. Grafton, Gulf's scoring leader with six goals and 13 points, is back up front.

"There's something about playing defense; I'm much more comfortable playing there," Cohen said. "I'd rather stop goals than score them."

Added Schau, "I think, for our purposes, for (Cohen) to be successful, she needs to be in the back."

At 7-5-2 overall, Gulf is on the verge of its first winning season since 1995-96 when the team went 16-2-1 and claimed the Sunshine Athletic Conference title. The Buccaneers, who had several lackluster seasons since, nearly reached .500 last season with a 9-11-6 record.

"We came close last year," Schau said. "We just had too many ties."

Schau envisions a winning season based, in large part, on the steady play - and contentment - of her defense.

"We weren't really ecstatic about (Schau's revamped formation), " Cohen said. "It wasn't our type of play. Everything's been good since (switching back). We went back to our way of playing, and it's worked better."