I believe leading scorer was at 8 goals last seaon. 44 goals all year. That's def average. By far worse ever at UNC. Though as you pointed out. It's hard to score when midfield can't complete passes to the forwards. At one point Anson had Kealia Ohai up top all by herself running at 4 elite ACC defenders. That won't work. Last year is over. It was just a mess. Bad constructed team that wasnt coached up to what they could do. Nothing worked, even switching formations.
Oh Lorrie Fair, only trolls and fans who believe UNC is entitled to win ALL the time post that way. Check the win-loss ratio and compare it against teams across the nation. If it's all WIN or nothing, you're in for a lot of disappointment. There are a lot of teams capable of winning it all, and UNC is no longer alone at the top. Kealia is not Mia Hamm. Even Mia Hamm, during the early 90s, was surrounded by a top notch cadre of recruits when the national talent pool was much smaller. No, we do not have star players at every position. So, if you want to call yourself a true UNC fan in the modern age, find out what the positives are and celebrate the journey. This year's team is not going to be a juggernaut. In fact, running the table would be a lot harder to do in the ACC than in any other conference right now. Better not throw the baby out with the bath water.
Lorrie Fair, is it cheating to ask if you are the Lorrie Fair who played so well for some of UNCs 1990s teams? dick glendon
I believe that this thread participant answered that question when he first starting posting. It's a screen name.
As usual, I agree with your thinking, PJB. Being a fan is supporting what you've got and learning how to enjoy it. To do otherwise results in an unfortunate flameout. But on the other point, I do think that the 2012 Heels have the potential to show quite well. However, three things have to happen for a very successful season. Injuries have to be kept to a minimum, the 4 U-20 Heels returning in time for the ACC season have to integrate into the team in a way that is not disruptive, and Anson is going to have to solve the coaching issues that bedeviled us last year. If these things go well we have a good shot at the College Cup. On the other hand, it would also not surprise me to to find that we struggle for one more year.
Funny, I have always thought being a true fan included being able to assess your teams performance critically and objectivley. Focusing on just the positives makes you more of a fanatic than a true fan.
This team will have 4 players that are starters on the U20's and one player that starts for the 23's. Minium 5 players starting on national teams and all huge contributers on those teams. Can't help but think UNC will do just fine next year.
Isn't the word "fan" an abbreviation of the word "Fanatic"? I'm just pleading for some kind of sanity, that's all. One thing to remember, is that talent isn't the whole picture. On a game by game basis, anything can happen. And bad periods can happen too. How soon we forget that the middle of the 2009 season was miserable. A string of unexpected losses, and fans were wringing their hands and wailing (and criticizing.) But the talent on that team was fabulous, and we ended up just fine! I believe another definition of "fan" is fickle!
Actually there is a fourth that is related to number three. Coach Dorrance needs to be gone as coach and until that happens there will be a slim chance of winning another college cup. He is already losing many of the best future recruits to other schools and that will only get worse for him as team achievements dwindle. Call it being old and tired, call it losing his vision for the team, call it karma or whatever, it is time for UNC fans on this site to come to the realization that the best days are behind him.
What's the status on Brittani Bartok? I know she tore her ACL a year ago. She was a coach this year. Is she going give up her final two years of playing? I thought she was going be a great player for the team. Didnt get a lot playing time in her 1st two seasons.The team could use her this season.
She's was done as a player with the ACL tear. Bio on TarHeelBlue says that she's gonna be an assistant coach for another year and then graduate
Well, the summer doldrums are just about upon us. Fans looking for any tidbits of interest to keep us going until the action starts in the fall. Taken in this light, UNC's reluctance to post any announcement of class signings until May (or maybe even June?!) may be a boon as it gives us something to look forward to. In addition to the known 2012 players (the 8 we all know about) there will undoubtedly be a few more. AD has a history of tucking in some walk-ons from local high schools, and maybe a surprise from a distance. (Remember Lucy Bronze?) And while I hope that it's needless anxiety on my part, I do wonder how Lindsey Horan will manage her matriculation and coursework -being gone until the middle of the second week in September with U-20s in Japan. (Presumably, the other UNC U-20s, being currently enrolled, are building up academic credits and preparing for the fall.) And what about that large (by UNC standards) 2013 class? It now apparently stands at 11, if one can believe TDS and a Las Vegas news paper that Dominique Romero committed in January and is, in fact, a 2013. With the usual last minute walk-ons we may have a huge class... Will AD be redshirting some of that group for 2014? IMO, the 2014 class will be critical for continuity as 5 key players from the #1 2010 class will be graduating that year and the rising seniors may not be well represented as starters (Kat Nigro, perhaps?) So far, only one 2014 recruit, while competitors Duke, Stanford, and TAMU, and Notre Dame (in that order) have already between them corralled 11 top prospects. There are still plenty of fish in the 2014 sea, so I'm hoping to see something there soon. Yes, indeed, summer speculation is on.
I see Taylor Ramirez will be playing in the W League this summer. http://www.uslsoccer.com/scripts/ru...+E+47116+News/Display/+20205033+42819419+8795
Here's a juicy tidbit from topdrawersoccer: Like all of her U17 teammates, Summer Green has put in the work to get to this point – and then some. But along with being a part of this youth national team, the versatile player is set to graduate high school a year early this spring and enroll at North Carolina this fall. There, she’ll follow in the footsteps of numerous legends of the U.S. Women’s National Team who played at Chapel Hill.
Great! That supposition was first broached by im4womenssoccer on this thread on 12/8/11 (and who hasn't been heard from since), but seeing no other confirmation, I have held it in abeyance as a "rumor" until it could be confirmed. I don't know who TDS's sources are, but they are usually right. (As I said, above, "summer speculation is on." he he) Then back to some of the "blue skying" of 5 months ago..... WE are going to have a fabulous offense this fall! Even with Indi out with her injury, before the return of Kealia and Lindsey from Japan we will have an offense involving Summer Green, Aslyssa Rich, & Reilly Parker. Then we'll have a switch where Green will leave for Azerbaijan, and Kealia and Lindsey will get back. Green will be gone for a month and in the interim, the team should really start to gel with the 4 U-20s back in the fold. Then Green will get back in mid October and she will never have seen 2/3 of the offense in the persons of Ohai and Horan. Suffice it to say, the coaching staff will really be challenged to get a smoothly running cohesive offense where the players are all used to each other. But hopefully this will indeed happen by the start of the ACC tournament. (Fingers crossed!) But the offensive possibilities are fabulous. Picture Ohai and Horan on the left and center where they have been practicing and playing superbly together on the U-20s, and then the speedy Reilly Parker on the right. Green could slide in at attacking mid, Dunn at left mid, Kat Nigro or Alyssa (or an improving Kelley McFarlane) on the right, and Amber Brooks backing them up. Assuming no injuries, I'd say that we could potentially be a scoring machine! The fly in the ointment may continue to be the back line... or not. Brigman on the right and Morris on the left will be great, and all we need is a serious center back. Will Ball, Murray, or Ramirez rise to the occasion or will Caroline Linquist prove to be the answer? Oh wow! I get giddy just thinking about it.
Here's a recruiting question for you soccer gurus based on a problem that UNC may be facing this next year as they try to line up a 2014 class. Goalkeepers. While the Tarheels will be swimming in keepers for 2012 (5 of 'em), we'll need to recruit two keepers in the 2014 class. We'll be down to 2 keepers by then, which is unacceptable, given that Bryanne will likely be gone a lot with the U-20s again. Here's the question, if you were recruiting, how would you approach the recruitment of keepers this year for the 2014 class? What would the pitch be to, let's say, the parents of a prospect? "We need your daughter to come play for us, but for two years she will not get much PT until our NT keeper graduates." "We really need your daughter because several keepers might get injured." What does one say? Obviously, one would have to find the right player for whom your situation "fits", and knowing full well the circumstances, has her own reasons for signing on. I just somehow can't fathom how the exploratory conversation goes with the family (even though I'm sure many coaches finesse this one every season.)
http://usascholarships.co.nz/katie-bowen-going-to-us-no-1-north-carolina/ soccer hunter thought this might be interesting to you as a UNC fan see link
I see that Katie Bowen started in 2 of 3 matches for the NZ full national team in the last World Cup. And that NZ narrowly lost to Japan and England. They finished with a tie with Mexico. Certainly a more than respectable world cup for the Lady Ferns.
Thanks, on the floor. A internationally tested defender! (She is a fixture on the U-20s and even has 2 caps with the senior team!) This certainly fills a recruiting gap for the Heels. With this news, and combined with the confirmation last week that Summer Green would be coming in 2012, the Tarheels 2012 class looks like dynamite! We're still going to have the various transitions as now 5 players won't be arriving until mid September after the U-20s in Japan -just in time to see Green depart for the U-17s in Azerbaijan.
how do they room for all this players? I see very little seniors graduating from previous season. 2012 recruiting class Vicky Bruce Hannah Gardner Paige Nielsen Lindsey Horan Indi Cowie Summer Green Bre Heaberlin Reilly Parker Caroline Lindquist Katie Bowen Lindsey Harris
My guess: The type of player North Carolina recruits would not see themselves sitting behind the NT keeper for two years but rather challenging her for the starting job from day one. If a recruit doesn't have that kind of confidence, she probably isn't a good fit for a program that prides itself on constant competition.