Big game tomorrow between USC and FSU. I think the Trojans have a big advantage at the goalkeeping position. The game could honestly go either way and it stinks that they are playing each in this round. Anyone else with thoughts on the match up, x factors?
I agree, Southern California should have been a #2 seed, based on the Committee's decision history. Instead, the Committee seeded Tennessee at #2, which was contrary to the Committee's decision history. These two "missed seeds" were the biggest question mark for the Committee's decisions.
Definitely a college cup caliber match and it could go either way but I give the edge to USC and their fighting spirit. I see the special chemistry with FSU players and their organization all there. From what I've seen they combine really well together creatively on offense and that is really what makes this team fun to watch and very special. That being said, I want our Pac-12 teams to do well, win Sunday and enter the College Cup since our conference is "supposedly" only 3rd best in the country.
There are 33 Automatic Qualifiers for the Tournament, with 5 being from the Power 5 conferences and 28 from the others. Consider this: Of those 28 others, 24 lost in the first round and 3 lost in the second round. Only Georgetown remains. Of the 3 who made it to the second round and then lost: Hofstra: put a whipping on #4 seed Boston College and then got crushed by Wisconsin 6-0. Wisconsin likely was one of the last 3 teams to get an at large selection. Lipscomb: beat Mississippi State 1-0 with a golden goal with 54 seconds left in the second overtime. Lipscomb had 8 shots, 3 on goal, and 1 corner kick. Mississippi State had 28 shots, 7 on goal, and 13 corner kicks. This looks like it was "one of those games." Mississippi State was tied for #11-12 in the SEC standings. Lipscomb then lost to Duke 3-0. Santa Clara #3 seed (#2 in the West Coast Conference): beat Milwaukee 4-1 and then lost to NC State on PKs. NC State finished at #11 in the ACC standings. Here's where the remaining 16 teams finished in their conference regular season standings: Stanford, Pac 12 #1 Wisconsin, Big 10 #3.5 (tied for #3/4) Texas A&M, SEC #4.5 (tied for #4/5) Tennessee, SEC #2 Wake Forest, ACC #9.5 (tied for #9/10) Penn State, Big 10 #1 Southern California, Pac 12 #3 Florida State, ACC #7 Georgetown, Big East #1 Duke, ACC #2 Virginia, ACC #3 Baylor, Big 12 #1 UCLA, Pac 12 #2 NC State, ACC #11 Virginia Tech, ACC #8 North Carolina, ACC #1
Dang, that's 7 ACC teams - #'s 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9/10, 11 All the midling ACC teams dropped out, but the top tier and bottom tier remain.
Seems the my conference is best chat has gone way overboard. No idea what it means or its relevance really. FSU have been up and down. Mostly up recently. I think they need an opponent who tries to play. USC will be that. Should be a good game.
Why ? If you are going to win it you need to beat good teams eventually. I will grant you that a team like Duke as a #4 has had a very easy ride. For a team that has ZERO marquee wins this year. Has not beaten a top tier team yet.
I’m with you but in reality it’s only a one game delay. Was gonna happen eventually. Wish I could be there. Gonna be a good one
The team that should be complaining is USC -- as in the University of Southern California. They should have been playing at home this weekend and they aren't -- although with all that's going on in California, maybe it's ok. And, they've been through this before and won a National Championship going through it.
So what is your point? That Duke shouldn’t be a 4 seed or that they’ve played easier opponents in the first two rounds than other seeds? I think they had the toughest RPI opponent in the first round with Rutgers of any seed. That’s the way seeding works. It doesn’t get tough until the 16’s.
And then Lipscombe with limited travel. Point is its the luck of the draw. What does RPI opponent mean?
The NCAA selection committee should be shot for this sweet 16 pairing. 2 top 5 teams IMO. I will feel bad for whichever team loses!
Wow! Just Wow! Never thought we'd get 5 straight against their GKer. I truly feel bad for USC. A final 4 caliber team to be sure. 2 evenly matched teams, although they were stronger in goal with our backup, who did well. They also have a plethora of pace forwards with skill, Give me just one please. Glove Stinks, I'm surprised you guys didn't break through against one of UCLA and Stanford, but had you played them again, you might easily have done just that! Bright future! FSU has been decimated by injury which has tested our depth. Lots of heart on this team. Kudos to Dallas Dorosy for again coming through!
And FSU wins it! I heard that the odds of winning a penalty shoot out are 50-50 regardless of team quality.
I would not have bet on FSU in that situation, but we came through. Kudos to backup goalie Caroline Jeffers!
Please don't take offense, but Tom81 as an FSU fan your belief in these girls is really shaky. You'd already called their season b4 a penalty kick was even taken. We've been able to watch these girls grow into an amazing team and I won't let my belief in them waiver. I hope from this point on you won't either.
That is reverse psychology on myself. If I convince myself we will lose then if we do, I'm not totally devastated. Don't know if that makes sense. I do believe in these girls and they come through That said, who would you choose to stop a PK, the USC goalie or ours? Kudos to ours, for making me look silly or faithless. Go Noles!