Or, the second most talented roster in the country got them to a CC. Even as good as Stanford is, you can see they have coaching. Not quite the same look with UCLA.
Ratcliffe isn't in the same neighborhood as Cromwell. Most of UCLA's team was recruited by Stanford and several Stanford players wanted to go to UCLA but got no offers. You have no clue what you are talking about.
You clearly never played sports. What is UNC, Penn State and Florida State's excuses for not making it? Poor players or bad coach? Or maybe it's hard. Keep on making things up.
I can't wait to see your rationale on Saturday. Duke couldn't even beat North Carolina. The Bruins are going to open some eyes.
An all Pac-12 Final would be something. Only TWICE in the last 20 years have both teams playing in the Final, come from the same conference; 2014 All ACC Final; FSU v. Virginia 2002 All WCC Final; Portland v. Santa Clara Conference representation in the NCAA D1 FINAL Last 10 Years: ACC - 9 teams Pac 12 - 6 teams Big 10 - 4 teams Big 12 - 1 team
It would be a very good final but I would still rather see two teams face off that haven’t played this year but pose interesting challenges to each. To me that is Stanford and Duke. South Carolina has been excellent the past few years but lack of offensive output probably won’t get it done vs Stanford. UCLA and Duke pose an interesting match up. Both have great midfield and offensive threat. If UCLA can pull this off it will be with speed in the final third but I think Dukes defense can handle it. On the other side I don’t think the UCLA Defense has enough to hold off the Duke attack
It doesn't look like you got an answer to your question. Here's a start. Mostly UNC got a jump on other schools, started women's soccer sooner, got early stars like Mia Hamm, became the destination for all those talented young women who previously had no college option. So many fewer players then, making it easier for one school to dominate. Success breeds success. Today, of course, there are tons of talented players and lots of very good schools to choose from. Another plus for UNC was Dorrance, a real soccer coach who grew up with the game, initially coached both the mens and womens teams. It took him a while but he figured out that coaching women might require some different approaches from men, their motivations might be different at times. And he established a very competitive practice routine that attracted strong players. His ties to national team didn't hurt either. Long-term Carolina fans miss the days of 9-0 scores (Dorrance never allowed double figures, the team would not shoot after reaching 9), but obviously the competitive balance is better for the game. Remembering the pre-Title IX days, it's wonderful to see so many really talented young women getting an opportunity to compete at a high level. One regret though is that the entrance of the big schools has largely left behind most of the smaller colleges, like the Colorado College you mention and George Mason, that were among the pioneers for the sport.
UNC started at the intercollegiate level in 1980. Stanford in 1984. Duke: 1988. UCLA had its first season in 1993. South Carolina: 1995. Portland and Santa Clara also started in 1980, which might explain their early success.
Santa Clara played it’s first D1 season in I think 1987, Portland Was first coached by Clive Charles in 1989 and started transitioning to D1 in 1990, and its first season with a majority of its matches against D1 teams in 1992. Before 1990, it was an NAIA team in women’s soccer. Tiffeny Milbrett was among the first scholarship recruiting class. The WCC only started for women’s soccer in 1992.
Could anything be more irrelevant on a 2017 NCAA tournament discussion thread than Portland’s ancient past, especially in light of its pathetic present day?
Don’t encourage the geezer glory day historians. Next we’ll hear from a fanboy getting around with a walker from George Mason. At least their RPI was a not so great 146. Portland was a truly pathetic present day 216.
Thanks, Cliveworshipper. I find the history interesting, and It's nice to get some facts straight. and to Bosco.... a slight revision.... UNC's first season was in 1979, but the only other early varsity adopters around were James Madison and UNC-Wilmington. They had to fill in the season schedule with various club teams in NC, Virginia, and Georgia. By 1980, they had found ten other regional schools who had varsity soccer with which to play in the regular season but still supplemented the schedule with 13 club teams before heading off to Colorado for the nationwide tournament. SO, Moist Pits and Portsider, I understand that this page is a "NCAA Tournament Discussion Thread" and so will continue for a few lines about the history of NCAA women's soccer to fill in the time before tomorrow afternoon when this thread will return to the 2017 version. Take a deep breath. Colorado College had been hosting a local invitational end of season tournament starting in 1975 and took it regional in 1979 inviting Texas, Stanford, Santa Barbara and Wyoming, and went national in 1980 inviting the best teams from all parts of the country. This tournament crowned a national champion. (UNC was invited. They beat Texas A&M and fell to UCLA and Harvard. New York's Cortland State won the championship.) Bear in mind that in 1980 women's college soccer (like men's college soccer in the 1950s) was a mix of local clubs, and colleges with club teams (no paid coach), and an increasing number of official varsity teams supported by the College or University. In the north east, where soccer was more established, some colleges had had club teams since the 1920s and a sprinkling of varsity teams in the 1970s. But virtually all college women's teams still included club opponents in their schedule, and some of these club teams were clearly the strongest and could handily beat any college team. Without any official sanction from AIAW (or the NCAA which was an all men's association until 1982 with the exception of women's field hockey and volleyball which the NCAA took on in 1981) national champions in women's soccer (again, like men's soccer up through the mid 1950s) were crowned by various tournaments or even by a single championship game sponsored by a local club. Women's soccer clubs at universities were viewed like any other soccer club. A young woman could play on her college club (or varsity) team and also play on a high powered club team in the community looking for a national championship. Until the AIAW got in involved in 1981 (and the NCAA in 1982) there were no rules about collegiate eligibility. Anson Dorrance (and others) petitioned the AIAW to include soccer in their national championship series in 1981. However, the lasted only one year as, the powerful NCAA decided to include women's sports and most universities went with the NCAA. (The AIAW folded in 1982 after 11 years of existence.) While many college women's soccer programs continued with the NAIA, in 1973 the NCAA began the process of dividing into three divisions so as to accommodate the smaller schools and for practical purposes now rules the collegiate sports scene. (About 240 NAIA schools remain, many of them HBCU schools out of an historic loyalty to the organization that included black athletes from the early 1950s, while the NCAA schools were later to the issue.) OK...back to 2017 on Friday as the tournament resumes in Orlando.
But, while we're still on history, this from the Colorado College media guide: Birthplace of the National Championship While establishing its own storied tradition, CC carved a special niche in the history of collegiate athletics as well. In 1980, [coach] Paul spearheaded an effort that brought seven teams to Colorado College from schools across the United States. At stake? The first-ever national collegiate championship for women’s soccer. The Tigers, who had attained their varsity status just two years earlier, didn’t even participate after posting a 12-7-1 record that season. Instead, they let legitimate contenders from the University of North Carolina, Harvard, Texas A&M, UCLA, Cortland State of New York, Northern Colorado and Colorado State battle each other for bragging rights at present-day Washburn Field. Another and certainly no less important reason for the tournament was to earn an official sanction for the sport from the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. And, by complying with and fulfilling guidelines set forth by the AIAW, Paul and his fellow organizers ultimately achieved their goal. After the Red Dragons of Cortland State claimed that inaugural crown, collegiate women’s soccer was off and running. North Carolina hosted and won the competition in 1981, under the AIAW’s sanction. A year later, the National Collegiate Athletic Association took over sponsorship of the event and crowned the University of Central Florida as champion. The rest is history. Colorado College, a pioneer in the development of the sport itself, takes great pride as the birthplace of the national tournament. I'm familiar with Colorado College, which is in Colorado Springs, not only because my wife's grandfather went there (he was in the mandolin club), but one of my daughters went there too. When she was there, as I learned at a parents' weekend in the Fall, CC was a national power, ranked #3 or #4 in the nation. Having been a college player myself back in the dark ages, I made a point of watching them play. They were fantastic -- skilled and really rough and tough.
Thanks that's neat information. I am enjoying the historical perspectives. looking forward to today's games bigtime!
As we kickoff the 2017 College Cup, I'm hoping.... For reasonable, Consistent refereeing. That players play hard but keep it clean. Everyone leaves the pitch knowing they gave their best. NO Injuries Sold out crowd (these ladies deserve it!) The Seniors of all 4 teams savor the experience and get recognition for what they've brought to their respective programs for 4(+) years. Congrats to all the teams in the College Cup!
Unfortunately the injury issue reared it’s ugly head early with a likely ACL to South Carolina. The attendance doesn’t look great Stanford putting on a clinic
I’m always perplexed as to why the final four isn’t in Cary, NC every year! Attendance last year and from the looks of it this year, is not good! A lot of empty seats in these oversized stadiums. 2015 college cup was amazing (I was there). Stands were packed, it was loud/noisy and so exciting. The stadium is perfect for women’s soccer. You get that idea watching on tv too. IMO it should be the host every year.