For me this is a step in the right direction. If nothing else she learns what she has available at the next level.
I'd switch Mathias with Menges and Lloyd with DiBernardo (if she's healthy), but I'm not complaining.
Huge step in the right direction. One or two are interesting, but the list as a whole looks great. Still no love for Betos or Kopmeyer though. These October games will be fun to watch.
I saw BYU live in Pullman. Ashley Hatch (sr) and Nadia Gomes (jr) both had speed advantage that utterly confounded WSU's normal pressing: they could effortlessly accelerate away from anybody, opening up 3-5m gaps at will. A typical sequence was that either one receives at midfield, drifts into and past a succession of defenders' zones, leaves them all behind, and none of our players could step up alongside and keep pace. Inevitably, they'd emerge unmarked around box top wide side, with about a 3m gap. So they just overpowered us, like kingfishers over a pond of minnows. Gomes spun-and-drove down wide left and left our RB four steps behind at least 8 times, and every one of her crosses missed. At halftime, I mused: well if somebody just gets there -- and in 2OT, Hatch got there. We were roughly equal to the rest of BYU Both of them are preseason MAC Hermann finalists. Gomes actually capped for Portugal U-19, but that wouldn't prevent a switch.
http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/201...mes-24-players-for-usa-matches-vs-switzerland http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2016/10/06/15/55/161006-wnt-october-roster-features-fresh-faces As I thought, the first article confirms that this is Campbell's first call-up to the senior team in more than three and a half years.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/alex-m...eam-in-dramatic-roster-shakeup-180432123.html I really like Jill Ellis roster call up here. There are so much young talents to be evaluated going forward.
Ellis has previously stated that she watches a lot of NWSL, and has opinions on just about every American in the league. I tend to believe this, since she's demonstrated that she's aware of who's done what. I'm pretty sure she sees Barnes as not fast enough to be an int'l CB or RB/LB, and not young enough to be worth the investment. (I'd actually agree with that; nobody on Seattle's backline is winning a footrace against a speed attacker. I don't think any of them are better than Sauerbrunn/Johnston, and even those two got exposed against good Euro counters.) Dahlkemper ticks both of those boxes: her ceiling is not yet known, but could be higher. I'm a bit startled by the Mathias call-up, as we Reign fans might agree that she wasn't a great stopgap RB: not fast enough against speed LFs (Ohai ), not enough value created in attack. But in Ellis's system, Mathias actually makes sense: an athletic, two-way fullback who definitely gets forward, has pretty good ball control, and a very high workrate. That fits what Ellis has consistently demanded from the fullback positions. I'd rather have Klingenberg crossing than Mathias, tho.
First off I'm excited about this roster. These games are a must watch for me now. Several much deserved call ups here. A couple gripes...though, on what planet is Mathias called up as a defender before Menges or Kallman? Also sad Dibarnardo was left off, hope it wasn't due to injury.
Good point about DiBernardo. I was disappointed to see her not included, but then remembered how she left the semifinal with a nasty looking injury. The lack of call up could very well be due to this knock. Would like to see Horan moved to forward as a target to complement all these speedy players. In her place in central midfield, call in Nairn and/or Laddish. But all in good time. This roster is a huge step for a program where roster stagnation has been the norm.
I think it's good that veterans are getting a break. Remember how great Caitlin Foord was at the Olympics after not playing NSWL and spending time at home. However, Morgan and Johnston are the only players from the veteran group that wasn't called up whose spots are pretty safe. Kling hasn't been impressive of late. Krieger isn't the direction Ellis is going in. Rapinoe has too much drama around her at the moment, which players and staff have called distracting. She's also still hasn't displayed being 100% since her ACL. It'll be interesting to see how long Allie Long stays in the USWNT. I think Mewis has been out playing her since the Olympics in NSWL. I don't see her playing in 2019 with so many quality MF coming through (Colaprico, Sullivan, Lavelle, Andrews) Happy with all of the call ups but a little surprised by Mathias, I don't see her as an USWNT calibre defender, I think Menges is better. Also I would like Nairn, Lavelle, Jordan and Andrews to get a call up soon to see how they compare on a National team level. That's all
Jill Ellis has a bias toward college players who play for western conference schools (Pac 12, WCC). It's no shock that she chose Jane Campbell (Stanford), Andi Sullivan (Stanford), and Ashley Hatch (BYU). But no ACC players were called up, or Savannah Jordan from Florida. If only Kealia had played for USC (just like her older sister), she would already be a USWNT veteran by now. This is only great news for any Stanford player, UCLA player, Morgan Andrews (USC), and Arielle Ship (Cal).
Should have called up 28 players, not 24. All the ones who were called up (sans Mathias), and then 5 more ......... Savannah Jordan, Vanessa DiBernardo, Rose Lavelle, Morgan Andrews, and Emily Menges. They need to "expand" their midfield player pool (this far away from the World Cup). And you can't ignore Jordan. She has a higher ceiling than Groom. But both should have been called up.
Menges is particularly odd with Engen's spot open. Ud think more than one CB brought in for that reason alone.