Yes there r finite spots on the team but there r infinite spots for camp call ins. No player should get left out if there is even a chance she can make a difference.
no. sounds peachy but lacks any realistic sense. there's a finite number that can be brought into camp. that will always leave people out. factor in the coach's playing style and more players aren't going to make the party. fact of life. always. hence, of course, these aptly named bs boards.
Well, throw bricks at me, but why does Ohai deserve a call up? She's good. No doubt about that. But is she any better than at least a dozen other players who haven't been called up? I don't think so. Nor apparently does the NWSL. She didn't make the NWSL best 11 first or second team in 2015. If I were to name a forward who "deserves" a call up I would go with Yanez of the Seattle Reign. But I don't anticipate she'll be called up. Maybe Huerta will prove herself this year, or maybe McCaffrey will get a second chance.
People want to see her get called in because she can play wide. Can you name a dozen wide attackers that are better than her that haven't been called up? You could maybe make case for Tymrak or Kristie Mewis, but they've already been called up. Or maybe Eddy, though she had limited minutes, she was very productive in her time with WNY. So somehow you think McCaffrey with 3 goals and 3 assists deserved it more than Ohai with 4 goals and 5 assists? If we're gonna look at some more stats: Ohai got a goal or assist every 180 minutes. Morgan Brian got one every 270 minutes. Carli Lloyd also got one every 270 minutes. Yeah, I know you're gonna say, but Ohai is a forward, Lloyd and Brian are midfielders. So what? Lloyd got a goal every 160.75 minutes in 2013 (she had no assists that year) and a goal or assist every 131.54 minutes in 2014. Oh, but they were tired from the WWC. Well Holiday still managed a goal or assist every 189.25 minute. Heck, even the oft-injured Alex Morgan managed a goal or assist every 95 minutes that she actually played. So... who was the better player on the Dash last season? Brian, Lloyd, or Ohai? I'd say Ohai. Maybe you shouldn't be asking why Ohai deserves to be called in, but why Brian and Lloyd continue to deserve it... (and just for the record, I think Yanez deserves a call up too)
None of the players I mentioned are holding mids, but if you want to, sure go ahead... Let's see, Andressa had 0 goals, 0 assists so can't calculate. Axon had 1 goal, 0 assists, so every 1004 minutes. Bock had 0 goals, 0 assists so can't calculate. Ashley Nick had one every 792 minutes. Oh isn't this fun! (btw, Brian had a goal or assist every 76 minutes in college, Ohai had one every 91 minutes.)
Ok, Brian is not holding mid per se, but she shared defensive duties with Andressa while playing for the Dash, so comparing her to Ohai makes no sense. Not to mention the injuries she had after WWC. Even if she was exclusively attacking mid for the Dash (which she never was), this is not a role she plays for NT, so I'm not sure how her assists would mean anything in terms of getting a call up. When she wasn't on the field for the Dash though, opponents were scoring hatricks and think it was no coincidence. Comparing Lloyd and Brian who were playing for a new team and barely trained with it to Holiday who played three seasons for the same club with the same core of players is not fair either. I wasn't thrilled when McCaffrey was called up, but at the same time I'm not sure Ohai deserved it either. I even heard on Keeper Notes podcast (and people there were always very high on her) that they expected of her to take another step last season and it didn't happen. Sure, when Rapinoe got injuried I thought she might get a look, but it wasn't a must in my mind. I do think though that Houston Dash management makes it harder for her replacing most of the team every season.
The reason I compared her to Lloyd and Brian are because those are the USWNT members, who aren't defenders, on the Dash. It's a big unfair to compare Ohai, who was on the team with the worst offense, directly to Yanez who was on the team with the best offense. 1 player alone doesn't make the offense. Ohai got a goal or assist on 42.9% of Houston's goals. Yanez was in on 24.4% of Seattle's. So that's why I compared her to Lloyd and Brian. As I have pointed out, both players are perfectly capable of putting up impressive offensive totals. But fine, I'll compare her to another forward. Huerta, who had the same total goals + assists. Huerta scored or assisted every 149.2 minutes, so that's better than Ohai. But she was also only involved in 29% of Chicago's goals, because Chicago had a much better offense.
Since you don't seem to like comparing a forward to midfielders, here are the top 10 forwards in goals + assists last season: 1. Dunn - 18 2. Press - 12 3- Rapinoe - 10 4- A-Rod - 10 4. Yanez - 10 6. Huerta - 9 6. Ohai - 9 8. Kerr - 8 8. Hoy - 8 8. Williams - 8 8. McDonald - 8 So lets see... who on that list above Ohai isn't already a NTer? Um... Yanez. Who we've already talked about. So who exactly are these dozen players who haven't been called up that are better than Ohai? Sure Ohai isn't quite on the level of the NTers, yet... but aren't the people defending Sanchez getting called in saying that too? It's supposed to help her grow to reach that next level? Hmmm?
What you do in the NWSL mean's nothing. That has already been established as far as Ellis is concern. Most of the NT players don't do squat in the NWSL and start for the national team.
First, I agree about Yanez even tho she is older but Yanez isnt getting called in either. Yanez is the perfect example of totally discounting NWSL play. Second, I dont think the argument is does Ohai belong on the NT. The way u get on the NT is get called in then prove u belong. The argument is has she done enough to get a look in camp? Even if USSoccer discounts the NWSL its pretty obvious they put a lot of weight on their youth programs. In 2012 the US won the U20 WC which is also the last time they got a medal in a youth event. Since that event the following members of that team have been called in. Crystal Dunn Julie Johnston Morgan Brian Vanessa DiBernardo Katie Stengel Sam Mewis Sarah Killion Lindsey Horan * Injured and could not play. Not a bad little team. If they had only called in Dunn and Johnston u could make an argument that they were only taking the cream. Obviously that wasnt the case. The four key players on that team and of course this can be argued were Johnston whose defense won her the Bronze Ball, Dunn who assisted on two of the three game winning goals in the knockout rounds from the fullback position, Ohai who had a goal in the semi, the only goal in the final, 2 assists and Maya Hayes who had all four US goals in the group stage but was less effective against the better teams. Ohai and Hayes combined for 6 of the 9 US goals and Ohai and Dunn led the team in assists with 2 each. To see how US looks at their U20s u can compare that team to the one that lost in quarter finals in 2014. The only call ups from that team were Horan, Lavelle and Pugh. USSoccer also seems to put weight on college performance. In 2012 Ohai figured prominently in UNC NCAA title. Her golden goal against Stanford paired with goal in the final against Penn St earner her the best offensive player in the College Cup that year. So what is that pedigree worth to USSoccer. Absolutely nothing. According to Jill Ellis here is the deciding factor. In the January 2015 U23 camp, she picked McCaffrey over Ohai because Ohai was carrying an injury. While that is unlucky it certainly seems like a correctable mistake. It wasnt like McCaffrey earned a roster spot but apparently she did make an impression that turned into a real chance at a roster spot in October despite having a totally forgettable rookie season with the Breakers. The next question is has Ohai improved since leaving college. I believe she has and her coaches in Houston say she has as well so it isnt like she plateaued in 2012. I also keep hearing she isnt the right fit for what Ellis is doing. There is something to that but that didnt stop McCaffrey from getting called in repeatedly. Ohai plays the same take on game with the added bonus that she is a more accurate shooter and is a quality defender. I guess that means we also wont be seeing Leroux back on the team as her game is nothing like what Ellis wants. So the short answer on why Ohai is she deserves a look at least as much as half the other people who get them and more than some. It's also a nice message to send that players who r key to the US winning WC should be rewarded not ignored.
Great post. Agree with everything you stated. Most of us Ohai fans would be satisfied if she just received a call-up to the NT, especially considering her performance at the 2012 U-20 tournament (considering the US lost in the quarterfinals in both the 2010 and 2014 tournaments). In all honesty, at this point I believe there are only 2 reasons why Ohai hasn't received a call-up to the NT: 1.) She rubbed Ellis the wrong way when she complained out loud a couple of years back that she deserved a call-up, and 2.) she may be difficult to insure considering her visibility is from only one eye. Either that or the coaching staff may feel that her overall peripheral vision may negatively impact her play. Sorry, I don't buy the whole "she doesn't fit the system" excuse, especially if the argument is only about her receiving a measly call-up.
Does Carli Lloyd fit the possession style and technical movement? No she doesn't. That's what were suppose to believe of why Heather O'Reilly is not playing.
Ive often considered them holding the vision thing against Ohai. It seems to ring similarly with the way they treated Chalupny even tho she was cleared to play on the club level for years. Maybe we can look forward to a make-up call in for Ohai down the road when she is too old to compete.
At this point I've given up wishing for Ohai to make it to the NT. As consolation, I wouldn't mind seeing her traded to the Orlando Pride to play alongside Alex.
Im concerned her play will suffer. It's my experience that if u keep telling players they arent very good, half of them will believe u.
I think Ohai is pretty strong willed though. I remember seeing an interview with her and she stated that in her mind she always tells herself that she's the best player in the world, even if that's not reality. I think that's why she's done so well in pressure situations. The moment is never too big for her.
Breaking further: I’m hearing that a pay dispute with the Colombian WNT may see them strike and not come to the U.S. next week— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) March 31, 2016
That would be a bummer. I hope they can make this date. Pay disputes on both sides . . . in a women's match ? ? ?
Is it sad that I am surprised the Columbian woman's team was getting paid? Another interesting thing came out today. The Australian woman's team was hoping to have a home and home against NZ but spent most of their budget on qualifying for Olympics and couldnt afford it. Considering how much money is in soccer it's amazing there is so much news about women getting some of it.
No. That's an NCAA violation. Imagine if Australia played in a region with countries closer to them... something like Oceania.
On the other side of that coin ud think the Aussies still had the money left that they didnt spend coming to the US in October when their players went on strike. I would guess the expense of hosting NZ was more of a deterrent than going there to play.