At some point, you have to start thinking it's the coaching. Kerr has been at Duke since 2008, only made the NCAA Tournament six times and has only gotten past the second round twice and never made the quarterfinals. Here's what other ACC schools have done since Kerr replaced Rennie. Maryland (08), Virginia (09, 14), North Carolina (11) and Notre Dame (13) have won national titles. With the exception of ND, all of them went to the College Cup multiple times since 08. (Maryland, of course, also won an NCAA title after leaving he ACC.) Clemson (15), Wake Forest (08, 09, 16), Louisville (11) and Syracuse (15) have made the College Cup since Kerr took over at Duke. (Louisville's trip to the FF was before it joined the ACC.) Boston College (2015) and Virginia Tech (2016) have made it as far as the quarterfinals. With the exception of Pitt, which was hapless till recently, and NC State, which has underachieved and gone thru multiple coaches, every other ACC team besides Duke has at least made the quarterfinals since Kerr took over at Duke. But Kerr hasn't. He has all the same advantages an ACC school has, plus he has the pull and appeal of Duke. And please don't bring up cost or academics because Wake Forest and Notre Dame ain't cheap and UVa and UNC are very difficult academic schools. And don't bring up players leaving early or commits not matriculating, because every school in the ACC deals with losing top talent to the pros. In other words, Kerr has no excuse. And he's the common denominator.
Trust me, I’m with you on this one. From 2012-2016, Duke didn’t even MAKE the ncaa tourney. That’s 5 friggin straight years you fail to make it! How?! Blew my mind. I thought at that point he shoulda been fired. But then they had a slight uptic in recruiting and made the last two tournaments, which I think saved his job. But with the team he has this year, no excuses they should be really good. Yet after yesterday’s game, it’s clear the still can’t score. And the supposed strength of the team (the defense), looks like crap. (Pulisic played his ass off yesterday, and the defense screws him over...smfh) So you are right on with your statements that the problem IS coaching
Although Syracuse "finally" won in OT last night over Cornell. They still aren't picking a GK and sticking with him. If you're a defender you'd much rather know the voice who's yelling at you from behind you. Can't imagine even in training being the starting center back and having the constant changing of the keeper going on behind you.
Early conference results point to UNC and UVA battling it out in the Coastal with Clemson, Wake, and Louisville competing for the Atlantic. Overall, I like UNC or UVA. Clemson could contend just on the basis of their favorable schedule (avoid both UNC and UVA).
This is the best UVa team in years, better than the 2014 team. Doesn't mean they'll do as well as that team because, soccer, and college soccer at that. But the Cavs are deep, balanced and experienced and have a nice mix of skill, size and athleticism. They have several players you can envision making the jump to MLS or mid-tier (Norway, Belgium, etc..) first divisions in Europe. Wake is still the deepest and most-skilled team in the ACC but under Muuss they have shown a bad habit of not getting it done at crunch time. Clemson's offense looks like it's on another plain but there are serious questions about the defense. UNC has almost as much talent as Wake and as much balance as UVa. And, of course, most of the other teams in the ACC have enough talent and grit to grind out 3 straight wins to take the conference tournament and most of them could get to the College Cup. Of course, that was the case last year, too, and no ACC team made it to Santa Barbara.
Anyone know what’s up with Mundet at wake? On the roster but has not played yet this season. Good to see Pannenburg getting the minutes just wondering. if it’s already been discussed sorry I missed it have been off the boards for a while.
At the very end of June Mundet got a concussion playing for Fusion 23s (USL 2). Surely it's not that, though.
Full recover from some concussions can take months, if he has been concussed before recovery can easily take this long. Concussions can end a career.
https://gopack.com/news/2019/9/26/mens-soccer-nc-state-athletics-remembers-george-tarantini.aspx Sad News I was an NC State athlete in the mid eighties and I am pretty sure all of us who spent time at Case Athletic Center and Dining Hall have a story or two that involves Tarantini and/or Valvano, plus a slew of other very colorful coaches. I know I have mine. Rest in Peace, Coach
Wake 3-2 Clemson Clemson is legit this year, in case their 30+ goals this year didn't prove it already. Wake was very lucky to not give away a couple more goals this game. Wake hung around long enough to get the tying goal with 5 mins left in regulation and a PK 2 minutes into OT. Wake struggled to maintain possession for long periods of time in this game. Defense was pretty strong the first half, but the second half, Clemson was into goal every couple of minutes. (Granted both Starting center backs were injured this game, one picked up an injury in the second half) Clemson probably deserved this game, but it didn't go their way. I haven't been able to see UVA play yet this year, but I would have to imagine that those two are the scariest teams in the ACC right now. For Clemson, Kimarni Smith is as good as the 10 goals on paper say. Scored a great goal in the first half of this game. The freshman, Mayaka, is also legit. I wouldn't be surprised if these two make the jump to the pros next year.
Was at the Clem-Wake game, and as much as it pains me to say it... agree with theatric. Clemson was the better team on the night, although Wake did have more success in the second half upping tempo. The first goal (the Kimarni Smith one right before halftime) was just all class, and Clemson really probably should've scored 5 in regulation or so. (Wake keeper Andrew Pannenberg had both a great game and a terrible game, if that makes sense.) Wake will be fine, but is definitely in something of a rut at the moment. Really need to see how the injuries to Benalcazar and DeShields are, because CB is the position that Wake is least equipped to handle injuries (although Memphis transfer Justyn Thomas did okay tonight). Offensively, the talent is there, but it hasn't translated into goals as of yet. Not quite ready to hit the panic button, but... getting there.
UVa is 8-0-0, 3-0-0 in the ACC, and has allowed 1 goal and only allowed 19 shots on-goal. To put that in perspective, Virginia Tech, which is ranked 13th nationally in the RPI, has allowed 13 goals. The Cavs don't score a lot - 13 goals - and I have concerns that will catch up to them against more dynamic teams, but when you're defense is allowing 0.12 goals per game, you don't have to score a lot.
Quote from Muuss, "Clemson is a good team out there and they are as a good as a team as I’ve seen in my five years here.” I don't understand how this team has improved so much over one year. Would love to see a match up between the best offense in the NCAA vs the best Defense in the NCAA in the ACC tournament via Clemson and UVA.
I know why they’re better, anyone that watched them closely last year can see: 1. Robbie Robinson is fully healthy (or was so before 20 min into this game). Last year he wasn’t injured for the majority of the season 2. Mayaka...kid is special and doesn’t belong in college soccer 3. Probably should be the #1 reason- but Kirmani Smith has reached another level in his development. He’s dominating games the way he should and can. Another MLS caliber player IMO 4. Supporting players doing their job. Their #8 has been great in some games but overall has really stepped up his game, and healthier Janes Brighton and Grayson Barber don’t hurt either. More majority and hungry to prove themselves. All in all Clemson, Wake and UVA are all the tops of the ACC this year, everyone else lacks just a little but at this point from where I sit.
So we ahead into October now with a pretty good idea of who is what. Here's where we things stand with a month (and 5 conference games) to go in the regular season, with each team's current RPI before it. ATLANTIC 1. Wake Forest ----------- 8-1-0 --- 3-0-0 19. Clemson ---------------- 9-1-0 --- 2-1-0 24. NC State ---------------- 5-2-1 --- 2-1-0 9. Louisville ---------------- 5-2-2 --- 1-1-1 21. Syracuse ---------------- 3-2-4 --- 0-1-2 83. Boston College ------ 5-2-2 --- 0-2-1 COASTAL 2. Virginia -------------------- 9-0-0 --- 3-0-0 46. North Carolina -------- 5-2-2 --- 2-1-0 66. Pittsburgh --------------- 4-3-2 --- 1-1-1 23. Duke ------------------------ 5-3-1 --- 1-2-0 8. Virginia Tech ------------ 6-2-1 --- 0-2-1 17. Notre Dame ------------ 5-3-1 --- 0-3-0 By RPI... 1. Wake Forest ------------ 8-1-0 --- 3-0-0 2. Virginia -------------------- 9-0-0 --- 3-0-0 8. Virginia Tech ------------ 6-2-1 --- 0-2-1 9. Louisville ------------------ 5-2-2 --- 1-1-1 17. Notre Dame ------------ 5-3-1 --- 0-3-0 19. Clemson ----------------- 9-1-0 --- 2-1-0 21. Syracuse ----------------- 3-2-4 --- 0-1-2 23. Duke ------------------------ 5-3-1 --- 1-2-0 24. NC State ----------------- 5-2-1 --- 2-1-0 46. North Carolina -------- 5-2-2 --- 2-1-0 66. Pittsburgh --------------- 4-3-2 --- 1-1-1 83. Boston College ------- 5-2-2 --- 0-2-1 All 12 teams still have a realistic shot at an at-large bid, though obviously some still have a fair amount of work to do. Here are this weekend's games. Friday North Carolina @ Pittsburgh Wake Forest @ Boston College Notre Dame @ NC State Louisville @ Virginia Syracuse @ Duke Saturday Virginia Tech @ Clemson
Some things of note heading into the weekend's game. Per GauchoDan, Syracuse has played the second-toughest schedule in D-I. (Only Florida Atlantic has played a harder one, using the NCAA's formula.) 2. Syracuse 10. Duke 12. Louisville 13. Wake Forest 17. Virginia Tech 20. Notre Dame 30. NC State 44. Virginia 76. North Carolina 79. Pittsburgh 111. Clemson 120. Boston College It will be interesting to see how much these numbers improve after they've all been fattened up by playing each other. When you play an easier schedule, it's not surprising that you can do something like lead the nation in scoring, which is what Clemson is doing right now. The Tigers' 3.75 goals per game rate is tops in the nation. Last year, Clemson scored 23 goals (in 17 games) all season. Virginia Tech (2.56) and North Carolina (2.11) are also among the national leaders in scoring. Individually, Clemson junior Kimarni Smith has 11 goals in 10 games, which tops the nation. (By comparison, Boston College, as a team, has scored 11 goals in nine games.) He had 5 goals, combined, in his first two seasons in college soccer. Classmate Robbie Robinson had six goals entering the season but has 8 (which puts him in the top nationally) so far this season. Defensively, just as with their basketball counterparts, Virginia is tops in the nation. The Cavaliers GAA is 0.11 as a result of allowing just one goal (take a bow, Kristophe Gardasson of Duke!) this season. Wake Forest is second in the conference in defense at 0.56 per. Coincidentally, UVa and Wake are the top two teams in the country in the RPI. We'll see where all this stands after the weekend.
So BC defeats Wake a few days after not-defeating noted soccer powerhouse Merrimack College. I am officially panicking about this Wake team. Cripes.
As noted, BC 2, Wake 1. Big Icelandic freshman Stefan Sigurdason with a brace around a goal from Wake sophomore Machop Chol. NC State 2, Notre Dame 0. Senior Tyler Gabarra, both of whose parents were capped by the US senior teams, assisted both goals, one by English soph. Kuda Muskwe and Spanish sophomore Pepe Garcia. Duke 4, Syracuse 0 Italian senior Daniele Proch led the way with a goal and an assist. Virginia 2, Louisville 0 Sophomore Daryl Dike had a goal and an assist and redshirt junior Colin Shutler to post his 9th shutout of the season. North Carolina 2, Pittsburgh 1 Senior Jack Skahan and Chilean junior Santiago Herrera paced the Heels.
Clemson and Virginia Tech are the two highest-scoring teams in the ACC and among the highest in the country. So naturally, when they played last night... the game ended 0-0. College soccer, man.
ATLANTIC 5. Wake Forest ------------ 8-2-0 --- 3-1-0 9. NC State ---------------- 6-2-1 --- 3-1-0 21. Clemson ---------------- 9-1-1 --- 2-1-1 11. Louisville ---------------- 5-3-2 --- 1-2-1 44. Boston College ------- 6-2-2 --- 1-2-1 37. Syracuse ---------------- 3-2-4 --- 0-1-2 COASTAL 1. Virginia -------------------- 10-0-0 --- 4-0-0 38. North Carolina -------- 6-2-2 --- 3-1-0 15. Duke ----------------------- 6-3-1 --- 2-2-0 71. Pittsburgh -------------- 4-4-2 --- 1-2-1 7. Virginia Tech ------------- 6-2-2 --- 0-2-2 16. Notre Dame ------------ 5-4-1 --- 0-4-0 MONDAY 202. Howard @ Pittsburgh TUESDAY 44. West Virginia @ North Carolina 77. High Point @ Wake Forest 105. East Tennessee State @ NC State 113. Northeastern @ Boston College 199. Purdue-Fort Wayne @ Notre Dame FRIDAY Wake Forest @ NC State Louisville @ Clemson Virginia @ Boston College Duke @ Notre Dame Virginia Tech @ Pittsburgh SATURDAY Syracuse @ North Carolina
So Pitt smacked Howard around yesterday to move a game over .500. The Panthers still have a shot at the post-season but it ain't gonna be easy; this is how they finish the regular season: 7. Virginia Tech @ 10 Penn State @ 1. Virginia 16 Duke @ 17. Notre Dame Realistically, they need to beat Penn State and get at least 4 points from their remaining conference games. The first goal should be the ACC Tournament, which they'll make if they stay ahead of Tech and Notre Dame. So they at least know htey control their own fate. But they have no room for error.
Wake, State, BC, Notre Dame and UNC all won rather convincingly over their non-con foes yesterday. Here are the updated records and RPI. 6. Wake Forest ------------ 9-2-0 --- 3-1-0 9. NC State ---------------- 7-2-1 --- 3-1-0 20. Clemson ---------------- 9-1-1 --- 2-1-1 10. Louisville ---------------- 5-3-2 --- 1-2-1 36. Boston College ------- 7-2-2 --- 1-2-1 35. Syracuse ---------------- 3-3-4 --- 0-1-2 COASTAL 1. Virginia -------------------- 10-0-0 --- 4-0-0 33. North Carolina -------- 7-2-2 --- 3-1-0 14. Duke ----------------------- 6-3-1 --- 2-2-0 70. Pittsburgh -------------- 4-4-2 --- 1-2-1 8. Virginia Tech ------------- 6-2-2 --- 0-2-2 17. Notre Dame ------------ 6-4-1 --- 0-4-0 That's five teams in the RPI's top 10, 8 in the top 20 and eleven in the top 38. The ACC teams are now 60-8-10 in non-conference games this year. Here's each ACC team's non-con record, in order of their SOS, with the teams they've lost to, if any. Syracuse (2) - 3-1-2 (lost to 7 Georgetown) Louisville (3) - 4-1-1 (lost to 25. South Florida) Virginia Tech (4) - 6-0-0 Duke (10) - 4-1-1 (lost to 5. Southern Methodist) Notre Dame (17) - 6-0-1 Wake Forest (23) - 6-1-0 (lost to 24. James Madison) NC State (25) - 4-1-1 (lost to 2. St. John's) Virginia (34) - 6-0-0 Boston College (64) - 6-0-1 North Carolina (69) - 4-1-2 (lost to 3. Central Florida) Pittsburgh (93) - 4-2-1 (lost to 15 Indiana, 58. Northwestern) Clemson (110) - 7-0-0 Here's who each ACC team has left outside the conference slate. Boston College "@" 130. Harvard Clemson - 180. Radford Duke - 77. High Point, 72. Denver Louisville - 145. Northern Kentucky, 79. Temple North Carolina - @ 78. Campbell, 62. Appalachian State NC State - @ 65. South Carolina, 138 Elon Notre Dame - 19. Michigan Pittsburgh - @ 11. Penn State Syracuse - 103. Connecticut Virginia - 24. James Madison, 28. Saint Louis Virginia Tech - 137. Longwood, @ 80. Princeton Wake Forest - 114. William & Mary, 55. Loyola-Maryland
Was traveling and didn't get to update this till now. Here are the records, standings and rankings after the weekend games. 4. Wake Forest ------------ 10-2-0 --- 4-1-0 12. Clemson ---------------- 10-1-1 --- 3-1-1 10. NC State ---------------- 7-3-1 --- 3-2-0 32. Syracuse ---------------- 4-3-4 --- 1-1-2 26. Boston College ------- 7-2-3 --- 1-2-2 16. Louisville ---------------- 5-4-2 --- 1-3-1 COASTAL 1. Virginia -------------------- 10-0-1 --- 4-0-1 37. North Carolina -------- 7-3-2 --- 3-2-0 21. Duke ----------------------- 6-3-1 --- 2-2-0 57. Pittsburgh -------------- 6-4-2 --- 2-2-1 14. Notre Dame ------------ 7-4-1 --- 1-4-0 9. Virginia Tech ------------- 6-3-2 --- 0-3-2 The No. 1 team in the country, four in the top 10, seven in the top 20, 11 in the top 40 (technically top 37 but we Americans like round numbers!) and no team ranked lower than 57. Here's the upcoming schedule. If Pitt can beat Penn State, it will put them three games over .500 and should move their RPI up to about 40, which puts them in good shape for an at-large bid. Suffice to say, this is a huge game for the Panthers. Similarly, if Syracuse can beat UConn, it will move them two games over .500 and, given their RPI, should put them in a pretty secure place for an at-large bid. Virginia Tech is in a really interesting place; 9th in the RPI and three games over .500 but winless in the ACC (albeit with a pair of ties). TODAY Pittsburgh @ 8. Penn State 30. James Madison @ Virginia NC State @ 81. South Carolina 95. Connecticut @ Syracuse 134. William & Mary @ Wake Forest 166. Northern Kentucky @ Louisville FRIDAY North Carolina @ Wake Forest NC State @ Duke Boston College @ Louisville Pittsburgh @ Virginia Notre Dame @ Virginia Tech SATURDAY Clemson @ Syracuse