UNC Tar Heels 2015

Disagree. UNC is not declining, it is still a wanted destination for great players, it's just that there are so many great players now thanks to all the Elite Clubs around the country who have chosen to go to other attractive destinations.
Also there are now many excellent coaches in the college ranks.

Recruiting is everything and the talent pool is so huge that there will just be parity across much of the college board and coaches will now actually have to coach against other great talent.

I do however feel the days of UNC's high pressure, sub, high pressure, sub, are coming to an end. The players in today's college are much more skilled, in shape, better trained etc. and are not rattled so easy under high pressure as well as coaches are much smarter now and know how to play against it.

Anyway, my two favorite college teams lost today, Notre Dame and North Carolina, so....

 

Sorry for your pain, I feel it as well. Though perhaps not as intensely, as a bad day for ND-- well, the sky could still look pretty blue from my window...

I agree with you, the landscape is changing and there are many more choices now for young women who want to go to top notch schools and participate in nationally competitive teams. That is certainly great for the girls and good overall for the sport. I will certainly feel a sense of personal loss should the day ever come when a recruiting letter from Carolina is just one of several that a top player considers. But life moves on and nothing lasts forever-- not even dynasties.

 

Summer Green tore her ACL in the 12th minute of the first half. She became the 5th starter to tear their ACL in the last 6 weeks.

 

This essentially ensures she won't get drafted in NWSL, & she may now end up calling it quits for her soccer career.
She will almost certainly miss the entire NWSL season, and she won't even be healthy to make a roster.

 

UNC is a program that depends on stars, they don't have any right now. They use to have players that opposing coach was scared of. Now they don't.

 

Very sad news for Summer. It is remarkable that 5 UNC players have torn ACLs within 5-6 weeks. Coincidences just don't run that deep. I am hopeful that UNC has an attentive, qualified AT dept. that will look seriously at any possible factor/contributor to these injuries that might be avoided going forward. A new training technique? Review recovery routines, diet, strengthening, etc.

As a fan of women's soccer, I've always had a great respect for the program, and although I do believe that PARITY is the biggest dynamic in the sport today, and is the real challenge to UNC's annual run to college cup, I hate to see the Heels go out this early.

My thoughts and prayers to the injured players.

 

Would you say the current players are more worried about twitter followers and taking selfies?

 

It doesn't seem any different than another of the other teams. I follow most of the ACC teams & players. UNC players don't tweet/take selfies any more than the rest.

She'll be drafted. The 2016 class is really bad. I know Summer Green's stock has probably fallen this year, especially now with the injury, but I still believe in what I've seen from her in flashes here & there, and I'm confident the pros will be good for her.

I found how little of actual substance of the game is being reported on.. troublesome... and the conspiracy theorist in me is sniffing the air. Everything that was on twitter, the recaps, and even the radio broadcast from the Aggies side of things, did nothing to help. There was supposedly a live stream via periscope somewhere... but I haven't seen anybody talking about it. Seems like there is no way at all we will be able to find out what happened in the game. How good/bad were the Heels were playing? Did they have majority of possession? Did the Aggies sit back in a shell after they scored? Was the ref fair & consistent? Were there any big, controversial calls? I mean . . . who knows? We may never, although I'm still hoping alongside @UNC4EVER that somebody who went to the game can give us details.

Which is a shame. Season shouldn't end like that ...

Going to miss these seniors. Katie & Summer's friendship, St. Petersburg brethren Bryane, that amazing story that is Paige going from offense to defense so successfully & after everything she's had to go through, the injuries Alexa has had to overcome to have an incredible final season. Sob.

 

Over Training. In a Sport featuring free and almost unlimited substitutions the focus on so called 'fitness training' (by any school) just doesn't make a ton of sense these days...

 

You can say that about most of the female college players today.
Most of them don't have the HEART for the game that they used to.
It's all showboating and picture taking, and rolled shorts waistbanding.

http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/its-time-to-stop-the-madness-of-the-inside-out-shorts.1220069/

 

I did go to the game today, although in the course of that 4.5 hour drive, I had a flat tire and arrived 15 minutes late. (Not a good omen... I haven't had a flat tire in decades!)

NOTE: I think that the write up on the official UNC soccer web page is pretty accurate and fair for a short summary.

When I arrived, Summer had already popped her ACL (no one near her, just making a cut, I am told) and the score was 0-0 with the Heels were playing well and dominating the run of play, but only getting 2 shots off after I arrived in the first half. The Aggies would occasionally counter attack to no avail as many of the long balls were scooped up by our defense. I was feeling pretty confident until we had a series of defensive mental errors one resulting in us being stripped of the ball deep in the red zone and resulting in a score bouncing off the far post with Bryane seemingly blocked from view as it appeared that she did not see (move to) the ball until it had passed her.

The second half was mostly Carolina as well, but the Aggies did a great job of holding their defensive shape and stepping quickly to the ball in the box. We had a number of close-in shots with some of our shooters holding their heads in disbelief when they missed. There were three times when I thought we would score for sure, but was disappointed.

The Aggies, to their credit did not just bunker, but did try to go for an insurance goal. In the second half they had two good opportunities one missing high and the other a nice save by Lindsay.

Stat wise the shots were 14-7 and corners 5-0 to the Heels, but the telling stat was shots on goal 3-1 heels in the first half (most of that apparently in the 12 minutes when Summer was in) and 0-3 in the second half. I will say that maybe 10 of those shots did not miss by much one off the wood, and several just outside the post. But those don't count in soccer.

The refereeing was fair and consistent. (He even reversed a foul call before the play re-started after consulting with the 4th official saying to the benches and heard by the crowd "I got that one wrong and so am correcting it." ...much to the shouting and jeers of the Aggie fans.) He called things pretty tight. Many refs would have let them play more, but he maintained good control of the game. I thought he was excellent with a great attitude.

There was no key contoversial play that changed the game outcome.

As soccer games go, it was a fair win for TAMU. They took advantage of an error and made us pay. Then they did what they had to do for the remainder of the game. We had our chances, but couldn't get it on frame when it counted amid a good defense in the box.

Overall I thought that we played with heart most of the time but sometimes seemed to lag. The biggest problem was that many of the Heels were playing scared either because of good defensive pressure from the Aggie defense or just general nervousness. I do not know how else to explain some of the bad decision making on an individual basis resulting in a number of errors. From the stats and talking to some parents, the first 12 minutes when Summer was in were great, but it went down hill from there. I'm thinking that maybe it was shell shock from seeing yet another ACL tear and subconsciously worrying about who may be next. Lots of good passing (many more touches than the opposition) but also lots of flubs with no pace which were intercepted (or almost intercepted.) Kinda reminded me of what the Heels routinely did to other teams over the years... intimidation into unforced errors. Such behavior may just have been the result of the inexperience of many of the players unexpectedly getting their first taste of the NCAA tournament when so many of the experienced starters departed.

It is a shame that we couldn't have played the tournament with the team that started against Florida State two weeks ago. We were just then getting into an offensive rhythm with the new midfield configuration. Then it all changed. And that is just the way "life" goes sometimes. I am sorry for the seniors. ...Especially Katie and Paige who stood out for me today.

 

Tobin Heath, Crystal Dunn, Kealia Ohai, Meghan Klingenberg, and Allie Long are not walking through that door.
And even Summer Green has just exhausted her eligibility.

UNC just doesn't have the star-power that they used to.
In 2006-2012 they had that kind of firepower.
Not anymore.

 

ACL thoughts. (Lots of interesting hearsay...)

There was a lot of talk today at the game about the rash of ACL tears. FWIW, word was that Anson is very interested in investigating any and all possible causal factors and again researching best practices to avoid this kind of epidemic. I heard that he asked to be emailed the latest studies on the program that cpthomas advocated on these pages. I heard that there is very active discussion of this matter among the UNC WOSO coaching staff, as one might expect and I am sure that there will be lots of consultation with the sports medicine staff at UNC and elsewhere.

As I have said before, UNC's history of ACL tears seemed to me to be pretty good over the years until this year. We used to average perhaps one such injury every other year or so on a roster of about 28 to 30. And usually it was not a starter that got hurt. (I graphically remember Brittani Bartok's injury when she was playing along the opposite side line of Fetzer Field about 100 yards away from my position on the top row of the bleachers . She was running and seemed just to fall and at the same time I heard a distinct pop even among the noise of the crowd. This amazed me as I at that time did not know that ACL tears could make a popping sound when they go. But the "pop" sound seemed to come from Brittani, so I did not know to what else I could attribute it.)

Also, combined with this general record of ACL tears on the UNC women's soccer team, is the fact that, historically, fitness training had always been intense and demanding. So apparently the serious fitness training did not seem to hurt in terms of the ACL issue. However, new thinking on soccer fitness training has come from Raymond Verheijen, a Dutch professional coach. He has convinced many in the field that less training is good (over training is bad) and lesser amounts of specific soccer related fitness training is what is needed and should avoid injuries. My understanding is that Anson has introduced this new program into the UNC program with one of the objectives being that it should help to prevent injuries. If this is the key difference in the UNC program, those assumptions are surely being re-evaluated!

 

I have never heard of 5 ACL tears on one season. That may be a record for any program. UNC has to do a lot of investigating into that, from their coaches to athletic trainers to strength and conditioning coaches. College coaches that negatively recruit against UNC will definitely use that info. And would think club coaches have to look at that too when they know their kids are looking at UNC.

Saw 4 of those ACLs occurred to returners that are starters. So they should be back around June or July. But how effective will they be once the seasons starts in August? Big question mark going into the season.

I do agree they don't have superstars. Crystal Dunn was the last one. Lots of good players, but not special talent to carry a program to a national championship. However I do think they have great recruiting classes on the way so that part looks bright for the future.

I do wonder what Anson is thinking about early recruiting. UNC has really pushed the envelope for early recruiting and then some of these players don't pan out. Anson has highly criticized the process - but he does it any way and is part of the problem. Getting the top u15 and u16 players doesn't necessarily translate to the college game. Look at Haeberlin. She was being spoken of as the next brilliant goalkeeper. No way has she even come close to that. Feel bad for the NWSL team that takes a chance and drafts her because they will be disappointed. Other examples like that too.

 

You could make the case that UNC had at least 11 players on their 2009 roster that were better (or ended up better) than anyone on their current roster. It should be noted that the 2009 roster was arguably the greatest in Quality and Quantity in Women's Collegiate Soccer History though, when looking back at it in hindsight. But still, this just shows how far that UNC has declined in individual talent. They still have some talent, but the entire starting XI in 2009 may be starting over the entire starting XI in 2015, if you go by "talent".

2009 Roster
F - Cassey Nogueira (arguably the most "clutch" player in NCAA tournament history, especially in the College Cup)
F - Jessica McDonald (hardly anyone has scored as many goals in NWSL over the past two years combined)
F - Merritt Mathias (very talented player today on a championship caliber team)
F/D - Courtney Jones (one of the best players in the nation back in 2009 and had a professional career in NWSL)
MF - Nikki Washington (Top 5 pick in the 2010 WPS Draft, and the LA Sol were all over her like flies on shed)
MF - Tobin Heath (nothing more needs to be said about her)
MF - Meghan Klingenberg (one of the best midfielders in recent memory in college soccer, is now at outside back)
MF/D - Amber Brooks (one of the best defensive mids in the world, and also played some defense at UNC)
D - Lucy Bronze (one of the best outside backs in the world)
D - Rachel Givan (back in 2009 was labeled as an upcoming superstar, but was always rock solid when healthy)
D - Kristi Eveland (quite possibly the best UNC defender back in 2009, even over Engen. Eveland was a beast)
D - Whitney Engen (the cherry on top for this defense, and what a defense it was)
D - Megan Brigman (one of Anson's favorite players, she had a great motor and was also rock solid)
GK - Ashlyn Harris (might be taking over for Hope Solo soon as her replacement as starting GK for the USWNT)

Ok, so that's 14 players, not just 11, but this was certainly a Top 3 roster of all time, and quite possibly the best ever.
There were professionals galore all over the place. UNC just doesn't have this type of "professional" talent anymore.

 

This is the kind of post that REALLY IRRITATES me! I don't like to pick fights on this thread (or anywhere else), but lets just take a look at this post.

First, I disagree with some of the player characterizations and the best that can be said about any of them is that they are glib.

Next, we had a crap season (for the Heels) in 2015 for a number of reasons. No way to argue that, the stats speak for themselves, but it was still a season most programs would envy, and while I don't imagine the gals are all too proud of the job they did for the seniors (and the seniors did for themselves), there is no reason they should hang their heads either. They worked hard and played a fine season that any sophisticated fan should have been happy to enjoy.

Then, despite our (relatively weak) season this year, there are individuals on this team who are Outstanding and easily peers of the best gals to wear the Carolina jersey in terms of talent! To say we have no stars on this team is preposterous!

Finally, were your wholesale dismissal of our current squad to be true (which I repeat, it is not!), what is the possible point? Could it possibly be your intention to log on to an amateur site where a number of gals have had season ending injuries and a number of others have played through injury all season and suggest that they "just don't measure up to the Carolina standard"? You seem knowledgeable about the game and (reasonably) well informed about Carolina. I would just suggest that a little judgement about how your comments could be received might go a long way. Any comparison is always dicey, as even as recently as 2009 our competition was not as talented as what we face today. We have some remarkably talented players on our current roster! When someone logs on to this site with glib and half-considered opinions they want to represent as fact, it can make one a bit scratchy, especially if the effect might be hurtful to some very outstanding young people and their families.

I look forward to your future posts and hope I may have a more positive reaction to them.

OK, so I'm gonna go take my medication now....

 

Does anyone know how the other 4 ACL injuries happened this year? It appears that Summer Green ACL tear was a non-contact injury. Were the others due to contact or non-contact? Thank you for this information in advance.

 

I wonder if there is really anything unique to UNC in this ACL concern? Somebody has to be in the extreme tail of any statistical distribution-- maybe we just won the draw in 2015?

I would note, however, that UNC seems to have had a number of injury issues in the last several years. It has been frustrating and sad to experience. However, ACL injuries to defenders have been minimal. These gals usually play 90 minutes, engage in severe contact, and presumably train as hard in the gym and in practice as anybody else, but their ACLs seem to stay in place-- so perhaps it is a "range-of-motion" issue for our attacking field players that leaves them vulnerable (in combination with their gender) to ACL damage? It seems like a lot of these injuries have occurred off the ball and without contact. I wonder if there are some cuts/jumps which made at high speed female knees were just not designed for?

I am sure the team will look into it, and I regret the casualties on a bunch of levels, but were it systemic overtraining or something else with a clearly identifiable cause, I suspect all our defenders would have been on crutches for the last several seasons, and we would know the answer before now.

I think it is more likely the case that soccer is tough on women's knees, and UNC has had the misfortune to see more than our share of that this season. Perhaps we could identify specific moves that expose players to greater risk of injury in attack-- does that mean the gals would not utilize them if they felt it created a scoring opportunity? Life is just a long list of calculated risks...

 

I admire your passion, but I was never trying to get under anyone's skin.
Technically I'm just making the point that parity exists more than ever now, even in recruiting.
UNC just doesn't get as much star-power as they used to.
I think that's good for the collegiate game.

But the days are over in which UNC can just dress in a soccer uniform, show up on time, and expect to win.
Every national title Anson ever won, he had the better team compared to the runner-up.
I just don't think that's true anymore. It's just my humble opinion.
UNC will always have nice players, but they no longer have the clear-cut #1 team in talent.

 

To your first points, I totally agree. Parity is the new buzz word, not without justification, and that is good for the game.

I don't recall that we ever dressed out and won on a forfeit? I think we played for each of our victories against the best team in the country at the time, including in 2009 when, as I recall, we were the underdog? I agree with you that we have never won a national championship in which we were not the better team-- I would note, however, that there have been several Championships which we have won in the last decade where we were the only folks who thought we were the best team going into the contest. 2006, 2009, 2012 come quickly to mind-- who besides a few lunatic Heels fans thought those would be our years?

I agree that good players are going to a number of schools these days. I insist UNC is getting more than its fair share of the very best, and the best of these are as good as any players we have had in the past.

With regard to your prior post, is Summer Green comparable to Mia Hamm? OK, no. Is Katie Bowen or Julia Ashley now (or potentially) comparable to Rachael Givan or Kristy Eveland? I would not be quick to have an opinion about that, and would (in any case) probably keep it to myself until I had a lot more info.

Finally, I guess I would just say: events judge these kids; they live with the statistics of what they have done and what other programs have done before them--none of them are unaware of what it means to pull on that jersey, and the Hopes that they have inherited. But Hopes are not the same as Reasonable Expectations-- every year it gets harder and it is not fair to expect our team to be bombproof in the face of history.

I would caution folks to be slow to judge them or compare them to prior years who faced a very different landscape.

 

But Bill Gates and Michael Phelps are not the Godfather of Women's Soccer.
That title belongs to Anson Dorrance.

The most impressive thing about him is that he has his teams seeking blood after more blood.
Many people don't give him enough credit because he always had the most talent.

But how many coaches have screwed that up before, in any sport?

They have the best talent, but yet they play "not to lose" and they allow the target on their back to be shot up with bullet after bullet. Anson, however, would rather be the one shooting the bullets, hence his system. He doesn't let the opposition aim for his #1 target on his back. He instead uses round after round of ammunition and devours his opponent. #1 teams in every sport tend to let the target get too big that it eats them alive when other teams hunt them down. Anson seeks blood as the Hunter instead. And that's why he has become the Godfather of Women's Soccer.

 

To follow on from uncchamps...

I am a long time fan of UNC soccer. I also really appreciate and enjoy good soccer no matter who is playing it. Most of the good programs in NCAA Division I are worth supporting. For instance, I have always loved what I saw of Portland --their soccer culture, their players' attitudes, and their coaching. Portland is a model program in many ways in my opinion. I also greatly admire Virginia and Duke because I know enough about them to have a sense of their values and soccer cultures. You can add Texas A&M to my admired list and Notre Dame, Stanford, and Southern California too. I think of myself as in sync with Dean Smith when he realized that a prized recruit was not likely to enroll at UNC he recommended a competitor school to the kid because he respected that coach for his coaching ability and what he stood for as a human being. (The player ended up going to that school and had an excellent career.) What I am saying here is that I am pleased when a good kid finds a good fit and attends a good school to pursue their soccer dreams.

The dilemma is that I just don't know enough about all of the teams, so I would end up not mentioning some very good schools because I just don't know enough about them. (...too may schools, so little time.)

But I am mostly a fan of UNC because I know this team's situation better than other teams. (I used to work at Duke, but never got into their soccer culture as much, but I have a good feel for some of it as my brother was a volunteer assistant coach for track for some years.) I have a degree from UNC and I know the campus culture (or at least used to and to the degree it hasn't changed still do.) I've been a UNC soccer fan long enough that I feel that I have some insights. I don't worship the coaching staff by any means, but I can say that even with warts, they are good human beings trying to do well by their players.

What gives me the greatest pleasure is what I HOPE is happening for soccer players at schools all aground the country. That is that the players enjoy their experiences at the school and with the soccer program and that they grow and mature as human beings in wisdom, compassion, and understanding. IMO this is that the late teens and early 20s are for. Lives are shaped.

This is where I see the greatest strength of the UNC women's soccer program. Time and time again, players (sometimes years later) speak of the values they were taught through the program and how much they valued their time at Chapel Hill. They speak of the family atmosphere of support and caring. They speak of how Anson keeps in touch over the years. They speak of caring. And they laugh at all of the human foibles.

So many things come to mind as examples. One was at a NCAA tournament game when an oposition player couild not fing her contact lense. During the
...(Whoops running out of time see next post....)

 

(I accidentally hit "Post reply" 30 minutes ago...)

...... So many things come to mind as examples. One was at a NCAA tournament game when an opposition player could not find her contact lens. During the stoppage of play, one of the UNC players went over to her and searched her eye and then helped look on the ground. (These girls had never met before.) Another was when a player got injured and a UNC player stopped and nelt beside her until the ref stopped play and her teammates came over. I am sure that these kinds of things happen on other teams too, but I have seen them first hand at UNC and speaks to me of the culture.

As an older male, it is not my role to befriend players personally and consequently over three decades, I think that I have actually spoken directly to a player twice. Both times, I was delighted with a cheerful and and intelligent interaction. I am a people watcher and I think by the end of the season I have a pretty good notion about the personalities of many of the players over the years as from the stands I watch their interactions with their teammates and coaches. (And Brittani's videos over the past 4 years or so have been fabulous!) What is obvious is that these are delightful young women doing exactly what they should be doing from a developmental standpoint. They are growing up in what appears to be an excellent atmosphere both on the pitch and at the university. And...I would be so proud if any of them were my granddaughter!

This is what makes being a fan so interesting. And, my friends, I trust that this is largely going on at most all of the good programs where, as at UNC, players admire and respect* their coaches and the coaches provide excellent role models for their players. It's not ultimately about winning or losing. On the soccer pitch and in life it's about growing, dedication, learning discipline, caring, and good judgment. And we fans, no matter what team we support, are privileged to watch this process (and enjoy some pretty good soccer to boot!)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

*Yes, I am aware of isolated instances where there have been disgruntled players in UNC's past. This will be true of any program over time where there is not a good fit or other issues. And I am aware of the learning issues that Anson has had to deal with in his own coaching or in public interpersonal interactions and he has experienced the pain of growing too. Again, I trust that this kind of growth is happening on other good programs as well. Part of the role modeling is changing and growing.