Thanks! Surprised to see FSU lose, but they've had a phenomenal record of success in the NCAA tournament in the last 10 plus years, and I'd expect that to resume in 2017.
I am planning to attend the game in Columbia tomorrow. I can't seem to find a way to buy tickets online. Anyone know if this is possible? I know NCAA games are always different. If there is not way to buy in advance, does anyone have a sense of whether a sell out is possible? I thought I heard that USC did extremely well with attendance.
https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/gamecocks/EN/checkout/payment/ found a link, but it says the tickets will be mailed??
First of all I'm jealous, because I can't go. Enjoy it. Do not worry about a sell out. Less than 1K tickets were sold only. (5.5K capacity) Cheers!
Justice served. Three games three ridiculous PKs for a flopper. UNC outplayed USC. IMO USC is one of the most overrated teams. It is unbelievable how this UNC team made wrong everybody. Remember, when everybody said oh this was a dawn year, this team is not good etc.? So they are going to the College Cup and there nothing is impossible. Cheers!
Very good composure from UNC in the part of the game I saw -- the latter part. I've been wondering how important it is, having a coach who has coached all the way to winning the championship, and having a school that has gotten there. This is one piece of evidence it may be really important. We'll get a look at Santa Clara v Georgetown tomorrow. Southern Cal has been there (though not the coach). Neither Duke nor West Virginia has -- not won the championship.
UNC played well--gave SC very little room to operate, possessed well. SC /is/ a good team, and McCaskill is a very good player, but I can't respect somebody who embellishes and goes down in the box as easy and as regularly as she does.
Ok. Will see. Everybody can have his own opinion. IMO her development curve is flattened out. She is already strong, her spead is OK. The last 3 games (against real teams) she did not scored. She is not ready and I do not see a huge improvement in the future. I might be wrong. Better players have not made the WNT. That is all. Yogi Berra "It is tough to make predictions, especially about the future" Remember u predicted a low year for UNC.
Very intense game. Reasonably fair result, but obviously could have gone the other way. USC hit the post (or crossbar) on a fantastic curling shot in the second half. PK looked well struck to me. Harris fully extended for save. USC is a very strong team and UNC is fortunate to advance
I'd say USC is strong and UNC is fortunate to advance, but in the latter case only because any team is fortunate to advance. As a neutral observer, I'd say UNC looked to be the better team. Yes, South Carolina could have had that goal, but UNC easily could have had several more. I'm taking nothing away from USC, but UNC is looking like a pretty serious contender in a year when no team looks dominant. I'd love to see a College Cup of Southern California (can we call them USC now?), North Carolina, Santa Clara, and West Virginia. That would be really fun!
Yes, I predicted the regular season pretty close actually but did not see the acc and ncaa runs coming
An endorsement from cpthomas is definitely meaningful...he's like the Nate silver of women's college soccer! Meant as a huge compliment
Anson was all class in the presser, acknowledging that UNC was fortunate to win and giving props to USC coaches, players, and fans. Whoever said USC was overrated watched a different game than I did. http://www.goheels.com/fls/3350/podcasts/PressConference112516.mp3?SPID=0&DB_OEM_ID=3350
I am asking this as a sincere question, and not as any suggestion of challenging coaching decisions. Why wouldn't Madison Schultz start after 5 game winners in 8 games? I assume there is a good reason.
Maybe because she is so effective coming off the bench? Seriously, there are whole lot of metrics that are seen by the coaching staff in practices as well as in games that you and I do not take into account. The role that she plays seems to be working real well now....
Yes, it's simple cause and effect analysis: Schultz comes off bench, she scores game winner. Correlation proves causation. If you want to win, don't start her!
Right, I asked the question assuming there is a good reason. To cpthomas' s tongue in cheek point, perhaps they shouldn't change a thing. Funny that all four quarterfinals were 1-0. West Virginia looks tough and has mostLy more favorable common opponent results vs Clemson, duke, and ucla. Sort of. But, the UNC of the last 8 games seems pretty clearly different than the one in early or even mid season. It has been a long time since UNC made the college cup and didn't win the title. 2002?
It is with pride and sadness that I wish this team the Very Best Luck as they head into the final 4! Sadness, because nothing would give me greater joy than to watch them win the NCAA Championship in Cary! So much in life is unexpected-- I would never have predicted that this year's Tarheels would be a final 4 team; I would never have imagined that it would be necessary to move the NCAA Championship from a State I love-- So now the stakes are higher; my pain is increased-- However, I remain unrepentantly supportive (despite the firestorm I started on another thread) of the decision to remove the NCAA tournament from NC, despite my profound desire to watch these 4 teams square off in Cary (....sometimes you just need to stand up!). Best of Luck gals! I so wish this team might win, and do it here in NC in front of a home crowd! Maybe next year? Pride, because (let's be honest) who thought this team had it in them? Certainly not I. After early games, I thought this was going to be a "building year" on life support. Yet the Carolina 2016 squad embodies the very best (IMO) of prior Carolina programs, in that the gals are passionately playing for one another, and the whole is Greater than the sum of the parts (rather than some prior squads-- even some with equal or greater success-- where great parts either clattered together [or didn't]). This year's team is by every measure a Team Effort, and each player may take enormous pride in the comaraderie and achievements they have created! I have been quietly watching this team this season, so I am excited to take this one chance to comment-- especially since it gives me a chance to (once again) disagree with AD. On our most recent game: I thought USC played a great game! I totally disagree with those who think this team is "overrated". They have some great talent! Where I disagree with AD is that they were robbed of a victory. Rather, UNC defended all over the field, pressured USC into uncomfortable positions, and forced a pace that made them less effective than they might have been. Yes, USC was the better attacking team; yes, they were better at passing and controlling the ball; yes, they had more chances to finish-- but it did not happen for them, and (where I disagree) it was not just random fortune. Carolina defended all over the field and defined the pace of the game. Our stats on goals-against speak well for the whole team, but those of us who have watched this squad know we can have defensive breakdowns. We are where we are right now because of Lindsey Harris. She has had an amazing season, and did so again against USC! In addition to the obvious PK save, she additionally plucked a floater out of the goal at the top 90 against the back post, and somersaulted to catch a deflection to a USC player that was a gimme-goal in a four yard melee during the first half. A remarkable performance, but one she has been growing into all season-- so not a fluke; just part of this team's defensive arsenal. I have been amazed this year by the contributions of our freshmen Andrsejewski and Schulz. They are real assets as we go forward, and all I can say about Schulz's goal in the last game is: if that was not a perfect strike, gal, don't give press conferences, cause from the stands it looked as good a driven shot as anything Carolina has ever put in the net. (Take a note from my hero C. Nogueira: "I got this great pass-- I saw the net and te'ed-off.. then I guess it went in...) Both these gals are wonderful additions to the program, but of course Schulz was the game-changer this past weekend. In addition to Harris, who I can't say enough about, I think Buckingham has really carried this team in its late season upsurge! She has shown so much pace! She is everything that is great about the UNC all-field defense/attack! I have totally enjoyed watching the evolution of this team this year. I thought USC was a great opponent in the heart-break 8, and I really felt for those gals at the end of the game-- There is no doubt they gave every measure and left it all on the field! Well played, and thanks for a great and memorable match! Best of lucks to the Heels next month! Thanks for an outstanding season! GO HEELS!
Thoroughly agree with your analysis, 4EVER. Good to hear your voice. I, too, am amazed at the improvement of this team over the season. While I know similar improvement has happened many times in the past for UNC (recall that in several championship seasons -most conspicuously 2009- Anson was making experimental line-up changes as late as the semi-finals of the ACC tournament) I have never seen a team take such huge steps in making improvement over a season. As many have commented, ostensibly our best players are injured or with the U20 team, but those remaining behind in Chapel Hill have really stepped up. This present team flying out to San Jose this next weekend is the same team that looked absolutely lost in the preseason and only slightly less so for the first few games of the season. I have been a UNC woso fan since 1979 and have never seen such inept overall play. (There were a few players who played well.) There has been steady improvement this season to the point that I (and European) began saying in mid September that this team might surprise us yet. And it surely has! You have doumented it well.
Next, my on going Lindsey Harris rant! I said in my post following the preseason game with Missouri that Lindsey Harris just jumped out as having radically improved over the summer. She played like a tiger in that first public game. Talk about improvement! Here is an under-the-radar recruit who was recruited for her potential and, MAN, has she made Anson and Chris Ducar look like clairvoyant geniuses! I have said consistently all season that she is ready for the big time. She is playing very well in all aspects of the game. Positioning, footwork, great creative distribution (and done with precision compared to other keepers) good judgment, fabulous athleticism, quick reaction saves, good vision, and loud and firm direction of the defense, ...and courage to dive into the mele whenever necessary. This post season against very tough competition (Florida State, Clemson, and South Carolina) surely has demonstrated to any one with even a rudimentary appreciation of the game that, if not the best, she is among the very top keepers in college soccer at this time. I have confidence that if given a fair look by scouts from the NWSL that she may just be the top keeper chosen in the draft. And I fully expect to see her garner U23 time and a good look by USWNT too. It's a little embarrassing to be such a partisan, but this kid deserves a serious and long look. She should be starting on a NWSL team next season!