It will be a miracle if the Heels are able to use Fetzer for the fall season. Recall that I posted in mid December that in the 6 months from the end of the lacrosse season, precious little had been done on the big revamp of Fetzer and the building of a new soccer/lacrosse field house and office building. The playing field and track were all torn up and being used as a staging ground for the big indoor football practice field. Other than removing the aluminum bleacher seats nothing else had been done. Well, I went by today to see if there had been any progress in the last 2.5 months. I am able to tell interested fans that no, it all looks basically the same. The playing field area is still heaped with huge concrete drainage pipe sections, other assorted building supplies, and construction machinery. There was one notable difference, however, that being that the basic steel framework of the new soccer/lacrosse building at the east end of the field was just starting to be erected. I talked to a friendly UNC custodian who said that they had been working sporadically (a half day on and then several days off) for about a week and a half to get maybe half of the vertical steel pieces set and a few horizontal pieces. So there is at least now beginning to be some progress (visible in the photo above in front of the field house.) I had thought last spring that 14.5 months from mid May until early August was tight for a construction schedule, but was doable if there were no serious delays. But it appears that the powers in charge have decided that only 1/3 of that time will be needed. We shall see..... The obvious problem is that the football indoor practice facility is more important than soccer/lacrosse. I had naively thought that both projects would proceed simultaneously with different construction crews and contractors. But I guess that the soccer field was just too attractive to use as a staging ground for the bigger more important project and so until that project moves further along, soccer will just have to wait. So my assumption at this time is that the new building will simply not be ready for occupancy until some time in 2019 and that if we are very lucky the playing field and some of the stands might be ready to go some time in the fall. I'm sure that there will be lots of excuses (such as an unusually cold winter) but I suspect that Anson and Carlos Somoano and their staffs are very frustrated at the lack of progress.
Jessie Scarpa had hip surgery in Philadelphia on Tuesday per social media. I did not know she had a hip issue. Hope she is back for the Fall from the ACL and hip. She can't catch a break
Does anyone know who scored today vs Sky Blue and how they did it? The school web won't post it and the twitter won't report it and the pro reporters don't know the college kids have names.
I note that Maggie Bill played a few minutes of lacrosse this last Saturday. This marks her first return to the playing field in almost a year as the lacrosse All American and member of the US Women's National lacrosse team has apparently recovered from her ACL tear. In the UNC announcement, Maggie was referred to as a "fifth year senior". This makes it unclear as to whether she will play soccer in the fall, although I suppose she could possibly graduate in May and enroll as a graduate student if she really wanted to play out her final year of eligibility as a soccer player.
OKaay! It looks as if construction as re-started on the soccer/lacrosse building at the east end of the soccer field as of yesterday. The steelwork has now reached the roof level (at least on the south end.) I'll re-post the web cam photo here so all fans can watch the progress in real time. Dontcha just love seeing what was a pristine natural grass playing surface for 85 years now as a muddy dump ground for various construction supplies for the big football building?
Noticed that two Tarheels are on U23 duty for this next week out in Portland. Julia is listed as a back and Dorian will get some time a midfield. The U23s will be playing NWSL teams. There will be three games. This Sunday against Houston Dash, Wednesday vs Portland Thorns, and next Saturday against the Chicago Red Stars. As far as I can tell they may be playing against as many as 9 former Tarheels. So I'll be interested in the results as these games are the proving grounds for not only the U23s, but also for the participating NWSL teams as they trim their rosters based on what they see.
Great article about Meg Morris coming back from major hip surgery, dealing with chronic pain, and facing a total hip replacement in a few years as this one continues to degenerate, ending her soccer carer. https://www.timbers.com/post/2018/0...orris-injury-wont-keep-her-soccer-what-i-love Also an update on Klingenberg's injury progress. https://www.timbers.com/post/2018/0...ngenberg-track-rejoin-thorns-fc-practice-week
I was thinking to my self what a mess as I drove by there 2 days ago. Hard to imagine it'll be up and running this fall, but I'm holding out hope. Hopefully the girls won't be relegated to Cary for another season.
So the three-NWSL-exhibitions part of the pre season is over. The Heels managed a 1-1 draw with the Washington Spirit on Saturday evening at the Evergreen Sportsplex north west of Washington. Both teams were without their strongest players. Bridgette scored on a header in the 66th minute and the Spirit's Mallory Eubanks got a foot on a loose ball in the box for the equalizer at 87 minutes. The three NWSL games surely served their purpose with tough competition. The score results mean little, but the expereince is what counts along with the coaching staff getting a good look at promising players for the fall. I only saw the game against the Courage, and we were certainly outclassed by their starting line-up (even with four starters away at the She believes Cup.) But it appeared that we could hold our own in these last two matches (with their stars missing also.) Certainly Sam played well in goal and it looked to me that Brooke Bingham is ready to get more time on the back line and will be necessary when ever the Heels switch to a 4 back line (along with Taylor, Lotte, and Julia.) This fall Sam will have help in the goal with Claudia Dickey coming (who has this last year been the starting keeper with the U18s and U19s and got a good look with the U20s.) We won't be getting any defenders coming in the fall, and with Maggie Bill uncertain and Jessie just now having serious hip surgery the four who played this spring will likely be our defense in the fall. (That is, if course, assuming that another Hannah Gardner or Caitlin Ball don't walk on from a local high school.) We should be really strong at midfield in the fall with senior Dorian Bailey anchoring the middle along side of Briana Pinto, Emily Fox, and Alessia Russo. Those four should be dynamite! And we won't miss much when we have Morgan Goff, Kate Morris, and freshman Rachel Dowart ready to come in. Up front, it's going to be a battle for playing time. If we are assuming Zoe and Bridgette that's fine, but frosh Rachel Jones will really push them! I am really looking forward to the fall! It always bothers me when I think about possible line-ups that I just don't know who will surprise and really step up and take a starting position. It frequently happens. So look out for Madison, Sydney, Kasey, Ru, Alex, frosh Mary Elliot McCabe or literally any one else on the roster. And if any of the possible 5th year seniors are healed and decide to come out for the fall season, then we have bonus players like former starters Jesse, Maggie, and Annie. (I suspect that Annie, who has already graduated, will not return, -but I could be wrong. I see Jessie as the most likely if she is healed and in shape.)
Of particular interest to UNC Women's soccer fans (for obvious reasons) is an interesting article by orthopedic surgeon Bert Mandelbaum this week about ACL injury statistics. (US News & World Report, 3/12/18) We seem to have gone round and round on the best prevention practices for ACL tears, but Mandelbaum makes the case for again returning to the specific training for agility, movement balance, and muscle strength balance between upper leg muscles and the stabilizer muscles that surround the knee joint. He claims that especially when the agility training exercises are sport specific that his last two years of research have shown an "88 percent overall reduction of ACL injury per athlete compared to a control group matched for skill and age". If his data is correct, then there should be no question of which training route to follow. You listening, Anson?
His data aren't the only ones, there are others that are consistent including for soccer. I'm familiar with the program (PEP) he's referring to, as I used with the girls high school tennis program I coached until I retired and I know a former All American women's college player who has tried to institute its use with a local soccer club. There are at least two physical therapy clinics here in Portland that will do PEP training (of athletes and of coaches) for free. The problem for UNC is that, to be really effective, you have to begin using the program when girls just are starting to play. You have to do this because it involves teaching them how to walk, run, jump, and turn in very particular ways, and to do that so they can do it automatically by the time they reach college age. That doesn't mean UNC shouldn't use the program, but you really don't want a player thinking about her running, jumping, and turning bio-mechanics at the same time she's playing a counting game. You want it already to be automatic. A problem that getting PEP training properly instituted is coaches. My experience is that most soccer coaches at the youth level don't have the conviction, interest, or attention span to institute it properly during practice routines. That's truly a shame, as the evidence is it works.
PEP is a way many clubs on the high end are trying to differentiate themselves to get the better players. Plyometrics, Strength and Conditioning and Weights are all in play at the high level clubs
Here's what I think, based on experience, is the key element of PEP: "It is important to use proper technique during jumping moves (jump straight up and down jumps without excessive side-to-side movement), and aim for soft landings." (From a PEP manual, emphasis added.) Shoulders must be vertically aligned with hips must be vertically aligned with knees -- I call this shoulders over hips over knees. This is true not only in jumping but also in pivoting. Most non-contact ACL injuries, from what I've seen, are when a player is pivoting with her pivot knee pronated (leaning to the inside). Her knee is not vertically aligned with her hips and shoulders. This is understandable, since vertical alignment in that situation seems not natural. The importance of early PEP training is to practice proper alignment enough that it becomes natural for the player. From what I've seen, coaches do not really understand the importance of the correct vertical alignment and do not insist that players have it when they are doing what they call "PEP" training. This may be because so many youth coaches are men. Knee pronation is not as much of a problem for men as it is for women, so maybe male coaches think this is too unnatural a movement to ask for. It is unnatural. But, integrating it to the point it becomes automatic is a key to ACL injury incidence reduction among women. The problem also may be that really working on it may seem boring and not related to developing soccer skills.
I was checking the Olivia Moultrie story making sure I was telling it correctly to some folks and looked at her Instagram account. She's got a "born Mercurial" Nike commercial looking video up there and it looks like she was training at PSG last week. If she monetizes her social media accounts or accepts any compensation at all, isn't that a big amateurism problem for the NCAA?? Is it just becoming obvious she will make money early and never play at UNC? The whole thing seems crazy to me. https://www.instagram.com/olivia_moultrie/
Anyone hear the outcome of the matches over at the BB&T Soccer Park south west of Winston Salem weekend before last. There were originally two games scheduled, but then I only saw one against Georgia mentioned several days before the game. I'd be interested to find out how some of the players did in the final spring match. In particular I wonder if Brooke Bingham was looking good? She seemed to be coming on strong in the pro matches, and I'm wondering if she might be starting in the fall? If so, we would have a great four back combo with Julia, Lotte, Brooke, and Taylor. And if Anson wanted to go with his preferred three, then Talyor would be freed up to go up top where she is also quite effective... Also any opinions about how Rachel Dowart looked for the spring taken as a whole? I only saw her play against the NC Courgage in her first time out with the Heels and for most of the game she was trying to figure out the tremendous speed of play and aggressiveness of the best team in the NWSL (but seemed to recover a little by the end of the scrimmage). I'm trying to make sense of where she might play for the Heels with a potential starting 4 midfielders of Fox, Pinto, Bailey, and Russo making it very hard for a midfielder to break into that line.... And if she switched to forward, she's probably be up against Andrezjewski, Jones, and Redei. I want her to succeed, but she may just have to be a top midfield sub until Bailey graduates (and especially if Scarpa comes in healthy after her surgeries, that'd make it even tougher for this fall for Rachel)...although she'd be the top prospect a year later in 2019 to break into the midfield line up with Bailey and Scarpa graduating. I'd love to hear come observations and opinions!
Well, Tarheel fans.... I personally am discouraged as ever that the 2018 season will start as scheduled in a newly refurbished Fetzer field and with the new soccer/lacrosse facility. I said in February that it would be a miracle if the facilities were finished as promised in time for the 2018 season. It's been two and a half months since then and from the web cam photo, it looks as though construction of the soccer/lacrosse facility has ground to a halt -or close to it. In February the vertical steel work was going up on the building and a few weeks later the horizontal steel girders were in place. But then nothing has apparently happened since... (with the exception of what looks like a pile of roofing material has been placed on the top, but that stack of materials just has sat there for the last three weeks.) So the bottom line is that if there are construction workers on site, they seem to be working on the big football practice building instead, and so the soccer/lacrosse building will just have to wait a year. I hope I am wrong and that a miracle does happen and construction activity will commence soon. The other issue is the field. I know that it will take less time than constructing a 5,000 sq ft building, but surely it will take at least two or three months to remove all of the construction equipment and supplies from the mud hole that is now Fetzer, grade the field for drainage, cover it with an appropriate loam mix, install a sprinkler system, plant grass (or more likely bring in grass from a farm) plus rebuild some bleachers or some fan seating (which has all been removed.) Since the playing season starts in the middle of August, that is just three months away. They had better start real soon. So good luck with that and we'll likely going to be camped out again over at Wake Med Park for the 2018 season. Bummer. Any one with inside information?
Field was supposed to be ready for this season, and NC State exhibition was going to be played there. Now it looks like that game will be played at State, so does not seem promising. https://gopack.com/schedule.aspx?path=wsoc
It's my understanding the new stadium now won't wrap up until October or November. The home games will be split between Wake Med and Duke for the fall. Guess that means lacrosse will get first usage in the spring.
I feel for ya. But it might not be all that grim....if the starts in the next month or so. The junk has toco e off the field by Memorial Day, though. Portland had Merlo redone a couple years ago. They brought in huge rolls of Sod over the new drainage and that was done in a week. Then they didn’t allow players on the pitch for about six weeks. by the time the season started, the pitch was beautiful. This Sping they are working on new practice fields on the new river campus( lights and all that). They are doing drainage and sub- turf right now and expect the fields to be ready for preseason at the start of August. So it is possible, but they need to commit.
Thanks for your encouraging words, Cliveworshipper. But I have continued to monitor the facility and absolutely noting has been done with the field in the last two weeks. So I've been Googling around trying to find any shard of information about progress on the project. I finally came across a listing of construction projects for the whole campus. Indeed, the large football facility has taken precedence and is due to be completed by August 15. The completion of the soccer / lacrosse facility and new field has been postponed until October 15. Unfortunately, it looks like Chrasts67 is right on the money. Sigh....
I saw Summer Green and Megan Buckingham yesterday at a Red Stars Reserve game in Chicago. As a Red Stars fan I still hope Buckingham will eventually make the 1st team. Talked to Green a little about the "new" Fetzer Field in-the-making. I hope to make it down to UNC once it is completed to watch a game. I have seen many great games at Fetzer over the years. I used to call those days my soccer at UNC and golf at Myrtle Beach time.
I have several favorite former UNC keepers over the years. Ashlyn Harris has had my respect ever since she was playing for Carolina. She continues to work hard at her craft and to this day is clearly one of the top 20 international women's keepers. It's unfortunate that she is the perennial #2 on the USWNT and gets precious little playing time. I also personally like Adelaide Gay for her dedication to remaining in the business. She currently is serving a second stint as the the #2 keeper for the Portland Thorns. Persistence pays off. Not that I didn't like Siri Mullinax, or Jennifer Branam, but for some reason, Ashlyn and Adelaide projected more approachability from a fan's perspective. And the good news currently is that Lindsey Harris (no relation to Ashlyn) is, like Adelaide has done, currently paying her dues in Norway and was just listed in the top 50 international women's keepers in "Everybody Soccer's" annual analysis. Lindsey is the 14th US keeper on the list and the and her prospects look very good!
Just discovered another great article about Meg Morris and her hip rehab and working to get back in the line-up with the Portland Thorns. Enjoy, Tarheel fans! https://www.timbers.com/post/2018/0...orris-injury-wont-keep-her-soccer-what-i-love
Soccerhunter, The Red Stars just acquired Brooke Elby in a trade. She went in the second half in Sunday's game against Washington and looked great. Red Stars fans loved what we saw. Can you tell us a little about her play at North Carolina? Thanks.