Hey everybody, I am in an internet cafe in Paris working with the weirdest keyboard you hqve ever seen, so this will be very short. What is the deal out there? Remind me who are we plqying first. Is it Portland or Oregon? Anything new on the injury front? Thanx!
Carolina travel plans Carolina leaves for Portland tomorrow afternoon, gets in at 9pm local time then plays at 1pm the next day--what a deal. Cat Reddick will make the trip. April Heinrichs decided she didn't want her to miss more than 2 weeks of classes so is calling her in after the Portland game. Tarpley and Chalupny will miss the game due to USWNT duties.. Also missing due to injuries are: Steadman, Kacey White, Walker, Winslow, Branam and Fletcher. Have a glass of wine for me SDM!
It looks like a rainy weekend here in NC, leftovers from the hurricane/tropical storm. SDM, I am jealous. Hope you're having a blast. That's great news about Reddick, because I think we're going to need her to play our best defense against Sinclair and the rest of Portland's team, which I understand is deserving of their top ranking. Can't wait to hear the results on that one! I met Kacey White at during the FIU game, and was planning to get an MRI done Monday to confirm or deny doctor's suspicions that she had torn her meniscus. She was very optimistic and anxious to start playing again in another few weeks! Hope to get over to Cary to watch the Nat's play! It would be great to see Tarpley and Chalupny there. The latest issue of SoccerAmerica has a nice story on the U-19's, along w/pics of everyone. Check it out.
4pm game Does anyone know where we can get up to the minute reports from Portland this afternoon? Just read Dave Lohse's pre-game report at TarHeelBlue.com, where he suggests that April may release the players for today's match...I would guess they'd be there now if they had been. Does anyone know? I hope in the future we can bring teams like Portland and Stanford to NC. Or televise the games. A few years back they televised UNC v. Notre Dame for some regular season matches. The western conference teams seem to be getting more of their games televised. I wish I understood how that worked. Would really like to see this one! BTW, where is Heeligan? Haven't seen him post here in quite awhile!
Re: 4pm game Go here... http://www.portlandpilots.com/livestats/wsoccer/topview.htm I think she is on a multiweek vacation.
Re: Carolina travel plans Reddick, Tarpley, and Chalupny, according to the live updates on the Portland Pilots site...started the match.
Final Score 0-0 Pilots should have won it, outshot UNC, and had three wide open chances, two in the last minutes. UNC only troubled the UP keeper once. The Pilots out played UNC in every department except subbing!!!
For AB1Fan, if I understood your question, is this the answer? These player have worn the #24:Lou Taylor '80 Aja Parsons '84 Brandy Barnes '87 Sarah Ludington '88-'89 Renee' Azzu '90 Susie Green '91 Kasey Monroe '92-'93 Debbie Keller '93 Rye Johnson '94 Rakel Karvelsson '95 Mandy Morrison '97-'00 Jenni Branam '01
Now that I look at your question again, Jenni Branam played at goal when injuries and US Team obligations haven't kept her out. Also, she would very occasionally come in as a foward during the second half of a blowout....
A one-sided game Portland played well today. They played UNC off the field in the first half and were very unlucky not to score one, if not more. Actually, Portland was dominant. North Carolina didn't get a shot off in the first 25 minutes of the game. They didn't get a shot on goal until the 80th minute. And this was after: Tarpley and Chalupny were flown in from NT camp and Reddick was not called in. (I wasn't impressed with her fitness level. She looked exhausted for the last 70 minutes of the game.) North Carolina made 18 substitutions in the game to Portland's 4. and Portland's starting center back went out with an injury with 20 minutes left in the game. She also missed the entire overtime period. A walk-on played in her place and still UNC managed to get off only one shot in overtime. That said, Portland could have gotten the ball to their forwards' feet more, and much of the game was played in midfield. But for as many times as Portland should have scored, UNC didn't even look threatening. Portland may not have the same athletic talent as North Carolina does, but their coaching staff has taught them to play a possession style that allows them to compete (and dominate against) track stars. Then again, the real test comes in December.
Yeah, I like Clive's style of play. Good luck to the Pilots. I'd rather lose to them than Santa Clara any day...Thanks for the game commentary from those lucky enough to have seen it. We only get 5 home games this year which seems very paltry to me.
Second that Agreed! Clive is really an excellent coach and has a great team to work with. I haven't heard how he is doing healthwise since being diagnosed, but I hope to see him around for several more years. Can't wait for another crack at those Pilots!!! I think Stanford is looking great as well and should be another very tough test for the Heels next weekend. It must be tough for the Heels not to be looking ahead past Oregon, but they cannot.
Match report From the (Portland) Oregonian http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/or...tandard.xsl?/base/sports/1033300573186072.xml
Re: Second that I went to the All-Star Gala and the All-Star match in Portland. I ain't no doctor... But Clive looked OK at the Gala and looked OK when he did the coin toss. But I've heard otherwise.
Tarheelblue Report PJB you beat me to the punch. The report is available on the Tarheelblue website at: http://tarheelblue.ocsn.com/sports/w-soccer/recaps/092902aaa.html A tired bunch of girls head back east for a few days before making the cross-country trip again.
Re: Tarheelblue Report Why would they be tired? They only play for 15 minutes at a time. Its a shame that Dorrance's solution to winning games is to change the midfield and forward line every 15 minutes. He takes national team players on and off the field. How can those players prepare for the pro's or at the national team when they have to play 90 minutes. UNC was tactically out played throughout the game on Saturday and all UNC could do was substitute. It didn't work against Santa Clara last year and it didn't work against Portland on Saturday. Maybe its finally time to change the UNC way of playing and start teaching some soccer.
Some used to whine about how Dean Smith coached. I always found it difficult to believe that he was as bad a coach as they portrayed him to be. His players seem to have done o.k. in the pros, since there are more of them in the NBA than from any other school. Come to think of it, Anson's success seems to be modeled on Dean's philosophy. Could that be a coincidence or could it have to do with the former proximity of their offices?
And if you go back and look, much of the comments about UCLA and John Wooden were negative for a long time too. Now that he ( and generally UCLA too) are no longer a threat he is now a basketball icon. People would say : he always gets these tall guys, only wins because all the best players go there etc. What a crock. No one has a record like Anson's in any NCAA sport. Before or currently.
Whats his record like in the past 2-3 years now that he dosn't get all the best players. The gap has closed significantly, his teams are not as dominant as in the past. His system needs revising, he can't win by just having the best athletes and subbing 24 times. History will not win you games.