UNC 2022

I may be off in the exact timing, but my recollection is that for Allesia Russo and Lois Joel who had gone home for the summer this was true as in the fall of 2020 flying into the US from Europe was not allowed (and also true for Ruby Grant who was planning on coming as a freshman at that time.) However, Lotte Wubben-Moy was planning staying for the summer (apparently enjoying helping with Heather O'Reilly's new baby) and stayed on in Chapel Hill until it was clear that the fall season would be truncated and that there would be no NCAA tournament in the fall, and then went home in late July. However, Ruby Grant was able to join the Heels in the spring of 2021 (and is listed on the 2020 roster.) The result was that Alessia and Lotte played pro and moved up to the senior England team and at the same time Emily Fox went pro with Louisville in the NWSL and is playing on the US national team.

 

Gee, you’re kinda touchy. Of course I know Dorrance has been the only coach. The point was that there are others who deserve credit as well for getting UNC a headstart on other schools. However much Dorrance may have wanted to elevate the program, he had to have the support of the athletic administration. Maybe they just saw it as an easy way to satisfy Title IX, maybe they were more visionary, I don’t know, but people above Dorrance had to commit.

 

My recollection of the history was that Anson had taken on the head coach position with the men's soccer team in 1977 and was starting to work on a law degree. Some players on the women's club team were agitating to move to varsity status in 1978 and the AD asked Anson to evaluate the situation. Anson recommended going forward and was offered the head coaching position. He accepted and went to full time status coaching two teams in 1979 (and dropped out of law school.)

The rest is history: Dorrance coached both teams for 10 years (taking his men's team to the win the ACC tournament and to the final four in 1987, and took took the women to the AIAW national championship in 1981 and 6 NCAA national championships by 1988. He resigned from the men's position in 1989 to fully concentrate on the women's team.

 

What he has accomplished is remarkable!

 

Indeed. Anson is a driven man, but he's starting to mellow out over the past decade or so.

But back in the day, in addition to coaching UNC, Anson was the first full time coach of the woman's national team in starting in 1986 and resigned in 1994 after winning the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991 in China. Add in writing a book, speaking at soccer conventions, coaching clinics, and other venues sharing his knowledge and insights (...not to mention raising a family.) Yes, driven.

One personal anecdote for me with regard to Anson's intensity was when my soccer playing youngest brother (all New England in his junior year) was visiting from college in Boston during spring break in 1976 and I was showing him the UNC campus in the late afternoon. He couldn't help himself and joined a pick-up game on the intramural fields. Anson walked out of Carmichael on his way home and paused to watch the game which dissolved about 1 minute later when some players had to leave. Anson stepped up and started to talk to my brother. After he left, I asked what was said. "This guy wanted me to come out for the soccer team here." (I was impressed with how quickly Anson worked.)

 

The incoming class for 2022 is hard to pin down in terms of its impact for the Heels. It's different than the 2020 class because it does not have the numbers of likely starters or star power such as Sam Meza, Abby Allen, Emily Moxley, Avery Patterson, and Talia Delaperuta --all 5 of whom were regular starters for the Heels in either or both of the the past 2 seasons. Nor will the 22 class likely have the likes of the class of 21 such as Ally Sentnor, Emily Colton, or Emily Murphy all three of which should start next season. Maybe the 22 class will be more like the 2019 class which featured starting defenders Maycee Bell and a surprise Julia Dorsey plus a big surprise forward in Izzy Cox plus a half dozen very solid players who saw a lot of playing time.

The 2022 class features two very strong defenders in Sydney Cheesman from Colorado and a local in Kayleigh Herr. They will be wanting to start and will get careful looks. Keeper Nona Reason may share time as a starter with Marz Josephson or may and even end up as the regular starter. Tesa Dellarose can fill both defensive and offensive roles. She was a forward for most of her career, but has been defending in the last 18 months. She will get some good looks and may surprise. Speed at the forward position will be in ample supply with sprint track star Madeline Dahlein and she will likely rotate in for most all of the games. Midfielder Tori Dellaperuta (Talia's younger sister) will get some looks in the midfield and may surprise.

This then leaves Kate Faasse, Madelyn Galbus, and Maci Teater who do not have the publicity of the rest of the class, but, as we all know, may rise to the occasion in the cauldron and end up starting..we've seen this before!

Overall I predict that the Heels will get three freshman starters out of this group, but there is no telling who they will be. Further, by their junior year, this class may have 4 to 5 starters on the field, as the talent is clearly there. ...and of course I stand to be, um, wrong!

 

Soccerhunter, I am amazed at your insight for the team and the incoming players. I am the father of one of the 2022 class and you know more about the class than I do! Great analysis and I can't add anything more to it. I can add that Tori is spending the spring in Italy and Kayleigh and Maci are likely spending the spring playing in Copenhagen..

 

And as busy as he is (don't forget multiple podcasts), my daughter can send him a text wishing him Merry Christmas and receive a 5 sentence response within 15 minutes. Great guy..

 

Intriguing about playing in Europe... What kinds of programs are these? Is there an academic curriculum with soccer playing on the side? Or are the girls taking a semester break from academics and focusing on soccer?

 

The opportunity is to train/play with a women's pro team in the spring (no pay) and come charging out of the gate for the fall season. Not an academic (study abroad) type of thing..

 

OK... So these opportunities were organized through the clubs or directly by the players and parents??

 

They were setup through connections UNC has with these clubs. Had to submit highlight videos/resume through UNC. It's an alternative to the girls starting at UNC in the Spring..

 

So, just heard there is a BIG name in the transfer portal... Maybe Eddie K can confirm..

 

I have heard the same rumours. Would be a big and surprising loss for UNC

 

whoooooooo?

 

I know of only one big name on the UNC squad, and she plays in the back and had injury issues last year.

 

Well, darn... So one has to calculate who would be the big name players at UNC and speculate? Hmm. Or might we be thinking about the 2022 and 2023 classes impact current players in certain positions? Hmm again.

The most surprising would be if the transfer was senior (next fall) Maycee Bell. I really do not think this would happen, but recent injuries may be a factor and also COVID has stressed many people in different ways -especially if far from home and family...(Maycee is from Kansas.)

Of the rising Juniors next fall the two most nationally notable players are Sam Mesa and Talia Dellaperuta. It would seem unlikely to be Talia in that her sister (as far as we know) will be matriculating at UNC in the fall and will be on the team. But on the other hand, Talia had a disappointing season last year with injury for most of the season and did not show very well in the several games after she began to play late in the season. Sam Mesa, who essentially has started and played every game since she arrived at UNC, might be the shocker if she wanted to play closer to home.... or not.

But a very possible choice fitting the given breathless description would be very highly ranked Ally Sentnor who was redshirted in her freshman season on account of a disappointing ACL tear just before the first game this last season. She graduated from high school a year early so she could play this last season, and the injury could be a huge setback with disappointment at many levels for a younger than usual freshman. (She has not yet turned 18)

 

I will say the clue in my post was the word BIG...Thankfully, it is not Sentnor (who is everything and more than you've heard)! And it has nothing to do with injuries..

 

OK then.

Thanks

 

So was there any final word about the transfer? Also, any transfer coming for Spring?

 

I have not heard anything further.. I'll post if/when I learn anything more..

 

With off season speculation, things are definitely looking up for the Tarheels for the next few seasons.

The recruiting classes are strong, and the team has a realistic opportunity to make the College Cup for the next 3 years assuming the cards fall right. --Or to put it differently, the Heels will very legitimately be in the top 10 in the nation and getting to the elite 8 should be a high probability. From that point on winning the last three games will be possible (but no guarantee, of course.)

Since the quality of female youth players coming up continues to rise, other teams will also be getting stronger. Stanford, for instance, has already nailed down two of the top players in the nation in the Thompson sisters in 2023 and 2024 (both 5 stars by TDS) plus many other top players. For 2022 Mark Krikorian already has 7 players signed up (-very unusual for him) even before contemplating his usual 2 or 3 top notch internationals to be announced in August. (And already signed for FSU is the top Canadian recruit, Olivia Smith who has 2 caps with the Canadian national team.) Duke has a dynamite class coming in 2022, UCLA has landed 10 top players, and Penn State has a strong class lined up. This is to say that the usual suspects are bringing in a lot of talented players and more teams are fielding strong teams.

But back to the Heels... my view is that the 20, 21, 22, and 23 classes are all very strong. Each class has the potential to produce at least 4 very strong starters. The 2020 (matriculation) class has regular starters Mesa, Allen, Paterson, and T.DellaPeruta and I don’t see any of them being benched if they are healthy. The 2021 class has Colton, Murphy, Moxley, and Wrigley - all of whom started from the get-go this last year, and Sentnor should be all ready to go in the fall. The 2022 class has Herr, Reason, Cheesman, Dellarose, Dahlien, and the younger DellaPeruta all of whom have the talent to join the starting line up immediately, and there will be fierce competition from the starters this last season to hold on to their positions. Good luck! But then I haven’t mentioned from the 2022 class Fassee, Galbus, and Teater anyone of whom could surprise.

So for this next year, I see 2 or 3 starters from the 2019 matriculation class, 4 starters from the 2020 class, 3 or 4 starters from the 2021 class, and 3 to 5 starters from the 2022 class. If I take the lower of the numbers from each class that adds up to 12. And the 2023 class is very strong. Maybe by a year and a half from now it may be possible to become more clear which of that class might not start!

Go Heels!