Jenna is declaring for the NWSL draft. Somewhat of a surprise as she indicated earlier that she was leaning toward Europe. In any case there is a good chance that FSU will have 3 of the top 15 picks (Madril, Nighswonger, Robbins).
Florida State Seminoles Soccer 33m · Congrats to former Seminole Natalia Kuikka on being the first female to be named the Finnish Football Player of the Year by the Finnish Sports Journalists Association #OneTribe =AZUgKzDHfohe0D5rWIpwoFmGrQzoqryyYy_OQ9yd3PWTNnHB9J0uXH6IB5c7vdBXEP5uh6ch3_uhLVjtkgaJYBDppjPI12XZ22hyBXS4vQDjQBEwO0_Ukjv4rhgCxxZ9QLFJvfLM-TbwsESA9JPS-XUbA0onRsNxJGaSjkhcplibm3dcEQivkSZ8U16GH-OlNJM&__tn__=EH-R'] =AZUgKzDHfohe0D5rWIpwoFmGrQzoqryyYy_OQ9yd3PWTNnHB9J0uXH6IB5c7vdBXEP5uh6ch3_uhLVjtkgaJYBDppjPI12XZ22hyBXS4vQDjQBEwO0_Ukjv4rhgCxxZ9QLFJvfLM-TbwsESA9JPS-XUbA0onRsNxJGaSjkhcplibm3dcEQivkSZ8U16GH-OlNJM&__tn__=EH-R'] 3131 Kudos to Natalia, an all-time great Seminole!
Having watched Natu as a Portland Thorn, I can attest that as good as she was when she arrived from FSU, she keeps getting better and better.
Glad to hear this! She's prbly my favorite nole I've watched. Complete mistake eraser in her time in the back at FSU. I didn't foresee a move to FB, so glad it is working out!
Finally announced it: ANOTHER ONE👊Claire Rain is officially a Seminole🍢🔗https://t.co/DUSRlOrDBA#OneTribe pic.twitter.com/ARA4erZHL4— FSU Soccer (@FSUSoccer) January 13, 2023
Rain has some serious speed. Was a track athlete in HS Rain is a Tampa, Fla., native where she played for H.B. Plant High School and also played club soccer for the Tampa Bay United Rowdies. Rain was a superb track athlete qualifying for the state meet in both the 100m dash (12.0) and the 400m dash (56.7). Still hoping for 2 or 3 more high level transfers.
Sort of Roster Update: Lebdaoui & Rain have the same number for some reason. https://seminoles.com/sports/soccer/roster/season/2023-24/
Couple of observations from the announced roster: 1. Summer Denigan is not on the new roster. That is not a surprise. Although it is not set in stone I didn't expect Summer to return even before the roster was announced and I think that it is even less likely now. 2. Every player on the College Cup roster other than the ones that we knew were leaving are listed on this new roster so there have been no new transfers out (so far). 3. There have been no incoming transfers so far other than Rain and Huff. Other than the fact that FSU still needs a backup GK, I am fine with this roster. This team would be good enough to win the ACC and make the College Cup again next year (as long as Roque stays healthy.)
Good points Tally T. I personally want at least 2 more top level transfers. This year we were not as strong when we substituted. There was a distinct drop off. We need a couple more studs to be able to substitute and not have a noticeable drop off. JMHO.
Interesting. There is no doubt that there is room for improvement. There always is on any team. But looking at the rotation I would be fine with it as it is assuming no injuries and a backup GK comes in. Up top we have the three starters from last year with Garcia and Zipay backing them up. Midfield has Nesbeth and Huff starting with the third starter likely being one of Bissell, Iwaii, Alagoa or Horton with the other ones as backups. Defense has Flynn, Rain, Gilchrist and one of Iwai or Nguyen. There is also a chance that one or two of the freshmen make an impact. I'm okay with that rotation. It's not perfect but it's still really good. I basically think that this rotation is good enough to beat any team in the nation if they play reasonably well and don't get too unlucky. This isn't the best roster that I have seen at FSU and they obviously won't go undefeated but I do think that it is enough to be an elite team that can make a deep postseason run. That's all I can ask.
I can't disagree with you. I just tend to be a little more selfish in my wants. I fully expect at least 2 or 3 of these freshmen to make an impact. Heather Gilchrist and to a lesser degree Olivia Garcia made impacts and neither one of them were rated as highly as all 4 of these recruits. Their impact may solve the issues I have. Comparing this team to 2 years ago, these are the holes that need to be filled, but may not. A CB who is capable of bringing the ball up the field and be dangerous (for us) with it so that teams have to account for it. We had a string of studs to include Kuikka, Berkeley and Madril who fit the bill. We don't have that now. Our outside backs were good and dangerous in bringing the ball up the field displaying WMFer skills. Heather Payne was so key for this past team. I'm concerned the backups we had don't have the pace or ball skills to make the outside backs dangerous. LeiLanni made the loss of Jaelin tolerable. Jenna made the loss of Yujie barely noticeable until it came time to substitute. My concerns for the 23 team will be: 1. How well does Taylor perform in Jenna's place? 2. Who can play outside back and be a good defender and a dangerous attacker like HP? 3. With both starters returning, do we not have a CB who can be dangerous offensively? 4. Who takes Clara's place and how well do they do it? 5. What level of drop off when we sub? 6. We were lucky with injuries in 22. Can that continue? As I noted between Rain, Huff and the 4 Freshmen, many of these concerns may be answered. I hope so!
I understand. We all want the team to be the best it can be. Let's discuss your points. 1. I think that Taylor will be fine. She isn't the same player as Jenna and probably isn't as good right now but I do think that Nole fans will appreciate her aggressive, athletic style. She's a really good player. A future pro. 2. Maybe no one. Heather was special. It's very unlikely that any of the players that FSU will have to replace her will be as good as Heather. However, that doesn't mean that the team will be worse. It will just be different. The team will be better in other areas. 3. This is the last skill that top CBs learn. I'm not sure that Flynn will have that skill next year but she might. Emily didn't do it her first few years. It was Malia who initiated the offense from the back. We will see how Lauren develops but she will be a top CB either way. 4. Good question. We'll have to see. However the new player will still be good even if she isn't quite as impactful as Clara (especially in big games). If I had to guess I would say Maria but we'll see. 5. I'm not quite as worried about this. I'm sure there will be some dropoff but that happens with basically all teams. 6. Obviously have no idea but again all teams have this risk. This team will obviously be different from past teams. However, it will be better in some areas as players improve and get more used to playing with each other. The entire front line returns and they should be better. Nesbeth will have more experience at #6 so she will likely be better. Heather will be a better CB after getting experience last year, etc. In other words, I think that while your concerns are valid they will likely be cancelled out by the team improving in other areas. Even if I'm wrong there is too much talent on this team for a major drop off.
Thanks for engaging! The offseason drags on. I'm hoping to up this spring sometime and maybe catch a softball game, a soccer practice/scrimmage. Maybe some scrimmages against NWSL will be open to viewing. One can hope!
The NWSL scrimmages were always open to the public. The issue was that Mark kept the times secret. Pensky runs a much more open program so we'll see if he publicizes the scrimmages.
https://seminoles.com/sports/soccer/roster/season/2023-24/ Tally T or anyone else. The updated soccer roster still shows Heather Payne. Is that an oversight, or is she taking the extra year?
Can someone tell me more about Jenna N? I am a Gotham fan and I am curious how she will do there. I know she was a special college player, but I do not know anything really about her game. Is she a box to box 8, or a true 10? Does she also play up top? What is her strength? Skill, pace, athleticism, defending?
I have asked on several boards and on one board a respected recruiting staff member indicated that they had high hopes this would happen. He also suggested that there would be a post-spring portal addition, a good one. If this is all accurate, which I believe it to be, then I'm getting excited for next year in soccer.
I'll see what I can find out on Heather. It is always possible that she changed her mind. If so that changes things (obviously for the better) considerably but I wouldn't get my hopes up yet. It could be a mistake. Jenna is more of a 10. She is a playmaker who is special on set-pieces. She is small but extremely skilled. It may take her a little time to adjust to the pro game but she definitely will. You will love her..
Hey Tom, From personal experience, I appreciate your nervousness of what could look like a fall in talent in 2023... been there many times. And in FSU's case, I think that you're going to be OK. An easy way to look at it is that the Noles lost three very good players but coming in next season are the two top upperclass players from a very good Tennessee team and will fit right in given the coaching will be familiar for them. And the four frosh all have good records -all 4 star from TDS who theoretically are all studs. And depending on how others already on the team will have improved over the off season, I'll bet that at least 1 and maybe 2 of the frosh will turn out to be solid starters and the others will look pretty good coming off the bench. So I fully agree with Tally-T. The Noles will be a force and certainly in the mix near the top of the ACC and should get a very good run in the NCAAs. And (again from painful experience) cross your fingers for keeping the injuries away!) (By the way... whoever is doing the roster page, needs to correct Nurse to Nourse.)
Here is the situation with Heather. She hasn't made a decision yet on returning but it is a possibility. She is going to see how the World Cup goes this summer and then evaluate her pro offers. If she doesn't get an offer she likes she may very well return to FSU. The coaches are obviously leaving the door open for her. Basically, she doesn't want to go pro and then sit on the bench. She would rather come back to Tally and play her last year than sit on the bench for a pro team. She doesn't feel that sitting on the bench would be good for her development. Bottom line is that we won't know her final decision for a while but the coaches are obviously going to give her enough time and space to make her decision.