No, I've heard only good things from those connections for this upcoming class. I just have a slight preference for American players. Nothing patriotic, but more proximity and language. I might even be worried with our cross-country recruits after Gallegos and Schnugg left for being homesick. I should add though that we only have three seniors listed on the squad right now: Teresa Rivera, Alli Ferreri and Minna Pyykko. So, not too many shoes to fill, and we do have two very good -American- verbals already in Becky Edwards and Alexondrea Trusty.
I'm sorry, but your post is off-topic for this thread. Feel free to start your own thread if you want a 2006 FSU Seminoles pre-season discussion.
From what I saw of Casey in the spring of 2005, she should be a good addition to UNC in 2006 (assuming she stays healthy... ). She seemed to be creative with the ball... enough so that she made other players on her team better and created opportunities. It would have been nice to complete the NC/UNC recruiting class with locals Sarah Winslow and Lindsay Jackson, but hey... We will also (hopefully) see Sterling Smith, Betsy Frederick, Jessica Maxwell, and Ashlyn Harris returning from injuries. Hopefully all of the limping injured will be coming in healthy next fall... If the freshman class is large and the redshirts are healthy, there will be good competition for the big-three spots.
Is she an 06 for sure? I think she may slip to 07. FYI She's headed to brazil with the U-17's which also include Heath, Hawkins, Hayes, Mcdonald and Moore. The team is one third Carolina recruits. I don't care which school you support ya gotta admit that's impressive
Despite the naysayers, and various other detractors, just about every female player dreams, or at least entertains the idea, of playing at UNC. Why wouldn't they?
Who knows for sure, but according to her mom, she is in line to graduate from HS (Broughton- Raleigh NC) this yr and UNC is her choice. See my post above #8
CASL's website lists Nogueira as a 2006 commitment to UNC - http://www.caslnc.com/files/classic/PlayerCommittments06Classic.xls And here is an article from April 2004, when she was a HS freshman, stating she was moving to North Carolina to attend an accelerated program to graduate HS early - http://www.jsonline.com/sports/prep/apr04/220690.asp
Without a doubt UNC will have the nation's best incoming class. The question is, with all of those new players plus this year's redshirts, how quickly will the players gel into a team? With the loss of starters from this year, many of those freshmen will see playing time, yet - high school stars in their own right - some will be seeing time as subs or "super subs". I think we'll see a very deep, very fast and technically proficient team and the return of the A Team/B Team days. Many will argue, as in the past, that players like an Anne Morrell would have been better off attending another school as a permanent starter. But playing in the "competitive cauldron" with such gifted players in practices will no doubt add to each player's development. I always wonder how it must be to put ego aside in those situations in order to be part of such a highly skilled team. Good thing Dorrance is accustomed to dealing with this as a coach.... A great recruiting class hasn't always equated to team success. I can recall Texas getting great recruiting classes in years past, but then never quite gelling. Virginia, too, was that way for awhile, although they have emerged as more of a mainstay in the tournament. I think there are a lot of reasons not to be too cocky about next year. While these freshmen may be great, they will have a lot of pressure to live up to, especially with the team missing out on the Final 4 the past 2 years. Besides, these are freshmen who will need time to adapt at the college level and to adjust to a new environment. Dorrance will have to spend some time figuring out, with all that talent, who the best starting unit will be. And of course, he has to be wondering if his current system is the system of choice in years to come. Does anyone else wonder if he'll break down and deviate from the 3-back system? Just some thoughts.
I would agree that UNC appears to have the top recruiting class but if you look at UCLA's class in particular, and even Santa Clara, the Heels haven't exactly run away with the 2006 class. UCLA has seven legit national team players as well with five that have been on the roster and Lauren Cheney is probably the nation's #1 recruit. Santa Clara has fourth US youth team players and a fifth that has flirted with national duty. And that's what we know so far. It will be interesting to see what Anson does with so much new talent in one season. It would be a perfect time to throw in a new system as he has lots to experiment with. However, of his eight recruits, ALL are very offensive minded unless you consider Engen who could play more defensive mid. With a thin defensive line in 2005, Anson doesn't seem prepared to switch to a four man back if he didn't recruit any defensive players (even with a couple of injured defenders back next year). It would leave the defense very thin again if he finally switches to, say, a 4-3-3, and had everyone learn that and then a player get hurt in the back. He also has WAY too many weapons it seems up top and now, in the middle, to switch and put any of those players on the bench. Plus, I'm guessing with A Harris now finally stepping into goal, UNC might be better suited than ever to run a 3-4-3 with that type of keeper in place. The key will really be the midfield. The wings, Averbuch and the playing center (Heath??) could make it very hard for opponents to spend much time in UNC's back third. I will venture a guess that UNC may lose 3-4 games, especially the first month of the season. But if the new roster gels by season's end, it would be hard to imagine this group failing to make the Final Four at least 2-3 of their four years at UNC. My three cents.
I was in Orlando this past week at the Disney Tourney.I watched a few of the 06 play. Great talent. Good Luck Ladies.
No knocks to my head please for asking this question.....not trying to burn a point to Tar Heels.... The U-20 World Chmps Qualifying Team was just named. No UNC players or recruits made the squad. Can anyone remember if this has ever happened for a US Team, say U17 and older where a UNC recruit, player or alum wasn't on the roster for a full squad in a major tournament? Looks like recruiting got right back on track just in time with the incoming freshmen loading up the U17 squad at least.
US WNT Roster Well, no Tarheels made the U20 team, but 5 Heels made the full national team for the Four Nations tournament. Kristine Lilly, Lori Chalupny, Heather O'Reilly, Lindsay Tarpley and one of my favorites Jenni Branam. http://www.ussoccer.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=293653&itype=113&iCategoryID=0 Go Heels!
The first four listed above can reasonably be expected to be regulars on the full national team for some time. That would be nearly 25% of the team. Fletcher was also at the nat’l camp and will be at the U-21 camp next week. Let talks about the current UNC team status. The only current UNC player now on a US national team is O’Reilly. I’m surprised about Averbuch who is age eligible for the U-20 team (unless she does not want to do it again). I think Harris is also eligible for the U-21s. Gayle is in the Canadian U-20s pool.
I noticed that, Mountain Dew. I can't remember the last time that happened. I know Whitney Engen was in the running for that roster but didn't make it. As far as I noticed, she was the only one of the 06 recruits in that pool. I have been subscribing to TopDrawerSoccer.com this month which has some good recruiting news on the younger nat players. Good site. The consensus seems to be that the 88 class (Fall 06 recruits) are stacked with all kinds of talent--so far all those naysayers who insist parity has not yet arrived in women's soccer, think again! I stand by my earlier comments about the upcoming recruiting class...it's going to be awesome. But I would not say the Dynasty is returning. It's going to be much more of a level playing field within the Top tier programs. It will be interesting to see what Dorrance can do as coach with the talented newcomers!
I think it is also fair to say that with the scholarship increase, Anson will not slow down on the recruiting juggernaut. With 14 scholarships can you imagine what he will be bringing off the bench.
More Scholarships Just because UNC has 14 scholarships, doesn't mean the university gives them more money, it just means it gets split more ways. The athletic department has been miserly in funding the team compared to other top ten programs. More scholarships available doesn't change the funding amount. You can see the athletic directors thought process; why give them more money when they win most years anyway? Maybe now that the playing field is more competitive, the athletic department will loosen the pursestrings.