This is kinda exciting! I've never started a Heels thread before... So we ended the season with one of the most stinging defeats in program history, to an arch rival (ND) at home. Fine. Moving on... I bet the whole program from the committed Freshmen up through the coaching staff are gnawing themselves raw, trying to address the next season. I can't wait to see how things unfold. Looking forward to the opinions of others. Go Heels!
If you weren't going to start the 2011 thread, I would have within a week or so! Thanks! I'm very interested to see how next year turns out. I'll be attending any reasonably nearby spring games to try to get a bead on what the plans may be. Last year's spring season was very informative as we got to see Megan Brigman for the first time in the back. The real issue going forward will be the defense. In today's top D-I environment, I just don't see any team making a real splash unless they can show a tight defense. Wins by one goal are the most common score. (Last three D-I championships 2-1, 1-0, 1-0.) I think that how Satara Murray pans out as a defender will be absolutely key. If she ends up starting (on the left or even in the middle), AD can build a good defense with known material. Megan Brigman on the right and Rachel Wood or Megan Morris on the left would work. However, for the 3-back defense to work, you need not only speed and skill, but also cool under fire, good communication (leadership), and great decision-making. (Defensive gaffes are the most sure-fire way to lose games.) I hear that Murray is aggressive and pretty fast, but cool and good, quick decision-making have not been noted in the few reports I have seen. But perhaps she will delight us all in this area? The only other 2011 recruit that is likely to have an impact is Kathryn Nigro. She's had a low profile for more than a year now and is no longer listed on the U-17 YNT pool roster. I'm not sure what this means. I understand that she is a good solid athlete with fundamentally good soccer skills. If she could step in to the center of the midfield, then all kinds of good things could work out there. (Think adding: Dunn, Brooks, Lubrano, Morris, Mikula, Pfankuch, Premji, McFarlane. or ?) If any of the other 2011 recruits get much PT, I will be really surprised (pleasantly!) As for the offense and goal keeping, we know what we got! Go Heels!
Soccerhunter, your comment borders on arrogance, though I know you to be otherwise based on your posts in the last year. Don't forget how players like Kelly McFarlane, Brigman, and yes, Premji, were able to surpass expectations as relative unknowns. You seem to base all of your expectations based on club or US YNT pedigree and then are surprised (pleasantly) when others can truly play. Our coaching staff no longer has their pick over all the top talent due to parity. But I also see them making a statement, securing earlier commitments from freshman without much, if any, club system experience (ie. Burchenal, McFarlane, Elby, and one commit already in 2012 in Nielsen). What qualities are they recruiting, if not experience and pedigree, that lend to our team's success?
I do agree with your overall point, but success of Carolina soccer when it has been with the development of the lesser-knowns, has been within the context of highly recruited players around them. I am aware that not being selected ODP or to the YNT pool does not mean that a player is necessarily a poor recruit. The best recent example would be Burch, of course. So I don't mean to disparage anyone. But statistically speaking, no program can be maintained at the level we have been enjoying in Chapel Hill for the last 30 years unless the mix of recruits includes a portion of highly acclaimed talent. And I also agree with you that the parity umbrella is getting bigger and bigger. Anson will at least need to get his share of the top recruits (and has said as much himself.) In addition to Anson finding those lesser-known players who can develop in the Tarheel environment, we'll have to keep up with the likes of UCLA, Stanford, and Notre Dame who recently have been annually swallowing up the huge numbers of top YNT talent. The reality for 2011 is that for the first time since the youth national teams were started, there will be no players in a UNC class who are currently in a YNT pool. While the 2010 class was superb, and we fans are anxiously awaiting the results for 2012, the 2011s are historically a decidedly different bunch with the players you list (Elby, Sweeney, & Gray) not even having had any ODP experience, much less YNT, but, of course they could turn out superbly. Yes, indeed, I am really wanting to be pleasantly surprised and to be thoroughly awed by the talent-spotting abilities of the UNC recruiting staff!
Satara Murray is a great player. I can see her starting. She is a defender they badly needed. Pretty sure they missed on a few 2011 recruits. Most went to Stanford. A school that the staff struggles to recruit against. I think the coaches went hard for the 2010 class and landed a ton of great players, Ohai, Burch, Farlane, Sieloff, Dunn, Morris. Those are the future. Mixed in with Brooks, etc..
Murray is a great athlete, probably the best I have seen, athletically. Right now I would hesitate to say she is a great soccer player. She is blindingly fast and is an aggressive, big, physical player. From what I have seen, she needs to improve her skill and knowledge of the game to be known more as a soccer player vs a sheer athlete that plays soccer. She has been able to excel at the youth level with her superior athleticism that not many, if any, can touch. To my knowledge she has never played defense in a 3 back system and currently is a center back in a flat back 4. She tends to be paired with an intelligent thinking player who directs the play with her filling the aggressive, ball winning, tough tackling role. It will be interesting to see what role she plays and how she develops in a 3 back system.
The 2010 class is loaded with talent.. as we all know there are only so many scholarships to go around and programs are limited as to what they can pick up every year. No program can pick up the top class every year simply because they don't have the money to go around. If you have 20 players on some type of financial aide, untill someone leaves it will be very difficult to get a top 10 player to come to your school for little to nothing. UNC coudn't have gotten the 2010 class without the large number of graduating seniors the year before.
Soccerhunter, as big a fan as I am, i am not going to solely concern myself with winning the national title every year. Statistically it is improbable. I do pay attention to recruit rankings and YNT experience when looking at incoming players. But I am observing how the coaching staff has been going after players that aren't ranked or don't seem to have loads of experience. This coaching staff has a tremendous will to succeed each year. What tips them off to such a player as an ingredient for success? I can't help but recall Dorrance's statement after the final match against Stanford last year, referring to hard hats and divas. I have also been listening to a broader dialogue about player development and talent identification in the U.S., and how some seem to feel our current system isn't pushing us beyond our competition internationally. What goes through the mind of a leading college coach and pioneer for the women's game with so many more talented youth to choose from, and knowing one cannot afford to offer scholarship money to land all the top-rated recruits?
I feel less negative than many I have heard about the talent that emerges from our youth programs. IMO, we see quite a few excellent players roll through what I admit is a pay-to-play, self-promoting network. It would be really cool if UNC could continue to dominate the national scene with more home-grown players. The Kristy Evelands who come into the program, lightly recuited and with modest expectations, who then become mainstays, are always a ton o fun to watch! I applaud UNC for casting a broad net (not to say Eveland's club team was not on everyone's rardar). However, it is hard to have the financial resources to find unrecognized players. Hats off to UNC for doing a good job in that area, but with a limited search and recruitment budget, the ODP program and the hot club teams continue to be the most likely sources of most impact players.
Thanks for your response UNC4ever. Looks like the staff was able to secure a verbal from Lindsey Horan, as reported by the good folks over at Topdrawersoccer. Based on combined club and YNT experience - 2012 is shaping up to be a very strong class!
Just wanted to add that from everything I've been able to find, Lindsey seems like a remarkable young woman, incredibly dedicated to becoming the best she can be - extremely competitive in spirit while also playing for her teammates. This is the kind of player we want at UNC!
For the most part, we really have no disagreement, PJB. I also do not think that any team can win the national championship every year, and that is not my primary concern either. I especially revel in the little known players who rise to prominence at UNC and I am delighted that AD keeps filling out classes with locals. Love'm! I think that you may have misunderstood my view when I said that I didn't think that some members of the 2011 would see much PT but I was wanting to pleasantly surprised. Even though I watch each member of each new class with great interest, I do note that many (most) of the non-pedigreed recruits do not start and get minimal PT in their careers with the Tarheels. But, boy!, do I enjoy the ones who do, and I fully recognize that the regular bench warmers are appreciated and key are parts of the team, contributing in practice and as part of the social structure and morale of the team which certainly is an important part of the UNC success story. However, I have admitted before, and will do so again, that, as a UNC fan, I have been spoiled. We Tarheel fans have had the privilege of watching fabulous players play top-grade soccer for 30 years. (I think that this is akin to the reaction of fans of the other top women's college teams ND, PSU, UCLA, Stanford, TAMU, FSU, etc. of which I'll take Portland as an example. Once Clive came to town and started recruiting players like Tiffany Millbret, Shannon MacMillan, and others and establishing a high quality winning program, the fans reacted with loyalty and passion. As I read Portland fans' posts I clearly see the pride and the desire to keep quality women's soccer available for local viewing.) I and (I suspect) all UNC fans are no different. We all want the quality entertainment to continue, and for that to happen, the recruiting mix simply has to have a reasonable portion of highly regarded players. No disparaging. Just facts as I see them (and I agree that scholarship funds may be a significant issue.) The happy circumstance is that the quality and quality of female soccer players in the US is increasing each year. (I disagree with those who say that we have not made progress, but I do think that the rest of the world may be making even greater strides especially in identification and high level training.) The result of the increasing supply of quality players is that parity is arriving at a rapid pace in the women's college game. The recognizably strong programs are increasing in numbers each year. Whereas it used to be UNC, then Notre Dame, then UCLA, Portland, Santa Clara, PSU, TAMU, Stanford, FSU, etc that constituted the top echelon of D-I soccer, now we must add to the list such as BC, MD, WFU, VA, FL, etc., and soon will be counting Washington, WVa, Ohio State, OkSt, Oregon State, Duke, & TX to the "regulars" of the strong programs. And there are more coming (Dayton, UC Irving, Georgetown, UNC-G, plus growing strength in the Big 10.) What this means is that we all will get to see better competition, and the final 4 will include new names at an increasing pace. Cheers, Friend!
I've read similar things. She has been universally praised. She should be a great plus for the program.
Thanks for the response, SH. Indeed we are friends and clearly share the same love for the Heels. I do see a lot of younger fans who are spoiled by the prior success of the program, yet they may not have quite the perspective of what ingredients have made it all possible. That's why every now and then I get up on my soapbox. Regularly you hear people take for granted "another championship, ho-hum" or "another loaded class, business as usual". Maybe to the casual observer.... BTW, wouldn't it be great if we could see fans fill the stands at Fetzer once again?!
Yea! That would be fantastic. Not that it would solve the problem of lower attendance, but I have been musing about the possibility of possible upgrades for fan viewing. (I've thought of this over the years... such as sitting in the rain for the 1992 championship match with Duke, or broiling in the sun for numerous August matches.) There just doesn't seem to be any good possibilities to preserve the character and historic nature of Fetzer and get a modern shade/weather covering for fans. But every time I go to Virgina or VT to see the Tarheels play, or see the photos of the new Michigan soccer stadium, I wonder.....
The staff recruits certain classes harder. 2011 Class they didnt need much because of the great 2010 class. Just like when they landed the monster 2006 class which included the likes of Tobin, Casey, Nikki, Jessica, Kristi, Ali, Whitney. I assume they save scholarships and pick the strongest class and hand them all out. 2012 class is going to be great. 2013 class is shaping up well. You can't have all US pool players, have find players that fit your system.
Holy cow...UNC secures verbal from top defender, San Diego Surf's Laura Liedle to safely call 2012 a monster recruiting class. This just in from Topdrawersoccer' site. Once again, many good things have been said around this young lady's talent and character. Kudos to our coaching staff!
Holy cow is right! I don't think that the Tarheels have ever nabbed the consensus top 3 picks in a class before. Even the blockbuster class of 2006 was composed of players ranked 2, 8, 9 (Tobin, Ali, and Casey) plus top 25 picks: Ashley Moore, Melissa Hayes, Whitney, & Nikki, and unheralded Kristi who had more accolades in basketball than soccer. But in offering cudos to the coaching staff, let's not forget that these young ladies have been recruited not on the basis of their ranking, but on an evaluation of the fit of their abilities and commitments (soccer and academic) into the UNC system.
Always a lot of talk about "ranked" players this time of year. It would be interesting to see how the top 25-50 players from the last few years have faired (if objectively possible). As is the case with just about any college sport, "succeeding" also needs to be defined. I am of the firm belief that you could put virtually any one of the top ranked 50 top recruited strikers on one of the top echelon teams and they would post impressive statistics. Same with coaches. IMO, you could replace the "top" coaches with maybe 30 other coaches and they would most likely achieve similar (and in many instances) better results. Goes the same for club level soccer. A lot of the best players that I've seen haven't always been on the winningest teams, but unfortunately rarely receive the same accolades.
Not sure what that rant has to do with UNC. Top players are the ones that help you win National titles.
Absolutely! The ranking and accolades issue is for us fans to get excited about. And in the sense of publicity and generating interest, all that is just fine. However, the value of the player to the team has, of course, nothing to do with ranking, but instead with the specific soccer skill sets, physical attributes, personality, coachability, and commitment to improve. Combine these soccer evaluations with academic achievement, interests, and commitment, plus the social issues and school location and you have the recruiting package "fit" that the coaching staff will be going for. Nothing in there about "rankings." They are irrelevant.
Kristi was my favorite player-if you read about her in their media guide, she was expected to be play by the time she was a junior. I read in the college cup guide that she holds the record for most games played and most games started in NCAA history-tied for both but never played on ODP or YNT! So any of the unheralded recruits can make a huge difference. Also, when you look at the 2006 recruiting class, several YNT members never saw much playing time-Ashley Moore, Melissa Hayes- so with a great coaching staff, many players can develop into great players!
It's good to note that last week 2011 recruit Kathryn Nigro was named as a NSCAA High School Scholar All American. Score for the classroom!
Semi Flat Back 1-3-4-3 (Theory) by Anson Dorrance - NSCAA Anson discussed the main points to his system and his thought process at the NSCAA Premier Diploma in Brazil: • How did you choose your system? – No historical precedent for a national system of play here in the United States – No nationally consistent weather condition to dictate one system or style of play • Did you follow the traditional coaching school recommendation? – Select a system that best suited your talent • Or did you do what most of us do – You picked a system that you were most familiar with or the one you are most comfortable coaching Can Systems Develop Players • If so should that not be a criterion for selecting a system? • Most of us are in the player development business • Many systems allow players to hide offensively defensively or both • Are there any gender differences that would encourage one system over another? • Is the semi flat back 1-3-4-3 the best system for the player development of our girls and women here in the US? • If so should that not be a criterion for selecting a system? • Most of us are in the player development business • Many systems allow players to hide offensively defensively or both • Are there any gender differences that would encourage one system over another? • Is the semi flat back 1-3-4-3 the best system for the player development of our girls and women here in the US? Gender Differences • The women’s game has not evolved technically to the point where early and high pressure with numbers does not benefit you • We have also not evolved technically or tactically to the point where it is easy to beat well organized flat defenses when there is pressure all over the field. Advantages of Playing Three Front - Defending • The three- front system allows a team to apply pressure closer to the opponent’s goal. – The three- front does not steer the opposing team’s attack as a two- front does, but attempts to intercept the ball immediately. • Changing into a three- front can frequently change a teams’ rhythm and make a teammore aggressive • This system puts tremendous pressure on a technically weak opponent. • It is particularly effective against a team that cannot serve balls over distance. • It gives no teams, even technically gifted ones, a staging area where they can possess the ball casually without pressure. • The system encourages opposing teams to play the ball forward predictably –making it difficult to play the ball sideways and change the point. • The system tends to force opponents back players into smaller spaces. • A three- front can mask a slow player both offensively and defensively. • A three- front can force an opponent to adjust to you. – Few teams are willing to play 3v3 in their defensive third so this often changes a 3-5-2 into a 4-4-2 to match you more easily in the back. Advantages of a Three Front - Attacking • The three- front creates immediate width as forwards going wide have a shorter run to make. – The width provided by a three- front makes it effective against low-pressure defenses since width is a fundamental building block in breaking down bunkers and packed defenses. – Numbers also make “framing the goal” possible – Numbers also exploit poor clearance, one of the weakness in the Women’s game. • It is easier for a three- front to attack near, middle and far post spaces because of numbers in the box. • A three- front “flooding zones” to one side can pull a man-to-man defense out of its shape, exposing an opponent’s weak side …“flooding zones” will also cause zonal defenses “numbers down” issues on whatever side is attacked. • The team is psychologically in an attacking mode when structured with three forwards. – That is a powerful mentality to take into every game Disadvantages of the1-3-4-3 • Three players can be played out of a game immediately with one forward pass. • Three players receive balls with their back to goal. • Team can be out numbered centrally in midfield if opponents play with five or with three central midfielders Disadvantages of a Three Front • More effective against players who do not have the ability to hit the ball over the top of a three back with the correct pace and accuracy. • Team generally defends with seven rather than eight field players. • Three-back system is vulnerable on outside corners • Attacking with three tends to pull more opponents defenders back into the vital area, thus compacting more defenders into important attacking spaces. US Women’s / Girls Game Cultural Differences • American cultural fabric is to go after opponents with a high work rate and maximum pressure • We are competitive and impatient so let’s use this to our advantage – In this system everyone has to play – No one can take a mental or physical vacation • Everyone is stretched offensively and defensively • You cannot hide anywhere in the 1-3-4-3 Demands On The Goalkeeper • Mandates that the goalkeeper have the courage to play high off her line • Be able to play with her feet • Read the game like a sweeper • AND have all of the traditional qualities of a line goalkeeper 1 v 1 Defending • Traditionally poor even at a high level – Part of the problem: – So many of our youth defenders are used to playing in a 4-4-2 where they have such numerical superiority all match that their 1v1 requirements are few and rarely exposed • The 1v1 responsibility in a flat three are greater because the players are more often isolated in these 1v1 duels forcing them to develop a tackling capacity to just survive the match. Collective Defending • The flat three also forces all three defenders (and the goalkeeper obviously) to read the game and anticipate service – This is good for player development because now all the backs and the goalkeeper are forced to anticipate and think. • There is so much space behind and to the sides of the flat three defenders they are in constant motion Leadership Requirements • The central player is constantly moving the line left and right, forward and back . . . – based on ball position and pressure. • The weak side flank players are organizing the flat line – and taking over like a sweeper verbally since this weak side defender is the only one able to see the ball, line, and opponent • “Ordering” people into the correct shape and warning teammates of blind side runs spreads the leadership responsibility to all three back players • This system not only needs verbal leadership, it can’t survive without it. Additional Considerations for the Semi Flat Back 1-3-4-3 • One other thing the system needs to survive . . . a commitment from all the players to play hell bent for leather defense • This system forces every player to defend or you get shredded . . . there is a system incentive to work and you are punished immediately when you don’t. Attacking Considerations • Designed to allow everyone to go forward and get maximum numbers in the attacking box • Ideally, five people can be committed to the attacking box with all the front runners expected to be committed on every attack with the weak side midfielder and the attacking midfielder as well • Becomes six in the attacking box if a flank midfielder gets end- line – This leaves a defensive midfielder and the flat three ready for the counter Other Benefits of the Semi Flat Back 1-3-4-3 • You will always have at least one player attacking the restraining line to get in through or over the top • Many systems have little balance between the direct and indirect game because the only consistent options are indirect and short permitting defenders to over-commit or get lazy with everything forever in front of them – Good teams “play in front so they can play behind” – Good teams “play through and behind so they can play in front” – It is the dynamics of these two forms of mobility that destroys even well organized defenses U.S. Technical Player Development Issues • We are a nation that has: – Technical problems with serving the ball accurately over distance – Most youth systems don’t demand that skill • Because their game is often coached without the understanding of playing with the complete dynamic of attacking mobility The Promotion of Attacking Soccer and the 1 v 1 Game • One of the greatest things about this semi flat back 3-4-3 system is the number of players who have opportunities to face players and run at them 1v1 • In the semi flat back 3-4-3 you have five players that are called upon regularly to run at defenses – The entire front line: LW, CF, RW – Both flank midfielders: LM, RM – On Occasion: LB, RB • You are also developing six flank players Closing Thoughts on Player Development • The attacking positions and the players that are played further forward are the ones that game in, game out are “developed” the most. • Those are the areas that players have the least time and space and are dealing with the most pressure and with the greatest technical and tactical demands. • The scrimmage training environment for this is a competitive caldron of pressure and a minimum of time and space where both your practice scrimmage units of your 1-3-4-3 create so much constant pressure all over the field against each other that when you finally get to a game against an opponent who plays a more classical 4-4-2 you feel like you are on vacation and so do your players. http://www.soccerinteractive.com/common/articles.aspx?id=32&tag=82 Old Article but a good read.
ND exposed it pretty bad. Though it was one of Anson weaker 3 back. You cannot have bad goal keeping. You must have players willing to work very hard on defense. Which I didnt see vs ND. I believe before 1997 he played a 3-1-2-1-3 formation.