I was so impressed with Stanford yesterday and UCLA last week. Recruiting matters. Stanford and UCLA get their choice of the best athletes/players in America. Additionally, they get the occasional international stud to supplement it. Stanford collects the ball in MF, turns and runs toward the goal. They have speedy flanking players to play it to, and they attack the goal before the defense has a chance to set up. It may only work 10 to 20% of the time, but that's much better than other teams/systems. We don't have the numbers of those caliber athletes/players to do that. We collect the ball, move it mthodically down to the final third. This gives the defense time to set up, and we pass it around probing for a sliver of space that a perfect pass will find for a beautiful goal. It doesn't work 98% of the time, but when it does, it truly is beautiful. Hoping we upgrade the caliber of our athletes/players in this recruiting class so we can compete with that. We truly went as far this year (and most years under Mark) as our talent could take us. Stanford returns a large majority of their team! Are we witnessing the birth of a new dynasty? I will be cheering for UNC. Hope they prove me wrong about Stanford's dominance. Would love to have some egg on my face.
Deyna has decided to take her talents to Madrid. https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/deyna-castellanos-atletico-madrid-fsu-nwsl-soccer-2020/ Congratulations Deyna!
FSU has published the roster for 2020 on Seminoles.com. Three new freshmen are included. This is not the entire 2020 class. FSU has decided to only include those players who are actually already enrolled in school. The rest of the class including Jody Brown will be added once they enroll in the Fall semester.
The U.S. is fresh off its second World Cup win in as many chances. While the roster certainly isn’t about to turnover in the upcoming year, there’s going to be a search for new blood after the Summer Olympics in 2020. Here’s a look at 10 players in college soccer – who haven’t made a full USWNT appearances – that could play for the full team one day. F Ashley Sanchez, UCLA Once a fixture of the U.S. youth teams, Sanchez hasn’t attracted as much buzz of late for the full team. That’s a bit puzzling, especially as she’s coming off a season at UCLA where she scored 10 goals and added 15 assists. Another two strong years at Westwood sets her up nicely to five a U.S. coach an option after the 2020 Olympics. A player that can take up attacking positions in wide areas, Sanchez, at the very least, remains an extremely exciting attacking player to watch in the college game. M Jaelin Howell, Florida State There was plenty of chatter ahead of the World Cup about the lack of a defensive midfield option. Obviously, the full team’s depth was on display, with Sam Mewis and Lindsey Horan among the players deployed at central midfield. Howell’s shown mixed results with the U.S. youth setup, but was excellent as part of Florida State’s title-winning campaign in 2018. F Catarina Macario, Stanford Despite the fact that she won’t be eligible for the national team until at least 2020, Macario already looks like she’s in the frame for the squad. One of college soccer’s best attacking talents – if not the best – during her two seasons, Macario’s been involved in Under-23 camps over the past two years and if she continues to blossom in college, she’ll earn a full team look sooner rather than later. D Kaleigh Riehl, Penn State There are players certainly ahead of Riehl in terms of next up in central defense. But a lot could happen in four years, and Riehl has the tools, confidence and ability to play herself into contention. One season won’t define her future, obviously, but heading into her senior campaign this fall, it’s one final chance to remind coaches of her potential as she leads the Nittany Lions at the back. F Sophia Smith, Stanford An injury cut Smith’s freshman season short, just as she was starting to get going. Her 2018 campaign finished with seven goals from 13 games, as her ability to take players one-on-one and beat opposing defenders were fully on display. Her recovery from that is going to be a big part of how good Stanford can be this fall, and if she can continue to develop and improve, she’s a player that’s well-known to the U.S. coaching staff considering her vast U17 and U20 experience. M Brianna Pinto, North Carolina A quality ball-playing central midfielder, Pinto’s already earned a look with the full team in training sessions, getting a call to the 2017 She Believes Cup but has yet to make a debut. She’s also had central roles with the U17 and U20 squads at the last two World Cups, and is likely to be part of the 2020 Under-20 World Cup cycle again, as she remains a fixture at the youth levels. How she’s able to progress on both sides of the ball is going to determine her ceiling. If she can improve defensively, and show that she can influence the game more in the final third, Pinto has the kind of soccer IQ and ability on the ball to be a high-level player. F Rebecca Jarrett, Virginia Coming off her first season at Virginia, Jarrett used her pace and ability out wide to create all kinds of issues. She’s been in camp with both the U.S. Under-20s and the England youth setup over the past year, and is worth tracking as she looks to make an impact in the ACC. Capable of playing anywhere in a front three, Jarrett’s a bit more of an outsider but could develop into a formidable player at the international level. Fellow rising sophomore Alexa Spaanstra also warrants a mention, though perhaps her lack of explosiveness could impact her chances of being able to make an impact at the highest level. D Malia Berkely, Florida State On the back of a stellar freshman season, Berkely suffered a season-ending injury in 2017, forcing her to redshirt that campaign. Back and reprising her role defensively last fall, she anchored the team’s national title. Superb with the ball and able to bring it out of the back, don’t sleep on her chances of developing into a candidate somewhere along the back line for the full team one day. GK Laurel Ivory, Virginia The path from college soccer to a starting goalkeeper role is fraught with uncertainty, considering how long it takes shot-stoppers to get into the frame and a lack of professional opportunities. But zooming in on the college landscape, Ivory seems to be one of the candidates. Good with her feet, she’s progressed well as a goalkeeper since arriving in Charlottesville, and was the starting goalkeeper at the Under-20 World Cup last year. D Kate Wiesner, Penn State While Wiesner’s yet to reach the college game – she’s part of the Nittany Lions’ No. 1 ranked recruiting class this fall – she has all the looks of a potential left back for the future. Obviously, how a player projects and turns out can’t be known for certain, but the tools and abilities that Wiesner showed prior to her ACL injury (she’s healthy now but missed the Under-17 World Cup last year because of it) indicates a player of future quality. Expect to see her play a big role for the Big Ten team in the upcoming season as she looks to make an impact at the Division I level.
For the record, Jarrett is just another overrated YNT player from UVa, thanks to SS. Opponents love watching her play as well. If she has to control the ball or do anything that's not full speed straight forward, she's lost.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=992940601040416 I guess this still hurts. Looks really lost controlling that and placing it in the corner.