I agree. I took it that AD was trying to say how fearless she is; is hard to stop and unrelenting when charging.
All these All- XX are a compromise. Fans think all the coaches meet to pick the best players at various positions. Not sure thats the objective. Best is very subjective. There are too many All-XX "teams" and awards. The only benefit I see is to give SIDs something to write to keep fans engaged. If you asked an ACC coach to watch all the games and then pick a starting 11 and 5 subs to play an PAC-12 All star team, I guarantee you the picks would be very different.
As a UNC fan I certainly was disappointed, but Florida State clearly was the better team. Very impressive, congratulations. Did not see the Dorrance interview. Considering how he likes to describe toughness, my guess is that rhino was intended as a high compliment. And deserved.
Anson has always been very fair and complimentary to both FSU and Mark Krikorian. I’ll always appreciate his answer to a question before the 2018 college cup about all of FSU’s international players. He essentially said that FSU had to do it and he supported it. He said that if I go head to head with FSU in a domestic home I’m going to win 75% of the time. He then added that if he went a head to head with Stanford he would lose 90% of the time. I’m sure that’s an exaggeration but you get the point. Some would’ve complained about all our international players, but he did not! Much respect.
Jim Lamar: '10 years ago, ACC fined FSU soccer $25k for leaving starters at home for ACC tourney. It was a protest vs. travel policy that almost always put FSU at disadvantage. ACC changed in 2011 & FSU has won 7 titles since. Crazy what a level playing field does.'
If this was an article, then would you mind posting it. I have referenced this incident many times, but I didn't remember the year. BTW, this year due to COVID, was very similar to what we used to deal with. Go live on the road for a week and play the tourney while UNC stayed at home, attended classes and played games like usual. The only difference this year is that we had a week off before this tourney; whereas, back then we were almost always on the road the week before the tourney while UNC was at home or at least in the state. Talk about stacking the deck. 007 and Val have pointed out the difficulty of going on the road in this pandemic. What FSU accomplished in this tourney was done with that difficulty factored in.
JMHO, but I think Howell, Fox and Bell are very strong candidates for the USWNT in the next 4 years. Potential if all goes well would be Pinto, Berkely, Madril, Spaanstra? Now of course, as has been pointed out, with so little turnover, not all of these will make it. In fact maybe not all of the 1st three will make it. It may be my bias, but IMO, Clara Robbins is playing her way into consideration. She is technically a redshirt senior, but she has missed 2 years due to injury and played hurt in one other. I believe I have that right. She is technical, strong, able play back to the goal or facing the goal. She brings toughness and creativity to the equation. On a side note, Val in the UVA talked about the need for physical toughness. Go back and watch our 2nd goal and you'll see where physicality and toughness come into play. Nesbeth receives a pass from Carle on the left side of the pitch about 35 to 40 yards from the goal. She turns to go towards the goal and Pinto comes up from behind and runs into her. Pinto falls down and Nesbeth keeps going and delivers the pass to Robbins who hits a cannon shot into the inside of the right post. My point is a more frail player like Zhao, Nighswonger or Godfrey from UVA probably gets knocked down there and a foul is called. Nesbeth is a only 5'4", but she's a tank. Physicality makes a difference.
Its interesting that your opinions mirror the narrative that is being sold. Why would Howell be more likely than say Andi Sullivan or Morgan Brian? Why would Bell be more likely than Girma or Wesley? Why Fox over Purce or Dorsey? Seems to me that the narrative is about projecting multiple players every year even if we when we all know thats not how it could possibly work. I have nothing against the players, i just cant buy into a system that does this every year. Robbins is a good player in an ideal situation for her skill set. Put her on Duke and Im betting you have a very different opinion. Good NT management is about getting the best team. USWNT management has been about collecting individuals because to date, its been an allocation game. If you define making it as 20 caps or more, I would bet NONE of the players you mention do. Ertz and Dunn are 28. Looking at others on the team, they have at least 6 more years on the NT unless they change the way they do things.
Did you miss my point in the post above? "Now of course, as has been pointed out, with so little turnover, not all of these will make it. In fact maybe not all of the 1st three will make it." It's off season and fun to speculate. As to Howell, I believe she is the next Julie Ertz, a perfect candidate to play the 6 position. As to Bell, she has the height and speed to match up with the fastest forwards from other countries. IMO she could play the 2, 3, 4 or 5. Fox is another with the speed and physicality to man a 3 position. I would ask you why not these players over the ones you mentioned?
I just mentioned other players who have been part of the same narrative as the ones you mention, but earlier. I think Purce and Dorsey are better than Fox. Only difference is not UNC and both were successful attackers as opposed to full time defenders. Why would Bell replace Davidson or Girma? Im not speculating there. I giving you players who the USSF seems to be already prioritizing over her, not my opinion. USSF are way more likely to convert a College 7/11 to 2/3 than a Bell for many reasons. Heck, i think Spaanstra is more likely to make it as a RB/RWB than Bell is. Im not an Ertz fan. In my ideal team, the 6 has to be a far better passer than she (Ertz) is, so the next Ertz is not a positive. My point is, once you define how you want to play, there are players who are not talked about who may well be far better candidates for the WNT but until you see players performing in a somewhat level playing field, its all politics. We can speculate all we want. PS I think Bell has a ton of upside, but unlikely she learns what she needs to playing at UNC where her job is to hunt whomever has the ball. At the next level you have to play more tactically. Stay in line and work offside traps, defend space vs teams who can possess and find the space. Sure it looks great when you run down a kid from behind, but thats not how the game is played at the next level. Could she be the speed next to say a Sauerbrunn? Sure. Right now there are a quite a few College CBs who the USSF think project better. And lastly, Bell's team just conceded 3 goals to a team that is not fast. Clearly her speed was not relevant in the scenarios FSU created. Its a team game but units have responsibilities. I dont like the way we absolve individuals because the narrative dictates. Example...Dickey did pretty much what Ivory did last year. Conceded very few goals on very few shots. IVORY 2019 SEASON • All-ACC Third Team selection • United Soccer Coaches All-Region Third Team selection • Posted a 15-0-3 record before season-ending injury in ACC Tournament final • Started all 19 games played on the season • Allowed only six goals through 19 games in 1752:29 minutes in goal • Her 0.31 goal against average is best in a season in program history • The 0.31 goal against average was also tops in the ACC and third nationally • Posted seven straight shutouts in ACC play (9/26 – 10/24) • Posted 775:01 minutes of shutout soccer between goals as part of that streak – starting on 9/20 at Wake Forest and ending against Boston College (10/27) • The 775:01 of shutout soccer is the second longest streak by a keeper in program history • Posted 12 solo shutouts on the season – fifth most nationally and tops in the ACC • Three-time ACC Defensive Player of the Week (9/10, 10/1, 10/15) • Named to the preseason watch list for the MAC Hermann Trophy. She made 3rd team. Dickey made 1st team and Rocque as a FR made 2nd team this year. So much of the awards stuff is about which coach wants his way more. I guess the narrative last year was Ivory benefited from the UVA team defense, even though none of the back 4 were first team all ACC. This year I guess its different, even though BOTH keepers are playing behind teams that are supposed to be stout defensively with multiple 1st teamers on the back line Meanwhile a Hancuff (Clemson) is snubbed completely with metrics way better than any other keeper AND a player like Speckmeier ( no offense) is a second team forward on an all ACC team with 3 others fwds btw for 2g and 1a in 9 games playing centrally. PPS I have nothing against the players. The narrative is just too powerful.
As a Nadeshiko Japan's fan, I am quite interested in Iwai's performance; I seldom hear her name on this thread: did she get consistent playing time, this season, or was she mostly a sub?
She got consistent time as a sub to the tune of about 10-30 mins a game. She showed good promise. Quick and active, getting in good crosses and combo play.
FSU is consistently a top 4 team in the NCAA. Iwai came in to our deepest team ever and got 10-25 minutes a game. As sweepsit pointed out she did well. She showed good quickness and ball skills and good tactical awareness. On most FSU teams of the past, she may well have started. I look forward to seeing her development. Suffice to say she is getting exposed to the best college soccer the US has to offer both in practice and in games against high level opponents.
007 is always perplexed at All xxx teams. Of course they are not scientific. They are the opinions of whomever the coach of said team gives the responsibility of voting. Yes there is a narrative! It matters which team you play for. I find it amusing that you advocated so strongly for Ivory from last year considering your criticism of her this year. You are right, that based on stats she deserved better All xxx last year. Prior to the ACCT, I had no strong feelings for how good Roque was, because she had only faced less than 10 SOG all year prior to the ACCT. Duke alone had 10 SOG in the semis. Based on stats, she did not deserve All ACC 2nd team, not because she isn't good enough, but because we just didn't have a big enough body of work to analyze. Same can be said for Dickey. GKer is one area where being on one of the lesser ACC teams actually prepares you better because you face a lot of action. I like Ekic a lot. IMO she would have played a lot of minutes for FSU, UVA and UNC if she were on any of those teams. That said, she would not have been ACC offensive POTY on those teams, because her numbers would not have stuck out on those teams. She would have been one weapon as opposed to THE weapon. These teams never get it perfectly. I've only seen Girma a couple of times, but I fail to see what makes her better than a Bell or a Berkely or Madril. Does the narrative of Stanford play a role here with NT bigwigs?
Not advocating for her at all, just pointing out that its political. Im not in the slightest bit perplexed. They are similar to recruiting class rankings for me. People use them for different purposes. Ive said repeatedly, I wish there were more games between the better teams. Im pointing out that right now, it appears that Girma is ahead of the other College CBs in the minds of those who select them. My opinion is irrelevant. Its very difficult to change that perception ON the field because there are so few relevant data points. Thats all Im saying.
I agree for next level Bell needs work and I like her what she does now in that UNC unit. All of this is hypothetical. The other players in the unit make a huge difference too. Very few of these players would stand out on a team that did not have a very good player base to start. That is always my feeling. I watch very good players in difficult situations without a good teammates to prop them up. You can always spot talent and heart. Sometimes both are not intertwined. As for Hancuff, she had a good season but did not play vs FlState. So hard to judge. Lost to UNC. Did not play Duke in season and lost to Duke post season. I am sure this didn't help. Some of the Fall players may or may not be back for Spring.
There's politics at all levels. I believe there is a strong group of players at almost all positions capable of being on the USWNT w/o any drop off. I'm sure UVA players benefitted from having Swanson as an asst coach. I'm not saying they were unworthy. I am saying there were multiple players worthy, and all else being equal or close to equal, go with who you know. I didn't say Bell was immediately ready for the NT. She has a physical platform upon which to continue to build. Her platform is better than most. 007 seems to have a problem with UNC and their preparation, or lack thereof of players for the NT. Anson's job is to prepare players to complement his team and win championships. He and his teams have evolved over the last few years. They are much better at possession soccer and precision passing. They are not at FSU, UVA or Stanford's level in that department, but they are much closer than they were even 3 years ago. Players like Bell will learn much at UNC. As they move on to the professional level, they will be able to continue to build on that platform. I stand by the Bell, Fox and Howell prediction of making the NT w/i 4 or 5 years. i can certainly be wrong.
You keep personalizing it. You have an opinion and so do I. Politics becomes less relevant when results actually matter. Parents and partisans aside, no one cares about College soccer. I have been very clear, the way UNC use the sub rules has a huge impact on preparing players for the next level. Im not alone in that thought. UNC have not had a meaningful player on the WNT since Dunn and its taken her a while to become a regular. I believe that is not a coincidence.
Not personalizing anything. Just highlighting that there is politics at all levels. You have made your feelings about UNC abundantly clear. You use Crystal Dunn as an example of your theory. Dunn finished in 13. Brian finished in 14 and Sonnett in 15. During the intervening years, how many new players (as you frequently point out) are mainstays on the NT? Mewis came out of college in 14. I believe she became a mainstay in 17. Lavelle came up in 17. Mallory Pugh really started getting play in 16. Some believe her time with the USWNT is coming to a close. As you have pointed out, with so few openings, holding out UNC's player development (or lack thereof) as the reason that no more have come to the USWNT is disingenuous at best. Dozens annually leave college and ply their careers in women's pro leagues. They continue to develop. Only 1 or 2 chances emerge every year or two for getting onto the national team. Did Wisconsin do a great job with Lavelle? Or was Lavelle a great player who went to Wisconsin? I could ask the same of Rutgers, Santa Clara, Ok. State. I think the program can certainly speed up the development of a player for future NT duties, but I think the biggest factor is their athletic platform (base), skill foundation, mentality to learn and willingness to pay the price, no matter where they end up at college. IMO the NT roster is more of a reflection of which colleges get the best US players. UNC, Stanford, UCLA, UVA, PSU. Any of these ring a bell as to luring domestic HS recruits? I will grant you that Duke not being represented on the NT is baffling, especially considering their annual recruiting prowess in the US.
Its not at all disingenuous because the perception of most people is they are turning out top level professionals in leagues all over the world every year at a far greater rate than everyone else. At one point they were. Facts no longer support that argument. I am giving my opinion as to why. you seem to interpret that as an attack on them. Its not.No one has done a better job of winning College games. Its not even close. Im simply asking why that no longer translates to UNC players dominating at the pro level. Making the NT is not relevant to the point im making. https://goheels.com/news/2019/4/13/womens-soccer-18-tar-heels-on-opening-day-nwsl-rosters.aspx Money is a huge part of it. Unless you think you have chance to make the WNT in a relatively short space of time, it probably makes little financial sense to keep trying to play under the current set up. Im sure there are many very good players who have decided to get on with their lives.