U-20s CONCACAF Championship/U20 WCQs

Discussion in 'USA Women: News and Analysis' started by kool-aide, Dec 16, 2009.

  1. kool-aide

    kool-aide Member+

    Feb 1, 2002
    a van by the river
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The key word being later. I think both have potential but neither are ready for the next step now. They would get killed by adult international players.
     
  2. luvdagame

    luvdagame Member+

    Jul 6, 2000
    agreed.

    i think of those two differently than i think of leroux. i don't even think that nairn is as ready for the full national team as leroux is. pia obviously does, and she knows more than i do.

    btw, here's jill ellis on leroux:
    http://www.ussoccer.com/News/U-20-WNT/2010/01/Reflections-of-Guatemala-Q-A-with-Jill-Ellis.aspx
     
  3. kool-aide

    kool-aide Member+

    Feb 1, 2002
    a van by the river
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I totally agree that I see Leroux as being at a different level than the two defenders in question. I don't think Leroux would get crushed at the next level and I think she'd make it through a WPS season ok. I think Dunn and Pressley would get beat repeatedly and often by pro players. Dunn is another player that only converted to defense with the U20s.

    I do see holes in Leroux's game that could significantly limit her effectiveness. Don't get me wrong. I'm very excited about Leroux's potential and her actual skills right now. But she's got to improve her ball control/dribbling to make it at the next level where defenders are faster and stronger than the ones she currently faces.

    As for Narin. I need to see more. She's got some technical ability and has popped up in the right places. But as for the next level, I'm not sure what I think.
     
  4. luvdagame

    luvdagame Member+

    Jul 6, 2000
    i wasn't too disappointed with her dribbling and ball control. she didn't look any worse than the semi skilled forwards we have now. in fact she didn't look any worse than many of the uswnt players, with whose soccer skill i am not terribly impressed (tho i am an unwavering supporter).

    again, you never know until you toss them in the drink, but i think leroux is ready for a look at the next level.
     
  5. kool-aide

    kool-aide Member+

    Feb 1, 2002
    a van by the river
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Leroux's first touch isn't bad. But, her preferred move seems to be to knock it in front of her and out sprint the defender to the ball. Which she is able to do quite well at this level. I don't think that move will work as well against most defenders at the next level.

    I'd think Leroux would get a camp call up in 2010 and will be a bit disappointed if she doesn't. Although, if Kai comes back strong and any of the rookie forwards light it up, Leroux will have a larger group to fight through for looks. But I think I like what Kai brings to the table when healthy more than you do, iirc. but I might be confusing you with a different poster
     
  6. luvdagame

    luvdagame Member+

    Jul 6, 2000
    love kai.

    her energy and love for the game is infectious. but she will continue to be injured because her game is predicated more on athleticism and how she throws herself fearlessly into the task.

    leroux is, i think, a better blend of athlete and soccer player. we should be moving away from the kai model toward the leroux model in american soccer.

    i agree tho, that leroux will be behind players like cheney, o'hara, and (dare i say) arod, if they step up this year. but i still hope she gets a look. given a chance, she may be better than all of them right now.

    don't know. i'd just like to see.
     
  7. karanicole

    karanicole Member

    Jun 28, 2005
    we have so many strikers with potential!! it's exciting...i have an idea! why don't we loan out some of our forwards to the men's nat'l team so the players can get some minutes and hone their craft a little more? win-win situation. they'll get some finishers and our strikers can get some more experience...whada think?
     
  8. bekairos

    bekairos New Member

    Nov 9, 2008
    Let's compare age distribution:

    Chile 2008:
    Aged 20- Dallstream, DiMartino, Edwards, Enyeart, Fountain, Fowlkes, Harkin, Jones, Klingenberg, Marshall, Naeher, Washington (12)
    Aged 19- Mautz, Morgan, Reed, Wells, Winters (5)
    Aged 18- Leroux, Nairn, Parkhill (3)

    Guatemala 2010: (not taking into account the fact that some of these girls will have birthdays before/during the actual WWC)
    Aged 19- Brooks (turned 19 during the qualifiers), Henninger, Leroux, Marlborough, McCarty, Nairn, Noyola, Pressley, Short (9)
    Aged 18- Bywaters, DiMartino, Eddy, Johnson, K. Mewis, Quon, Richmond, Vancil (8)
    Aged 17- Dunn, Hayes, S. Mewis (3)

    Pressley, Noyola and Leroux will turn 20 this spring.
     
  9. NYC ugly

    NYC ugly Member

    Aug 7, 2000
    Very near my computer
    :confused:Leroux was the MVP of the last group. Who else is more deserving of a call-up? As for Victoria DiMartino, with her TECHNICAL skills and strength, she can play anywhere for the US in the future, including forward. I mean we are actually talking about a team who has Rodriguez as a STARTER. Klingenberg was great during qualifying and did even better in Chile. As we already know unless your name is Nairn, your U-20 record don't mean much with this US coach.

    As for the current u-20 team. I think this group looks more raw than the last one. Remember, the team that played in qualifying in Mexico last time was very different from the team that won the Cup. A few more months together might change that. Zakiya Bywaters (even though she continued to foul up her many chances to do big damage) and Mewis look more exciting to me than the last group of middies. The last group's defense was better.The biggest difference was Winters' solid play and leadership in the middle.
     
  10. NYC ugly

    NYC ugly Member

    Aug 7, 2000
    Very near my computer
    Courtney Verloo is joining the U-20s for the La Manga tournament against older teams. She's big and athletic. Can she play as a defender? Maybe they should consider converting her to D-Mid.
     
  11. Namdynamo

    Namdynamo Member+

    Jan 1, 2005
    I think you misread what I wrote. I said that many of the last batch of the last U-20 team, including Leroux and Nairn, should be called up before this group.

    If Victoria Martino can't even play over the weak crop of fowards on this U-20 team, how do you think she will be able to compete for the forward spot on the full national team?

    Nikki Washington is a better right midfielder/forward than Zakiya at this moment. She can dribble just as well but faster and bigger than Zakiya (5"4' to 5"1'). Mewis has a incredible accurate cannon of a shot and can dribble pretty well too but she has no clue how to combine with her teammates and play possession soccer. She also doesn't play a lick of defense, no effort and no clue how to do so.

    The last group also has a better keeper, and much more depth (even Casey Nogueira and Kelley O'Hara were left at home). The players that I think are comparable to the last group are Teresa Noyola (she reminds me a lot of Tab Ramos) and the 4 players in the back line Quon, Dunn, Pressley and DiMartino.

    IMO, Leroux has a more complete game than any of the USWNT forwards right now. Incredible speed, good size, good dribbling, great heading ability, good hold up play, good passing/combination game, good tactical awareness, great defender, incredible work rate, and the most important of all a deadly finisher. Let's look at the last 4 U-20 Golden Ball winners: 2002 Christine SINCLAIR, 2004 MARTA, 2006 MA Xiaoxu, 2008 Sydney LEROUX, she is in a pretty damn good company don't you think? Kai, the USWNT version of Eddie Johnson, is not even close to being comparable.
     
  12. cpthomas

    cpthomas BigSoccer Supporter

    Portland Thorns
    United States
    Jan 10, 2008
    Portland, Oregon
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Thank you very much, bekairos, for the time you put in on this. The current group is much younger now than the last group when they won the World Cup. Comparisons of groups that are in different stages of the WC cycle may be good for something, but it's not a lot. The better comparison would be with the previous group at the same stage of the cycle as the current group. I have no idea what that comparison would show, but it would be more of an apples to apples situation.
     
  13. Namdynamo

    Namdynamo Member+

    Jan 1, 2005
    You can watch all the last U-20 CONCACAF qualifier games in the link below:

    http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=91DE434E379EE00B&search_query=concacaf&rclk=pti

    All the games from this U-20 edition:

    http://www.concacaftv.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Video/0,,12907,00.html

    I watched all the games from both groups at least 2-3 times already. IMO, much more dominating effort, better and deeper talent base from the last US U-20 group.
     
  14. cpthomas

    cpthomas BigSoccer Supporter

    Portland Thorns
    United States
    Jan 10, 2008
    Portland, Oregon
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Thank you too, Namdynamo. That's the kind of comparison we need, and I take your word for which group seemed better.

    If it's true, what does it mean? A typical up and down? Or ...?
     
  15. SCUFANTASTIC

    SCUFANTASTIC Member

    Aug 31, 2009
    Club:
    FC Gold Pride
    U20's are going to Spain with most of same roster they took to Guatemala.

    Franch, Lee and Verloo are new, Vancil, Nairn, K Mewis, Eddy and Dimartino are not shown on Spain roster. Verloo is incorrectly identified as playing for Portland, unless US Soccer knows something I don't know.

    U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team Roster
    GOALKEEPERS (2): Adrianna Franch (Oklahoma State; Salina, Kansas), Bianca Henninger (Santa Clara; Los Gatos, Calif.)
    DEFENDERS (6): Amber Brooks (UNC; New Hope, Pa.), Crystal Dunn (Albertson SC; Rockville Centre, N.Y.), Kendall Johnson (Portland; Portland, Ore.), Lucretia Lee (UCLA; Bothell, Wash.), Toni Pressley (Florida State; Melbourne, Fla.), Rachel Quon (Stanford; Lake Forrest, Ill.)
    MIDFIELDERS (5): Zakiya Bywaters (UCLA; Las Vegas, Nev.), Samantha Mewis (Scorpions SC; Hanson, Mass.), Teresa Noyola (Stanford; Palo Alto, Calif.), Jenna Richmond (McLean SC; Centreville, Va.), Casey Short (Florida State; Naperville, Ill.)
    FORWARDS (5): Maya Hayes (Aristocrats Club; West Orange, N.J.), Sydney Leroux (UCLA; Pheonix, Ariz.), Morgan Marlborough (Nebraska; Raymore, Mo.), Tiffany McCarty (Florida State; Laurel, Md.), Courtney Verloo (Portland; Tualatin, Ore.)
     
  16. cpthomas

    cpthomas BigSoccer Supporter

    Portland Thorns
    United States
    Jan 10, 2008
    Portland, Oregon
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Nah, so far as I know, Verloo remains at Stanford, though from Tualatin, Oregon, which is a suburb of Portland. We decided to keep Kendall Johnson and let Courtney go The Farm.
     
  17. SCUFANTASTIC

    SCUFANTASTIC Member

    Aug 31, 2009
    Club:
    FC Gold Pride
    Kid once played some games at Tualatin Rec Center. I went on Oregon Youth Soccer "fields" page for directions and clicked inadvertently on the Tualatin High School link. You might think, having such unusual (to a non Oregonian) yet similar names that they would be more or less geographically adjacent.

    You'd be wrong.
     
  18. cpthomas

    cpthomas BigSoccer Supporter

    Portland Thorns
    United States
    Jan 10, 2008
    Portland, Oregon
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, you would, but the soccer fields you went to were at Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District's main facility, which is a great multi-sport complex. As the name indicates, there are hills called the Tualatin Hills -- back East, they would be considered small mountains, maybe. Through the Hills passes the Tualatin River, which is a reasonably long though not large river. Tualatin is an Indian name and covers a pretty large area. But, the two are not very close to each other, are they?

    So, I guess enough of a diversion. Back to the U-20s.
     
  19. collin b

    collin b New Member

    Nov 27, 2009
    Club:
    AS Monaco FC
    IMO, Leroux has a more complete game than any of the USWNT forwards right now. Incredible speed, good size, good dribbling, great heading ability, good hold up play, good passing/combination game, good tactical awareness, great defender, incredible work rate, and the most important of all a deadly finisher. Let's look at the last 4 U-20 Golden Ball winners: 2002 Christine SINCLAIR, 2004 MARTA, 2006 MA Xiaoxu, 2008 Sydney LEROUX, she is in a pretty damn good company don't you think? Kai, the USWNT version of Eddie Johnson, is not even close to being comparable.[/QUOTE]

    I agree with you 100%. She is a wonderful player. She belongs in that class of great players.
     
  20. luvdagame

    luvdagame Member+

    Jul 6, 2000
    as one who has been quite vociferous in my praise of leroux, i have to caution that she hasn't done it at the top level yet. sinclair, marta, and kai have. and as andy has pointed out, many a youth prodigy has turned out to be just that - genius as a youth, but a bust at the top level of the game.

    what we can say about leroux is that she was dynamite against concacaf level u20 players, and that she was outstanding against world cup u20 players as well. so, what i have said is that i don't think college has anything new to teach her, she should (altho there is no mechanism to allow her to do so) be playing in wps this year, and pia should call her up to a uswnt camp to SEE IF she can hack it.

    i must say tho, that sydney leroux is the closest think to lightening in a bottle that i have seen in the u.s. women's game since mia hamm.
     
  21. collin b

    collin b New Member

    Nov 27, 2009
    Club:
    AS Monaco FC
    With proper care, She could be a great one.
     
  22. Ads13

    Ads13 Member

    Aug 10, 2008
    I understand what a lot of people are saying: you never know how good a younger player will be when thrust on to the full national team; we shouldn't jump the gun in a player's development and throw them into the fire too early.

    I wonder, though, why not take a chance? Why don't we see more young players given a chance? I always think about the US team's early years, when Hamm, Foudy, Fawcett, Lilly, etc., were youngsters. Dorrance put them on the team, though it was an unpopular decision, and look what it did for the US program. Sure, competition was different back then, but so what? Germany is taking a chance with Kim Kulig. She's a kid, but she's played in some big time games for the German national team, and after watching her play against the US in October, I'd say she's going to be an important player on that team in the future.

    I guess the question is, when should our coaches be conservative and when should they take a chance?
     
  23. collin b

    collin b New Member

    Nov 27, 2009
    Club:
    AS Monaco FC
    If not now when? You are on the money. We need to give some of these young players a chance. We are one of the best teams in the world and we can afford to take chances on young players. I don't even think that the National team team is taking a chance in Leroux's case because she is so TALENTED.
     
  24. Stepup

    Stepup New Member

    Aug 21, 2008
    Club:
    Sky Blue FC
    I would like to see some young blood called in. We are lacking in speed. At almost 35 years of age with children Rampone is still setting the standard. We have no proven replacement for Boxx. I like Nairn as a younger player. She scored for the WNT before ever playing a game in college. I hope Pia gives the young talent a shot.
     
  25. kool-aide

    kool-aide Member+

    Feb 1, 2002
    a van by the river
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Thanks to the German dfb twitter feed we learn that the U20 match in La Manga btwn the USA & Germany ended 1-1. Leroux scored in the 83rd min. And Mirlach equalized in stoppage time.
     

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