I have no problem with the goalies, nor the defense. I think that where we struggled most was in the midfield and forward line. The ball would be won quickly from the defensive line then brought up and the mid fielders/ forwards struggled to maintain possesion because of the ball constantly played down the sideline for Morgan or O'Hara. Kelley Ohara was the only player who brought something fresh to the table. Noyola should've been chosen and what ever happened to Barnes and Wright from UCLA? Personally, those two in tandem would bring help the team tremendously. Christen Press (Stanford) should be brought into camp for another trial run, she saw a great freshman campaign and is a dangerous goal scorer. Melissa Henderson has also been absent from the camps and should be considered for a forwards position. Casey Nogueira needs to be added to the roster as well. On the topic of players who attended the qualifying tourney, Enyeart impressed me greatly, I see a very bright future for her at the full national team. Not only was she a threat in the final third but she possesed the ball with skills. O'Hara is extremely talented and hard working. Props to Washington as well. Winters and Nairn also had a good run in Mexico. Some players struggled to keep up with the game especially in the final third (Morgan and Mcdonald), not to take anything away from them. It just didn't seem like the possesed any quality that stood out and were slow off the ball, except for the final run down the side line or off the through ball.
I think Wright should be brought in and Henderson too. I don't think Barnes adds anything that isn't there. With Reed in the lineup, we'll be fine. Not sure why she didn't play one minute in Mexico.
Why hasn't Henderson been in any of the camps? She was a regular in camps last year when Jillian was the coach and was even selected for the Pan Am games (didn't make it due to injury though). Since DiCicco took over though, she hasn't even been to one camp. Seems strange to me. Any insights?
Reed was sick during the Tournament in Mexico. They thought she would get better, so she traveled with the team, but she didn't get better and ended up going home before the Tournament was over. She's fine now.
I noticed you are encouraging the addition of two more UNC players. that may have been politically possible years ago, but I doubt it is now. Also you have to consider that UNC is no longer the dominant team in the NCAA, as last year's record shows. It's pretty hard to justify the addition of more UNC players when they aren't even the best players on their own teams. One of the new realities of USSoccer is that it is no longer politically acceptable to load up a team with UNC players and then fill in the blanks with players from the rest of the soccer world. If you look at the roster and the team pool, you will see a pretty good distribution from around the country. Is that the ideal? Probably not, but in youth programs, it might in the long run be fairer. The scouting program for YNT's is still pretty rudimentary. From what I can see, the YNT program is missing a lot of players from even within each region. It's pretty hard to justify a lopsided emphasis on one region to the exclusion of others, especially when other evidence shows better players in other regions.
I also noticed you petition for Melissa Henderson to be included on the team. I'm sure she's a great player and will do well in college and possibly on the National teams in time. Right now, however, she's not the most explosive or disruptive player on the Club level. This time around on the club level, she was shut out in the championships. Another player not on the u20's Danielle Foxhoven, scored 2 goals and a hat trick in the finals competition, gaining a golden ball award, but is also not included on the u20's. If anyone should be given a trial, it should be her. Plano star
I have to agree with you, Enyeart was impressive and super quick and O'Hara made things happen. Without a doubt, O'Hara and Nogueira should be on this roster. I do like Barnes and Wright as players but I think the defense is set and Becky Edwards does a great job in the defensive midfield, so I wouldn't change that. I think the UCLA girls (Wright, Barnes, and Wilmoth) are all great players to make the camps but it's weird that they haven't been to a lot. I know Wright was hurt in the beginning of the year, but hasn't been on any camp rosters and Barnes and Wilmoth went to a couple camps and trips. Maybe Jill wants them to play college season... They are all defensive and may need to stay for season to keep the continuity of their defense after losing their starting keeper? who knows.?. As much as I am a Stanford fan and I totally feel traiterish saying this, but in all honesty, I would take Morgan over C. Press. Don't get me wrong, Press had a great freshman season, she's fast, has good skill and is a good finisher, and she probably should get another invite to camp, but I think Morgan is a better player to combine with, better passer, and can play well under pressure, along with her great speed, skills, and finishing ability.
To ease people's minds, NO I am not a Stanford fan. I am just a mere observer of college soccer. Just because I chose to add two more UNC players means nothing. I chose a player based on skill, not on trivial matters like the "power houses of women's soccer". Cliveworshipper, I did not know that Foxhoven was such a threat. Otherwise, she would easily land on my list. I do stand by what I said though, Henderson should be brought into another camp and given a chance. I still believe that Wright should be brought into camp. I had the chance to see her at many occasions during the college season and everytime I was impressed. Her ability to control the ball and play that final pass was undeniable. Morgan is a very talented player but I think Press is as well. In comparison, their skills and speed are equal, but Press plays like a true forward. She likes to take people on and rip a shot. Morgan, however, is more of a passing player who likes to hang back and wait for the ball that trickles out.
I think your statement on Melissa Henderson is right on the money.I try not to comment on a player unless I have seen them play several times. I never go by what I read about a player abilities. Melissa is not that player at this time.
Great discussion going on regarding talent at the U20 level. One caveat: Don't assume that it is because of DiCicco and US Soccer why certain players are not on the roster for the world championship. Many top players at this level turned down the opportunity because they don't want to disrupt their college season (or redshirt). With this year's championship during the season, as opposed to last time around when it was during the summer causing players to miss just four games, the U20 coaching staff has not been able to get many of the initial players they were targeting. Some of that can be seen by who was in the initial camps (and Pan American Games) vs. now. There is still great talent on the team--some of these players are getting an opportunity that they may not have had if the championship was in the summer as originally scheduled. Playing for one's country is a great honor, but it has to be weighed against playing with your teammates--some in their senior year--for a national championship, and delaying graduation by at least a semester. Regarding UCLA's Barnes and Wright, I believe they were in the early camps.
Bruin.....I have a couple of questions. Which players have the U20 not been able to get? Which of the U20 team member is delaying graduation by least a semester? Is it possible that some of the the staple youth players were Cut from the team for various reasons?
For those of you that have watched the u20 team play I have a question; how similar is the style of play to that of the full national team? Can you see a continuity between our two oldest national teams?
I think at least some of what's happened is new players have showed up and bumped others. A good example probably is Keelin Winters, who has been a pretty regular starter over the last year. I know Portland felt she was a player who had been somewhat lost in the recruiting shuffle for the 2007 freshmen and that she was going to turn out to have been a great recruiting coup. She went from the ODP regional level to a freshman year at Portland (where she became a starter at holding mid around the third or fourth game of the season) to an important player on the U20 WNT all in the course of one year. I have no idea who she would have bumped, but someone must have been bumped to make room for her. This kind of shifting around should not be considered unusual for young athletes of this age.
Winters and Reed both made position shifts in the last year, too. Winters was a forward in club and High school. Reed has been a forward in club, college, and youth National Teams in the past. Both are now playing on the defensive end of the field in the u20's, Winters playing the holding position she took over at Portland, and Reed playing the outside defender role. One of the ways that Youth National Team coaches can make room for good players is by moving them around. If a player isn't willing to make the change at the YNT level, it limits opportunities. Players have to decide. do they want to play forward only. or are they willing to just play?
UCLA girls elected not to participate after Ellis left. OHara and Noguera released after Mexico (????). My concern is that they are still bringing players in and the players need to know where they stand before college games start. The team seems to be getting more inexperieced players at the International level. There is very little time before WC to gel as a team if you are still bringing in new players. Heard that Dahlstream is redshirting and that all the Portland players want to redshirt but that the school won't pay for it. Leroux (UCLA) is participating, don't know if she's redshirting or not. Anybody else have info?
I'm a bit confused about this statement also. Players aren't paid. They are given scholarships for academic enrollment. If the Portland players won't be in school, there is nothing to give them. If they will be in school, then they could be asked to be made available for play. By their absence, they will be leaving the roster lean down to as few as 17 players, and that is before injuries that have seemed to plague women's soccer lately. Last year, 4 Portland players were out for the year out of a roster of 22. several more suffered other injuries that left them unable to play for parts of the season. It would seem perfectly reasonable for the school to play players who were available if they were needed. The last time players were on extended National team duty, (Sinclair in 2003, Woznuk, M Rapinoe, and Lopez in 2004) they sat out a semester and didn't attend school.
Many of the players who redshirt remain in school during their redshirt. The players are not paid, but their schooling is paid for. That is why the NCAA allows the five years of scholarship and possibly a sixth if an injury occurs.
Actually What the NCAA allows and what is necessary for a student to get through school aren't the same thing. An International duty redshirt is not like an injury redshirt or a redshirt counted towards a five year clock. A student is allowed one redshirt for National or Olympic team play. This does not count towards either the five year clock of a student,or their four years of eligibility, and a student does not need special permission from the NCAA for it. This redshirt does not count towards a students five year clock, so that said student still has five years in which to complete four years of NCAA play and study, for which she will receive scholarship money. Injury or hardship redshirts are given by the NCAA under special circumstances. These are not automatic, their number is not fixed, and they require special petition to the NCAA. Megan Rapinoe is the poster child for both these types of redshirts. She took a National team redshirt in 2004. Then she played as a key player on UP's champion 2005 team. In 2006 she tore her ACL early enough in the season for an injury redshirt qualification. The same thing happened in 2007. she can still petition the NCAA to recover those years from her 5 year clock. She could still be playing for UP two years from now, long after the time necessary for her to graduate. In addition, there is the posibility of the 5 year clock redshirt. Sometimes schools elect to give these to a student, and sometimes they don't, but if it is given, It does count towards the five year clock. I suspect that UP doesn't want to have these players lose that eligibility. Scholarships for academics are in a way divorced from that process. a student only requires four years of study to get a degree. Normally, scholarships are given to players only for years in which they elect to play for the team or get injured in the process For a better explanation of scholarships, I direct you to national-letter.org. Especially the document library and the section on player and school responsibilities in the National letter of intent form. You will see that the letter of intent is a bargain between the school and the player in which the player makes herself available for play, and a school provides a scholarship.
I am familiar with the NCAA regulations. PLayers will not lose the "5 yr eligiblity" by redshirting for National team duty. If an injury occurs after the national team duty they can still have another year of play as in the Rapinoe case. I don't understand why a school that could potentially vie for a national championship would want a player to use up a year of eligibility when they will miss the entire playoff season in addition to many conference matches. Doesn't it make more sense to save that eligibility and make a full stregnth run at the title the next year? Especially since three starters are involved? I feel sorry for the athletes involved this year and the decisions they are facing. It's much easier for the big schools with large rosters to absorb the loss of these players. The switch of dates to Nov/Dec during the college playoffs seem too much of a coincidence to try and catch the Us at not full strength. I know the official line was to coincide with summer and try to draw more fans but I don't buy it. Good luck to Portland in the upcoming season and I enjoy your imput on these topics.