It will be an interesting year with the tournament happening in the spring. I thought I heard that if there are any transfers after this fall season is done they will not be eligible to play in the spring or at least not in the tournament - is that correct?
I would suppose that it is all due to COVID. I certainly appears to me that all of the UNC seniors I mentioned (and actually failed to mention another senior who also signed a pro contract this fall) were planning to play this fall (2020) for their senior year, and then not play in the spring in preference to going pro and having a shot at national teams. They were thinking the that would have a final good shot at a championship season having come so close as runners up for the past two years. Lotte was in Chapel Hill over the summer and even into September giving up and bailing out. I think that they bailed because it was becoming clear that with COVID there would not be the season they were expecting and hoping for. It was time to move on for the next part of their career, and finish up their degrees later. (The exceptions will be Brooke and Taylor who are 5th year seniors and will be graduating this December and there are three other seniors who seldom see PT who may be available.) Assuming that there is a national champion tournament next spring, it looks like it will be played by a team with no seniors on the roster. The Heels will be missing three players who are likely to see action with their respective national teams.
Where are all the Tar Heel fans? FSU and North Carolina are both undefeated, and are getting ready to play in the ACC tournament championship game! We need a little respectful back-and-forth As I said in another thread, I’ve been impressed with how Anson has morphed North Carolina into a team that is very comfortable in possession and the clever passing game, in addition to their straightforward pressing style!
I'm a neutral and respect both teams and coaches but FSU's win today was comprehensive. There are lots of points to be discussed but I thought the key to the game was FSU handling the UNC pressure. Passed out of it well and used their back line to manage the game. Will look at the stats at some point but FSU had the ball more and in better areas of the field. Anson's comments at halftime critical of the FSU possession were a bit smarmy. I imagine he will apologize. In his post game quote in the acc release, he is complimentary of course but still takes a dig at the direct style and "playing balls over the top" FSU and MK got their tactics exactly right mixing possession with some good longer balls to keep UNC running. Bell was outstanding and prevented several chances herself. Frankly, I'd like to hear comments on the sub pattern. Been discussed alot over the years but I do think in this game it cost them. Why would you ever take Fox, Pinto, or Cox off the field in a big game? Maybe for a 5 minute blow in the 2nd half. The 2nd group got less minutes than usual I assume but what could Cox and Pinto have done with 10 more minutes of time in this game? You'll never know. If this game represents the current state of US college soccer, we're doing just fine. That 2nd FSU goal was class. The only problem with this game is that it's not going to be played again in 3 weeks.
It was a great game to watch - fast past, lots of action. FSU clearly had the advantage and controlled the game but North Carolina had some good moments.
I think overall this fall season was a great success for the UNC women's soccer team. Something I believe many people have forgotten is that UNC lost 3 very key players just weeks before the season started. Alessia Russo - 2x First team all american, 2x Hermann semifinalist, 2018 ACC offensive player of the year, multiple caps with the English Sr. National Team Lotte Wubben Moy - 2nd Team All ACC, has been called up to the English Sr. National Team in September, currently plays for Arsenal Lois Joel - 2nd most assists in 2019 for UNC, currently plays for West Ham. I believe both Alessia and Lotte would have been in the conversation for Offensive/Defensive player of the year and Lois would have either started or been a very key player in the 2nd unit. So losing those three, just weeks before the season and going 11-1 and making it to the ACC final is still very impressive. FSU has a fantastic team, but I honestly believe we would have won if we had these three players (just my opinion). These three would have boosted our talent/experience, Lotte would have allowed us to play with 3 CB's in a similar formation that we had last year, and Alessia would have required double teams and opened up Isabel and Brianna more often. Additionally, having these three would have improved our 2nd unit as three starters today would have been playing in it (or Lois). That being said, I think the silver lining to this is that without a Fall NCAA tournament this might have been best for the future health of the program. Many talented younger players were able to see a lot more game time and had the opportunity to really improve throughout the year. All three Freshman who started have improved drastically since the first game, and if the 3 Brits were still playing, none of them may have even started. Therefore this season has likely improved our chances of winning the NCAA championship next year as it has given many younger players opportunities to play (Out of the 18 players who saw game action today, 9 were sophomores and 4 were freshmen). Overall I am really proud of this team and am excited about the future! I have no clue what will happen in the Spring, but between the NWSL and the Olympics in July, a May NCAA tournament may not include many top players (apparently 4 FSU players play on non-US Senior National Teams)
Agreed. Wubben Moy was a key component in finals vs Stanford. She and Russo were really missed vs Fl State. Are they returning for Spring or at all?
Looks like Izzy Brown has transfered to Minnesota.. There was no announcement or anything like that prior unless i missed it. I wish Izzy the best. Her playing time dwindled significantly behind the talented freshmen that came in. But she always played well in my eyes with the chances she got.
Wikipedia has Wubben Moy returned to Arsenal, skipping her final eligible year due to uncertainty regarding the pandemic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotte_Wubben-Moy#North_Carolina_Tar_Heels
If it's being held in the spring, will UNC be able to keep the team together and compete? If so, maybe you guys can knock Colorado out of the second round for a fourth time (1-0 like the first three?). I hope so, the visit, not the result, I really enjoyed my visit November 2019 (thank you Soccerhunter) and I'd love to come back in April or May if fans are allowed and it's safe enough to travel. Speaking of recruiting classes, Colorado's (this year's freshmen) is ranked #8 by whoever does that. And since then, Washington's goalkeeper has transferred, filling a big hole left by the GK who played the game of her life against UNC in the second round in 2019. But #8 nationally is only good for #4 in the Pac-12, behind the expected trio of Stanford, USC and UCLA. . Trivia question: Who did Colorado beat to get into the second round game at UNC? UNC, 6-0. Northern Colorado.
For various reasons I have not been active on Big Soccer since last October. Just catching up a little. There is no relavent news out of UNC about the soccer season that I can see at this moment. Not even a schedule. Yes it is true, the sterling senior class of 3+ years ago has essentially bailed due to the COVID induced disruptions of last year. Five players that essentially started every game since their freshman years (with injury exceptions only) would have been 2020-2021 seniors now. All are now signed up with professional teams and 4 of the 5 are looking to play for their senior national teams in the the US or England. It would have been great to see them have a successful senior year, but it is not to be. (Only one, Brianna Pinto, as I understand it might take a leave from her NWSL team to come back for the NCAA tournament, but that really strikes me dicey as her NWSL coach may be very unhappy with such a move and it would be potentially disruptive as other players have been filling in her spot on the UNC team.) It usually takes a full season for Anson to finally settle in his starting line up for the NCAA tournament. With a truncated spring season, he should be still experimenting about several games after the NCAA tournament is over. So for these reasons, I am not optimistic that UNC will have much of a chance to do really well in the tournament this spring. But, with hope springing eternal, I can hope that things will come together. In reality I do think that FSU will be in the best position to take the national trophy home. Given that Stanford will likely have an off year with the rest of the PAC 12 not quite ready for prime time (although several PAC 12 clubs could challenge as could PSU, and the top several SEC teams.)
Good to see you back Soccerhunter. I haven't seen a schedule yet either. I do know they have a couple scrimmages upcoming against the NC Courage, including at noon this Saturday. They will be playing this season without any of their starting defenders, including Bell. I agree that they may struggle a bit this Spring.
UNC's schedule is actually posted on their website. You can see it if you scroll down below the 2020 Fall games. See: https://goheels.com/sports/womens-soccer/schedule/2020-21. They play the NC Courage tomorrow.
Are fans allowed to this game today? Is anyone using TwitchTV or something to show it? Wonder if there are even cameras other then the team video. NSWL has CBS deal and ACCN is married to ESPN. I guess that means you def don't get scrimmages on TV when you've sold your broadcast rights away to a 3rd party. PS - ESPNU currently showing a pointy football documentary and ESPN News has a dog show! Bayern-Dortmund on the main ABC so it's not all bad....
2-1 Courage. UNC Goal by Pinto. Courage twitter had a lineup and this clip from behind the goal. 1368253728273338369 is not a valid tweet id
It was a very impressive performance by UNC. The winning goal came on a late strike by Lynn Williams. This NC Courage team beat Wake Forest 7-0 last week. It helped the Courage did not play Debinha and Williams together. Their speed is ridiculous when you see it up close. UNC might have a(nother) great Spring after all.
Thanks for your comments nocarters. I didn't see the spring schedule until just now, but it looks like UNC played well, only conceding the winning goal with one minute to go. In past scrimmages with the Courage, the Heels could well keep up with the second string, but got outclassed by the starters. You had commented that (2019/2020?) entire defense will not be playing this spring.... Whew! Bell, Dorsey, and Abbey Allen should be around...no? Certainly Emily Fox will have to be replaced. Is Brooke Bingham healthy?, and how about Tori Hanson, Page Tolentino, or Molley Baker playing some good defense? I am delighted to see that Rachel Dowart is healthy and playing, and that Ruby Grant is back on the roster. Either of these players are potential midfield starters. Yes, Indeed. It would be great if the Heels could have a strong spring season and NCAA run!.
Regarding the defense I meant all the starters from 20/21 season - Bell, Fox, Wuben-Moy and Dorsey. None will be available this spring. Dorsey playing Lacrosse and Bell will have surgery on her ankle (ligaments?) soon (she did play yesterday about 50% of the game). As for Bingham, she is still returning from injury but I have heard she is doing well so hopefully we'll see her soon. Tori Hanson started at the 6, replacing Otto. Tolentino was the left back with Allen the other center back. There were lots of subs in and out so I can't tell you who else came in. UNC hung with them for the first half and finally seemed to tire midway through the second half. The Courage really only dominated at that point. Players that stood out (to me): - Pinto looked great the first 15 minutes. Got hurt and sat out the rest of the half. In the 2nd half she was much more subdued - Gambone came in as a sub and was great in all shifts. She was the best player out there when in. - Meza was fast, and very confident with the ball against the Courage defense - Bell made an unbelievable save against Lynn Williams after Williams beat Dickey and thought she had a layup. Great play They do play the Courage, though I don't have the date yet. I'll let you know when I hear.
I just noted that UNC has updated its soccer pages recently. Most prominently, Daman Nahas has been officially named Associate Head Coach. Not at all unexpected when he came onboard 5 years ago that he would be Anson's replacement. My personal guess is that Anson will be stepping down after the 2023 season after a 48 year run since beginning as an assistant with the UNC men's team, and 47 years as a head coach, first with the men and then with the women. It certainly will be very interesting to see how the transition is rolled out. Another note is that another two players have appeared on the UNC women's roster. Unless I miss my guess neither will be significant contributors to the team this spring, but as I always say, one never knows how players will develop. UNC has a history of below the radar players blossoming into starters as they improve their skills at their years at Chapel Hill. Meilin Gregg has been on Big Soccer's list for about a year. She is the older of two adopted daughters of Lauren Gregg (UNC star in 1981, long time Virginia head coach and and played on and coached the women's National Team before a career as a physician.) Meilin is a midfielder and has played with several teams in the Washington DC area. The other name appearing on the roster is Anna Priborkina, a forward from New Jersey. She is a new name to me, and is rated as a 2-star player by Top Drawer Soccer (whose star ratings are usually pretty meaningless unless one has researched a playing background.)
Thought I'd poke my nose in to say hello and maybe fill in some gaps of knowledge. There's typically not a whole lot of information to be found in a normal season ... even less so now. There will be a lot to watch for and hopefully the $30 subscription Flo is demanding will come with a full replay on demand. Thank you for the review of the NC Courage scrimmage, @nocarters ... fills in a few questions for me.