it's less that I'm seeing it somewhere so much as Anson Dorrance is on record having said it, either in an interview or in one of those fan emails he sends out. Not sure which one. Going to be a lot of open minutes available next year, both with the players leaving and also with the abject failure of the persistently shortening of the bench in important games and having it back firing. The minutes need to be spread out more and there's, what, 9 players leaving? I will be very surprised if players like Rebimbas or Dellarose leave.
I saw the interview about a month or so ago when Anson said that all seniors (even those with remaining eligibility) will leave. My question was to Eddie, specifically about Melina. And it sounds like you should be prepared to be surprised since Melina’s name is in the portal (per above).
I saw the interview too. My impression was that he knows his roster is backlogged with talent so he needs the covid 5th years to move on. He said that they would help those who don't go pro find more playing time elsewhere. I suspect that this backlog of talent has pushed some of these players into the portal.
Well, Tori Dellaperuta has just announced she's going pro after two years, and that to me is enough to agree with you that I shouldn't be surprised anymore. Setting aside my skepticism of the decision based on her personal situation, I'm inclined to believe this is a point in favor of the opinion that Anson & Damon have lost the confidence of a lot of players on this roster. Management was usually something that was neutral at worst and typically very good. This combination took teams that suffered bad injuries to key players year after to year to the brink. They can and probably could have won 2 or 3 championships in the last 6 or 7 years if not for those key injuries, not to mention the officiating last year. Bringing two teams that lost Russo and Fox as far as they did was a sign of a well managed and motivated team that made things work despite the injuries. I can't imagine what would have happened this year if key players were hurt beyond Thomas and Shores. They were reasonably consistent on the field in the past half decade or so, worked within a system that worked and hardly needed tweaks, and they made adjustments through the year when they needed to, with those adjustments usually paying dividends. This year ... something was off from the very beginning. They started with a terrible system with clear and obvious flaws, were wildly inconsistent in the quality of play from game to game and more disconcertingly half to half. They didn't make any meaningful adjustments until post season. They had the chance to adjust (and Anson proclaimed in an interview they were going to) after the VT game. They didn't, at least not significantly enough to notice. It was a gonk show of bad coaching decisions through the course of the entire year that left nobody happy, and the decision to sit back with a 3-0 lead on the road against the highest scoring team in the country in the most stamina testing environment in the country is the cherry on top. One of the things that I noticed wasn't touched on much if anything about that second half was how Anson and Damon also shortened their bench. This flies in the face of everything I knew about why they implemented the tactic to begin with, specifically the idea that you wanted the players on the field to build a rhythm and you didn't want to break that up. How can any coach worth their salt look at what was happening in the second and think that UNC team was playing well to the extent they should be concerned about messing it up with subs? It feels more like it was something Anson or Damon thought "it worked before so lets try it again" regardless of the why and how. A lot has happened this year that has me questioning certain aspects of the "management" aptitude of this duo.
If there really are a lot of upcoming transfers, then the two UNC teams I follow avidly, men's basketball and women's soccer, have both had disaffected athletes and erratic performance (or worse) this past year. Strange for programs that rarely had such problems in the past.
This article is hogwash. The past 34 elite eights he has been knocked out 3x. The fact that was published is garbage. I’m sure the coaches would rather take the blame over the players, but let’s be honest…there are 11 on the field and ultimately it comes down to them. What anson did second half is what majority of coaches at the highest level would have done. Had they won nobody would be calling for his retirement.
Didn’t mean to imply that I agree (or disagree) with the editorial, just thought folks would be interested in what the student paper is saying.
Babranski omitted that the BYU crowd was also very hyperactive and when you give a team like that with a shortened field the ability to have 20 shots in the second half, you are inviting disaster.
Quite the article. I would never have envisioned a Campus publication coming down that strongly on a "living legend." There were certain things written that I could/would agree with wholeheartedly and there were things written that I could see how others might find objectionable. The Author has obviously been following the team and is entitled to his/her opinion.
I mean I didn't omit it because the Tar Heels are used to going on the ground and having teams pull massive numbers because of who they are. That's not really something very high on the list. Honestly I didn't feel like the BYU crowd gave the Cougars any energy until the second goal, and by that point they didn't really need it. They were flat and quite for the first 60 minutes of the game when the Cougars really needed them.
Yes, Stanford did execute it better. However, different circumstances; neutral field, altitude a non-factor and a non-partisan crowd. Also, Stanford used to playing a ticky-tacky system whereas Carolina, less so.
Am I the only one who doesn't believe Stanford bunkered as a strategy? It looked to me like they had no choice and were just getting pinned back by BYU. UNC on the other hand stopped going to goal when they had the ball. They took their foot off the gas.
I do think that as the first half wore on, Stanford looked like they had lost their composure and did not trust themselves in their defensive third. In the second half, especially as the game wore on, I thought they regained their composure and, as a result, had more of the ball. I also thought BYU got frustrated.
it's hard to get nuanced stats but I have to think these games have them somewhere. Would love to see xG and possession numbers for both games in the second halves.
Not the exciting Championship I was hoping for.Florida State is just too good ! Congratulations to them . Wonder if Brian Penske needs to come to UNC to turn their program around ?
I wonder if UNC's recruiting works against itself in some way. You watch UNC and see a young, talented player starting and doing good things on the field, playing 60/65 minutes a game--but then the next year, what's this? she's not starting; she's coming off the bench and playing 20 minutes a game as some new hotshot as reduced her minutes. Then the next year the new hotshot has been sidelined in favor of yet another talented newcomer. There is this churn of good players coming in and taking minutes from the good young players who preceded them, year after year--I think there are quite a few examples. Might be working against the cohesion and chemistry of the team a bit. Take Emily Murphy, for example: Started 14 of the 15 games she played as a freshman, was named to the ACC All Freshman team. Next year: Started 3 times in 24 appearances. Next year (last year): transferred to Wake. I think UNC has had many players who followed this same up and then down trajectory---impressive as freshmen, lots of playing time, then less playing time the following year, and by junior year they're maybe getting 15 mins a game. Unlike Murphy, many seem to stick it out, though not sure why and that may be changing. I mean, the Heels certainly do play very well year after year, and you can't fault the coaches for replacing one good player with another good player who might be better---but it happens a lot and it's rather unusual. A surplus of riches, but....
I think that's a pretty good take. Sometimes your success with quality players can work against you a bit. You also have to remember it's impossible to fund all these good players with good scholarships. No one really knows their award levels but if that same kid getting replaced is not on a good scholarship - easy now to leave with family support. Remimbas is going to be a high-value player who is probably sorting through her portal emails and offers right now. I don't follow any of these players on IG but she could be doing college visits already. Over on the transfer thread, there's a twitter account I found following all of these moves. Several of them I'm sure. A few years back, someone switching commitments late got major press or attention. The so called "flip". Now, it's kindof par for the course. The portal has that immediate trickle down effect. i.e. whatever money Remimbas may have been on, or certainly her roster slot, is now open for the next unc player. Lots of coaches, including AD, will talk about the 4-year developmental process and how your college career is a journey. What does he call it? Never-ending ascension? Yea, that's old school thinking these days in the P4/5 world unfortunately....
I think with the changing landscape the expectation is quickly shifting towards one or two years and done for the big name players at big name schools (think Dudley at FSU, even though she is yet to announce her intentions). NIL money would be a major influencing factor in keeping some of those players longer but I have no idea what the NIL space looks like for women’s soccer right now. If you’re a talented player with pro ambitions but not getting enough time at one of these elite programs that are constantly bringing in new top tier talent it will probably behoove you to get on a roster at a solid P4 program where you actually get time and development attention as opposed to sitting on the bench. Playing and producing in a challenging league is more important than who you play for. I think high churn is just the new reality for some of these elite programs (much like it is in pointy ball).
He also likes to say his "2nd team" is the 2nd best team in the country....Hard to keep USNT players happy on a 2nd team when you aren't holding up a trophy every year.