Great little article about Darcy McFarlane's pro debut in Scotland. https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/col...dfielders-whirlwind-move-to-scotland_aid41612
Don't read too much into the final score of UNC vs. Washington Spirit match on Saturday night. UNC was under the impression that game would be played using college substitution rules and original format was to be 3x30 minute periods. UNC subbed out 4 starters at the 20 minute mark in the 1st half under the impression that the girls would be playing again on the day. Not the case. The game was being played under NWSL rules with no re-entry. That was the end of the day for those 4 kids. UNC didn't know this until they tried to put the girls back in the game. UNC had to adjust on the fly. Nonetheless, the first half was very even, with UNC down 0-1. UNC had their chances. UNC girls wore down in the 2nd half. Some kids played the full 90, many others as many as 75 minutes. Spirit probably played 25 girls in the game. Second half was more a story of fresh legs on the Spirit vs. very heavy legs and some inexperienced kids on UNC. IMO, UNC looked better in the 1st half than they did in the entire 1st 10 real games of last season. Nothing to get worked up about here UNC fans.
Thanks for the info, Brian. But, geez, one would think that getting the game expectations straight beforehand would be standard procedure. However, I can see how this could easily happen as this game was a pre-season warm up game for the Spirit and a spring non-counting scrimmage for the Heels, so I too would have assumed that substitution rules would be what they are for a "scrimmage" which for most anybody would not be viewed as a "real" (much less competitive) game. On the other hand, if I were Jim Gabarra I would really want to avoid any embarrassment from appearing to have "lost" to a college team, so putting the nix on random in and out substitutions would be insurance.
Just an additional note about class balance. Going into 2017 it is interesting to look at the balance of the classes representing UNC as probable starters and first lie subs. Left over from the class of 2013 (red shirts) are 3 players: Joanna Bolyes, Maggie Bill, andMNaya Worth and at least two will probably start (but not sure who if Maggie is seriously involved with the national LAX team) The 2014 class also has similar numbers with Megan Buckingham and Jessie Scarpa probable starters and possible starters/first subs Annie Kingman and Alex Kimball. 2015 brought us Dorian Bailey, Julia Ashley, and Samantha Leshnak as probable starters, with first sub candidates Ru Mucherera, Abby Elinski, and Kate Morris 2016 yielded probable starters Zoe Redei and Bridgette Andrzejewski as probable starters and super sub Madison Shultz (I'm calling Taylor Otto as a 2017) The point here is that each class has yielded roughly equal numbers of probable 2017 starters. Each year there is hope that a class will be stronger, and the 2017 class is no exception.... but looking at history.......
UNC usually doesn't release their fall schedule until half way through the summer, but from looking at Duke's sched, the Heels start with their first game to open the season with Duke at the UNC Nike Classic. But with Fetzer field overrun by bulldozers who knows where it will be. (Somewhere in Raleigh? Wake Med?) Two weeks later the Heels play Auburn and then UNC Wilmington at the Duke Nike Classic. In the intervening week they may be on the west coast, or entertaining west coast teams in the Triangle?
ICYMI Summer Green has completed her long comeback from an ACL injury & is playing for Chicago in preseason. Here are a few gifs of her from the first game vs PDX, In addition, she has an assist tonight, to Christen Press for a go ahead goal in the 84th minute. 847122563134304257 is not a valid tweet id 847127132216135685 is not a valid tweet id
Good gifs, Babranski. But we UNC fans are not the only ones who know Summer's potential. It looks like the Red Star's staff like her enough to feature her on their web site with this little profile today. http://chicagoredstars.com/an-inside-look-summer-green/
0-1 in New Jersey today versus Sky Blue NWSL team. This time, apparently, there was an agreement before the game that UNC could treat this like a scrimmage and freely sub, whereas Sky Blue opted to use NWSL substitution rules. This plan makes real sense. UNC gets to look at players in new positions and get to know the new players a little bit and is not worried about getting used to any substitution rules as the first counting game is 5 months away. And Sky Blue with their first league game in two weeks is fine tuning and chooses to use NWSL sub rules as preparation for the fast approaching season. The game winner was in the first half by Raquel Rodriguez. The sky blue twitter account was kind enough to praise the Heels for an "outstanding performance."
Wondering if Maggie Bill will decide not to attempt playing soccer next fall. Between regular call-ups for the US senior lacrosse team and a great spring currently (last week was named the ACC offensive player of the week) she might decide that her bread is buttered with her lacrosse future and so why risk injury playing soccer too. Not to mention that the incoming 2017 class has three top rated defensive players. But who knows? The UNC lacrosse coaching staff already have had their say and know that her second interest is soccer. We'll just have to wait and see.
A REPORT ON SEEING THE HEELS FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS SPRING. With great excitement I went to see UNC face off against the Carolina Courage this evening. I knew I wasn't going to see Maggie Bill (who is playing lacrosse), Emily Fox (with the U20s) but ended up not seeing a host of other Heels that I really wanted to get a look at. Disappointingly, the following did not seem to be present. Taylor Otto, Joanna Boyles, Megan Buckingham, Alex Kimball, Sydney Wooten,Frances Reuland, and Kasey Parker. (Actually, I am not completely sure about Frances and Kasey, as there were some late subs I didn't catch. I did see Brooke Bingham, but she did not dress for the game.) So before writing about how things went, I'll ask for feedback form anyone who knows why the above may not have been playing.????? The game was great to watch. Lot's of effort, some good play and hopefully lots of learning by the heals to take forward. It could have easily ended in a 0-0 tie, but a late PK, while saved by Sam Leshnak, was put back in on the rebound. Such is life. The Pros were, in fact, the better team. More purposeful possession and better passing distinguished the Courage from the Heels. In the passing area, the pros got open more consistently and the passes were generally accurate and well weighted. The big problem in this area for the Heels was weighting with many slow passes intercepted and more yet too fast or long for the intended receiver to catch up before the Courage defenders came up. So our offense sputtered all night with only a few good quality chances against the pro's defense. So what kept the Heels in the game?? Answer: a lot of fantastic individual effort. First and foremost was Sam Leshnak. She played an outstanding game in every way. She directed traffic with aplomb, positioned herself very well for a series of great stops, patrolled her box with authority, and with only a few exceptions had an excellent night in the kicking department. Tonight, Sam looked very good! For a keeper, confidence is half the battle, and it looks like Sam has turned a huge corner in that department. Tonight left me very pleased about how things will go in the keeper department. (Although I sure would like to see how Sydney Wooten is coming along in case Sam is injured or is called up for YNT duty.) And then there was the Tarheel defense. Jesse Scarpa was outstanding at center back. Playing in what looked like a 3-4-3 formation, she showed good decision making, excellent tackling, great passing out of pressure, superb anticipation, good leadership, and she was fearless. I had thought that she would be playing a holding mid position this next season, but playing as she did this evening as the lone center back, how could the coaching staff not keep her there? [In fact, we will have an abundance of top-line defenders next fall with Julia Ashley (who played her usual rock solid game tonight) Maya Worth (who did great at left back) plus Taylor Otto, and Carlotte Wubben-Moy. There's 5 right there, and that's not mentioning Emily Fox who played right back in the U20 world cup this last fall. One can't just leave great talent on the bench, so a few of those players will have to move up the field.] At midfield, the surprise starter in the middle was Morgan Goff. Offensively, she was adequate, but she was a beast on defense, especially in the second half as she dispossessed a series of courage forwards at close range with out fouling one of them. Ru Mucherera started on the left with Dorian Bailey on the right and Annie Kingman up in the middle. At times, there was good combination play on the right side with Julia, Dorian, Annie, and Bridgette. On the left, if was more often a foot race, and the pros had lots of speed up there. The front line was Madison Shultz on the left, Zoe Redei in the middle, and Bridgette Andrzewski on the right. For better or worse, the pros just didn't let our forwards loose with tight fast defense (and our through passing to our front line left a little to be desired.) First sub of the bench was Abby Elinski who, after some warm-up, acquitted herself well at left half. Kate Morris adequately relieved Morgan in the middle, and Sydney Spruill came in for Madison. (I lost track of subbing ofter that, but think I remember Cannon Clough, Abby Staker, and maybe Alea Hyatt on the field for a short time.) So there's my take. The talent I saw tonight gives me hope for a strong season, but not before the line-up combinations have been explored and team chemistry developed...and as we all know from experience, this process doesn't often happen before tournament time. It will be an interesting season next fall! Oh.... a PS. Clearly the best Courage player on the field tonight was (you guessed it!) Jess McDonald!! She has improved immensely since leaving he Heels 8 years ago. What a powerful player and incredible scoring threat!!
Megan B and Taylor O were at U23 camp in Orlando which ended on Sat. Players were told to not play in any games for 2 days.
Many thanks, Got Jukes, for this helpful info. Since posting my above report, I did see that Megan Buckingham was on the U23 camp roster, but did not see Taylor's name there. Perhaps she was added late? I also found out that Kaysey had an ACL tear earlier this spring, and that Joanna was held out on Saturday evening as a precaution about going too hard with her recently repaired ACLs so that she could (and did) play yesterday at the scrimmages south of Winston-Salem against Georgia and Virginia Tech (which I could not attend.)
Otto was added super late for the NWSL/U23 Spring Series tournament in Portland, I guess that extended to the Orlando games.
Sorry to ask this on this thread but I didn't where else. I may have asked this before. Summer Green has made the final cut with the Red Stars. They have her listed as a forward. It seems she had a very good pre-season with them and scored some good goals and nice assist to Christen Press (which in the coach's eyes I'm sure is huge). Anyone that can play well with Press up front will IMO get the starting nod at the other forward. Did she play forward at UNC? Is she capable of producing consistent scoring in the pros? If any of you can, let Red Stars fans know what to expect from her and how she can help the Chicago Red Stars finally win the NWSL Championship. They have been on the verge for two years just needed one more impact player and I'm hoping Summer Green is that player to put them over the top. Thanks.
Hi MRAD, As I indicated before, the big issue in my mind for Summer was a confidence factor based on several years at UNC of injury and disappointment. There is no question in my mind that she has the skills to start and be a big contributor for the Red Stars. They took a chance by taking her from Seattle, and I personally think that it's going to pay off big time. From what I have seen since she arrived in Chicago, the confidence is back and she is not holding back fearing more injury. She looks great to me. Seattle's loss is a huge gain for the Red Stars. I think that she will soon enough be a regular starter and will acquit her self very well. She is an instinctive forward and will look to score, so the feeding of Christen Press will have to be a learned discipline, but Summer is smart and will get that equation figured out.
Thank you. I have a feeling she will contribute big time. She appears to me like tough as nails. Can't wait for the NWSL season to start next week.
Just heard that UNC plays UVA at Wake Med at 1 on Sat. Don't know exactly where at Wake Med, but it shouldn't be too hard to find them.
Now that's a welcome switch for us Tarheel fans who may have been contemplating driving up to Charlottesville. Will this news be publicly available soon. The UNC women's soccer page has put no announcement out and so the latest on that website is Charlottesville at 4:00 pm.
OK, we coming up on decision time for the exhibition game tomorrow. Still no announcement on the UNC WoSo web page or twitter about any change in their posted schedule that the game will be in Charlottesville at 4:00 pm. ON the other hand, the Virginia schedule (also posted over a month ago) shows the game here in North Carolina at 1:00 pm. UNCway or any other reader: is there any recent confirming information for guidance on this??
Confirmed from my daughter who's a volunteer coach that the game is at Wake Med. tomorrow at 1 pm. She said they had changed it several times. It will probably be mentioned tomorrow on the Women's Soccer twitter account, but I didn't see it tonight.
A 3-1 result for the Heels today over UVA. But it was not a particularly pretty game especially in the second half in the midfield where the Hoos consistently out-played us. We did well enough to win with a stout defense and several touches of brilliant offensive play, but developing the chemistry in the midfield will clearly be one of our challenges for next year. But hey, it was a beautiful afternoon, sunny and with a breeze. Saw various alums, talked to several parents, struggled to get a decent action photo, and had a great time. One piece of sad news is that I heard that Maggie Bill tore an ACL this week. She is a key cog in UNC's national championship team and will be sorely missed going down the stretch this next month in the ACC and NCAA tournaments. It also wipes her out of next year's soccer season too. In the back field we did well enough to only allow one goal which came in the second half after Sam had gone out to put her body on the ground to stop a point blank shot. The rebound bounced to the Heels (I was at the opposite end of the field so did not see who it was) and a strong clearance was attempted only to be blocked a close range in the gaggle of players and so off a Hoos' knee went directly in to the unattended goal. The game started with a three back consisting of Maya Wort, Taylor Otto, and Julia Ashley and they did well. As the 20 minute mark, Jesse Scarpa went to the middle along with Taylor for what looked like (from the other end like a 4 back system. Just as last week, Jesse looked very solid on defense, not only on tackling, but deft distribution too. That combination seems to be a very good one. It will be interesting to see how English YNT center back Carlotte Wubben-Moy fits in next fall. The four mid fielders (we played a 3-4-3) starting were Annie Kingman at holding mid, Morgan Goff as attacking mid, with Bucky on the left and Dorian on the right. That unit did well enough for the first 20 minutes, but after the various sub combinations started coming in (and the Hoos stepped up their mid field game in the second half) UVA began to dominate the center of the field. As I said above, this team really needs to work to achieve the chemistry in the midfield, which is another way of saying that practicing getting open for good pressure-relief passes and practicing the technical skills of pass weight and leading the runner will have to get better, IMO. We have players with the technical skills, so it will be a matter of focus. Offensively, we sprung a number of good attacks in the second half (which was where all of the game's scoring was.) The first goal was sublime. A nice pass from Annie to Julia freed her to the corner and a nice cross. I forget who dummied it right in front of the goal so as to pin the keeper in place and then let it go past the far post for Bucky to dispatch. Our second goal was a masterpiece of a free kick from about 23 yards by Jo. Well struck over the wall and dipping under the bar (which apparently astonished the keeper who didn't make a play for it.) Third goal was a header (and me fumbling with my camera did not see the shooter) out of a close in running crowd of defenders and Tarheel forwards. So we end the spring season. More work to be done, but it's coming along. I am looking forward to the fall with great anticipation as always.
Thanks, SH, for the great report. UVA seemed like a really strong team (when are they not?) and dominated the first half play IMHO, but the Heels came out with some fire in the second half and passed much better under pressure. Thanks for explaining how the hell the Whoos scored that first goal! By the way, Brigette scored the third goal on a great cross from Bucky. Sweet. I think I overheard you talking on the sidelines to the 2012 Championship back line of Gardner, Murray, and Ball--if that was you! I would have substituted them in as just another Anson line change but they weren't dressed for the occasion--and our defense and keeping, as you say, was terrific! (God, it's always good to beat UVA if you can!) A fun match to watch!