We did but I feel like we haven't had any of the juggernauts yet(no offense to the teams we faced thus far). NC State had their moments where they kept possession from us and stalled our offense for about 30 minutes before we scored our last two goals. The heart attacks I get are when we are so far up the pitch at times that we become vulnerable to possible 1v1 counterattack and our keeper can only do so much in those situations. I'm actually quite surprised we have had shutouts the past few games, we aren't really celebrated for our defense. Our match with UNC should be a very exciting one and I believe both of our teams are at the same level so it's going to be a nice even match. It could go either way but I think home field advantage always has the edge. One thing is for sure, you guys need your people to probably score at least 3 goals against us and we are probably going to have to do the same. I don't think there will be any shutouts in this match.
I simply meant that North Carolina is well above NC State as an opponent. So, although UCLA looked very good against NC State, I doubt they'll look as good against UNC. Apart from that, here are some likelihood stats: North Carolina's ARPI: 0.6697 UCLA's ARPI: 0.6485 With the difference between the two ratings, if playing at a neutral site North Carolina's win likelihood is 52.4%; loss likelihood 31.4%; tie likelihood 16.2% (with the advancing team in case of a tie, from this year's results, likely a 50%/50% matter). Playing with UNC as the home team, which is worth 0.0140, the likelihoods change to 62.8%/24.0%/13.2%. If they were playing at UCLA, the likelihoods still would be in UNC's favor at 47.4%/37.2%/15.5%. The likelihoods are based on all games played from 2007 through 2017, but not including NCAA Tournament games.
Thanks a lot. Last time they player in quarters, UCLA won national title. That was a tough game for the Heels. Lots of injuries during the game. 3 more wins away. I think they are going to do it. PK shootout vs Stanford for tittle.
NC State from the start of play had their D line dropping back; UNC will likely pressure and not drop back. The dropping back allowed UCLA to get corners where they got their goals I suspect UCLAs goals against UNC will not be off corners. (think they got 3 off corners vs. NC state). Not many teams have the defense to drop into a shell against UCLA and win. should be exciting game to watch and more up and down
I just found out that the NWSL draft is changing its rules about drafting underclass players. Heretofore they drafted college players who had finishsed their careers, but starting on January10, they can draft any college player no matter their year. For those of us UNC fans looking forward to two more years of a healthy Emily Fox at UNC, her recent two starts with the USWNT might put her on the radar for NWSL teams. Any intelligence out there on this topic?
Simply, UNC is a better team than NC State. But also, NC State is not deep enough to lose the amount of top players they did and be competitive v UCLA.
Specifically, here is what the new rule says: In order to be eligible for the 2019 NWSL College Draft, a player must: Be a player who will forego any remaining college eligibility or must have exhausted their eligibility during the 2018/2019 academic year, and Be at least 18-years-old during the College Protected Period (which ends at the conclusion of the 2019 season), and Register for the draft with the NWSL by the deadline at 4 pm ET on Wednesday, January 9, 2019. I can think of at least three cases that might have led to the rule change. The obvious one is Lindsay Horan. The earlier NWSL rule meant that she could not play in the NWSL immediately on deciding to forego college, rather she had to go play in Europe first since she hadn't yet exhausted her college eligibility. That's something the NWSL and USSF would not want to happen again, they'd rather have the player play in the NWSL right away, if the player wants to do. The earlier rule also meant the same for Mal Pugh, I'm not sure how the NWSL got around that one and got her into the NWSL right away although possibly the USSF gave her a contract which meant she automatically had lost her college eligibility. The less obvious case is Aussie Ellie Carpenter who has foregone college to play professionally as soon as she turned 18. I doubt the NWSL and USSF wanted other countries to have players able to do that and US players not being able to do it. It's a mixed bag since these players are losing, at least to some extent, a chance for free rides to college. But, the three of them all have been pretty clear they are happy with their decisions.
Per Soccer America, the following is the salary structure of the NWSL over the last several years. 2013 $200,000 (minimum salary: $6,000; maximum: $30,000) 2014 $200,000 (minimum salary: $6,600; maximum: $31,500) 2015 $265,000 (minimum salary: $6,842; maximum: $37,800) 2016 $278,000 (minimum salary: $7,200; maximum: $39,700) 2017 $315,000 (minimum salary: $15,000; maximum: $41,700) 2018 $350,000 (minimum salary: $15,750; maximum: $44,000) Note: Salaries of federation players don't count against cap. I'm fairly confident a HS or college player jumping to the NWSL will not be making the maximum right off the bat. Even if they were, that would only be $44,000. Financially speaking, that is not a good reason to forego college and the myriad opportunities a college education may open up to you. I do understand that logic will not play into every player's decision. I sure hope not many take this option. LIke in football, will they have the option to declare and return to college with eligibility if they later decide not to go pro? (with football, they must not have signed with an agent)
right. it's just nwsl writing the words that acknowledge the reality of what's happening. but i (and i'm sure they) don't expect any real change. neither fox not anyone else on the horizon is going to give up their college scholarship for the pittance nwsl is paying. for a ussoccer contract? maybe. but nobody is guaranteed that. ...and if pugh loses her allocation - she's been oft injured & playing poorly - it will have the effect of almost never having changed the ruling.
think we are only looking a this one dimensionally. Sponsorship is the carrot here, not NWSL salaries of even allocation. Pugh's decision was driven by Nike and Under Armour competing for her signature, not the USSF per se. Yes, the prospect of her being an allocated player on the US team for a long time was all part of it, but the $$ were Nike driven. I dont think this is going to apply to many College players, but a player Like Macario could go pro and perhaps a sponsor would attach themselves to her to court a specific demographic. lets face it, the WNT marketing I see seems to be very targeted. I think its more about not getting sued.
Leshnak was your MVP. I hate PKs as a way to determine the winner, but I thought overall UNC deserved the win. Kimball should have had a goal with that header late in 2nd half. 2 ACC teams and all 4 #1s advance. Guess the seeding wasn't that bad. Good luck. If we are both lucky, we'll see each other next Sunday! Go Noles/Heels!
I too thought that this was a good game. My over all feeling is that UNC was more pedestrian ---working away at getting the ball up field, trying to get crosses, etc whereas UCLA seemed to be more spirited with a handful of players who were quick and very talented darting around and making progress in the midfield for the Heels difficult and advancing the ball quickly up the field for them. Sanchez and Fleming are amazingly skilled. I wasn't paying much attention to Mace in the first half as she was playing defense, but she sure showed her talent in the second half with that less-than-a-minute outburst of two goals. I also thought that the refereeing style (and some of his calls) were difficult to fathom and this seemed distracting and confusing for players and fans alike. I thought that the Heels really gave it their all in the two overtimes putting pressure on the goal. And then those two fabulous shootout saves by Sam! Wow! (The second save on the shot from Fleming, which was heading about a foot inside the post, was breath taking.) I am sorry not to have the highlights available, as this broadcast was apparently not by UNC for the ACC network but was contracted by the NCAA to ESPN, so the footage is not available. (I hope that I am wrong and that they are able to bargain for the highlights.) And what a treat to play the likes of UCLA. They are one great team.
Thank you and it's a very kind thing to say since I'm still reeling from the loss. I wish these games got special treatment like actual national station coverage on ESPN or Fox or something. I hate that they are on ESPN 3 or a simple live-stream until the College Cup. Some of the best matches are often held before the Semi-Finals and Championship games and I wish there was more coverage. I think the men's soccer NCAA tournament gets more coverage than the women's but maybe I'm wrong I never watched the men's version.
I know it's true for myself, and I suspect every fan out there.. one can't simply prepare oneself emotionally for an important loss. I know I always have to grieve for awhile. You seem, however, to be well put together compared to many fans who lash out with bitterness over a loss. A true fan supports her/his team in good times and bad and realizes that without worthy competition we all would not be able to enjoy all of the skills, tactics, stamina, creativity, etc. that are so much fun to watch. And worthy competition means that either team could win on a given day. (My wife and I discussed how we would deal with a loss on the way to the game tonight. We're long time fans of the game and still have to prepare the best we can to face reality.) Cheers!
Congrats to UNC and Kudos to UCLA. Now back to a couple of other questions from earlier in the thread. What is allocation? And who and how many get it? How much is it worth? How many players get sponsorships? I'm guessing people like Morgan? Did Pugh get sponsorship? Who else? Is there only one or two league wide, or does every team have one or more with sponsorships or allocations? It's obvious salaries SHOULD NOT tempt high school and college players, so I'm trying to understand the allocation and sponsorship landscape.
There were a lot of issues with coverage at Koko booth stadium this year & last. Facilities are an issue but also money. I don't know who pays for what but it's obvious someone somewhere skimped on production & camera quality. It doesn't take a big production room to put a graphics bug on the screen with score & time. It doesn't take large comfortable indoor facilities to provide a replay and a second camera for a different angle. That boils down to money... if the NWSL taught us anything, even teams on a tight budget in bad locations can do these things.
The fact that the unc soccer teams haven't been able 2 have home games at their own facilities for the past 2 yrs is a shame and a disservice 2 them. They deserve better.
They will never admit it, but I'm convinced UNC sacrificed work on Fetzer field in order to get other facilities related to football up in time for their season to start... only to see the football team go down in glorious flames to the extent they fired the coach this morning. Now there's talk Fetzer field won't even be ready for the Lacrosse teams in the spring.