2019 Women's D1 Soccer Talk!!!!

Imtired said:
No chip on the shoulder at all. Look at some of the teams who historically "stack the deck" with a large number of national team players (Ferraris) and ignore players who have a lot of raw talent but don't necessarily have the resume? Penn State and Stanford are 2 that immediately come to mind, both are having surprising losses despite being stacked with national team players. Now let's look at UNC who have won 22 NCAA championships out of 36. Anson Dorrance gets a mix of Ferraris, Mustangs, and Cameros and the results speak for themselves. If you look at his squad he doesn't sign only national team players. He has a freshman who is a Lacrosse player but he saw her at an ID camp and liked some of the qualities she has. He plans to start her at OB. So maybe those who put too much stock in Ferraris need to look for some Mustangs and Cameros to fill out their squad.
Click to expand...
Maybe that’s why UNC no longer wins national championships
 
The beauty of collegiate sports is anybody can beat anybody on an given day given the right circumstances. Sure 99 times out of 100 a team like UNC will kill most lower D1 teams but there’s that 1% chance they do win. I’ve seen crazy things happen in soccer where one team just dominates the entire game and loses.

Clearly based on talent and results, Virginia, UCLA, USC, UNC, FLA St. and Stanford are the favorites.

Then you have teams like the BYUs, Pepperdine’s, Santa clara’s Of the world that can beat those teams above but won’t be able to sustain in the playoffs to get to the end.
 
Cal takes down Santa Clara at home! Super exciting game. Bears are for real. Santa Clara really up against it, in terms of making the tourney.
 
Dubs said:
Cal takes down Santa Clara at home! Super exciting game. Bears are for real. Santa Clara really up against it, in terms of making the tourney.
Click to expand...

SC beat Stanford then lost to cal
Pepperdine lost to cal poly and then beat UCLA.


I think we are going to have to wait to see how teams do in conference play. even if cal makes it history suggests they are 1 and done. Like I said Cal gets in the dance but draws a Long Beach state or Seattle U and gets upset.
 
eastbaysoccer said:
SC beat Stanford then lost to cal
Pepperdine lost to cal poly and then beat UCLA.


I think we are going to have to wait to see how teams do in conference play. even if cal makes it history suggests they are 1 and done. Like I said Cal gets in the dance but draws a Long Beach state or Seattle U and gets upset.
Click to expand...

Can't remember if it was on this thread WAY BACK or on a coaching hotseat thread but when Cal was discussed, I made the point that whether last year was an aberration (similar to a UCLA season a few years back) or the norm, you have to look at what they lost with the 2017 seniors (2018 graduates) - a backline with 3 seniors (and one frosh who is now a Jr and playing great) and a 4-year starter at GK. Knowing the current frosh GK very, very well, I knew that this year would be different. The Jrs, who struggled as sophs but gained valuable experience, will set a great tone with an excellent GK (who was finally tested yesterday and stood up to the test). Are they UCLA/Stanford "elite" . . . not sure anyone in the Pac12 is (I don't put too much in any one game and am part of the camp that thinks an early loss can be good) but they will be very good b/c they have a D that will make it tough for anyone.
 
sirfootyalot said:
Maybe that’s why UNC no longer wins national championships
Click to expand...
LOL, I knew as soon as I posted that someone would make a point that UNC hasn't won a championship in a few years (6). But last year they made it to the finals and only lost to Florida State 0-1--a team that also has a mix of Ferraris, Mustangs, and Cameros AND ran circles around Stanford in the semi-finals. My point is not to denigrate Stanford, Penn, etc.. My point was that having a well-rounded team is often better than a garage full of Ferrari's. Not that the Ferrari's on any of those teams aren't super talented or aren't cutting it somehow, just sometimes you need the right mix. As Herb Brooks said when he chose his 1980 Olympic Championship hockey team "I'm not looking for the best players, I'm looking for the right players".
 
dk_b said:
Can't remember if it was on this thread WAY BACK or on a coaching hotseat thread but when Cal was discussed, I made the point that whether last year was an aberration (similar to a UCLA season a few years back) or the norm, you have to look at what they lost with the 2017 seniors (2018 graduates) - a backline with 3 seniors (and one frosh who is now a Jr and playing great) and a 4-year starter at GK. Knowing the current frosh GK very, very well, I knew that this year would be different. The Jrs, who struggled as sophs but gained valuable experience, will set a great tone with an excellent GK (who was finally tested yesterday and stood up to the test). Are they UCLA/Stanford "elite" . . . not sure anyone in the Pac12 is (I don't put too much in any one game and am part of the camp that thinks an early loss can be good) but they will be very good b/c they have a D that will make it tough for anyone.
Click to expand...
I was one that said he might be on the hot seat. Angelina is an awesome goalie and their defense seems to be in good order and organized. Santa Clara has some terrific weapons and they were mostly neutralized by CAl, Cal definitely passes the eye test. They should only get better and based on what I've seen will get out of the first round. Lots of upsets but how does Texas lose 0-4 to Monmouth and Baylor draw to Abilene Christian, Big 12 not looking good. Looking forward to conference play.
 
beachbum said:
I was one that said he might be on the hot seat. Angelina is an awesome goalie and their defense seems to be in good order and organized. Santa Clara has some terrific weapons and they were mostly neutralized by CAl, Cal definitely passes the eye test. They should only get better and based on what I've seen will get out of the first round. Lots of upsets but how does Texas lose 0-4 to Monmouth and Baylor draw to Abilene Christian, Big 12 not looking good. Looking forward to conference play.
Click to expand...
Texas not good at all once you get past Grosso and Hintzen. Their D is super suspect. Cal has solid D. The quality drops a bit once the bench comes in but all in all, they look really good. I was super impressed with Mateyer (attacking mid). She was great!
 
Maybe we are seeing that many of the top 150 players are choosing colleges based on reasons other than soccer--academics, geography, climate, etc.? And, that the players 50-150 are closer in talent/ability to 1-49 than in year's past. One year doesn't make a trend, but these are two reasons that could explain more parity.
 
Or maybe there are just a LOT of really good female soccer players and there are a lot to go around and make teams better.

Or maybe coaches adjustments in the early recruiting process Are paying off now.

Based on Results so far there seems to be some form of parity.
 
Dubs said:
Texas not good at all once you get past Grosso and Hintzen. Their D is super suspect. Cal has solid D. The quality drops a bit once the bench comes in but all in all, they look really good. I was super impressed with Mateyer (attacking mid). She was great!
Click to expand...

I saw Andersen at 6’0 make some great saves. Her presence alone makes CAL better. She’s the difference. A goalie by herself can shut a team down.
 
eastbaysoccer said:
I saw Andersen at 6’0 make some great saves. Her presence alone makes CAL better. She’s the difference. A goalie by herself can shut a team down.
Click to expand...
She definitely makes a difference. The team has gotten a lot better up and down. Combination of second year players, splash of Frosh and vets make for a much improved side.
 
outside! said:
I will add that the SEC channel was a pleasure to watch. Good camera work and the announcers were good. Unfortunately there is no way to replay the game, so I cancelled my subscription.
Click to expand...

Check the On Demand tab. I am watching your kid's game right now. On the ESPN app.
 
oh canada said:
Maybe we are seeing that many of the top 150 players are choosing colleges based on reasons other than soccer--academics, geography, climate, etc.? And, that the players 50-150 are closer in talent/ability to 1-49 than in year's past. One year doesn't make a trend, but these are two reasons that could explain more parity.
Click to expand...

Parity doesn't really exist. Some of the coaches are really good at drawing up a gameplan and sometimes the ladies just execute. Many times top teams come in and look down upon weaker teams and don't take them as seriously or play as hard against them. This unfortunately is how non-professional sports work. Come playoff time, the usual suspects are ready to go. And Texas sucks. They never get top 10 recruiting classes and usually they get one in state star and the rest are just good athletes not soccer players. I have no idea what lie they told Grosso in order to get her there but it must have been a whopper!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top