Down to quarterfinals 4 teams from the ACC and 2 from the Big10; Nebraska and Penn State; FSU looked dominant yesterday but Nebraska also dominated yesterday; Even though I never want to see PSU do well in this case would like to see them and Nebraska win
Women's NCAA Tournament
- Thread starter richthedentist
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I’m not surprised there are only two B10 teams left. Our teams look big and slow = obviously taking a page out of the National Team playbook and we saw how that worked out. At some point soccer will make the size transition that hockey underwent years back = big slow players can’t compete with speed and skill. That’s why players like Eric Lindros no longer exist in the NHL and players like Hughes, Bedard, etc. own the ice.
agreed when you watch FSU which I have watched a bunch this year they are fast, they spread the field and when they make crosses because they use the entire field they always seem to have at least 3 or 4 girls in the box which is the exact opposite of us when we cross the ball or rarely do we are lucky to have 1 girl in the box!!
As they say you can't teach speed and speed kills
Totally agree - and look at the rosters of a lot of these ACC and SEC schools and you will find plenty of girls 5’5” and under. Size bias in a sport like soccer simply doesn’t make sense.
Insane game - not sure I’ve ever seen anything quite like it considering UNC is a legendary program. UNC absolutely dominated the first half. Terrible game to watch until second half when BYU took over and UNC looked helpless.
UNC absolutely blew that game and not just because they blew a 3 goal but they pulled a Rutgers and played the entire second half to not lose they even changed their formation to keep more girls back the entire second half and of course when you play not to lose you lose!!
Not that you expect to lose a 3 goal lead but they did . They went from outshooting BYU 8-5 in the first half to being outshot 20-6 in the second so that just says it all that loss is on the coach
I watched the game with parents of one of the UNC players. She is hurt so wasn't playing but let's just say it was not a happy house. But their head coach does two things poorly - goes into a shell when they have a lead and does not substitute in the second half and kids wear down - especially when not use to playing in that altitude and cold weather. They got peppered the whole second half. They tied 8 games this year giving up a ton of late game goals because of the reasons above. And did the same thing in the NC game last year against UCLA. Been a trend for the 2 years that I have watched them closely.
That’s us to a tee except we play a defensive shell the whole game unfortunately!!
I actually think the weather played a bigger factor than most realize. UNC came out on fire riding an adrenaline wave. But that cold Provo UT weather will wear you down during the course of the game so by the second half the UNC players looked like they were running on empty. If your body isn’t used to playing in snowy cold conditions you are at a huge disadvantage.
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Absolutely. Between the cold and the altitude kids were exhausted. And he played 2 defenders and 2 midfielders 90 minutes. Anson is past his prime but they can't get rid of him. He like Mike has not adapted to the new style of play.
Was going to ask you about that the coach but knowing that how do they still pull in(recruit) the girls?
Its UNC. He is a legend coach. They have won 21 national championships. They get whoever they want. Always top rated recruiting classes including PDA kids. They have close to 40 kids on their roster. My neighbors kid would start on D at RU in a heart beat and she barely played this year. She got beat out by younger kids. Honestly not sure why kids go there to sit the bench.
Totally agree - these girls get enamored with the UNC program reputation and forget that with 40 girls on the roster and an influx of top recruits every year there is a good chance they end up on the bench.
Tried to get my neighbors daughter to reach out to RU as she is a grad transfer but wants to stay south. Down to Texas or Alabama. Would have been perfect left back for us.
What are you getting at? Are you saying RU only goes after big girls? I just looked at 3 rosters. Using your 5’5 metric and below
FSU has 6
ND has 6
Rutgers has 13
Not in the games that matter. Literally lost last years NC game because he kept his midfield and defenders in the whole second half and they completely wore down. Was at the game and NC fans were furious. Did the same thing in 2nd half of BYU game. He mass substitutes in first half and it works so not sure why he doesn't in second half of games. Bottom line is the talent level he gets will always get him far in the tourney but last championship was 2012. They literally have the top recruiting class every year.
According to top Drawer the final recruiting rankings were
2020: UCLA
2021: Cal
2022: PSU
2023: UNC
2024: PSU
So they don’t have top class everywhere. With 14 scholarships it’s almost impossible to do that.
I’m bored at a hotel with no bar so I figured I’d look into that theory about minutes. I’ve watched a good number of game this year as well. So I just looked up stats
From the elite 8 for all 4 games. I game only listed participation and not time played
This game went to OT
Stanford played 14 girls.
Nebraska played 14 girls
Also an OT game
Clemson played 15. 8 played over 100 min.
PSU played 16. 8 played over 100 minutes.
Pitt played 14. 8 played 90.
FSU played 17. 6 played 90.
BYU played 18. 5 played 90.
UNC played 21. 4 played 90
So not only does UNC play more girls they also have the least number to play full games. In fact, only 2 of the 21 played less than 10 min. For comparison
FSU had 3 of their 17 play less than 10.
Most teams do not sub defenders especially late in the year. Dorrance has been to the championship game like 4 or 5 times since they last won and the college cup probably 2 more. I think he might knows what he’s doing. There is a lot of talent that is getting more disbursed throughout the country so winning is hard. These guys that think they know better is just laughable.
There is a lot of talent that may be getting more disbursed but it is still mainly the same teams that end up being in the college cup or at least the quarterfinals as they say the rich keeping getting richer so to speak and every year there might be one or two teams that may make it every now and then
Top 5 every year. Should have been clearer. They have kids that sit the bench all year that would start for RU.
I am not acting like I know better. He is obviously a legendary coach. But I have been to and watched a ton of their games the last 2 years because my neighbors kid plays for them. He subs a ton of forwards and the midfield. All season long. And maybe the outside backs. But he has a tendency to get away from this in big time games. And he went into a shell against BYU in the 2nd half. Switched to 4 in the back the 2nd half and lost the midfield. They were clearly exhausted and the ball ended being in their half of the field the entire second half. Should not lose a game you are up 3-0 and clearly dominating. If that was RU we would be calling for the coaches head. Go back and look at their games this year. Ended up tying a ton giving up late game goals.
Yes. They shouldn’t have lost but stats show he still played more than anyone else in the elite 8.
Stats sometimes lie. One sub played 5 minutes and another 1 minute at end of first half up 3-0. Two defensive subs played a total of 28 minutes and 21 of those minutes were in the first half. The rest of the subs were for their forwards and one mid fielder. This after he went to 4 on the back line. In the 2nd half he made 2 subs. One at forward and one for the outside back for 7 minutes. It was snowing and they were playing at an altitude they were not used to. BYU was. I get you go with your studs but watching you could tell the last 10 minutes they had no gas left. Easy to second guess now I guess but i watched it in the NC game last year as well. He has 15 girls on the bench that all can play - even if for 5 minutes to give the girls a breather. Just my two cents. I wish RU has these problems lol.
I watched the game, twice. I know what happened. You can’t argue that he didn’t play enough girls when he played significantly more than anyone else including BYU and I addressed the less than 10 minute players. He also has less of them than anyone else. So he had more girls play more minutes than the other 7 teams. I get he has a deep bench but so does FSU. So does Stanford. In fact, except for Pitt and Nebraska the other six teams are always top classes. None lack depth. Obviously your neighbor is jaded and that probably weighs into your opinion but it’s not like I don’t know UNC soccer. I have a girl living with me at times who’s going there. I’ve watched multiple games with her.
We will agree to disagree. And not jaded. Neighbors daughter was hurt and had surgery so she couldn't have played if they wanted her to. Deep down glad they lost lol. Have never been a UNC fan. And check out Florida States roster. 21 girls total. UNC has over 30 on the roster. Good way to keep everyone happy and get playing time.
Yes but how many of them are NC courage girls who are there simply because they live in NC. Many have zero expectations to play. RU is carrying a bunch of girls who have zero chance of ever seeing the field simply because they are from NJ and their economics allow cheap or free Tuition. My older daughter played against NC courage like 4 times in 2 years. They had multiple UNC commits that it was obvious we’re never gonna see the field. Hell think we scored 6 goals in one half against one goalie.
Exactly the announcers were so quick to say this about how he switched to 4 in the back andonly 4 in the midfield; once they scored the tying goal they were like they have to switch back to 5 in the midfield and did but by then the momentum for BYU could not be stopped and UNC couldn't mount anything offensively
Was curious so looked as my daughter (PDA) played against them a ton as well. 11 out of 33 kids on roster from NC. 2 are starters and 3 play a bunch as subs. One was out all year (hurt). 3 are true freshman so hard to tell and 3 dnp at all. Surprising so many out of kids come and dont play. 2 NJ girls on the roster - one from Rutgers Prep.
Of The two NJ girls one is a starter and the Rutgers prep girl was 2 time state player of the year and is always called up for national teams.
11 of 33 from NC
RU has 20 out of 30 from NJ
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Yeh. They both are very good. The type of kids RU needs to keep home. Not the 2nd level PDA kids.
But we need to expand our recruiting grounds because no matter what some kids just want to go away and as good as NJ soccer is you still need talent from all different areas including international players
I meant under 5’5” (sorry I should have split hairs) and was generalizing when it comes to starters on B10 teams. They tend to play bigger more physical line-ups. And you aren’t wrong about the RU roster but most of those girls don’t/won’t see much playing time in their 4 years.
It comes down to style. Big ten tends to be more direct. That works better with big fast physical girls. Same with SEC. Where as ACC seems to play a more technical game. Ever watch Arkansas play? It’s like 10 track athletes trying to play soccer
