[BobK]

Wait until tomorrow

[BobK]

Wait until tomorrow

[81alum]

This was quite sad. I'm so used to tuning in to Women's soccer later in the tournament, but Covid and then 2 early exits have broken that tradition.  Hope this young team can do even better next year.

[81alum]

This was quite sad. I'm so used to tuning in to Women's soccer later in the tournament, but Covid and then 2 early exits have broken that tradition.  Hope this young team can do even better next year.

[Canalejas]

Such an early exit for such a potent team.  Oh well.  I look forward to seeing them play next year.

[Canalejas]

Such an early exit for such a potent team.  Oh well.  I look forward to seeing them play next year.

[Phogge]

Wait until tomorrow

Is the CC NCAA's rigged? Do you know something?

[Phogge]

Wait until tomorrow

Is the CC NCAA's rigged? Do you know something?

[Hieronymus]

Unfortunately? Predictably? Your choice, but the tournament played like the regular season. Stanford destroyed the team that wasn’t good enough to pressure them, and tied the one that could.

I watched the Cal game with an analyst view instead of a casual fan eye, and I couldn’t figure out the midfield. Hard to do this on tv - you can’t see enough of the field. Loosely though I think Leontini was the 6, Doms was the 8 and Enge was the 10, but the mids were really unstructured. Lopsided too but that was clearly intentional to leave Rubinstein and Williams space on the right.

Whatever was supposed to happen, the midfield never really jelled against better teams. Maybe Kitahata in midfield makes a big impact next year. We will see.

[Hieronymus]

Unfortunately? Predictably? Your choice, but the tournament played like the regular season. Stanford destroyed the team that wasn’t good enough to pressure them, and tied the one that could.

I watched the Cal game with an analyst view instead of a casual fan eye, and I couldn’t figure out the midfield. Hard to do this on tv - you can’t see enough of the field. Loosely though I think Leontini was the 6, Doms was the 8 and Enge was the 10, but the mids were really unstructured. Lopsided too but that was clearly intentional to leave Rubinstein and Williams space on the right.

Whatever was supposed to happen, the midfield never really jelled against better teams. Maybe Kitahata in midfield makes a big impact next year. We will see.

[ca245]

Unfortunately? Predictably? Your choice, but the tournament played like the regular season. Stanford destroyed the team that wasn’t good enough to pressure them, and tied the one that could.

I watched the Cal game with an analyst view instead of a casual fan eye, and I couldn’t figure out the midfield. Hard to do this on tv - you can’t see enough of the field. Loosely though I think Leontini was the 6, Doms was the 8 and Enge was the 10, but the mids were really unstructured. Lopsided too but that was clearly intentional to leave Rubinstein and Williams space on the right.

Whatever was supposed to happen, the midfield never really jelled against better teams. Maybe Kitahata in midfield makes a big impact next year. We will see.

I agree with your analysis that our midfield was our Achilles heel. We had a lot of trouble building up our offense methodically and too often had to rely on long balls downfield.

[ca245]

Unfortunately? Predictably? Your choice, but the tournament played like the regular season. Stanford destroyed the team that wasn’t good enough to pressure them, and tied the one that could.

I watched the Cal game with an analyst view instead of a casual fan eye, and I couldn’t figure out the midfield. Hard to do this on tv - you can’t see enough of the field. Loosely though I think Leontini was the 6, Doms was the 8 and Enge was the 10, but the mids were really unstructured. Lopsided too but that was clearly intentional to leave Rubinstein and Williams space on the right.

Whatever was supposed to happen, the midfield never really jelled against better teams. Maybe Kitahata in midfield makes a big impact next year. We will see.

I agree with your analysis that our midfield was our Achilles heel. We had a lot of trouble building up our offense methodically and too often had to rely on long balls downfield.

[OCcardinal]

This was quite sad. I'm so used to tuning in to Women's soccer later in the tournament, but Covid and then 2 early exits have broken that tradition.  Hope this young team can do even better next year.

That low #3 seed was a killer. We've had bad luck with the draws the last two years. Each time we lost to a team that had played in the College Cup championship the season before.  BYU had gotten to the final as a 4 seed and Santa Clara had WON the championship as an 11 seed.  Their coaches know how to develop them during the season and prepare them for the tournament. 

Meanwhile, although we were deep, most of our best players were impacted by one thing or another.  Doms missed time with the passing of her father and (understandably) had not quite returned to top form. Kitahata, our top sophomore (and a world class player, as evidenced by her performance at the U20 CONCACAF tournament) needed to stop out to address the mental health impact of losing Katie Meyer (which I'm sure other players were impacted by too).  We lost our top freshman forward Allie Montoya (the #2 forward in her class) to a season ending injury and our #1 recruit frosh (Elise Evans) has been out for weeks. Though Evans started yesterday she was nowhere near 100%.  Plus, during the game, we lost Senior and former Gatorade national player of the year, Kennedy Wesley, who, as an outside back always plays an important part of advancing the ball.  She also is an excellent PK shooter (she scored her PK in the championship game as a freshman in 2019) and I'm sure she would have been the one to take that 5th penalty had she not been injured.

If you asked me the teams I would absolutely not want to have faced in the first two rounds of the 2020 and 2021 tournaments, I would have said Santa Clara and BYU. And if you asked me before this season which field players I would least want out (or have be less than 100%), it would have been exactly those 5 players (Doms, Kitahata, Evans, Montoya and Wesley). Just bad breaks all around.

So I wouldn't read the last 2 years' results as suggesting there is anything fundamentally wrong with the program. Moreover, we should be in ridiculously good shape next year.  Our terrific young players will be more experienced and we've got the #1 ranked recruiting class coming in, which includes overall #1 recruit Alyssa Thompson (a forward who has had multiple recent caps on the full women's national team), Mia Bhuta and Shae Harvey (two extremely talented midfielders who looked brilliant in the recent U17 World Cup, with Bhuta scoring an absolute golazo from distance with her left and Harvey scoring 4 goals in one of the games), plus a couple of additional top 30 recruits. In addition, 4 of our 6 seniors are apparently coming back for their COVID year.  It hasn't been announced yet which ones, but hopefully that group will include Wesley and Doms.  How could they skip the opportunity to play on a team with Thompson on it, right?

[OCcardinal]

This was quite sad. I'm so used to tuning in to Women's soccer later in the tournament, but Covid and then 2 early exits have broken that tradition.  Hope this young team can do even better next year.

That low #3 seed was a killer. We've had bad luck with the draws the last two years. Each time we lost to a team that had played in the College Cup championship the season before.  BYU had gotten to the final as a 4 seed and Santa Clara had WON the championship as an 11 seed.  Their coaches know how to develop them during the season and prepare them for the tournament. 

Meanwhile, although we were deep, most of our best players were impacted by one thing or another.  Doms missed time with the passing of her father and (understandably) had not quite returned to top form. Kitahata, our top sophomore (and a world class player, as evidenced by her performance at the U20 CONCACAF tournament) needed to stop out to address the mental health impact of losing Katie Meyer (which I'm sure other players were impacted by too).  We lost our top freshman forward Allie Montoya (the #2 forward in her class) to a season ending injury and our #1 recruit frosh (Elise Evans) has been out for weeks. Though Evans started yesterday she was nowhere near 100%.  Plus, during the game, we lost Senior and former Gatorade national player of the year, Kennedy Wesley, who, as an outside back always plays an important part of advancing the ball.  She also is an excellent PK shooter (she scored her PK in the championship game as a freshman in 2019) and I'm sure she would have been the one to take that 5th penalty had she not been injured.

If you asked me the teams I would absolutely not want to have faced in the first two rounds of the 2020 and 2021 tournaments, I would have said Santa Clara and BYU. And if you asked me before this season which field players I would least want out (or have be less than 100%), it would have been exactly those 5 players (Doms, Kitahata, Evans, Montoya and Wesley). Just bad breaks all around.

So I wouldn't read the last 2 years' results as suggesting there is anything fundamentally wrong with the program. Moreover, we should be in ridiculously good shape next year.  Our terrific young players will be more experienced and we've got the #1 ranked recruiting class coming in, which includes overall #1 recruit Alyssa Thompson (a forward who has had multiple recent caps on the full women's national team), Mia Bhuta and Shae Harvey (two extremely talented midfielders who looked brilliant in the recent U17 World Cup, with Bhuta scoring an absolute golazo from distance with her left and Harvey scoring 4 goals in one of the games), plus a couple of additional top 30 recruits. In addition, 4 of our 6 seniors are apparently coming back for their COVID year.  It hasn't been announced yet which ones, but hopefully that group will include Wesley and Doms.  How could they skip the opportunity to play on a team with Thompson on it, right?

[BACardinal]

Just saw the National Championship game is today at 3:00pm on ESPNU. 

Soccer is one of the most popular female sports in America yet they scheduled it during working hours on on a subscription channel. I find this kind of ridiculous.  

I don't remember what day the championship game was played in San Jose when Stanford won but I'm pretty sure it was a weekend on ESPN2.

[BACardinal]

Just saw the National Championship game is today at 3:00pm on ESPNU. 

Soccer is one of the most popular female sports in America yet they scheduled it during working hours on on a subscription channel. I find this kind of ridiculous.  

I don't remember what day the championship game was played in San Jose when Stanford won but I'm pretty sure it was a weekend on ESPN2.

[Jamesy]

Just saw the National Championship game is today at 3:00pm on ESPNU. 

Soccer is one of the most popular female sports in America yet the have slotted during working hours on on a subscription channel. I find this kind of ridiculous.  

I don't remember what day the championship game was played in San Jose when Stanford won but I'm pretty sure it was a weekend on ESPN2.

The 2019 championship was played on a Sunday at 5:30 PM local. They should have it on the West Coast every year. :-)

[Jamesy]

Just saw the National Championship game is today at 3:00pm on ESPNU. 

Soccer is one of the most popular female sports in America yet the have slotted during working hours on on a subscription channel. I find this kind of ridiculous.  

I don't remember what day the championship game was played in San Jose when Stanford won but I'm pretty sure it was a weekend on ESPN2.

The 2019 championship was played on a Sunday at 5:30 PM local. They should have it on the West Coast every year. :-)

[oldalum]

UCLA won the championship 3-2 in 2 OT. Not happy about UCLA adding to its team championship total, but very happy UNC & Dorrance did not get its 22nd championship in W Soccer. And glad for our former associate head coach, Aozasa. I liked it better when I could root wholeheartedly against Cromwell & UCLA.

PKs are a crap shoot, as evidenced by our men missing their first three against UNC Greensboro.

[oldalum]

UCLA won the championship 3-2 in 2 OT. Not happy about UCLA adding to its team championship total, but very happy UNC & Dorrance did not get its 22nd championship in W Soccer. And glad for our former associate head coach, Aozasa. I liked it better when I could root wholeheartedly against Cromwell & UCLA.

PKs are a crap shoot, as evidenced by our men missing their first three against UNC Greensboro.

[Spiny_Norman]

It was a tremendous comeback by the Bruins. Down 2-0 with 10 minutes to play. They scored the equalizer at 89:44. Really entertaining match to watch. Really dispiriting for the fans in Cary, NC at what was essentially a home match for UNC.

[Spiny_Norman]

It was a tremendous comeback by the Bruins. Down 2-0 with 10 minutes to play. They scored the equalizer at 89:44. Really entertaining match to watch. Really dispiriting for the fans in Cary, NC at what was essentially a home match for UNC.

[Jamesy]

It was a tremendous comeback by the Bruins. Down 2-0 with 10 minutes to play. They scored the equalizer at 89:44. Really entertaining match to watch. Really dispiriting for the fans in Cary, NC at what was essentially a home match for UNC.

Not to worry, UNC fans, the next two women's college cups are also being held in Cary, NC. ?

[Jamesy]

It was a tremendous comeback by the Bruins. Down 2-0 with 10 minutes to play. They scored the equalizer at 89:44. Really entertaining match to watch. Really dispiriting for the fans in Cary, NC at what was essentially a home match for UNC.

Not to worry, UNC fans, the next two women's college cups are also being held in Cary, NC. ?

[OCcardinal]

Looks like we may have just have lost our star recruit in the Class of 2023. The LA Times is reporting that Alyssa Thompson is going to skip college and will be the #1 pick in the NWSL draft instead.  That said, the biggest reason to turn pro now is to try to make the World Cup roster and the fact that she is not on the January USWNT roster would suggest she's not very close to that happening.  But who knows what the coach has been telling her.  Alyssa's younger sister is also a Stanford commit, and not quite at Alyssa's level, so I'm hopeful she will still matriculate with the class of '24 recruits. Link to article: Angel City acquires top pick in NWSL draft, will sign Alyssa Thompson

[OCcardinal]

Looks like we may have just have lost our star recruit in the Class of 2023. The LA Times is reporting that Alyssa Thompson is going to skip college and will be the #1 pick in the NWSL draft instead.  That said, the biggest reason to turn pro now is to try to make the World Cup roster and the fact that she is not on the January USWNT roster would suggest she's not very close to that happening.  But who knows what the coach has been telling her.  Alyssa's younger sister is also a Stanford commit, and not quite at Alyssa's level, so I'm hopeful she will still matriculate with the class of '24 recruits. Link to article: Angel City acquires top pick in NWSL draft, will sign Alyssa Thompson

[BACardinal]

Looks like we may have just have lost our star recruit in the Class of 2023. The LA Times is reporting that Alyssa Thompson is going to skip college and will be the #1 pick in the NWSL draft instead.  That said, the biggest reason to turn pro now is to try to make the World Cup roster and the fact that she is not on the January USWNT roster would suggest she's not very close to that happening.  But who knows what the coach has been telling her.  Alyssa's younger sister is also a Stanford commit, and not quite at Alyssa's level, so I'm hopeful she will still matriculate with the class of '24 recruits. Link to article: Angel City acquires top pick in NWSL draft, will sign Alyssa Thompson

Although Angel City made these moves to acquire the top pick for Thompson it is not a done deal. On Attacking Third they said Thompson has not declared for the draft yet and that this big 4-team trade has some contingencies in place in case something (Thompson not entering the draft) happens. 

The reason for turning pro and skipping college is to be able to compete for a WNT roster spot, however the world cup roster is out and she is not on the January camp roster. So, would it be wise for her to skip Stanford when she already has a Nike deal and the attention of the senior national team coaches? She doesn't need the exposure and could play with her sister for one year and then turn pro to prepare for the following world cup. Many things to think about and consider if you're 18 and want to achieve greatness.

There are still a couple days until the deadline to enter your name into the draft and my guess is she will forgo college and turn pro.

[BACardinal]

Looks like we may have just have lost our star recruit in the Class of 2023. The LA Times is reporting that Alyssa Thompson is going to skip college and will be the #1 pick in the NWSL draft instead.  That said, the biggest reason to turn pro now is to try to make the World Cup roster and the fact that she is not on the January USWNT roster would suggest she's not very close to that happening.  But who knows what the coach has been telling her.  Alyssa's younger sister is also a Stanford commit, and not quite at Alyssa's level, so I'm hopeful she will still matriculate with the class of '24 recruits. Link to article: Angel City acquires top pick in NWSL draft, will sign Alyssa Thompson

Although Angel City made these moves to acquire the top pick for Thompson it is not a done deal. On Attacking Third they said Thompson has not declared for the draft yet and that this big 4-team trade has some contingencies in place in case something (Thompson not entering the draft) happens. 

The reason for turning pro and skipping college is to be able to compete for a WNT roster spot, however the world cup roster is out and she is not on the January camp roster. So, would it be wise for her to skip Stanford when she already has a Nike deal and the attention of the senior national team coaches? She doesn't need the exposure and could play with her sister for one year and then turn pro to prepare for the following world cup. Many things to think about and consider if you're 18 and want to achieve greatness.

There are still a couple days until the deadline to enter your name into the draft and my guess is she will forgo college and turn pro.

[OCcardinal]

Although Angel City made these moves to acquire the top pick for Thompson it is not a done deal. On Attacking Third they said Thompson has not declared for the draft yet and that this big 4-team trade has some contingencies in place in case something (Thompson not entering the draft) happens. 

The reason for turning pro and skipping college is to be able to compete for a WNT roster spot, however the world cup roster is out and she is not on the January camp roster. So, would it be wise for her to skip Stanford when she already has a Nike deal and the attention of the senior national team coaches? She doesn't need the exposure and could play with her sister for one year and then turn pro to prepare for the following world cup. Many things to think about and consider if you're 18 and want to achieve greatness.

There are still a couple days until the deadline to enter your name into the draft and my guess is she will forgo college and turn pro.

I first saw the news about her not making the roster and thought it was a good sign for her keeping her Stanford commitment too. But then that LA Times article spoke with such certainty. Even if not declaring is still an option, it might be hard for her to pass up a chance to stay home and play for the local NWSL team. So I am with you that I think that is what will happen.  I don't suppose there is any way Angel City can secure Alyssa's rights in the draft but she could still play at Stanford next fall, is there?  The NCAA allowed Madison Hailey and Kiki Pickett to play after being drafted but I think that was a Covid-related exception.

[OCcardinal]

Although Angel City made these moves to acquire the top pick for Thompson it is not a done deal. On Attacking Third they said Thompson has not declared for the draft yet and that this big 4-team trade has some contingencies in place in case something (Thompson not entering the draft) happens. 

The reason for turning pro and skipping college is to be able to compete for a WNT roster spot, however the world cup roster is out and she is not on the January camp roster. So, would it be wise for her to skip Stanford when she already has a Nike deal and the attention of the senior national team coaches? She doesn't need the exposure and could play with her sister for one year and then turn pro to prepare for the following world cup. Many things to think about and consider if you're 18 and want to achieve greatness.

There are still a couple days until the deadline to enter your name into the draft and my guess is she will forgo college and turn pro.

I first saw the news about her not making the roster and thought it was a good sign for her keeping her Stanford commitment too. But then that LA Times article spoke with such certainty. Even if not declaring is still an option, it might be hard for her to pass up a chance to stay home and play for the local NWSL team. So I am with you that I think that is what will happen.  I don't suppose there is any way Angel City can secure Alyssa's rights in the draft but she could still play at Stanford next fall, is there?  The NCAA allowed Madison Hailey and Kiki Pickett to play after being drafted but I think that was a Covid-related exception.

[BACardinal]

Although Angel City made these moves to acquire the top pick for Thompson it is not a done deal. On Attacking Third they said Thompson has not declared for the draft yet and that this big 4-team trade has some contingencies in place in case something (Thompson not entering the draft) happens. 

The reason for turning pro and skipping college is to be able to compete for a WNT roster spot, however the world cup roster is out and she is not on the January camp roster. So, would it be wise for her to skip Stanford when she already has a Nike deal and the attention of the senior national team coaches? She doesn't need the exposure and could play with her sister for one year and then turn pro to prepare for the following world cup. Many things to think about and consider if you're 18 and want to achieve greatness.

There are still a couple days until the deadline to enter your name into the draft and my guess is she will forgo college and turn pro.

I first saw the news about her not making the roster and thought it was a good sign for her keeping her Stanford commitment too. But then that LA Times article spoke with such certainty. Even if not declaring is still an option, it might be hard for her to pass up a chance to stay home and play for the local NWSL team. So I am with you that I think that is what will happen.  I don't suppose there is any way Angel City can secure Alyssa's rights in the draft but she could still play at Stanford next fall, is there?  The NCAA allowed Madison Hailey and Kiki Pickett to play after being drafted but I think that was a Covid-related exception.

I don't know any of the "contingencies" however I think I heard something about Angel City securing the rights to Thompson's contract. I could have heard wrong so don't quote me. 

There is a case to be made for her to go the college route or professional. At this time, with her missing out on the world cup, I would hope she would go to Stanford for two years then declare but on the other hand maybe she is aiming for the Olympics and playing in the NWSL gives her more exposure against stronger competition.

[BACardinal]

Although Angel City made these moves to acquire the top pick for Thompson it is not a done deal. On Attacking Third they said Thompson has not declared for the draft yet and that this big 4-team trade has some contingencies in place in case something (Thompson not entering the draft) happens. 

The reason for turning pro and skipping college is to be able to compete for a WNT roster spot, however the world cup roster is out and she is not on the January camp roster. So, would it be wise for her to skip Stanford when she already has a Nike deal and the attention of the senior national team coaches? She doesn't need the exposure and could play with her sister for one year and then turn pro to prepare for the following world cup. Many things to think about and consider if you're 18 and want to achieve greatness.

There are still a couple days until the deadline to enter your name into the draft and my guess is she will forgo college and turn pro.

I first saw the news about her not making the roster and thought it was a good sign for her keeping her Stanford commitment too. But then that LA Times article spoke with such certainty. Even if not declaring is still an option, it might be hard for her to pass up a chance to stay home and play for the local NWSL team. So I am with you that I think that is what will happen.  I don't suppose there is any way Angel City can secure Alyssa's rights in the draft but she could still play at Stanford next fall, is there?  The NCAA allowed Madison Hailey and Kiki Pickett to play after being drafted but I think that was a Covid-related exception.

I don't know any of the "contingencies" however I think I heard something about Angel City securing the rights to Thompson's contract. I could have heard wrong so don't quote me. 

There is a case to be made for her to go the college route or professional. At this time, with her missing out on the world cup, I would hope she would go to Stanford for two years then declare but on the other hand maybe she is aiming for the Olympics and playing in the NWSL gives her more exposure against stronger competition.

[OCcardinal]

I don't know any of the "contingencies" however I think I heard something about Angel City securing the rights to Thompson's contract. I could have heard wrong so don't quote me. 

There is a case to be made for her to go the college route or professional. At this time, with her missing out on the world cup, I would hope she would go to Stanford for two years then declare but on the other hand maybe she is aiming for the Olympics and playing in the NWSL gives her more exposure against stronger competition.

And staying two years also would give her the chance to play a year (and perhaps win a National Championship with) her younger sister!
,
And Sophia Smith did great in her development after spending 2 years at Stanford.  She just won the US Female Player of the year, the youngest to earn the award since Mia Hamm:  Sophia Smith wins U.S Female Player of the Year (Notably Alyssa was a close 2nd in the voting for Young Female Player of the Year.)

[OCcardinal]

I don't know any of the "contingencies" however I think I heard something about Angel City securing the rights to Thompson's contract. I could have heard wrong so don't quote me. 

There is a case to be made for her to go the college route or professional. At this time, with her missing out on the world cup, I would hope she would go to Stanford for two years then declare but on the other hand maybe she is aiming for the Olympics and playing in the NWSL gives her more exposure against stronger competition.

And staying two years also would give her the chance to play a year (and perhaps win a National Championship with) her younger sister!
,
And Sophia Smith did great in her development after spending 2 years at Stanford.  She just won the US Female Player of the year, the youngest to earn the award since Mia Hamm:  Sophia Smith wins U.S Female Player of the Year (Notably Alyssa was a close 2nd in the voting for Young Female Player of the Year.)

[OCcardinal]

It's official. Alyssa Thompson has decommitted and registered for the draft: Alyssa Thompson has registered for the NWSL draft, as first reported by Jeff Kassouf. 

Sad I won't be able to watch her compete in a Stanford unform, but I'll still be rooting for her.  And as a So Cal guy, I'll at least get to watch her play with Christen Press and Ali Riley at Angel City (and watch Naomi Girma stop her from scoring when they play the SD Wave). :)

[OCcardinal]

It's official. Alyssa Thompson has decommitted and registered for the draft: Alyssa Thompson has registered for the NWSL draft, as first reported by Jeff Kassouf. 

Sad I won't be able to watch her compete in a Stanford unform, but I'll still be rooting for her.  And as a So Cal guy, I'll at least get to watch her play with Christen Press and Ali Riley at Angel City (and watch Naomi Girma stop her from scoring when they play the SD Wave). :)

[OCcardinal]

Delighted to see that Elise Evans has been invited to the U.S. U-18/U-19 Women's Youth National Team January Camp.  And likewise delighted to see that Lumi Kostmayer was also invited. What a break out year for her! Also on the roster is 2024 commit Gisele Thompson, Alyssa's younger sister.  U.S. WOMEN’S YOUTH NATIONAL TEAM PROGRAMMING KICKS OFF 2023 WITH COMBINED U-18/U-19 TRAINING CAMP IN CARSON, CALIF

[OCcardinal]

Delighted to see that Elise Evans has been invited to the U.S. U-18/U-19 Women's Youth National Team January Camp.  And likewise delighted to see that Lumi Kostmayer was also invited. What a break out year for her! Also on the roster is 2024 commit Gisele Thompson, Alyssa's younger sister.  U.S. WOMEN’S YOUTH NATIONAL TEAM PROGRAMMING KICKS OFF 2023 WITH COMBINED U-18/U-19 TRAINING CAMP IN CARSON, CALIF

[Langdude]

Alyssa went #1 overall (as expected).

-m.

[Langdude]

Alyssa went #1 overall (as expected).

-m.