Two of Stanford’s signature programs face a deep issue. Deep as in the “deep depth” that Yogi Berra attributed to his beloved Yankees. Both women’s basketball and women’s soccer have lots and lots of talent, making it really tough to break into the starting lineup.
Over at Maples, coach Tara VanDerveer has seven extraordinary players who can play one or both of the two post positons. Two of those players were number-one ranked in their high school class (Haley Jones and Lauren Betts); a third was ranked number three (Cameron Brink). The two with the lowest class rankings (both number 19) can dunk a basketball (Fran Belibi and Kiki Iriafen). Some of these players (Haley Jones or Brooke Demetre) can and likely will play substantial time in the three position, but that still leaves seven outstanding players fighting for three starting positions. I have posted a story about the Magnificent Seven on the Stanford Fast Break Club site. https://fbccardinalnews.blogspot.com/202...e-and.html
Over at Laird Q Cagan Stadium, coach Paul Ratcliffe has a similar issue. He has nine freshmen on his roster, including the number one (Elise Evans) and number three (Allie Montoya) ranked recruits in the nation. Evans has started all four games as a center back and shows signs of being a formidable defender. Montoya has played in all four games and scored the team’s two goals (a brace) in the team’s upset win over higher ranked Penn State.
Somewhat less heralded freshman Luni Kostmayer is tied for the best offensive statistics on the team, with three goals, an assist, and six shots on goal. Kostmayer is a 5’11” forward with the strength to hold the ball and to blast a laser shot into the goal from well outside the box. A future Aby Wambach? I’m looking forward to watching her play.
Other freshmen have seen substantial playing time, including Jasmine Aikey, a 5’10”mid-fielder who has played in all four games and has three shots on goal, and Adi Yuasa, another mid-fielder who has two shots on goal.
Even without the freshmen, Stanford had a number of superior veteran players, including senior Maya Doms, a mid-fielder forward with All American credentials and on the watch list for year-end awards, Samantha Williams, a forward with speed and a nose for the goal, Andrea Kitahata, a midfielder who played on the Under 20 U.S. team, Amy Sayer, a mid-fielder forward with experience on Australian national teams, Julia Leontini, another mid-fielder with good offensive stats, and Kennedy Wesley, a senior outside back who is athletic and reliable (she scored one of the penalty kicks against North Carolina in the NCAA championship game).
So just how hard is it to break into the starting lineup? Consider this: after returning to Stanford from the U-20 national team experience, Kitahata, number 2 in offensive stats from last year’s team, has yet to break into the starting lineup (perhaps due in part to recovering from the U-20 experience). There are now four players with a brace, one each for the four games played. Only one of those players, Samantha Williams, achieved her two goals as a starter. The other three players, Montoya, Kostmayer, and Sayer, came in off the bench to score their two goals.
The soccer team is now 4-0, and has scored 15 goals while allowing only one. Eight players have scored at least one goal; eleven players have one or more assists. The lineup is still unsettled, but the quality of the soccer is excellent.
It should be an exciting season watching Coaches Ratcliffe and VanDerveer wrestling with a problem that every coach would love to have: figuring out who amongst the many gifted and motivated players should get the playing time.
Over at Maples, coach Tara VanDerveer has seven extraordinary players who can play one or both of the two post positons. Two of those players were number-one ranked in their high school class (Haley Jones and Lauren Betts); a third was ranked number three (Cameron Brink). The two with the lowest class rankings (both number 19) can dunk a basketball (Fran Belibi and Kiki Iriafen). Some of these players (Haley Jones or Brooke Demetre) can and likely will play substantial time in the three position, but that still leaves seven outstanding players fighting for three starting positions. I have posted a story about the Magnificent Seven on the Stanford Fast Break Club site. https://fbccardinalnews.blogspot.com/202...e-and.html
Over at Laird Q Cagan Stadium, coach Paul Ratcliffe has a similar issue. He has nine freshmen on his roster, including the number one (Elise Evans) and number three (Allie Montoya) ranked recruits in the nation. Evans has started all four games as a center back and shows signs of being a formidable defender. Montoya has played in all four games and scored the team’s two goals (a brace) in the team’s upset win over higher ranked Penn State.
Somewhat less heralded freshman Luni Kostmayer is tied for the best offensive statistics on the team, with three goals, an assist, and six shots on goal. Kostmayer is a 5’11” forward with the strength to hold the ball and to blast a laser shot into the goal from well outside the box. A future Aby Wambach? I’m looking forward to watching her play.
Other freshmen have seen substantial playing time, including Jasmine Aikey, a 5’10”mid-fielder who has played in all four games and has three shots on goal, and Adi Yuasa, another mid-fielder who has two shots on goal.
Even without the freshmen, Stanford had a number of superior veteran players, including senior Maya Doms, a mid-fielder forward with All American credentials and on the watch list for year-end awards, Samantha Williams, a forward with speed and a nose for the goal, Andrea Kitahata, a midfielder who played on the Under 20 U.S. team, Amy Sayer, a mid-fielder forward with experience on Australian national teams, Julia Leontini, another mid-fielder with good offensive stats, and Kennedy Wesley, a senior outside back who is athletic and reliable (she scored one of the penalty kicks against North Carolina in the NCAA championship game).
So just how hard is it to break into the starting lineup? Consider this: after returning to Stanford from the U-20 national team experience, Kitahata, number 2 in offensive stats from last year’s team, has yet to break into the starting lineup (perhaps due in part to recovering from the U-20 experience). There are now four players with a brace, one each for the four games played. Only one of those players, Samantha Williams, achieved her two goals as a starter. The other three players, Montoya, Kostmayer, and Sayer, came in off the bench to score their two goals.
The soccer team is now 4-0, and has scored 15 goals while allowing only one. Eight players have scored at least one goal; eleven players have one or more assists. The lineup is still unsettled, but the quality of the soccer is excellent.
It should be an exciting season watching Coaches Ratcliffe and VanDerveer wrestling with a problem that every coach would love to have: figuring out who amongst the many gifted and motivated players should get the playing time.
