[Hieronymus]

Sunday's game at Stanford against unranked Pitt wound up a 1-1 tie.  I was hoping someone that saw it could tell us what happened.

Well we got outplayed to be honest. Pitt is better than their unranking, but it wasn’t great game for Stanford. It did take a series of mistakes - Brandt and Harvey combined for a bad turnover deep in the Stanford end and then Pitt scored a rocket off the bottom of the crossbar from 22ish yards out. Bhuta slipped slightly on defense to allow the shot, but it was an even better shot then Wake’s goal against us. Bhuta scored on a corner earlier in the game.

The Team is struggling right now. That’s 2 games in a row without a goal from the run of play. Kitahata is fully in slump mode vs. just a bit off, and Aikey up front hasn’t immediately fixed the problems on offense yet.

We are also now 3 or 4 games into a very altered lineup. Mostly

Kitahata.      Aikey.      Klinger
Kohler.            Bhuta.      Jung/harvey
Boamah. Evans.  Emri.  Harrison
                    Craig 

Note that is 4 Frosh starting. Some of this I expect to stick - see some of my earlier comments as to why. But other parts of this feel more experimental. More comments overall after SMU.

Emri got hurt in the last game too.

Apparently badly enough that Brandt is starting today. Note that the line up was wrong - Jung is clearly RM and Bhuta is DM again.

---

SMU 1:0 early. Jung fell asleep on defense which started the chain that led to the goal. Craig caught in a tough spot there, but I think that cross went in untouched.

Reviewing for possible offsides.

Goal counts. Hard to tell from that angle.

---

Point blank save for SMU I think off Aikeys header.

Suddenly the back line is a keystone cops routine on several consecutive plays.

---

Terrible SMU turnover to Thomas. Kitahata finishes the play with a wide open shot 15 yds out. 1-1.

[Hieronymus]

Sunday's game at Stanford against unranked Pitt wound up a 1-1 tie.  I was hoping someone that saw it could tell us what happened.

Well we got outplayed to be honest. Pitt is better than their unranking, but it wasn’t great game for Stanford. It did take a series of mistakes - Brandt and Harvey combined for a bad turnover deep in the Stanford end and then Pitt scored a rocket off the bottom of the crossbar from 22ish yards out. Bhuta slipped slightly on defense to allow the shot, but it was an even better shot then Wake’s goal against us. Bhuta scored on a corner earlier in the game.

The Team is struggling right now. That’s 2 games in a row without a goal from the run of play. Kitahata is fully in slump mode vs. just a bit off, and Aikey up front hasn’t immediately fixed the problems on offense yet.

We are also now 3 or 4 games into a very altered lineup. Mostly

Kitahata.      Aikey.      Klinger
Kohler.            Bhuta.      Jung/harvey
Boamah. Evans.  Emri.  Harrison
                    Craig 

Note that is 4 Frosh starting. Some of this I expect to stick - see some of my earlier comments as to why. But other parts of this feel more experimental. More comments overall after SMU.

Emri got hurt in the last game too.

Apparently badly enough that Brandt is starting today. Note that the line up was wrong - Jung is clearly RM and Bhuta is DM again.

---

SMU 1:0 early. Jung fell asleep on defense which started the chain that led to the goal. Craig caught in a tough spot there, but I think that cross went in untouched.

Reviewing for possible offsides.

Goal counts. Hard to tell from that angle.

---

Point blank save for SMU I think off Aikeys header.

Suddenly the back line is a keystone cops routine on several consecutive plays.

---

Terrible SMU turnover to Thomas. Kitahata finishes the play with a wide open shot 15 yds out. 1-1.

[Hieronymus]

Kohler scores off a badly cleared cross. 2:1 Stanford. Badly cleared may be harsh. Maybe we say a cross that deflected out to Kohler.

---

Should have been 3:1 there. Montoya and Boamah both miss.

[Hieronymus]

Kohler scores off a badly cleared cross. 2:1 Stanford. Badly cleared may be harsh. Maybe we say a cross that deflected out to Kohler.

---

Should have been 3:1 there. Montoya and Boamah both miss.

[Hieronymus]

Best game they have played in a few weeks against a good but not great SMU team. Stanford was better in the first half and dominant in the second. Probably should have scored 3 or 4. It felt a little scarier than it should have though because the back 4 were squirrellly all game. Even Evans was goofy today. Ironically Boamah and Murdock were the most composed in back. 

- Montoya was much better, but the direct end product is still missing. She caused stuff indirectly though today.
- Pagador stated at RB today , but my view is it should be Boamah the rest of the year.
- Emri was very much missed. Again the back 4 starters were all kinds of out of sorts in this game.
- Bhuta should have DM completely locked up now. She is almost flawless there.
- Not sure who should be RM if Bhuta is DM now. Jung has been mediocre, and got caught napping on the SMU goal. Harvey is struggling. I might try starting Klinger next.
- Craig not at fault on the goal. The cross that is on goal is every goalie’s nightmare.

[Hieronymus]

Best game they have played in a few weeks against a good but not great SMU team. Stanford was better in the first half and dominant in the second. Probably should have scored 3 or 4. It felt a little scarier than it should have though because the back 4 were squirrellly all game. Even Evans was goofy today. Ironically Boamah and Murdock were the most composed in back. 

- Montoya was much better, but the direct end product is still missing. She caused stuff indirectly though today.
- Pagador stated at RB today , but my view is it should be Boamah the rest of the year.
- Emri was very much missed. Again the back 4 starters were all kinds of out of sorts in this game.
- Bhuta should have DM completely locked up now. She is almost flawless there.
- Not sure who should be RM if Bhuta is DM now. Jung has been mediocre, and got caught napping on the SMU goal. Harvey is struggling. I might try starting Klinger next.
- Craig not at fault on the goal. The cross that is on goal is every goalie’s nightmare.

[oldalum]

- Craig not at fault on the goal. The cross that is on goal is every goalie’s nightmare.

Yes, that was on Jung if that forward (a high goal scorer) should have been her responsibility (was it also on I think Harrison at right outside back? who helped into the middle and couldn't recover in time?). There were 2 SMU players immediately in front of the center of the goal, Craig had to honor that either of them could potentially have redirected the cross to Craig's right. But the ball somehow went through untouched to Craig's left and Craig did not have the time to respond and block it.

[oldalum]

- Craig not at fault on the goal. The cross that is on goal is every goalie’s nightmare.

Yes, that was on Jung if that forward (a high goal scorer) should have been her responsibility (was it also on I think Harrison at right outside back? who helped into the middle and couldn't recover in time?). There were 2 SMU players immediately in front of the center of the goal, Craig had to honor that either of them could potentially have redirected the cross to Craig's right. But the ball somehow went through untouched to Craig's left and Craig did not have the time to respond and block it.

[Hieronymus]

- Craig not at fault on the goal. The cross that is on goal is every goalie’s nightmare.

Yes, that was on Jung if that forward (a high goal scorer) should have been her responsibility (was it also on I think Harrison at right outside back? who helped into the middle and couldn't recover in time?). There were 2 SMU players immediately in front of the center of the goal, Craig had to honor that either of them could potentially have redirected the cross to Craig's right. But the ball somehow went through untouched to Craig's left and Craig did not have the time to respond and block it.

Maybe just a very little on Harrison. Jung ball watches and her mark slips behind her and receives a pass. Brandt and Harrison converge on that player inside. It leaves the goal scorer open wide for an unmarked cross that goes in untouched. Maybe Harrison should have stayed put and left Brandt to deal with it. Maybe. I struggle to blame an outside back very much though for converging inside to help on a situation like that, and it’s not very clear Brandt was going to get there quickly enough. The one thing I can’t tell is if some is on Brandt too for not picking up the run early enough. Depends if that was a F or a MF for SMU and if Brandt is occupied by a forward already.

On second look Evans should have gotten that cleared as well. Just whiffed and the ball goes between her legs. Maybe hard to see in the traffic.

[Hieronymus]

- Craig not at fault on the goal. The cross that is on goal is every goalie’s nightmare.

Yes, that was on Jung if that forward (a high goal scorer) should have been her responsibility (was it also on I think Harrison at right outside back? who helped into the middle and couldn't recover in time?). There were 2 SMU players immediately in front of the center of the goal, Craig had to honor that either of them could potentially have redirected the cross to Craig's right. But the ball somehow went through untouched to Craig's left and Craig did not have the time to respond and block it.

Maybe just a very little on Harrison. Jung ball watches and her mark slips behind her and receives a pass. Brandt and Harrison converge on that player inside. It leaves the goal scorer open wide for an unmarked cross that goes in untouched. Maybe Harrison should have stayed put and left Brandt to deal with it. Maybe. I struggle to blame an outside back very much though for converging inside to help on a situation like that, and it’s not very clear Brandt was going to get there quickly enough. The one thing I can’t tell is if some is on Brandt too for not picking up the run early enough. Depends if that was a F or a MF for SMU and if Brandt is occupied by a forward already.

On second look Evans should have gotten that cleared as well. Just whiffed and the ball goes between her legs. Maybe hard to see in the traffic.

[OCcardinal]

Massey has Pitt #5 in the power rankings and they beat Clemson 4-1 this week. Wake beat FSU 4-1 on Thursday.  Our results against those teams were not horrible. 

There was an interesting interview with Haley Craig this week where she basically said some of the ACC teams they are facing are playing kickball, which was less common in the Pac 12. They've had to adjust to that. And I saw some good adjustment against SMU despite the occasional disorganization.  Overall that was a good ACC road win (SMU had tied FSU). We should have dominated even more as SMU does not have a highly rated defense, but I'll take the comeback win.

Two really tough home games this week vs Duke and North Carolina. Gotta hang tough on defense.  I hope they were just keeping Emri out for precautionary reasons vs SMU. We need her speed. 

I'll be happy if we get at least 2 points out of this week.  Should still give us a chance to finish in the top 4 in the ACC.  Top 6 make the ACC tournament, but 5 and 6 have to travel for that first game, so top 4 is key.

By the way, USC is currently tied for 1st in the Big 10. If they stay there our win vs USC might help us earn a reasonable seed even if we don't end up near the top of the ACC.

P.S. I don't understand what's going on with Harvey. She had been rock solid right out the gate last season. I wonder if it's an injury issue. She doesn't seem to be beating people to the ball as she had been.

[OCcardinal]

Massey has Pitt #5 in the power rankings and they beat Clemson 4-1 this week. Wake beat FSU 4-1 on Thursday.  Our results against those teams were not horrible. 

There was an interesting interview with Haley Craig this week where she basically said some of the ACC teams they are facing are playing kickball, which was less common in the Pac 12. They've had to adjust to that. And I saw some good adjustment against SMU despite the occasional disorganization.  Overall that was a good ACC road win (SMU had tied FSU). We should have dominated even more as SMU does not have a highly rated defense, but I'll take the comeback win.

Two really tough home games this week vs Duke and North Carolina. Gotta hang tough on defense.  I hope they were just keeping Emri out for precautionary reasons vs SMU. We need her speed. 

I'll be happy if we get at least 2 points out of this week.  Should still give us a chance to finish in the top 4 in the ACC.  Top 6 make the ACC tournament, but 5 and 6 have to travel for that first game, so top 4 is key.

By the way, USC is currently tied for 1st in the Big 10. If they stay there our win vs USC might help us earn a reasonable seed even if we don't end up near the top of the ACC.

P.S. I don't understand what's going on with Harvey. She had been rock solid right out the gate last season. I wonder if it's an injury issue. She doesn't seem to be beating people to the ball as she had been.

[cardfan77]

Damn back to back goal by Duke within  a minute. The defense just completely outmatched and not so much happening with offense. Duke is exposing all of Stanford’s weaknesses 

 2-0 Duke .. so far

---

Just as I finish my previous post, Stanford scores. 2-1 Duke

[cardfan77]

Damn back to back goal by Duke within  a minute. The defense just completely outmatched and not so much happening with offense. Duke is exposing all of Stanford’s weaknesses 

 2-0 Duke .. so far

---

Just as I finish my previous post, Stanford scores. 2-1 Duke

[oldalum]

Yep, the other center back position without Imrie is a problem. Ratcliffe had to move Ailey back there to stop the bleeding.

[oldalum]

Yep, the other center back position without Imrie is a problem. Ratcliffe had to move Ailey back there to stop the bleeding.

[Hieronymus]

Yep, the other center back position without Imrie is a problem. Ratcliffe had to move Ailey back there to stop the bleeding.

4-1 Duke. Burn the tape game.

This team is cooked if Emri isn’t back soon. There really is no other credible CB option beyond Aikey. I am surprised how poorly Brandt has played since Emri got hurt. That said RB has been a complete disaster today as well. Harrison and Brandt have been really bad in this game.

Murdock in now at CB. Might as well try her against a better team.

[Hieronymus]

Yep, the other center back position without Imrie is a problem. Ratcliffe had to move Ailey back there to stop the bleeding.

4-1 Duke. Burn the tape game.

This team is cooked if Emri isn’t back soon. There really is no other credible CB option beyond Aikey. I am surprised how poorly Brandt has played since Emri got hurt. That said RB has been a complete disaster today as well. Harrison and Brandt have been really bad in this game.

Murdock in now at CB. Might as well try her against a better team.

[oldalum]

Harrison and Brandt are experienced players but sure didn't play like it. Harrison tried to let the ball roll over the goal line for a goal kick but allowed her mark to get to it and center the ball for an easy goal. Then Brandt unwisely passed the ball across the middle such that their CF was able to get to it and enjoy a one-on-one shot against our GK. All within the first 4 minutes of the first half. After that we regained our footing at times. Harvey scored on a corner kick header in the first half. In the second half Montoya had a hard point-blank volley but the GK was in just the right spot. And Klinger had a penalty shot blocked by the GK; Klinger got to the rebound first but weakly mis-hit it, allowing the GK to grab it.
     I can't remember seeing a Stanford game in which we gave up 2 goals so quickly at the start. Both were defensive errors but smartly capitalized on by Duke, who seemed chock-full of fast skilled players backed by an excellent GK who could boom drop-kicks 3/4 of the way up the field. They did a good job redirecting balls to their own players. They were able to get deep up the field and center the ball well, leading to their final 2 goals.

[oldalum]

Harrison and Brandt are experienced players but sure didn't play like it. Harrison tried to let the ball roll over the goal line for a goal kick but allowed her mark to get to it and center the ball for an easy goal. Then Brandt unwisely passed the ball across the middle such that their CF was able to get to it and enjoy a one-on-one shot against our GK. All within the first 4 minutes of the first half. After that we regained our footing at times. Harvey scored on a corner kick header in the first half. In the second half Montoya had a hard point-blank volley but the GK was in just the right spot. And Klinger had a penalty shot blocked by the GK; Klinger got to the rebound first but weakly mis-hit it, allowing the GK to grab it.
     I can't remember seeing a Stanford game in which we gave up 2 goals so quickly at the start. Both were defensive errors but smartly capitalized on by Duke, who seemed chock-full of fast skilled players backed by an excellent GK who could boom drop-kicks 3/4 of the way up the field. They did a good job redirecting balls to their own players. They were able to get deep up the field and center the ball well, leading to their final 2 goals.

[Hieronymus]

Not a lot of positives from that one.

They did manage to stabilize for awhile after the terrible start and actually had chances to tie it up in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but couldn’t get over the hump. Then the wheels fell off again defensively, and this game was over.

- Boamah started at LB. She turns it over a bit and her defense is sometimes spotty. For example, she lost her mark on the first goal. But Pagador struggles defensively at times too, and she doesn’t add anywhere near as much going forward.
- PR tried to solve RM differently than I proposed. He started Aikey at LM and moved Kohler to RM with Thomas starting at CF. It really didn’t work. The team did nothing the first 20-25 minutes, and couldn’t even hang onto the ball for more than a few passes early. Hard to say from TV why, though. I still don’t think Thomas should start at this level, but it wasn’t all her.
- The biggest story was the trainwreck on defense. I said they were squirrelly vs. SMU - well squirrelly would have been a big step up yesterday. Somehow Emri being out has completely thrown the rhythm off for the whole defense. Emri for team MVP?
- I was wrong on Brandt - she has not played well since Emri went out, and this game was flat out bad. She was a little better wide, but she still wasn’t good.
- Harrison was a mess as well. She struggled on defense and was back to being terrified of the ball on offense.
- It wasn’t all on the back 4. Duke did a really good job of exploiting the weak spots on the wings in a 433, getting players on the opposite side of the field wide, wide open. I edited this on a quick relook, and I still can’t really tell what position 3 for Duke was actually playing. I am almost sure it’s LB, but she is so far forward much of the time it’s hard to tell. But if 3 is the LB, then most of the blame falls on Montoya/RF.
- The entire team is just ice cold on offense. The last pass usually goes right to the goalie or even out of bounds. The last shot is hit with no confidence or conviction. The shooting is so tame, I would like to see a couple of shots get massively overhit even if they go 30 yds over goal. At least show conviction even if you feel no confidence.
- I am really worried about Emri being out another way too - it delays integrating Aikey into the offense completely and time for that has just about run out.

[Hieronymus]

Not a lot of positives from that one.

They did manage to stabilize for awhile after the terrible start and actually had chances to tie it up in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but couldn’t get over the hump. Then the wheels fell off again defensively, and this game was over.

- Boamah started at LB. She turns it over a bit and her defense is sometimes spotty. For example, she lost her mark on the first goal. But Pagador struggles defensively at times too, and she doesn’t add anywhere near as much going forward.
- PR tried to solve RM differently than I proposed. He started Aikey at LM and moved Kohler to RM with Thomas starting at CF. It really didn’t work. The team did nothing the first 20-25 minutes, and couldn’t even hang onto the ball for more than a few passes early. Hard to say from TV why, though. I still don’t think Thomas should start at this level, but it wasn’t all her.
- The biggest story was the trainwreck on defense. I said they were squirrelly vs. SMU - well squirrelly would have been a big step up yesterday. Somehow Emri being out has completely thrown the rhythm off for the whole defense. Emri for team MVP?
- I was wrong on Brandt - she has not played well since Emri went out, and this game was flat out bad. She was a little better wide, but she still wasn’t good.
- Harrison was a mess as well. She struggled on defense and was back to being terrified of the ball on offense.
- It wasn’t all on the back 4. Duke did a really good job of exploiting the weak spots on the wings in a 433, getting players on the opposite side of the field wide, wide open. I edited this on a quick relook, and I still can’t really tell what position 3 for Duke was actually playing. I am almost sure it’s LB, but she is so far forward much of the time it’s hard to tell. But if 3 is the LB, then most of the blame falls on Montoya/RF.
- The entire team is just ice cold on offense. The last pass usually goes right to the goalie or even out of bounds. The last shot is hit with no confidence or conviction. The shooting is so tame, I would like to see a couple of shots get massively overhit even if they go 30 yds over goal. At least show conviction even if you feel no confidence.
- I am really worried about Emri being out another way too - it delays integrating Aikey into the offense completely and time for that has just about run out.

[oldalum]

One contrast between the teams' styles that was obvious: when Duke presses, their players all-out sprint to pressure the player with the ball. Aikey does that when she is playing CF, but I don't think anyone else does on our front line; we tend to set up our first line further back and hold our ground, which gives their players time to scope out a good long pass and make it. Maybe a player and depth issue for us?

[oldalum]

One contrast between the teams' styles that was obvious: when Duke presses, their players all-out sprint to pressure the player with the ball. Aikey does that when she is playing CF, but I don't think anyone else does on our front line; we tend to set up our first line further back and hold our ground, which gives their players time to scope out a good long pass and make it. Maybe a player and depth issue for us?

[Jamesy]

Not a lot of positives from that one.

They did manage to stabilize for awhile after the terrible start and actually had chances to tie it up in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but couldn’t get over the hump. Then the wheels fell off again defensively, and this game was over.

- Boamah started at LB. She turns it over a bit and her defense is sometimes spotty. For example, she lost her mark on the first goal. But Pagador struggles defensively at times too, and she doesn’t add anywhere near as much going forward.
- PR tried to solve RM differently than I proposed. He started Aikey at LM and moved Kohler to RM with Thomas starting at CF. It really didn’t work. The team did nothing the first 20-25 minutes, and couldn’t even hang onto the ball for more than a few passes early. Hard to say from TV why, though. I still don’t think Thomas should start at this level, but it wasn’t all her.
- The biggest story was the trainwreck on defense. I said they were squirrelly vs. SMU - well squirrelly would have been a big step up yesterday. Somehow Emri being out has completely thrown the rhythm off for the whole defense. Emri for team MVP?
- I was wrong on Brandt - she has not played well since Emri went out, and this game was flat out bad. She was a little better wide, but she still wasn’t good.
- Harrison was a mess as well. She struggled on defense and was back to being terrified of the ball on offense.
- It wasn’t all on the back 4. Duke did a really good job of exploiting the weak spots on the wings in a 433, getting players on the opposite side of the field wide, wide open. I edited this on a quick relook, and I still can’t really tell what position 3 for Duke was actually playing. I am almost sure it’s LB, but she is so far forward much of the time it’s hard to tell. But if 3 is the LB, then most of the blame falls on Montoya/RF.
- The entire team is just ice cold on offense. The last pass usually goes right to the goalie or even out of bounds. The last shot is hit with no confidence or conviction. The shooting is so tame, I would like to see a couple of shots get massively overhit even if they go 30 yds over goal. At least show conviction even if you feel no confidence.
- I am really worried about Emri being out another way too - it delays integrating Aikey into the offense completely and time for that has just about run out.

Emri won't be back this season.

[Jamesy]

Not a lot of positives from that one.

They did manage to stabilize for awhile after the terrible start and actually had chances to tie it up in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but couldn’t get over the hump. Then the wheels fell off again defensively, and this game was over.

- Boamah started at LB. She turns it over a bit and her defense is sometimes spotty. For example, she lost her mark on the first goal. But Pagador struggles defensively at times too, and she doesn’t add anywhere near as much going forward.
- PR tried to solve RM differently than I proposed. He started Aikey at LM and moved Kohler to RM with Thomas starting at CF. It really didn’t work. The team did nothing the first 20-25 minutes, and couldn’t even hang onto the ball for more than a few passes early. Hard to say from TV why, though. I still don’t think Thomas should start at this level, but it wasn’t all her.
- The biggest story was the trainwreck on defense. I said they were squirrelly vs. SMU - well squirrelly would have been a big step up yesterday. Somehow Emri being out has completely thrown the rhythm off for the whole defense. Emri for team MVP?
- I was wrong on Brandt - she has not played well since Emri went out, and this game was flat out bad. She was a little better wide, but she still wasn’t good.
- Harrison was a mess as well. She struggled on defense and was back to being terrified of the ball on offense.
- It wasn’t all on the back 4. Duke did a really good job of exploiting the weak spots on the wings in a 433, getting players on the opposite side of the field wide, wide open. I edited this on a quick relook, and I still can’t really tell what position 3 for Duke was actually playing. I am almost sure it’s LB, but she is so far forward much of the time it’s hard to tell. But if 3 is the LB, then most of the blame falls on Montoya/RF.
- The entire team is just ice cold on offense. The last pass usually goes right to the goalie or even out of bounds. The last shot is hit with no confidence or conviction. The shooting is so tame, I would like to see a couple of shots get massively overhit even if they go 30 yds over goal. At least show conviction even if you feel no confidence.
- I am really worried about Emri being out another way too - it delays integrating Aikey into the offense completely and time for that has just about run out.

Emri won't be back this season.

[oldalum]

The Duke game is a harbinger of how we will (not) be able to compete against the very top teams going forward. Duke has 6 transfers on its roster; against us, 5 of them started and played at least 2/3 of the game, most of them 80 or 90 minutes. Duke's roster page even helpfully has a separate column for "Previous School." North Carolina has 5 transfers; 2 started against Cal yesterday. Florida State has at least 7 transfers and several international players. We have zero transfers on our roster. How are we going to win even a conference championship against that?

[oldalum]

The Duke game is a harbinger of how we will (not) be able to compete against the very top teams going forward. Duke has 6 transfers on its roster; against us, 5 of them started and played at least 2/3 of the game, most of them 80 or 90 minutes. Duke's roster page even helpfully has a separate column for "Previous School." North Carolina has 5 transfers; 2 started against Cal yesterday. Florida State has at least 7 transfers and several international players. We have zero transfers on our roster. How are we going to win even a conference championship against that?

[Jamesy]

The Duke game is a harbinger of how we will (not) be able to compete against the very top teams going forward. Duke has 6 transfers on its roster; against us, 5 of them started and played at least 2/3 of the game, most of them 80 or 90 minutes. Duke's roster page even helpfully has a separate column for "Previous School." North Carolina has 5 transfers; 2 started against Cal yesterday. Florida State has at least 7 transfers and several international players. We have zero transfers on our roster. How are we going to win even a conference championship against that?

The problem is twofold, in my opinion. We don't take transfer and we aren't recruiting/developing at the same level we did pre 2020. If we had the same level roster we had in 2019, the lack of transfers wouldn't be a problem.

[Jamesy]

The Duke game is a harbinger of how we will (not) be able to compete against the very top teams going forward. Duke has 6 transfers on its roster; against us, 5 of them started and played at least 2/3 of the game, most of them 80 or 90 minutes. Duke's roster page even helpfully has a separate column for "Previous School." North Carolina has 5 transfers; 2 started against Cal yesterday. Florida State has at least 7 transfers and several international players. We have zero transfers on our roster. How are we going to win even a conference championship against that?

The problem is twofold, in my opinion. We don't take transfer and we aren't recruiting/developing at the same level we did pre 2020. If we had the same level roster we had in 2019, the lack of transfers wouldn't be a problem.

[BobK]

I think the recruiting is very good. I follow it.
Development ? Same coach who has won championships.

[BobK]

I think the recruiting is very good. I follow it.
Development ? Same coach who has won championships.

[Hieronymus]

I think the recruiting is very good.  I follow it. 
Development ?  Same coach who has won championships.

Well the men have been fine with few internationals or transfers and the Women’s game is much less dependent on international players. I think the women can remain competitive too.

I agree on the recruiting being good overall. There has been a significant talent replenishment cycle the last 2 years. It also is true the team was a bit thin a couple years back. Stanford will have some of those dips when transfers aren’t a big part of the roster.

The talent influx ironically is a bit of a problem though right now as Frosh have displaced upper class players from the starting lineup the last 2 years. It makes for a very young and sometimes disjointed team. Last year it all came together late, but so far this year it hasn’t. 

another issue this year is last years Frosh haven’t developed like maybe we expected. Bhuta looks great, but the other key Sophomores have been about the same or have even gone backwards a bit Actually this year very few players look notably better. Maybe something to watch going forward, but for now I take this year as a fluke.

Unfortunately, they are still lacking depth at a couple of key spots like CB. Emri being out may not be a recoverable situation this season. I think we have to hope the offense suddenly starts clicking, and this team sure could use an extra game or 3 in the ACC tournament to maybe figure things out.

---

Emri won't be back this season.

I will take that at face value. 

Very disappointing for Emri then, and I hate to see anybody get injured. I admit I am surprised - it didn’t look like a season ending injury at the time.  I certainly hope for a full recovery in the off season.

[Hieronymus]

I think the recruiting is very good.  I follow it. 
Development ?  Same coach who has won championships.

Well the men have been fine with few internationals or transfers and the Women’s game is much less dependent on international players. I think the women can remain competitive too.

I agree on the recruiting being good overall. There has been a significant talent replenishment cycle the last 2 years. It also is true the team was a bit thin a couple years back. Stanford will have some of those dips when transfers aren’t a big part of the roster.

The talent influx ironically is a bit of a problem though right now as Frosh have displaced upper class players from the starting lineup the last 2 years. It makes for a very young and sometimes disjointed team. Last year it all came together late, but so far this year it hasn’t. 

another issue this year is last years Frosh haven’t developed like maybe we expected. Bhuta looks great, but the other key Sophomores have been about the same or have even gone backwards a bit Actually this year very few players look notably better. Maybe something to watch going forward, but for now I take this year as a fluke.

Unfortunately, they are still lacking depth at a couple of key spots like CB. Emri being out may not be a recoverable situation this season. I think we have to hope the offense suddenly starts clicking, and this team sure could use an extra game or 3 in the ACC tournament to maybe figure things out.

---

Emri won't be back this season.

I will take that at face value. 

Very disappointing for Emri then, and I hate to see anybody get injured. I admit I am surprised - it didn’t look like a season ending injury at the time.  I certainly hope for a full recovery in the off season.

[BobK]

Stanford just beat # 2 North Carolina 1-0
Goal by Shae Harvey. Awesome pass and goal

[BobK]

Stanford just beat # 2 North Carolina 1-0
Goal by Shae Harvey. Awesome pass and goal

[Spiny_Norman]

The team was pretty competitive today vs UNC. Stanford won 1-0 on a late Shae Harvey goal.

[Spiny_Norman]

The team was pretty competitive today vs UNC. Stanford won 1-0 on a late Shae Harvey goal.

[OCcardinal]

The Duke game is a harbinger of how we will (not) be able to compete against the very top teams going forward. Duke has 6 transfers on its roster; against us, 5 of them started and played at least 2/3 of the game, most of them 80 or 90 minutes. Duke's roster page even helpfully has a separate column for "Previous School." North Carolina has 5 transfers; 2 started against Cal yesterday. Florida State has at least 7 transfers and several international players. We have zero transfers on our roster. How are we going to win even a conference championship against that?

I think that's an overly pessimistic take. With our young team we beat USC, which is currently at the top of the Big 10 standings, and whose star senior midfielder Maria Alagoa is a Portuguese national who was picked up as a transfer this season.  We are also ahead of Florida State in the ACC standings. And of course we just beat North Carolina (which I know hadn't happened when you made your post).  

I don't consider the 4 goals allowed vs Duke as evidence that we are suddenly a bad team.  Duke took advantage of our defensive weakness due to Emri's injury. The safe approach would have been to move Aikey back to center back. Ratcliff took a gamble by playing her up and it failed.  So be it.  Today's game showed we have the talent to stop a top offense if we need to.  And it's big that Harvey scored both goals this week.  She was a major goal scorer in high school but Ratcliff had been playing her mostly at defensive mid since the beginning of her freshman year last season.  I think we learned this week that she can give us a needed boost on offense when Aikey is moved to center back.  Makes me feel very confident going forward.

I was hoping for at least 2 points this week (which would have been 2 ties). So I'm thrilled with picking up 3 points with a straight out win.  I think there is more than a 50% chance we can win our remaining 3 games, which very likely puts us in the top 4 and gives us a home game for the 1st round of the ACC tournament. Big road games coming up against Louisville and Notre Dame.  Fingers crossed!

[OCcardinal]

The Duke game is a harbinger of how we will (not) be able to compete against the very top teams going forward. Duke has 6 transfers on its roster; against us, 5 of them started and played at least 2/3 of the game, most of them 80 or 90 minutes. Duke's roster page even helpfully has a separate column for "Previous School." North Carolina has 5 transfers; 2 started against Cal yesterday. Florida State has at least 7 transfers and several international players. We have zero transfers on our roster. How are we going to win even a conference championship against that?

I think that's an overly pessimistic take. With our young team we beat USC, which is currently at the top of the Big 10 standings, and whose star senior midfielder Maria Alagoa is a Portuguese national who was picked up as a transfer this season.  We are also ahead of Florida State in the ACC standings. And of course we just beat North Carolina (which I know hadn't happened when you made your post).  

I don't consider the 4 goals allowed vs Duke as evidence that we are suddenly a bad team.  Duke took advantage of our defensive weakness due to Emri's injury. The safe approach would have been to move Aikey back to center back. Ratcliff took a gamble by playing her up and it failed.  So be it.  Today's game showed we have the talent to stop a top offense if we need to.  And it's big that Harvey scored both goals this week.  She was a major goal scorer in high school but Ratcliff had been playing her mostly at defensive mid since the beginning of her freshman year last season.  I think we learned this week that she can give us a needed boost on offense when Aikey is moved to center back.  Makes me feel very confident going forward.

I was hoping for at least 2 points this week (which would have been 2 ties). So I'm thrilled with picking up 3 points with a straight out win.  I think there is more than a 50% chance we can win our remaining 3 games, which very likely puts us in the top 4 and gives us a home game for the 1st round of the ACC tournament. Big road games coming up against Louisville and Notre Dame.  Fingers crossed!