⚽️Lady Vols Soccer Thread

[MAD]

Updated

 

[Stmichael]

Good for her! I hope Baylor gets a chance to play Chapel Hill, and embarrasses them. A friend of mine has always said that large rosters sink ships. There's so much truth in it. I look at Chapel Hill's roster, and it's always huge. Anson Dorrance did that on purpose. He wanted to trap as many top players as he could in his program so nobody else could get them. No wonder he hates the new transfer portal rules. Before, he literally could trap elite players and never played them, and neither could anyone else. He is selfish, and everything he did was designed for self preservation. He never cared about the players, he only cared about his résumé. No one will ever convince me otherwise. I've listen to this man talk over and over and over and over again. And all I hear is a very arrogant human being, bragging about themselves. And truthfully, half of his record is nonsense anyway.

 

[turbovol]

Good for her! I hope Baylor gets a chance to play Chapel Hill, and embarrasses them. A friend of mine has always said that large rosters sink ships. There's so much truth in it. I look at Chapel Hill's roster, and it's always huge. Anson Dorrance did that on purpose. He wanted to trap as many top players as he could in his program so nobody else could get them. No wonder he hates the new transfer portal rules. Before, he literally could trap elite players and never played them, and neither could anyone else. He is selfish, and everything he did was designed for self preservation. He never cared about the players, he only cared about his résumé. No one will ever convince me otherwise. I've listen to this man talk over and over and over and over again. And all I hear is a very arrogant human being, bragging about themselves. And truthfully, half of his record is nonsense anyway.

Nobody forced all the elite players to go to Chapel Hill. They all were surely aware that they'd be competing with lots of other top prospects/players for playing time, so it was their decision. Most had their pick of schools. And while Dorrance has certainly had big rosters, he played a lot of players--and of course was well-known for giving his second-teamers 15-20 minutes a half. Imagine trying to find your best 11 every year among 25 top recruits--and the right positions for them. Kirt can't do it with half that number. I've made the point on other soccer boards that UNC's surfeit of talent might be counter-productive in the sense that a very talented freshman comes in, wins a starting job--but then the next year has lost her starting job to another hotshot recruit and so his teams lose might lose some continuity and cohesiveness, year to year. But he's still been very successful: No national titles in recent years, but UNC has been in, what, three of the last five College Cups or somesuch.

I agree that with the portal and rampant transferring now, UNC will not be able to keep good players on its roster who are not getting the PT that they want or could get elsewhere. (If Dorrance loses players for reasons of playing time, what is our staff's excuse?)

And yes, it's certainly true that Dorrance piled up a lot of national championships by building his program in the earliest days of women's collegiate soccer, before many if not most of today's schools even had soccer programs, but in retrospect it was smart, and Pat Summitt did the same thing in women's basketball. I'm sure Dorrance would like to win one last national title before retiring. I went to UT's match with UNC in Chapel Hill in 2022. Nice experience--beautiful stadium.

 

[Stmichael]

Saw we are bringing a 5th year Covid player in as a forward. How does bringing a 4 year Michigan player in help the development and progression of the Tennessee program (or any other program, for that matter)? Over a 90 day period (and only 90) what is the net gain? Is this player coming in to help mentor and develop the younger forwards? Or, are the younger forwards going to sit on the bench, lose reps at practice and get out of shape mentally and physically during the season and be of little benefit moving forward (hell, just like UNC players, leave pissed through the portal). Again, 'what are we doing here?' - 'what are we building ?' . When the 5th year option is gone, a lot of programs that built these fragmented Covid-rich rosters, will pay a dear price. Develop develop develop = progress progress progress. Bunny Shaw is the epitome of what I am talking about. A big strong player (not an elite athlete, but her size and drive make up for it) that starts in Jamaica, plays at a junior college, plays in SEC, goes pro, joins European team and now is literally at the top. Her story is how greatness is achieved. Development -progression=success. The portal is for freshman and sophomores. And it will return to that next year. Unfortunately, freshman and sophomores with no experience. If folks care about this team and the girls who committed to this program from the start, they should be alarmed at any 5th year coming in (especially this late). It's not something to look forward to.

 

[Stmichael]

Nobody forced all the elite players to go to Chapel Hill. They all were surely aware that they'd be competing with lots of other top prospects/players for playing time, so it was their decision. Most had their pick of schools. And while Dorrance has certainly had big rosters, he played a lot of players--and of course was well-known for giving his second-teamers 15-20 minutes a half. Imagine trying to find your best 11 every year among 25 top recruits--and the right positions for them. Kirt can't do it with half that number. I've made the point on other soccer boards that UNC's surfeit of talent might be counter-productive in the sense that a very talented freshman comes in, wins a starting job--but then the next year has lost her starting job to another hotshot recruit and so his teams lose might lose some continuity and cohesiveness, year to year. But he's still been very successful: No national titles in recent years, but UNC has been in, what, three of the last five College Cups or somesuch.

I agree that with the portal and rampant transferring now, UNC will not be able to keep good players on its roster who are not getting the PT that they want or could get elsewhere. (If Dorrance loses players for reasons of playing time, what is our staff's excuse?)

And yes, it's certainly true that Dorrance piled up a lot of national championships by building his program in the earliest days of women's collegiate soccer, before many if not most of today's schools even had soccer programs, but in retrospect it was smart, and Pat Summitt did the same thing in women's basketball. I'm sure Dorrance would like to win one last national title before retiring. I went to UT's match with UNC in Chapel Hill in 2022. Nice experience--beautiful stadium.

I guess everything is relative to the time events took place. Maybe not fair of me to be so judgmental retrospectively. Still, there is just something about that guy.....

 

[turbovol]

Saw we are bringing a 5th year Covid player in as a forward. How does bringing a 4 year Michigan player in help the development and progression of the Tennessee program (or any other program, for that matter)? Over a 90 day period (and only 90) what is the net gain? Is this player coming in to help mentor and develop the younger forwards? Or, are the younger forwards going to sit on the bench, lose reps at practice and get out of shape mentally and physically during the season and be of little benefit moving forward (hell, just like UNC players, leave pissed through the portal). Again, 'what are we doing here?' - 'what are we building ?' . When the 5th year option is gone, a lot of programs that built these fragmented Covid-rich rosters, will pay a dear price. Develop develop develop = progress progress progress. Bunny Shaw is the epitome of what I am talking about. A big strong player (not an elite athlete, but her size and drive make up for it) that starts in Jamaica, plays at a junior college, plays in SEC, goes pro, joins European team and now is literally at the top. Her story is how greatness is achieved. Development -progression=success. The portal is for freshman and sophomores. And it will return to that next year. Unfortunately, freshman and sophomores with no experience. If folks care about this team and the girls who committed to this program from the start, they should be alarmed at any 5th year coming in (especially this late). It's not something to look forward to.

You make a good, basic point. But you fail to acknowledge this: Just because you have a freshman or soph on the roster doesn't mean that s/he will help you win soccer games. Some frosh come in and they are not going to be good enough to be influential or a starter at the major-college level. A fair percentage of players fall into this category: They arrive, the coaches watch them practice and compete--see how athletic they are compared to their teammates, assess their ball and overall soccer skills, and in a lot of cases coaches can determine fairly quickly if someone has a major-college future or not. A coach is not going to play somebody who doesn't look like she's got a major-college future, because he's charged with winning games, and you don't win games with weak players. Also, even if a frosh has promising potential, how much can you play her and others and still have a good chance of winning games? So there is a risk/reward calculation--and it takes a good, smart coach to get it and lots of other decisions right.

If you lack depth at a position, or are weak at a position, you, the coach, better use the portal to beef up that position. If you can get a promising underclassman, great--ideal. We did that with two of our incoming transfers. But you certainly don't turn down a good, experienced grad student. The 5th year we got from Penn last year, Lawton, saved us--was arguably our best player. So that was a smart move.

This year, before the portal opened, UT had four returning forwards: two CFs (one, a freshman, got a lot of PT and experience last year--Runyon) and one who was injured (Thomas) and did not play except for one or two games. It's not even clear yet, I don't think, is she will play for us next year. Besides those two, we had a freshman forward who got a bit of time at CF but really should have gotten a lot of time at wide forward, and then a rising senior who has not played much at all. That's it. So we needed another wide forward, for sure--and, yea, the coaches need to get any promising young forwards on the field. I think we'll have a couple. What I don't like is playing/starting upperclassmen who are not very good, and who take minutes away from young players who could be getting valuable experience. That happened last year--and is not smart. Coaches have to find the right balance between trying to win games--winning games--and developing their young players with talent.

 

[Stmichael]

You make a good, basic point. But you fail to acknowledge this: Just because you have a freshman or soph on the roster doesn't mean that s/he will help you win soccer games. Some frosh come in and they are not going to be good enough to be influential or a starter at the major-college level. A fair percentage of players fall into this category: They arrive, the coaches watch them practice and compete--see how athletic they are compared to their teammates, assess their ball and overall soccer skills, and in a lot of cases coaches can determine fairly quickly if someone has a major-college future or not. A coach is not going to play somebody who doesn't look like she's got a major-college future, because he's charged with winning games, and you don't win games with weak players. Also, even if a frosh has promising potential, how much can you play her and others and still have a good chance of winning games? So there is a risk/reward calculation--and it takes a good, smart coach to get it and lots of other decisions right.

If you lack depth at a position, or are weak at a position, you, the coach, better use the portal to beef up that position. If you can get a promising underclassman, great--ideal. We did that with two of our incoming transfers. But you certainly don't turn down a good, experienced grad student. The 5th year we got from Penn last year, Lawton, saved us--was arguably our best player. So that was a smart move.

This year, before the portal opened, UT had four returning forwards: two CFs (one, a freshman, got a lot of PT and experience last year--Runyon) and one who was injured (Thomas) and did not play except for one or two games. It's not even clear yet, I don't think, is she will play for us next year. Besides those two, we had a freshman forward who got a bit of time at CF but really should have gotten a lot of time at wide forward, and then a rising senior who has not played much at all. That's it. So we needed another wide forward, for sure--and, yea, the coaches need to get any promising young forwards on the field. I think we'll have a couple. What I don't like is playing/starting upperclassmen who are not very good, and who take minutes away from young players who could be getting valuable experience. That happened last year--and is not smart. Coaches have to find the right balance between trying to win games--winning games--and developing their young players with talent.

 

[Stmichael]

I understand your point. And respect it, because, well, they are good points. My grievance is strictly with the covid player. We don't need them. Basically we are relying on Michigan's player development process to help Tennessee. I just don't think that's a good idea. Towards the end of our season, and through tournament play, we had majority sophomores on the field. Some with very little experience that progressed exponentially every game. Yes, there were covid players out there. And yes, without question Sizzy stands out. And she's a great young lady to top it all off. What is Tennessee or other programs going to do next year when the Covid players gone? Potentially, Tennessee will have three years of players with very little experience. How do you correct That in the recruiting cycle? If our team has deficits, then the correct strategy is to look at the portal and find freshman and sophomores. Which, as all the portal will be made up of next year.

The other issue that I'm going to add is related to preparing younger players, who are not getting a chance to play. And like I said earlier, the covid player hinders that further. The younger player that is not playing isn't getting the necessary training to get better, later. They are losing repetitions in practice. They are not in the weight room. They are not doing extra aerobic activity to stay in tiptop shape. They are not doing extra drills to improve their technical skills. Instead, they are training in a recovery status. Like the starters. In American football, if a player is not going to be in games, that program, then focuses on developing the player. That player will be in the gym more than starters. That player will be doing other drills outside of normal practice. And that design works very well. They are not doing that in Soccer. So now, we are going to have four years of incoming freshmen who were not developed correctly. It's not good and I truly believe we will see the negative effects of this over the next five years. This was the year that confident coaches needed to dismiss the Covid player.

 

[MAD]

𝒵𝑜𝑒 𝒞𝓊𝓃𝑒𝒾𝑜

Welcome to Rocky Top!

 

[MAD]

Hope FSU doesn’t try and poach one of our assistants.

George Mason Hires National Champion FSU Assistant Coach Aaron Brunner to Lead Women's Soccer Program - George Mason University Athletics

Fairfax, Va. - George Mason University Assistant Vice President & Director of Athletics Marvin Lewis has named Aaron Brunner as the sixth head coach in the history

gomason.com

 

[turbovol]

Hope FSU doesn’t try and poach one of our assistants.

George Mason Hires National Champion FSU Assistant Coach Aaron Brunner to Lead Women's Soccer Program - George Mason University Athletics

Fairfax, Va. - George Mason University Assistant Vice President & Director of Athletics Marvin Lewis has named Aaron Brunner as the sixth head coach in the history

gomason.com

View attachment 603954

Brunner was the coach of various girls/women's Richmond United teams until two years ago--less than--when Pensky hired him to be an assistant at FSU. Two seasons and national title later, the guy is now a major-college head coach. Not bad.

 

[orange beard]

Brunner was the coach of various girls/women's Richmond United teams until two years ago--less than--when Pensky hired him to be an assistant at FSU. Two seasons and national title later, the guy is now a major-college head coach. Not bad.

Not that dumb i reckon!

 

[MAD]

Loved this tweet.

 

[turbovol]

So no word on Woods signing yet?

 

[MAD]

𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝑻𝒐 𝑹𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒚 𝑻𝒐𝒑!

Kylie Finney is a Lady Vol!

 

[MAD]

I don’t see any Vols registered yet for the NWSL draft.

But I do see former Vol, Cariel Ellis is on the list. Hope she gets drafted.

2024 NWSL Draft, Presented by Ally: Live Registration Tracker | National Women's Soccer League Official Site | NWSL

A live updated list of players registered for the 2024 NWSL Draft, Presented by Ally

www.nwslsoccer.com

 

[turbovol]

Notwithstanding StMichael's concerns about 5th years, we need Woods. But she's not signed yet, apparently, and the fact that we've
suddenly acquired Finney--who played very little for a bad Baylor team--is a worrisome sign. Hope I'm wrong. Not much info on Finney---seemed interested in Baylor because her Dad is a Baylor grad. Without Woods we will have no one with experience at wide forward and be very young. That combined with Fusco's departure spells attacking concerns.

 

[turbovol]

I don’t see any Vols registered yet for the NWSL draft.

But I do see former Vol, Cariel Ellis is on the list. Hope she gets drafted.

2024 NWSL Draft, Presented by Ally: Live Registration Tracker | National Women's Soccer League Official Site | NWSL

A live updated list of players registered for the 2024 NWSL Draft, Presented by Ally

www.nwslsoccer.com

Lawton should be on the list, if she's interested in pro soccer, and maybe Diaz too. The vast majority of players on the list don't get
drafted and won't be on an NWSL roster. Some who are on the list, and some who are not, will sign with foreign clubs as we saw with Cousins,
Vignola and Marcano.

 

[MAD]

Is UNC gonna have any players left?

 

[Stmichael]

Lawton should be on the list, if she's interested in pro soccer, and maybe Diaz too. The vast majority of players on the list don't get
drafted and won't be on an NWSL roster. Some who are on the list, and some who are not, will sign with foreign clubs as we saw with Cousins,
Vignola and Marcano.

How many players are in the NWSL?

 

[Stmichael]

Notwithstanding StMichael's concerns about 5th years, we need Woods. But she's not signed yet, apparently, and the fact that we've
suddenly acquired Finney--who played very little for a bad Baylor team--is a worrisome sign. Hope I'm wrong. Not much info on Finney---seemed interested in Baylor because her Dad is a Baylor grad. Without Woods we will have no one with experience at wide forward and be very young. That combined with Fusco's departure spells attacking concerns.

Know what would really help our attack? Letting the outside backs make runs and stop restricting them! It's how we scored against Nebraska and it is the tactic used by every top team. Got to let the outside backs run up and down the field (as long as they get back to defend!!). It's the CB and the #6 job to create a line of confrontation and slowdown a counter.

 

[Stmichael]

So no word on Woods signing yet?

I thought she did sign? And- I'll back off the 5th year rants, but in x2 years from now I expect to read, 'StMichael was right!' Maybe.

 

[turbovol]

Know what would really help our attack? Letting the outside backs make runs and stop restricting them! It's how we scored against Nebraska and it is the tactic used by every top team. Got to let the outside backs run up and down the field (as long as they get back to defend!!). It's the CB and the #6 job to create a line of confrontation and slowdown a counter.

Yes, the more forward your outside backs can play, they more they can get involved in the attack, the better your chances of keeping the ball in your opponents defensive third--and from there creating scoring chances in various ways. If you watched the excellent BYU play this year--and the Cougars are a very good attacking team almost every year, seemingly--their outside backs were hardly ever in their defensive half of the field. They were usually around the halfway line or well into their offensive half of the field. But you need good, athletic outside backs, with PACE and ball skills, to play that way. Pace because they have to be able to get back defensively when the opponent counters.

And that is precisely the way we played in 2021, when we won 20 games and reached No. 6 in the nation. We played a 4-4-2 and we got strong outside back play from Katz and Rain. They were good at staying forward, stepping up and winning balls--and just keeping pressure on the opponent. And then Kirt took over and moved them both to new positions as part of the 3-back system he opted to go with. Incredibly bad decision--and I cannot FATHOM what he was thinking. We didn't have three centerbacks, so why would you play such a system? He moves Rain and Katz to new positions and inserts two lesser players in the wingback roles (the equivalent of outside backs, basically), and they were not good--did not have the pace or skills needed---and our attack deteriorated, and things have been going to hell in a handbasket ever since.

This year we had a good player in Hofmann at right outside back--good decision-maker, likes to get forward, good ball skills--but not ideal pace and so she struggled a bit defensively. She got hurt and Price replaced her later in the season, getting the first quality starts/minutes of her career. She played pretty well defensively but wasn't much help going forward. On the other side Brown was pretty solid but she also has some pace/athleticism issues. Outside back is a demanding position, and it takes a special talent to play it well. Former Vol outside back M.A. Vignola--now getting squad time with the U.S. National Team--has the ideal qualities for the position--some size (can be physical), very speedy and very athletic. So does/did Rain--just a good athlete with sizee, and the skill to move forward with the ball. Now recovering from a blown knee and playing with another team!

RE Woods: I don't think that she's signed yet--haven't seen any confirmation. If we don't get her then we will be playing some young, inexperienced forwards and we'll see how it goes. Defensive mid is another issue. We could have a few issues next year.

 

[turbovol]

I've copied this directly from a post on another board. Interesting:

"In the what might have been category. When ACC OPOTY (Offensive Player of the Year) Onyi Echegini decided to transfer 2 years ago, Brian Pensky, the coach of Tennessee at the time, immediately contacted her. She politely told him she wanted to play in the ACC. 2 months later he was hired by FSU and she reached out to see if he was still interested. The rest is history.

The amazing thing is is that no ACC team had shown interest in her! Think she might could have helped a couple of teams?
To be fair, her stats at Miss St didn't suggest ACCOPOTY material, but BP had the advantage of having played against her."

 

[mudcat1973]

What players did Pensky grab on his way out? To include incoming recruits? I beg yer pardon to whoever answers… I just got home from a Christmas celebration…

The one who scored the first goal was not bad for a keepsake on the way out the door . Fromer national coach of the year and lead Maryland to the Number one overall seed NCAA should been better by Danny to kept here.