⚽️Lady Vols Soccer Thread

#6,352
#6,352
The 2024 NWSL Draft live registration tracker will be updated on a rolling basis until player registration closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, January 8.

The 2024 NWSL Draft, presented by Ally, will be hosted at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim California on Friday, January 12 at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET. The event is free and open to the public.

Live coverage of the 2024 NWSL Draft, presented by Ally, will be televised on ION from 8 to 10 p.m. ET. All rounds of the draft will be streamed on ION Plus. Viewers can find access to ION in their area by visiting https://iontelevision.com/find-us.

Current list of players registered for the 2024 NWSL Draft, presented by Ally, in alphabetical order

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www.nwslsoccer.com

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 www.nwslsoccer.com
 
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#6,359
#6,359
I'll keep saying it...when the outside backs are part of the attack (and not being instructed to limit it, and they are), players like Thomas produce good numbers. In play prior to college, the two outside backs that finished our season heavily contributed to the attack with crosses and acute/quick cut ins. This characteristic I was significant in their recruiting profile. Like Turbvol wrote previously, this tactic was a major factor that led to an SEC championship.
 
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#6,360
#6,360
Never good to take the athlete out of the athlete (with too much tactical info and silly statistics that don't matter). Too much thinking and worrying by the players. Let the beast out of its cage!! Sometimes.
 
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#6,361
#6,361
And, we have Midgley. Outstanding midfielder who's vision is elite and movement tricky yet tactful. I often thought that her high soccer IQ needs to be adopted by the front line (they need to get in synch with her) She's a creator. Hell, all the forward needed to do was one touch half of Midgley's passes and they score. Instead. The front line opted for a 'miradona' and failed to pull the trigger. Maybe we need some young players who aren't brainwashed with silly, wasted movement up top and are willing to learn from players like Midgley and attacking backs that are set free to bombard the box with crosses.
 
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#6,362
#6,362
Stmichael said:
I'll keep saying it...when the outside backs are part of the attack (and not being instructed to limit it, and they are), players like Thomas produce good numbers. In play prior to college, the two outside backs that finished our season heavily contributed to the attack with crosses and acute/quick cut ins. This characteristic I was significant in their recruiting profile. Like Turbvol wrote previously, this tactic was a major factor that led to an SEC championship.
Click to expand...

What two outside backs are you referring to that finished for us last season---Brown and Price? Brown was decent in attack, not great but a solid player, and Price didn't do much at all. It was her first few games of starting experience, so we'll give her that. She was solid defensively, seems athletic enough, but hard to say what her ceiling is. Hofmann is good at getting forward, making smart passes, etc.---a good player who struggles somewhat to get back defensively.

We need for Katz to make a good recovery from her injury at get back at outside back. If you want to talk about two outside backs that were really good, it was Katz and Rain in 2021 when we won 20 games. There were hugely influential. Kirt was clueless the following season when he switched our formation and moved those two to new positions--putting Katz at centerback!--and replaced them effectively with Nelson and Dipasupil. The latter two were not athletic, pacey or good enough, and that switch there was a big reason why our performance fell off badly. I will never understand what the hell Kirt was thinking. He wasn't. We should have some good options at outside back this season, but scoring could be even more of a problem than last year. I hope to see a lot of Mattern and Greiner at the outside forward spots, and let's see what the young talents can do.

We should have a lot of depth at midfield and could perhaps play a 4-4-2 again, with Runyon and someone else with skills and shooting ability up top. Who that would be, I can't say. Defensive midfield position is a huge question mark.
 
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#6,363
#6,363
Outside backs are being held back. Not being allowed to play to their strengths. Agree on Katz. Move to CB. French was an outside back that excelled at CB - small (not small, but not you know what I mean), but smart and led.
 
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#6,365
#6,365

San Diego Wave FC Transfers Goalkeeper Shae Yanez to Bristol City​

San Diego Wave FC today announced it has completed a transfer of goalkeeper Shae Yanez to Bristol City of the Women’s Super League (WSL) for an undisclosed transfer fee.
Yanez, 26, signed with the Wave from London City Lionesses on April 26, 2023 on a permanent transfer. The goalkeeper made nine appearances (eight starts) across all competitions for San Diego.

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#6,366
#6,366

City sign goalkeeper Yanez​


05 January 2024
City are delighted to announce the permanent signing of goalkeeper Shae Yanez.
The 26-year-old joins from National Women’s Soccer League outfit San Diego Wave after a short spell on the West Coast of America.
Yanez previously spent three seasons with London City Lionesses where she tallied up a club-record 24 clean sheets in 72 appearances for the Barclays Women’s Championship side having begun her professional career with Washington Spirit.
“I’m super excited to be here and I’m really looking forward to getting started,” she said. “I’m glad we could get the deal done because it’s always been a dream to play in this league.
“I made the choice to go back to America but fortunately I’ve been given the opportunity to come to the Super League and fulfil that dream of mine.”

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#6,367
#6,367
Misread Katz. I say put a veteran at center back if needed. Got to remember that Rain and her were allowed to run if they wanted (sometimes even get lost down the field- Rain) . Currently, that is being restricted. By restricted, I mean a coaching demand, not player choice. French kept the back line disciplined and on point. She, was the epicenter of our success (and Abby's grit). Our current back line (minus the missing CB) are fine and can play at a high level- a championship level. There is still an incredible amount of talent still waiting to be released with Klurman and D.Brown (holding mid?). There is Mitchell who is waiting to make her mark. I've watched these '21,22,23 players a long time from one end of the country to the other, and they are extremely talented and will produce wins. They just havnt had a legit opportunity or the leadership that instills confidence. Grabbing 5th year (and now 6 year 😳) players won't improve anything. Alabama will slowly return to Alabama pre-covid once the 5th year player is gone - they are already slipping back. So are other teams that created fake squads with 5th year players that can't make the pros and take scuba diving as a graduate course (give me a break) and aren't invested in the new school they transferred to. It's time we embrace these young players- even the young transfers, and build something great and lasting. And then continue to do it.
 
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#6,370
#6,370
I really like Jaida as a person, I hope she finds success. Only 22 rostered players per pro team. 250 players in the league (not including allowed supplemental players). It's a tight budget. Opportunities are small. Unlike the portal, I hope players are being educated.

Future of all these sports will be graduate school opportunities anyway. Half the players come into college with 11/2 year college credit anyway (from high school). I'd tell the new generation, get as many college credits as you can in high school, red shirt your first year and get stronger and smarter, and then play x4 years and finish with a graduate degree.
 
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#6,371
#6,371
I will be interesting to see how Thomas does going forward. If you want to see a prototypical center forward, see Runyon--size, speed, athleticism. The only (big) question about her is if she can develop further and hone her ability to score goals. She still at the stage where she tries to dribble around and through opponents. But she's got a world of potential. Thomas doesn't have the size or pure pace/athleticism of top center-forwards. That may work against her, but she's clever around the box and has a knack for putting the ball in the net when she get service in the box. We shall see.
 
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#6,372
#6,372
turbovol said:
I will be interesting to see how Thomas does going forward. If you want to see a prototypical center forward, see Runyon--size, speed, athleticism. The only (big) question about her is if she can develop further and hone her ability to score goals. She still at the stage where she tries to dribble around and through opponents. But she's got a world of potential. Thomas doesn't have the size or pure pace/athleticism of top center-forwards. That may work against her, but she's clever around the box and has a knack for putting the ball in the net when she get service in the box. We shall see.
Click to expand...
Runyon can do it! I think she learned that fancy foot work doesn't work in the box in the SEC or anywhere else. Receive- maybe one signature 'Juke' and pull the trigger. Migley will set her up with great lead passes and good, fast outside players would optimize her presence with crosses. We already have a lot of that.
 
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#6,373
#6,373
Stmichael said:
Misread Katz. I say put a veteran at center back if needed. Got to remember that Rain and her were allowed to run if they wanted (sometimes even get lost down the field- Rain) . Currently, that is being restricted. By restricted, I mean a coaching demand, not player choice. French kept the back line disciplined and on point. She, was the epicenter of our success (and Abby's grit). Our current back line (minus the missing CB) are fine and can play at a high level- a championship level. There is still an incredible amount of talent still waiting to be released with Klurman and D.Brown (holding mid?). There is Mitchell who is waiting to make her mark. I've watched these '21,22,23 players a long time from one end of the country to the other, and they are extremely talented and will produce wins. They just havnt had a legit opportunity or the leadership that instills confidence. Grabbing 5th year (and now 6 year 😳) players won't improve anything. Alabama will slowly return to Alabama pre-covid once the 5th year player is gone - they are already slipping back. So are other teams that created fake squads with 5th year players that can't make the pros and take scuba diving as a graduate course (give me a break) and aren't invested in the new school they transferred to. It's time we embrace these young players- even the young transfers, and build something great and lasting. And then continue to do it.
Click to expand...


I don't agree that Rain and Katz were "allowed" to get forward while those last year or the year before were not. Rain is an exceptional athlete with excellent speed, and she has ball skills. She and Huff were the two most athletic players on the team. She could cover the length of the field owing to her speed. She's a very good and talented soccer player--period. Katz is also athletic and pretty speedy. They played well because they were good players in positions suited to their skills.

Outside back is the most physically demanding position on a team; if you do not have excellent pace and recovery speed, you will be hesitant to get too far forward because you'll be caught out defensively. Hofmann certainly got forward a lot--and got caught out a few times because her recovery speed is less than ideal. Hennessey wasn't fast enough or athletic enough to excel at the position. Neither was Nelson when she played wingback year before last---slow recovery speed. Brown plays the position pretty well but, again, she doesn't get back as well as really good outside backs. I don't see Brown being a defensive mid. I do think she could be a pretty solid centerback--but I presume that the transfer CB from Purdue will pair with Michel. They could be a good pair.

Mitchell seems like good defensive mid candidate. She got some action in some OOC games last season, but not sure if it was at the 6 or 8 spot. She didn't play at all, really, once SEC play started--and if Kirt has it in mind for her to be our defensive mid next seasion, he made (another) mistake by not giving her the minutes that Washington got in SEC play so she could get some seasoning. It may sound harsh, but playing seniors who are mediocre (at best) when you've got freshmen with more potential is poor coaching. You've of course got to do what you can to win games now but also be proactive about getting younger players some quality PT if you think they will be needed the next year. It's tricky and coaches have to be smart about the minutes. Kirt has not played he younger players enough--but he may have no choice next season.

I have wondered about Klurman--seems athletic, played on a good ECNL team---but have hardly seen her in two years owing, apparently, to injuries.
 
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#6,374
#6,374
Definetly good athletes. Would never challenge that-yikes! My view is that the current players are just as good of athletes and collectively, better. Hopefully Spring allows for intense training and confidence building. Let's give it another season...hell, what the worse scenario? We repeat the 2019-20 seasons -aren't some of these players still around, what happened in those seasons? Really, 2018 was mostly Shaw running over entire teams in the last 2 mins of a game to win (fun and exciting to watch). We have the talent. Got to have some players step up, and take over player leadership roles this year. No one talked on the field last season...that's a problem (center backs not talking and leading is nuts). Veteran, championship players, yelling at other players on their team, is a problem (they are gone now). This group can do great things (and the new younger players.).
 
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#6,375
#6,375
RE Yanez's transfer to Bristol City, the potential upside is that she may become a starting WSL goalkeeper. I don't know the keeper situation
at Bristol City, but I would think the potential to start is there---and that's a great opportunity. She wasn't going to be the starting keeper for San Diego, obviously, or apparently any other team in the NWSL. The downside of playing keeper for Bristol City is that it is a bottom-of-the-league team; it is tied for fewest points right now, in last place. If she does play, she's likely to be quite busy and facing a lot of shots. Wishing her much success.
 
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