Lady Vols Soccer ⚽️ Tennessee @ Virginia Tech 11/15 Friday 7PM Blacksburg VA ⚽️ NCAA TOURNAMENT First Round ESPN+

#6,104
#6,104
MAD said:
Hope this isn’t true. But looks like Simmonds is leaving.

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Hate this, but also spent all season grumbling from the stands that we would lose her if we 1.) didn’t develop her because she’s clearly stated her aspiration is to be Bunny Shaw and 2.) figure out NIL for her. What a bummer to start a Friday.
 
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#6,105
#6,105
brittannica said:
Hate this, but also spent all season grumbling from the stands that we would lose her if we 1.) didn’t develop her because she’s clearly stated her aspiration is to be Bunny Shaw and 2.) figure out NIL for her. What a bummer to start a Friday.
Click to expand...

Simmonds isn't close to Shaw's level at this point, let's be honest. I'm a Simmonds fan---she plays hard, has seemed to have an excellent attitude, and she is strong and athletic, to be sure. But, IMO, she needs work on her ball skills, shooting and decision-making--as do a lot of players! She didn't have a particularly good season--and when you have her potential but neither your season nor the team's season meets expectations, the parents get disgruntled, blame the coach, and you start to look around and think you can do better elsewhere--espcially in this portal era. Now, there might be various reasons for not meeting expectations, one of which is could be that she played wide, on the left, for a big chunk of the season, and she wasn't hugely effective out there--very few quality crosses, centering passes, etc. She's more suited to CF, I think, but we started Runyon at CF until she got hurt. Simmonds had 1 goal in SEC and NCAA play--12 games. It was a big goal, against Vandy, but we needed more from her over the course of the season...from both of our wide forwards.

Bunny Shaw, it should be mentioned, has excellent ball skills for a player with her size--and she scores a lot of goals both with her feet (shooting) and her head, the latter because she's 5'11" and good at it. Neither Simmonds nor anyone on our team scores with her head---it been an issue since, well, since Shaw left. We had one headed goal all year.

I think most soccer gurus would tell you that soccer players will not get developed a lot of the course of their college careers. They get developed some, sure---but the best players are already pretty well developed in terms of their soccer IQ, ball skills, positioning when they get to college. And you should be to play at this level. If you're not, you probably won't play much for a year or two--and by then you risk getting recruited over. One area where a LOT of players do need development in college is shooting the ball--shot pace, shot placement, shot timing. And also shooting and passing with the weaker foot. Those are areas where a lot of major-college players can improve. Look at how defenders position themselves when they're in a 1v1 situation with an opponent who has the ball and is close to goal and may have the opportunity to shoot. They position themselves to the right of the opposing player with the ball---the idea being to prevent the player from going to her stronger right side (assuming the player is right-footed, as most are) and getting a good shot off. They force the player (or try to) to go to her left, weaker side--which means shooting with the weaker left foot. A lot of players can't do it---or the shots tend be weak. Also, a lot of athletic attacking players dribble too much. They are used to just blazing by lesser players in high school or club level, and so they are conditioned to do it in college--try to dribble past 1, 2, 3 defenders--and it rarely works. You need to get rid of the ball and then find spaces near goal when you can make a move and get the ball and shoot. Marcano used to put her head down and try to dribble around four defenders. Runyon does it, Simmonds does it, others. It's a habit that coaches must break in college.

I'm not surprised at this at all. In fact, I rather expected it. I think part of it--let's see how it turns out--is that a certain coach (and his staff) at a certain program are doing a lot of tampering with current players and commits at other schools, which is bush-league and unethical. And part of it is player/parent expectations and perceptions. And part of it might also be the seemingly crowded situation at CF, if Thomas returns, and we certainly need her to come back.
 
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#6,112
#6,112
Damn: Clemson played a super first 30 minutes--was for sure the better team--and yet still ends up trailing at the half, 1-0. Tough. Had some corner kicks, half chances or better--but couldn't convert, and then FSU scores on a good strike out of, seemingly, nothing. Hard to see Clemson winning this one.

Has anyone heard what sort of injury Hofmann had? She of course missed at least the last, what, 4 or more games. Hope she is ok.
 
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#6,113
#6,113
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲...

🏆 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐎𝐟𝐟 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩🏆

(2) @StanfordWSoccer
🆚
(1) @FSUSoccer

📆 Monday, Dec. 4
⏰ 6 PM ET
📺 ESPNU

IMG_5014.jpeg
 
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#6,114
#6,114
BYU got caught out by two Stanford counters and the two great Stanford strikes, in the first four minutes of the game, and as good
as BYU is in attack, they couldn't score against a Stanford defense that now has gone 36 straight games without giving up 2 goals in 36 straight games. Amazing.

BYU actually put on an attacking clinic in the last 40 minutes of the first half, after falling behind by two. The ball pretty much stayed in Stanford's defensive half--the Cougars had the Cardinal under almost constant pressure--but Stanford was sitting back defensively, and crowding the area in front of their net, and BYU, as impressive as it was, was unable to test the Stanford keeper until late in the half. BYU then scored but the goal was disallowed because of an offside. I didn't see the play, but the TV analyst said it was a bad call and was not offside. That is too bad for the Cougars. BYU pushed and pushed in the 2nd half, had a ball nearly go in off the crossbar, but could not get one past the stiff Cardinal defense. Stanford wins it, 2-0.

Can the Cardinal defense hold off the talented FSU attack? I wouldn't think so--but I didn't think they could beat BYU and was wrong. I'll be pulling for Stanford, who essentially sign a half dozen 5 star prospects every year.

I am envious of that BYU attack. They get their outside backs forward and can really move the ball around the pitch impressively---quick, crisp passes, forwards and mids finding space, good technical skills, not much dribbling, switching the field of play, players who can shoot. Our coaches would do well to emulate the Cougars attacking style--which is far more sophisticated than how we play. And then we pattern our defense after Stanford and win the national title...next year? Ha!
 
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#6,115
#6,115
turbovol said:
BYU got caught out by two Stanford counters and the two great Stanford strikes, in the first four minutes of the game, and as good
as BYU is in attack, they couldn't score against a Stanford defense that now has gone 36 straight games without giving up 2 goals in 36 straight games. Amazing.

BYU actually put on an attacking clinic in the last 40 minutes of the first half, after falling behind by two. The ball pretty much stayed in Stanford's defensive half--the Cougars had the Cardinal under almost constant pressure--but Stanford was sitting back defensively, and crowding the area in front of their net, and BYU, as impressive as it was, was unable to test the Stanford keeper until late in the half. BYU then scored but the goal was disallowed because of an offside. I didn't see the play, but the TV analyst said it was a bad call and was not offside. That is too bad for the Cougars. BYU pushed and pushed in the 2nd half, had a ball nearly go in off the crossbar, but could not get one past the stiff Cardinal defense. Stanford wins it, 2-0.

Can the Cardinal defense hold off the talented FSU attack? I wouldn't think so--but I didn't think they could beat BYU and was wrong. I'll be pulling for Stanford, who essentially sign a half dozen 5 star prospects every year.

I am envious of that BYU attack. They get their outside backs forward and can really move the ball around the pitch impressively---quick, crisp passes, forwards and mids finding space, good technical skills, not much dribbling, switching the field of play, players who can shoot. Our coaches would do well to emulate the Cougars attacking style--which is far more sophisticated than how we play. And then we pattern our defense after Stanford and win the national title...next year? Ha!
Click to expand...
I’m hoping Stanford wins too.
 
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#6,117
#6,117
Turbo is always pointing out how important international players are.

Here is the breakdown between Stanford and Noles.

Florida State vs Stanford



FSU 7/21 33% International

Stanford 0/30 0%

Tale of the Tape:

Stanford's Bio

30 players from 10 states including 21 from California. Included in the 10 states are 5 players from the east coast.
Those 5 states include NY, CT, GA, PA, and VT.


FSU Bio

21 Players including 7 Internationals.
International players are from England, Japan, Sweden, Jamaica, Bermuda, Portugal, and Canada.
5 International started National Semi-Final all 7 played.
Players represent 8 states including NV, FL, OH, CO, GA, VA,CA, and IL.
Five players from Florida.
 
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#6,118
#6,118
MAD said:
Turbo is always pointing out how important international players are.

Here is the breakdown between Stanford and Noles.

Florida State vs Stanford



FSU 7/21 33% International

Stanford 0/30 0%

Tale of the Tape:

Stanford's Bio

30 players from 10 states including 21 from California. Included in the 10 states are 5 players from the east coast.
Those 5 states include NY, CT, GA, PA, and VT.


FSU Bio

21 Players including 7 Internationals.
International players are from England, Japan, Sweden, Jamaica, Bermuda, Portugal, and Canada.
5 International started National Semi-Final all 7 played.
Players represent 8 states including NV, FL, OH, CO, GA, VA,CA, and IL.
Five players from Florida.
Click to expand...

Good stuff. That's more internationals on Fla. State this year than I thought.

Stanford gets so many 5 stars, many if not most with youth national team experience, that it probably feels it doesn't need internationals.
 
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