armchair
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We learn today that midfielder Katie Cousins will not be playing for the soccer team this year. Instead, she will be training with and playing for the Under 20 national team, which will be competing in the U20 World Cup, to be played in--of all places-- remote Papua New Guinea later in the year.
It is an honor to play in any world cup, though it's not certain how much Cousins will actually play for the national team.That has yet to be determined. A few colleges are not allowing their U20s to play with the national team. Meantime, the Cousins absence is a blow to a Vol team that really needs to play well this fall after being crappy last year and not very good the year before, either. For a program trying to get it together, the timing is not good.
Cousins came into the team last year as one of the top prospects in the country. She was overrated, in my view--she is short and not very fast and wasn't even the best first-year Vol last year. But she certainly has some qualities---chiefly that she is strong on the ball, physical, and has a high soccer IQ. She would ideal in a defensive (holding) role in a four-man midfield, I think. Without her, the Vols young and somewhat inexperienced midfield will be athletic and perhaps more attack-minded than in the past, but may be lacking some toughness and ability to win balls. We'll have to see--starting with tomorrow's first game. Coach Pensky will put a pretty athletic team on the field--the talent level is definitely up. Now it is time to play better soccer.
It is an honor to play in any world cup, though it's not certain how much Cousins will actually play for the national team.That has yet to be determined. A few colleges are not allowing their U20s to play with the national team. Meantime, the Cousins absence is a blow to a Vol team that really needs to play well this fall after being crappy last year and not very good the year before, either. For a program trying to get it together, the timing is not good.
Cousins came into the team last year as one of the top prospects in the country. She was overrated, in my view--she is short and not very fast and wasn't even the best first-year Vol last year. But she certainly has some qualities---chiefly that she is strong on the ball, physical, and has a high soccer IQ. She would ideal in a defensive (holding) role in a four-man midfield, I think. Without her, the Vols young and somewhat inexperienced midfield will be athletic and perhaps more attack-minded than in the past, but may be lacking some toughness and ability to win balls. We'll have to see--starting with tomorrow's first game. Coach Pensky will put a pretty athletic team on the field--the talent level is definitely up. Now it is time to play better soccer.
