[BostonCard]

Pending the outcome of the UNC/Penn State match (currently 1-1 in the second half), the ACC will have either 3 or 4 teams in the college cup, since tomorrow’s match between Duke and VaTech features two ACC teams.

Still can’t bring myself to root for UNC.

BC

[BostonCard]

Pending the outcome of the UNC/Penn State match (currently 1-1 in the second half), the ACC will have either 3 or 4 teams in the college cup, since tomorrow’s match between Duke and VaTech features two ACC teams.

Still can’t bring myself to root for UNC.

BC

[cardfan77]

Still can’t bring myself to root for UNC.

BC

Absolutely not. I used to root for other Pac12 teams when they weren’t playing Stanford. I can’t do the same for ACC, especially for UNC

[cardfan77]

Still can’t bring myself to root for UNC.

BC

Absolutely not. I used to root for other Pac12 teams when they weren’t playing Stanford. I can’t do the same for ACC, especially for UNC

[BostonCard]

North Carolina beat Penn State, so it will be an all-ACC college cup, with Stanford, Wake Forest, North Carolina and the winner of Duke/Virginia Tech.

BC

[BostonCard]

North Carolina beat Penn State, so it will be an all-ACC college cup, with Stanford, Wake Forest, North Carolina and the winner of Duke/Virginia Tech.

BC

[Hieronymus]

1732925645[/url]']
Great win for the Card!!!

Having watched Stanford lose at Notre Dame a few weeks ago, the game in which Jasmine Aikey was injured, I gave them no chance to win today's game, notwithstanding the fact that it was at home.  I thought they lacked sufficient athleticism, a feeling that was exacerbated in seeing that most of the starters on ND seemed 5'10" or more.  But Stanford was aggressive and poised throughout and they scored two nice header goals.  Most of Stanford's players simply looked better than the baseline that I had established for them in my mind.

Earlier this year someone on this site suggested Stanford a top-20ish team and I thought that was spot-on.  And here they are heading to the College Cup.  Fantastic!

---

P.S. I retract everything I wrote about Paul Ratcliffe in a prior post.

Best game maybe since Emri got hurt. Definitely their best since Aikey went down.

I will give them a lot of credit for adapting to the injuries, and playing good soccer to counter better athletes. That is unusual in college soccer - usually better athletes and depth win out. As examples, that was the best Klinger has looked at CF and Harvey has steadily improved at RM. Finishing chances goes a long way as well.

The bench is really thin right now, and key players are logging a lot of minutes. Fortunately, the schedule has been a bit stretched out making depth less critical.

I misjudged a bit too. I knew the ACC was really good this year, but I didn’t realize it was this good. It skewed my perceptions on the team’s chances, though again some lights have come on as the tournament has progressed as well.

[Hieronymus]

1732925645[/url]']
Great win for the Card!!!

Having watched Stanford lose at Notre Dame a few weeks ago, the game in which Jasmine Aikey was injured, I gave them no chance to win today's game, notwithstanding the fact that it was at home.  I thought they lacked sufficient athleticism, a feeling that was exacerbated in seeing that most of the starters on ND seemed 5'10" or more.  But Stanford was aggressive and poised throughout and they scored two nice header goals.  Most of Stanford's players simply looked better than the baseline that I had established for them in my mind.

Earlier this year someone on this site suggested Stanford a top-20ish team and I thought that was spot-on.  And here they are heading to the College Cup.  Fantastic!

---

P.S. I retract everything I wrote about Paul Ratcliffe in a prior post.

Best game maybe since Emri got hurt. Definitely their best since Aikey went down.

I will give them a lot of credit for adapting to the injuries, and playing good soccer to counter better athletes. That is unusual in college soccer - usually better athletes and depth win out. As examples, that was the best Klinger has looked at CF and Harvey has steadily improved at RM. Finishing chances goes a long way as well.

The bench is really thin right now, and key players are logging a lot of minutes. Fortunately, the schedule has been a bit stretched out making depth less critical.

I misjudged a bit too. I knew the ACC was really good this year, but I didn’t realize it was this good. It skewed my perceptions on the team’s chances, though again some lights have come on as the tournament has progressed as well.

[Spiny_Norman]

The College Cup is being played in Cary, NC. Another cross-country trip for the Cardinal. Stanford will definitely be facing a large, hostile crowd.

[Spiny_Norman]

The College Cup is being played in Cary, NC. Another cross-country trip for the Cardinal. Stanford will definitely be facing a large, hostile crowd.

[PVTree]

When Dook advances, it will be all North Carolina teams and Stanford playing in Cary, North Carolina.

We actually may have more "fans" in the semis as Dook/NC fans may think of us as an easier game in the final than WF so they may be rooting for us.

[PVTree]

When Dook advances, it will be all North Carolina teams and Stanford playing in Cary, North Carolina.

We actually may have more "fans" in the semis as Dook/NC fans may think of us as an easier game in the final than WF so they may be rooting for us.

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford vs. Wake Forest at 2 pm pacific on Friday. Duke vs. UNC to follow.

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford vs. Wake Forest at 2 pm pacific on Friday. Duke vs. UNC to follow.

[Spiny_Norman]

No score through 45 minutes. Neither team with a great opportunity yet. Kitahada hit the left post after a scrum off a free kick on Stanford's best chance. 

It's very cold. Temperature was 35 degrees at kickoff.

Game is on ESPNU.

[Spiny_Norman]

No score through 45 minutes. Neither team with a great opportunity yet. Kitahada hit the left post after a scrum off a free kick on Stanford's best chance. 

It's very cold. Temperature was 35 degrees at kickoff.

Game is on ESPNU.

[Spiny_Norman]

Wake Forest scored in the 73rd minute and Stanford never really had any good looks in the 2nd half. Wake wins 1-0 and will play in the NC.

[Spiny_Norman]

Wake Forest scored in the 73rd minute and Stanford never really had any good looks in the 2nd half. Wake wins 1-0 and will play in the NC.

[Hieronymus]

Wake Forest scored in the 73rd minute and Stanford never really had any good looks in the 2nd half. Wake wins 1-0 and will play in the NC.

They mostly played pretty well, but yeah generating good chances was a problem in this game and all season. A little luck though and they could have pulled this one out, and unfortunately the actual WF goal was kinda weak. This was the most aggressive press I saw from Stanford all season which was risky considering Wake’s speed. It mostly worked, and Wake didn’t have the time or space to play the ball over the top.

Overall, just making the College Cup has to be considered a great result after all of the injuries this year.

[Hieronymus]

Wake Forest scored in the 73rd minute and Stanford never really had any good looks in the 2nd half. Wake wins 1-0 and will play in the NC.

They mostly played pretty well, but yeah generating good chances was a problem in this game and all season. A little luck though and they could have pulled this one out, and unfortunately the actual WF goal was kinda weak. This was the most aggressive press I saw from Stanford all season which was risky considering Wake’s speed. It mostly worked, and Wake didn’t have the time or space to play the ball over the top.

Overall, just making the College Cup has to be considered a great result after all of the injuries this year.

[oldalum]

I agree, I didn't think they would make the college cup when they still had Aikey and Emri, so they did much better than I expected. GK quality was a question mark coming into the season and Craig did really well. Credit to the players and the coaches! I'm sure they're deeply disappointed but I think they had a great season.

[oldalum]

I agree, I didn't think they would make the college cup when they still had Aikey and Emri, so they did much better than I expected. GK quality was a question mark coming into the season and Craig did really well. Credit to the players and the coaches! I'm sure they're deeply disappointed but I think they had a great season.

[Nobadeer]

Sixth final four in the last 10 years, incl. 2 NCAA championships!

[Nobadeer]

Sixth final four in the last 10 years, incl. 2 NCAA championships!

[BostonCard]

By the way, UNC beat Duke 3-0, so they will face Wake on Monday.  Needless to say, I am not rooting for the Tarheels.

BC

---

On the men’s side, Ohio State, which we took to penalty kicks, beat #8 Wake Forest 3-nil to make the men’s college cup.  They’re joined by #3 Denver, #13 Marshall (#4 Georgetown was upset in the second round by unseeded NC State) and unseeded Vermont, who upset #2 seed Pitt.

All in all, I think both teams did quite well.

BC

[BostonCard]

By the way, UNC beat Duke 3-0, so they will face Wake on Monday.  Needless to say, I am not rooting for the Tarheels.

BC

---

On the men’s side, Ohio State, which we took to penalty kicks, beat #8 Wake Forest 3-nil to make the men’s college cup.  They’re joined by #3 Denver, #13 Marshall (#4 Georgetown was upset in the second round by unseeded NC State) and unseeded Vermont, who upset #2 seed Pitt.

All in all, I think both teams did quite well.

BC

[Nobadeer]

UNC won the College Cup tonight by 1-0 over Wake. UNC's first title since 2012.

[Nobadeer]

UNC won the College Cup tonight by 1-0 over Wake. UNC's first title since 2012.

[BostonCard]

UNC won the College Cup tonight by 1-0 over Wake. UNC's first title since 2012.

Booooo.

BC

[BostonCard]

UNC won the College Cup tonight by 1-0 over Wake. UNC's first title since 2012.

Booooo.

BC

[BACardinal]

I have noticed for a while now that ESPNW the leading national news outlet for women's sports has been really poor. I haven't seen a single article or announcement of UNC winning the national championship. 
There have been other instances of events not being reported, instead it is just the latest click-bait stories. 

I think that is why there is a trend of social media users on platforms like Tiktok and Instagram who are gaining a national audience because they talk about current events in sports and are passionate about women's sports.

[BACardinal]

I have noticed for a while now that ESPNW the leading national news outlet for women's sports has been really poor. I haven't seen a single article or announcement of UNC winning the national championship. 
There have been other instances of events not being reported, instead it is just the latest click-bait stories. 

I think that is why there is a trend of social media users on platforms like Tiktok and Instagram who are gaining a national audience because they talk about current events in sports and are passionate about women's sports.

[CompSci87]

I have noticed for a while now that ESPNW the leading national news outlet for women's sports has been really poor. I haven't seen a single article or announcement of UNC winning the national championship. 
There have been other instances of events not being reported, instead it is just the latest click-bait stories. 

I think that is why there is a trend of social media users on platforms like Tiktok and Instagram who are gaining a national audience because they talk about current events in sports and are passionate about women's sports.

As far as I can tell, ESPNW now is just a page on the ESPN.com web site that highlights stories about women's sports on the ESPN.com site. ESPN.com does have a story about the women's college soccer championship that you can find from their college sports page. Unfortunately it's not linked from the ESPNW page. Also unfortunately it's just the AP wire service story. 

 https://www.espn.com/college-sports/stor...ollege-cup

[CompSci87]

I have noticed for a while now that ESPNW the leading national news outlet for women's sports has been really poor. I haven't seen a single article or announcement of UNC winning the national championship. 
There have been other instances of events not being reported, instead it is just the latest click-bait stories. 

I think that is why there is a trend of social media users on platforms like Tiktok and Instagram who are gaining a national audience because they talk about current events in sports and are passionate about women's sports.

As far as I can tell, ESPNW now is just a page on the ESPN.com web site that highlights stories about women's sports on the ESPN.com site. ESPN.com does have a story about the women's college soccer championship that you can find from their college sports page. Unfortunately it's not linked from the ESPNW page. Also unfortunately it's just the AP wire service story. 

 https://www.espn.com/college-sports/stor...ollege-cup

[Hieronymus]

UNC won the College Cup tonight by 1-0 over Wake. UNC's first title since 2012.

Booooo.

BC

There is something darkly funny about Dorrance retiring after many years of recent failure and then seeing UNC finally win again. 

Overall I agree though- UNC is still, the epitome of athletes over soccer players. Run, run, run. Sub like mad. And pressure out a goal. Fortunately, that hasn’t been the winning formula the last decade. I hate to see that style get rewarded again.

---

1733720242[/url]']
By the way, UNC beat Duke 3-0, so they will face Wake on Monday.  Needless to say, I am not rooting for the Tarheels.

BC

---

On the men’s side, Ohio State, which we took to penalty kicks, beat #8 Wake Forest 3-nil to make the men’s college cup.  They’re joined by #3 Denver, #13 Marshall (#4 Georgetown was upset in the second round by unseeded NC State) and unseeded Vermont, who upset #2 seed Pitt.

All in all, I think both teams did quite well.

BC

I am less upbeat on the men. They closed the year out with 1 win, 5 ties and 4 losses. Note I am counting the 2 PK tourney games as ties.

They looked like the best team in the country mid season, and then the wheels fell off. Little mistakes. Inability to finish. It wasn’t good, and they were very lucky to hang on to the draw in the second rd vs. UCSB. They actually did outplay OSU, but couldn’t finish. For me it was an underwhelming season vs. expectations.

[Hieronymus]

UNC won the College Cup tonight by 1-0 over Wake. UNC's first title since 2012.

Booooo.

BC

There is something darkly funny about Dorrance retiring after many years of recent failure and then seeing UNC finally win again. 

Overall I agree though- UNC is still, the epitome of athletes over soccer players. Run, run, run. Sub like mad. And pressure out a goal. Fortunately, that hasn’t been the winning formula the last decade. I hate to see that style get rewarded again.

---

1733720242[/url]']
By the way, UNC beat Duke 3-0, so they will face Wake on Monday.  Needless to say, I am not rooting for the Tarheels.

BC

---

On the men’s side, Ohio State, which we took to penalty kicks, beat #8 Wake Forest 3-nil to make the men’s college cup.  They’re joined by #3 Denver, #13 Marshall (#4 Georgetown was upset in the second round by unseeded NC State) and unseeded Vermont, who upset #2 seed Pitt.

All in all, I think both teams did quite well.

BC

I am less upbeat on the men. They closed the year out with 1 win, 5 ties and 4 losses. Note I am counting the 2 PK tourney games as ties.

They looked like the best team in the country mid season, and then the wheels fell off. Little mistakes. Inability to finish. It wasn’t good, and they were very lucky to hang on to the draw in the second rd vs. UCSB. They actually did outplay OSU, but couldn’t finish. For me it was an underwhelming season vs. expectations.

[Jamesy]

UNC won the College Cup tonight by 1-0 over Wake. UNC's first title since 2012.

Booooo.

BC

There is something darkly funny about Dorrance retiring after many years of recent failure and then seeing UNC finally win again. 

Overall I agree though- UNC is still, the epitome of athletes over soccer players. Run, run, run. Sub like mad. And pressure out a goal. Fortunately, that hasn’t been the winning formula the last decade. I hate to see that style get rewarded again.

---

1733720242[/url]']
By the way, UNC beat Duke 3-0, so they will face Wake on Monday.  Needless to say, I am not rooting for the Tarheels.

BC

---

On the men’s side, Ohio State, which we took to penalty kicks, beat #8 Wake Forest 3-nil to make the men’s college cup.  They’re joined by #3 Denver, #13 Marshall (#4 Georgetown was upset in the second round by unseeded NC State) and unseeded Vermont, who upset #2 seed Pitt.

All in all, I think both teams did quite well.

BC

I am less upbeat on the men. They closed the year out with 1 win, 5 ties and 4 losses. Note I am counting the 2 PK tourney games as ties.

They looked like the best team in the country mid season, and then the wheels fell off. Little mistakes. Inability to finish. It wasn’t good, and they were very lucky to hang on to the draw in the second rd vs. UCSB. They actually did outplay OSU, but couldn’t finish. For me it was an underwhelming season vs. expectations.

Interestingly, the way you describe the UNC women's style of play is the way I see the Stanford men play.

[Jamesy]

UNC won the College Cup tonight by 1-0 over Wake. UNC's first title since 2012.

Booooo.

BC

There is something darkly funny about Dorrance retiring after many years of recent failure and then seeing UNC finally win again. 

Overall I agree though- UNC is still, the epitome of athletes over soccer players. Run, run, run. Sub like mad. And pressure out a goal. Fortunately, that hasn’t been the winning formula the last decade. I hate to see that style get rewarded again.

---

1733720242[/url]']
By the way, UNC beat Duke 3-0, so they will face Wake on Monday.  Needless to say, I am not rooting for the Tarheels.

BC

---

On the men’s side, Ohio State, which we took to penalty kicks, beat #8 Wake Forest 3-nil to make the men’s college cup.  They’re joined by #3 Denver, #13 Marshall (#4 Georgetown was upset in the second round by unseeded NC State) and unseeded Vermont, who upset #2 seed Pitt.

All in all, I think both teams did quite well.

BC

I am less upbeat on the men. They closed the year out with 1 win, 5 ties and 4 losses. Note I am counting the 2 PK tourney games as ties.

They looked like the best team in the country mid season, and then the wheels fell off. Little mistakes. Inability to finish. It wasn’t good, and they were very lucky to hang on to the draw in the second rd vs. UCSB. They actually did outplay OSU, but couldn’t finish. For me it was an underwhelming season vs. expectations.

Interestingly, the way you describe the UNC women's style of play is the way I see the Stanford men play.

[Hieronymus]

1733971566[/url]']

1733963780[/url]']

1733865664[/url]']

1733814588[/url]']
UNC won the College Cup tonight by 1-0 over Wake. UNC's first title since 2012.

Booooo.

BC

There is something darkly funny about Dorrance retiring after many years of recent failure and then seeing UNC finally win again. 

Overall I agree though- UNC is still, the epitome of athletes over soccer players. Run, run, run. Sub like mad. And pressure out a goal. Fortunately, that hasn’t been the winning formula the last decade. I hate to see that style get rewarded again.

---

1733720242[/url]']
By the way, UNC beat Duke 3-0, so they will face Wake on Monday.  Needless to say, I am not rooting for the Tarheels.

BC

---

On the men’s side, Ohio State, which we took to penalty kicks, beat #8 Wake Forest 3-nil to make the men’s college cup.  They’re joined by #3 Denver, #13 Marshall (#4 Georgetown was upset in the second round by unseeded NC State) and unseeded Vermont, who upset #2 seed Pitt.

All in all, I think both teams did quite well.

BC

I am less upbeat on the men. They closed the year out with 1 win, 5 ties and 4 losses. Note I am counting the 2 PK tourney games as ties.

They looked like the best team in the country mid season, and then the wheels fell off. Little mistakes. Inability to finish. It wasn’t good, and they were very lucky to hang on to the draw in the second rd vs. UCSB. They actually did outplay OSU, but couldn’t finish. For me it was an underwhelming season vs. expectations.

Interestingly, the way you describe the UNC women's style of play is the way I see the Stanford men play.

I don’t want to go too far talking about the men in a women’s thread. So this will be only post on this path….

I think it’s hard to compare - the men’s college game borders on frenetic and is massively more physical (read that as absurdly rough much of the time). But I do think that is harsh stylewise. And if nothing else the men don’t sub enough to be the UNC women.

Traditionally though, the Stanford men played extremely defensively and relied on set pieces and counters to score. Gunn has opened it up a lot more the last few years to play real soccer. The team moves the ball well, but it is just hard to score in soccer from the run of play. The men didn’t have a dynamic forward, living off Bohane in MF for its offense and that wasn’t sustainable. Throw in the defensive errors the last few years and yet get a good but flawed team.

[Hieronymus]

1733971566[/url]']

1733963780[/url]']

1733865664[/url]']

1733814588[/url]']
UNC won the College Cup tonight by 1-0 over Wake. UNC's first title since 2012.

Booooo.

BC

There is something darkly funny about Dorrance retiring after many years of recent failure and then seeing UNC finally win again. 

Overall I agree though- UNC is still, the epitome of athletes over soccer players. Run, run, run. Sub like mad. And pressure out a goal. Fortunately, that hasn’t been the winning formula the last decade. I hate to see that style get rewarded again.

---

1733720242[/url]']
By the way, UNC beat Duke 3-0, so they will face Wake on Monday.  Needless to say, I am not rooting for the Tarheels.

BC

---

On the men’s side, Ohio State, which we took to penalty kicks, beat #8 Wake Forest 3-nil to make the men’s college cup.  They’re joined by #3 Denver, #13 Marshall (#4 Georgetown was upset in the second round by unseeded NC State) and unseeded Vermont, who upset #2 seed Pitt.

All in all, I think both teams did quite well.

BC

I am less upbeat on the men. They closed the year out with 1 win, 5 ties and 4 losses. Note I am counting the 2 PK tourney games as ties.

They looked like the best team in the country mid season, and then the wheels fell off. Little mistakes. Inability to finish. It wasn’t good, and they were very lucky to hang on to the draw in the second rd vs. UCSB. They actually did outplay OSU, but couldn’t finish. For me it was an underwhelming season vs. expectations.

Interestingly, the way you describe the UNC women's style of play is the way I see the Stanford men play.

I don’t want to go too far talking about the men in a women’s thread. So this will be only post on this path….

I think it’s hard to compare - the men’s college game borders on frenetic and is massively more physical (read that as absurdly rough much of the time). But I do think that is harsh stylewise. And if nothing else the men don’t sub enough to be the UNC women.

Traditionally though, the Stanford men played extremely defensively and relied on set pieces and counters to score. Gunn has opened it up a lot more the last few years to play real soccer. The team moves the ball well, but it is just hard to score in soccer from the run of play. The men didn’t have a dynamic forward, living off Bohane in MF for its offense and that wasn’t sustainable. Throw in the defensive errors the last few years and yet get a good but flawed team.