Women's Soccer Reports for First Practice

[Tango Two]

 

[Loyal-Son]

I have been chomping at the bit for more information on both soccer programs and the other fall sports. Hope the RU home site gives us lots of updates.

 

[ho26rus]

I have been chomping at the bit for more information on both soccer programs and the other fall sports. Hope the RU home site gives us lots of updates.

I will do what little i can . I went to the scrimmage but with 13 new players and no numbers on the shirts its hard.
The chief area of concern would probably be the departing senior defense. To me they were the bright spot of the scrimmage. Visco and Moneme are both tall and athletic in the middle. And all 8 of the girls who played there can run. Visco seems very vocal and positions and directs ball flow even in the first game.
When near midfield these girlsa are taller than last years version and are very good with their heads
The point to me is i worried Erin Smith and Kenie Wright might have to defend. From what i saw they both will be free to be attacking mids.
The other mids and forwards saw about 19-20 all playing significant minutes. so its no shock that that passes were missed because speed was mis judged or others were guessing where the ball was going
I think it will be a very nice team when they get to the big 10 schedule but there are an awful lot of players with potential that need to be evaluated and then worked in

Casey Murphey did not play and at least 2 goalies but maybe all three played. Again no visible numbers but the girl in the first half looked athletic and comfortable. The lone goal in the second half i do not blame our goalie for.

Make no mistake in that there are a lot of very talented freshmen and sophs out there , especially on defense,and when the dust clears this will be a good year. But next year as they mature may be a great great year
loyal son i hope that helps

 

[rudad02]

ho26--thanks for the run down. Good to hear about the play of our two defenders,Visco & Moneme.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Casey Murphey did not play and at least 2 goalies but maybe all three played. Again no visible numbers but the girl in the first half looked athletic and comfortable. The lone goal in the second half i do not blame our goalie for.

Great rundown, thanks! So is Murphy playing this year or not? There were rumors following the season that she was taking the year off for the U-21(?) national team. Anything?

 

[ho26rus]

Ok remember i am not a moderator or an informed person at Rutgers
Nuts are you asking because she did not dress for yesterdays scrimmage. If so i think that was to give the other goalies a shot
Last year she chose to play the ncaa games rather than the national team
This year might be about how the team was doing when the Nov 13 uswnt u20 world cup begins
The big ten championships are on, i think , nov 4 and that would give her 9 days until the world cup.
If this team is 1-2 in the big ten and say it has a 19-2 record she has a brutally difficult decision to make. But if the year is 15-6 and non seeded maybe not so difficult
But if you research its wnt u20 not 21 and then it jumps to u23

 

[ho26rus]

while acknowledging Casey will have a tough choice Penn State has 5 girls on that same squad that will have similar decision making

 

[rudad02]

ho26, did we put any in the back of the net on Sunday?

 

[ho26rus]

ho26, did we put any in the back of the net on Sunday?

no

 

[mullerpesq]

I'm sorry I missed the scrimmage, my girls were looking forward to it but I had to go into the office. Sounds like we have a younger team with a ton of talent. They will be enjoyeable to watch this season.

 

[Loyal-Son]

Ho26rus, your report was great. You are clearly a knowledgeable soccer fan or coach. I appreciated all the detail.

I am 500 miles away, so I can't get to practices or scrimmages. Otherwise I would love to observe some. I am curious as to whether they are open to anyone.

 

[ho26rus]

the scrimmages you can go to but i really dont know of anyone who has attended a practice

But at home games the 45 minute warm up approximates what a practice may look like

I have no doubt these girls are faster and more athletic but putting the best 11 on the field is more problematic. Like kenie Wright and Erin Smith are really combinations of mid and defense and seem comfortable at either. There are three other girls who are combination mid field and defense. Though in my eyes Tiernan Wiltshire looks, already, the part of an aggressive defender.( again an opinion)

When you move upfield Smith and Wright will be attacking mids. Of the center mids i dont know if we have a distributing center mid on the team. You need her to really see the whole field and gauging whats happening sideline to sideline
Nicole Whitney is true mid but i am not sure she played sunday( again no numbers) So you may have 2 girls being defensive midfielders ( like hayley last years) and attacking down the sidelines

You have maybe 5-6 forwards and another 6-7 combination forward 0 midfielder
There are , i think , 13 new girls coming in and 4-5 may be starting sooner than later.

My guess is by the time the big 10 schedule starts this will be a good team. But you may not have the same record. Last year we had Penn st here ( 1-0 ) and 2 losses at their place. Michigan and Ohio St too. And note girls do not, generally, play well away from home

I really dont have anymore to say but , please , lets try to keep the thread alive

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Ok remember i am not a moderator or an informed person at Rutgers
Nuts are you asking because she did not dress for yesterdays scrimmage. If so i think that was to give the other goalies a shot

The "not dressing" thing just reminded me that somebody here, last year, was adamant that she had already decided to take the season off to train and play with the U20 (not 21, sorry!) WC team. That would be nuts to leave your team as such right before the post-season begins and it's freakin' awful that the international schedule plays out that way. Wow! Quite honestly I would prefer my teammate just takes the year off. Actually I wouldn't have any problem with it at all if that were the case (which I stated during the conversations last year...).

Now that being said let's hope she's with us for the entire season and we watch her playing in the Final 4 down in Cary again!

Thanks for the rundown(s). GREAT stuff!

 

[ho26rus]

NUTS
Mikes opinion was he was happy with Caseys decision back in November but he would have understood if the decision was otherwise.
Its a coaches dream to have players on your team good enough to be in a position to require that type of decision.

Remember no matter what you have her for the entire season, the big ten championships and, depending on the world cup schedule maybe even game one of the ncaas

While these other girls might not be Casey they were in their own rights very good players.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

NUTS
Mikes opinion was he was happy with Caseys decision back in November but he would have understood if the decision was otherwise.
Its a coaches dream to have players on your team good enough to be in a position to require that type of decision.

Remember no matter what you have her for the entire season, the big ten championships and, depending on the world cup schedule maybe even game one of the ncaas

While these other girls might not be Casey they were in their own rights very good players.

Gotcha and great to hear about the other keepers!

 

[mullerpesq]

Murphy is def. on the roster as a returning junior this year...so, that's a good thing.