I totally agree. These scores are young with the exception of Summer and Blum. The other problems are young, and they tend to rush things. Not having their feet properly set and taking their time. It seems like that are in a hurry to score and the ball sails over the goal. That shows their inexperience and lack of playing on this level.
UNC Women's Soccer 2026-2027
- Thread starter 3397char
- Start date
Happily wrong on my football game prediction. But let’s be honest, that shocked basically all of us wearing Carolina Blue. My pessimism towards that team has been built on several decades of disappointment as a fan. I read that it’s the first time we have EVER beaten a Big 12 team (0-8 previously). Nice to actually come out on the good side for a change.
Now back to the womens’ soccer team…this has to be jet lag week for them. Playing in Ireland and then 6 days later playing Arizona (who came up with that schedule). I hope they are heading out there today or tomorrow at the latest to give them some time to adjust. Also, I assume our players are basically taking classes remotely being gone so much due to travel. That’s one of the things I loathe the most about the new conference alignments…having west coast teams in the ACC and forcing teams all of that additional (and unnecessary) travel. Obviously the trip this week isn’t conference related, but does seem like excessive travel back to back weeks for what are supposed to be STUDENT athletes.
Not sure how good Arizona is but this is going to be an interesting game as it will be our first real game without Alvarez, Munson, and Straun, not to mention Gaetino will be serving her red card suspension. Some of our role (or reserve) players will have to step up.
Now back to the womens’ soccer team…this has to be jet lag week for them. Playing in Ireland and then 6 days later playing Arizona (who came up with that schedule). I hope they are heading out there today or tomorrow at the latest to give them some time to adjust. Also, I assume our players are basically taking classes remotely being gone so much due to travel. That’s one of the things I loathe the most about the new conference alignments…having west coast teams in the ACC and forcing teams all of that additional (and unnecessary) travel. Obviously the trip this week isn’t conference related, but does seem like excessive travel back to back weeks for what are supposed to be STUDENT athletes.
Not sure how good Arizona is but this is going to be an interesting game as it will be our first real game without Alvarez, Munson, and Straun, not to mention Gaetino will be serving her red card suspension. Some of our role (or reserve) players will have to step up.
Last edited:
After a few days of talking to locals, this was not a good outcome for women's soccer. Maybe I'm making too much of it, but here's my thinking: Ireland doesn't care about it. And a 3-0 result against a college team, while good for UNC, just reaffirms their dismissal. It's like that loss that the USWNT took to a boys' team a few years ago. I don't know the details. And it doesn't matter, because, like the Irish, that scoreline is what people use to justify ignoring it. I'm not blaming UNC. I was there cheering them on. But I think that a draw would have been better for women's soccer.
Doesn't say I can't run out on the field shirtless.
don't know why those other two pics aren't showing up. (edit: FIFY)
Doesn't say I can't run out on the field shirtless.
don't know why those other two pics aren't showing up. (edit: FIFY)
Attachments
Last edited:
Someone stated that they were planning to leave Ireland and go straight to Arizona which makes sense to me to cut down on the jet leg.
No, Johnny Yen. I have to disagree with what you are saying. I know what the folks in Ireland are saying but to be a professional team and getting beat my a college team does not look good for them. Also, Damon and staff knew why they wanted to play this game in Ireland. Our main objective for going was for the following reasons IMO. First of all, this trip gave the players more time to bond. Secondly this game gave the players who just got back from playing with the U17 team a chance to play another game against another opponent to help them along with the new people on the team more game time experience which is huge. Also, this helped to play away from home to get use to playing on the road. This is valuable for a young team. Go Heels!
Going to Ireland is a fun, rare experience. There are women on our team (and many men on the FB team) who had never left the country. I am glad they got the experience. Simple as that.
Very few college athletes get to utilize the study abroad experience open to other students due to their schedules/commitments. so when their sports or national team play can open up such opportunities, that is a good thing.
Very few college athletes get to utilize the study abroad experience open to other students due to their schedules/commitments. so when their sports or national team play can open up such opportunities, that is a good thing.
UNC has done more than enough for women's soccer.
Looks like they posted on IG yesterday already at Arizona training.
I don't understand how a draw would be good for anybody. Soccer needs more fireworks, not less.
To be honest, we are really missing three players. The other three were out for the season before the season even started. This is where the depth comes in and this is why so many of us stated that Martinez and Miller would need to play more to get them more experience once the three that have been called up to the U20 team. The good news is that Manning and Deus are back now and they have played in the last two games along with Bradley.
Current missing players:
We also thought phenom Maddie DiMaria was going to reclassify for this fall but I believe she is now coming next season. She certainly would have started this fall at UNC. (I just moved her from the 2026 class back to the 2027 class in the original post on the thread)
- Starting CB/4 - Aven Alvarez -USJWNT thru Sept 27th
- Starting RW/7 Hope Munson -USJWNT thru Sept 27th
- Reserve F Sealey Strawn -USJWNT thru Sept 27th
- Probable Starter MF/F Lauren Malsom - ACL injury, out for the year
- Probable Reserve MF/F Maggie Currie - ACL injury, out for the year
We also thought phenom Maddie DiMaria was going to reclassify for this fall but I believe she is now coming next season. She certainly would have started this fall at UNC. (I just moved her from the 2026 class back to the 2027 class in the original post on the thread)
Solid summary of the personnel changes.
But I do not understand discounting players out for the season. In terms of planning your roster and utilizing available scholarships, those are players you planned on contributing in their role. Who is the 3rd out for the year?
Martinez has played a total of 76 minutes across the 4 games so far. That is reasonable usage of a reserve. Not sure who Miller is?
You are correct. Local media and her Wikipedia page say Maddie. Is enrolling in January of 2027. Sorry for leading you astray about her date of matriculation.
Well, two players I think have ACL injuries; therefore, they are definitely out for this season. One was a freshman who was seen in a picture in the hospital and the other one was an upper classman who has an ACL injurty. Floor is not coming this year because of academics; therefore, these three players are not playing this season as I stated. Hopefully, Floor can be here next year.
Arizona head coach Becca Moros has some history with North Carolina. As a junior at Duke in 2005, Moros scored both goals in the Blue Devils’ 2-1 upset of then-No. 1 North Carolina at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill.
Moros scored the game-winner with three minutes remaining to give No. 11 Duke just its second victory over North Carolina in program history. The result also handed the Tar Heels their first regular-season loss at Fetzer Field since 1999.
Moros scored the game-winner with three minutes remaining to give No. 11 Duke just its second victory over North Carolina in program history. The result also handed the Tar Heels their first regular-season loss at Fetzer Field since 1999.
Gotta work on her shooting tho good Lord
finding our way down 4 players. Everybody will try the big ball over the top against us.
There is no future game that makes sense where Stratton is on the bench for most of the game. 4 back with her and Gaetino…
I feel like Roy would refer to Cali O’Neill as a “tough little nut.”
Another fine showing by our student athletes
She is tough, but she is also little, and has had some trouble in the back against faster/bigger opponents (especially the MSU game). I think she's going to be a huge asset to the program over her career, but right now I think Munson should be starting in the back in O'Neil's spot. Then probably start Straun in that midfield position vacated by Munson. Straun is too good to be on the bench based on what I've seen from her so far.
O'Neill should still get minutes in every game, I just think she needs to get a little stronger physically before being an every game starter. The skill is there, the toughness is there, but when we get into ACC play against the elite teams in the nation, I think she's going to struggle with some of the older, more mature, more physical attackers. We are also already a small team, so adding a little bit more size in the back would help.
I still argue for a 4 back line instead of the 3 back lineup. For now, I think Gaetino/Stratton at CB and O'Neill/Manning on the outside would be our best lineup, with Mara able to come in and give some breaks, and the option of shifting Gaetino to the outside as well if one of those players needs a rest. When we get back to full strength, I'd swap out Munson for O'Neill at one of the outside back spots. I'm taking Manning over O'Neill right now only because she seems more ready for the physicality that is going to come as the schedule gets tougher.
Honestly though, the biggest X factor in the back for us is Gaetino. Will she be the solid rock she was as a freshman, or is she going to continue getting caught out of position / losing her mark because she wants to be more involved in the attack...she has the strength needed from a CB, but also the recovering speed that our other two center backs do not have.
Edit: Dangit, I forgot about Alvarez....she should start when she's back...I think probably for Manning, she (Alvarez) seemed more comfortable playing on the outside last year than in the middle this year so far. We'll see...the good thing is that we've got a lot of options once everyone returns, but getting that back line sorted out is a huge priority for the late part of the season. I think Manning and O'Neill are going to be an amazing pair of outside backs if they stick around a few years. I also think both could be better playing wingback roles where they can get forward, but to play that way, we definitely have to have 2 CBs on the field. We can't have outside backs roaming forward with only 1 CB covering for them. That's exactly how MSU scored their first goal on us...Gaetino got pushed too far up, we had a turnover in midfield, and the player she should have been marking was off to the races after one pass.
Last edited:
Also, I'm happy with the win last night. Was it pretty? No....but obviously we all know we were down 3 key players, and honestly this is the first time this lineup has played any meaningful minutes together. Zona's GK had a nice game and probably kept one or two out that could/should have been goals. We did get very lucky in the first half that the one shot they had (which had beaten Trayer) hit the post. That could have changed the entire complexion of the game. But that's soccer at the very highest of levels...one team can dominate possession, and another can sit back and steal a counterattacking goal against the run of play, and then it changes everything...the favored team then gets impatient/frustrated and starts making mistakes and the other team feeds off of the momentum. I've seen the very best teams in the world fall victim to that kind of thing. Glad we dodged that scenario last night, but inevitably we'll have to deal with it this year.
But any road win against a decent D1 / power conference opponent is a good win...they had their biggest crowd ever to watch a women's soccer game, so that means something too. I see this stretch as our just hold it together and build depth period of the season. See who can be relied on who are usually reserves (especially Stratton so far) and get our younger players some time to develop in games. We are going to take our lumps and probably lose at least a couple of games before we can get everyone back...that's ok. We are relying on a ton of first/second year players.
And the person above whining about how this is awful to watch and how we used to "have stars at every position".....these players would have all been stars 20-30 years ago....most of them are better than many of those players were. The difference is that the talent pool is infinitely bigger. The days of Anson's dynasties will never exist again because the sport has grown so much. It's the same comparison as men's college basketball....what John Wooden did at UCLA is not possible in the modern era, as there is way more parity, way more talent dispersed across the nation, not to mention the ability for players to now move freely from one team to the next every single year. Programs can reload in a matter of several months instead of several years. Your expectations are unrealistic and based in a bygone era.
The announcers compared our women's soccer team to Alabama football last night...that was a great comparison. It will always have a certain reputation as a powerhouse, but that does not mean it will be the best team in the nation every single year, win every championship, and blow out every single team it faces.
But any road win against a decent D1 / power conference opponent is a good win...they had their biggest crowd ever to watch a women's soccer game, so that means something too. I see this stretch as our just hold it together and build depth period of the season. See who can be relied on who are usually reserves (especially Stratton so far) and get our younger players some time to develop in games. We are going to take our lumps and probably lose at least a couple of games before we can get everyone back...that's ok. We are relying on a ton of first/second year players.
And the person above whining about how this is awful to watch and how we used to "have stars at every position".....these players would have all been stars 20-30 years ago....most of them are better than many of those players were. The difference is that the talent pool is infinitely bigger. The days of Anson's dynasties will never exist again because the sport has grown so much. It's the same comparison as men's college basketball....what John Wooden did at UCLA is not possible in the modern era, as there is way more parity, way more talent dispersed across the nation, not to mention the ability for players to now move freely from one team to the next every single year. Programs can reload in a matter of several months instead of several years. Your expectations are unrealistic and based in a bygone era.
The announcers compared our women's soccer team to Alabama football last night...that was a great comparison. It will always have a certain reputation as a powerhouse, but that does not mean it will be the best team in the nation every single year, win every championship, and blow out every single team it faces.
She competed last night, which is great to see, but Arizona was definitely targeting her on defense.
This team is very young with a lot of new faces including the three upperclassmen transfers. Why are you so negative. It is going to take some time for these players to develop chemistry, connectiveness, etc. Some of our players are being call up for the U17 and U20 USA teams which means we are losing two to three players that are starters when that happens. Did they not win yesterday? It does not matter how you win just win. It does not have to be a blow out or pretty. The players on this team are getting better each week and they are gaining experience each time that they are playing. Give it some time. Rome was not built in a day.
I looked at the box score last night and Stratton played all 90 minutes which is good IMO.
I love Cali’s play!
I think O’Neill could be a player that moves up like Devey. Cali is tough, fast and has good technical skills and aggressive at times carrying the ball forward.
I think O’Neill could be a player that moves up like Devey. Cali is tough, fast and has good technical skills and aggressive at times carrying the ball forward.
I don’t see anything with Cali’s defense that can’t be fixed with some instruction and experience. She has speed and ball handling down. Just needs to clean up a few decisions. Far better than Manning so far in the wingback role.
What this team needs is someone who can put it on frame consistently. They’ve got shots flying all over the place.
What this team needs is someone who can put it on frame consistently. They’ve got shots flying all over the place.
Question, if I may. Did you ever receive an answer on who Miller is or which sport this person plays?
Latest
-
01
Inside Carolina Football
UNC Players Involved in Traffic Stop that Results in Gun Charge, Speeding Ticket; Won't Play vs. Clemson
-
02
Inside Carolina Football
UNC Injury Report: Melkart Abou Jaoude Questionable Against Clemson
-
03
Inside Carolina Football
UNC-Clemson Preview: Tar Heels Get Golden Opportunity in Death Valley
-
04
Inside Carolina Baseball
UNC Baseball Adds Second Pitcher to 2028 Recruiting Class in Cole Tucholski
-
05
Inside Carolina Football
ACC Announces UNC's 2027 Football Opponents