After notching 4500 in attendance vs Dook last week, we followed up with 3900 today. Outstanding!
UNC Women's Soccer 2026-2027
- Thread starter 3397char
- Start date
talking about the defense yesterday:
Notre Dame has an elite front line. Our best defense was preventing ND from ever building though the midfield to create many chances. Credit Antonnucci, Pennie, Kennedy, Munson, etc.. for that wall.
ND’s only offense was long balls in the counterattack. And they did create pressure at times. I thought Alvarez andO’neilin particular had a great game managing that. Perhaps O’Neil’s best game as a Heel, considering who she was marking.
on the one goal conceded, Gaetino made an error that lead to a quick change of possession. Then ND was awarded a penalty on a pretty questionable call.(nahas agreed, he earned a card arguing it.) they eventually scored on a second penalty that immediately followed.
on that set piece the player Manning marked got completely free for the header. that was a whiff. As good as Manning is on offense, the young gun has some other skills to work on.
Notre Dame has an elite front line. Our best defense was preventing ND from ever building though the midfield to create many chances. Credit Antonnucci, Pennie, Kennedy, Munson, etc.. for that wall.
ND’s only offense was long balls in the counterattack. And they did create pressure at times. I thought Alvarez andO’neilin particular had a great game managing that. Perhaps O’Neil’s best game as a Heel, considering who she was marking.
on the one goal conceded, Gaetino made an error that lead to a quick change of possession. Then ND was awarded a penalty on a pretty questionable call.(nahas agreed, he earned a card arguing it.) they eventually scored on a second penalty that immediately followed.
on that set piece the player Manning marked got completely free for the header. that was a whiff. As good as Manning is on offense, the young gun has some other skills to work on.
I feel like this is a choice again I’m not a huge soccer fan so I don’t know the tactics that well but it seems like we play aggressively and look to score and the weakness of that is that we are vulnerable to these kind of long balls, and we only play with three defenders in the back as far as I can tell. Someone that knows more about soccer and about this team and tactics feel free to correct me again these are just sort of impressions from watching a few games.
^Unc attacks, attacks, attacks. Would you rather win 4-1 or 1-0.? more scoring grows the women’s game
Yeah that was only in the fourth quarter. They talked about ND the whole entire game. That is what I am referring too. ND this and ND that the whole entire game.
I agree but that is also a sign that she was tired and that Damon should have taken her out for some needed rest. She played the whole entire 90 minutes. Pennie on the other hand can run all down long. She does not get tired at all. She can play all 90 minutes.
Perhaps, but the ND goal occurred only 20 minutes in. It's unusual to sub anyone out that early.
I love the way they play. I feel like they’ve kept the core DNA of the program from Anson, which is to be aggressive and attack, but they’ve updated it with Damon’s point of view and experiences and for the transfer portal era
This is a little bit of an oversimplification. Many teams would love to play attacking soccer all the time but don't have that choice available to them.....your tactics have to match the personnel / talent you have available on the roster. It's not a matter of trying to grow the womens game or be more entertaining....at the end of the day, you are just trying to win, and 1-0 counts the same as 4-1. Damon currently has a wealth of talent, and great midfielders and attackers, so he can play this way....you also have to have players who you trust in the back to only play 3 back there. Again, he has that.....UNC is much more fortunate when it comes to this (compared to their competitors) than almost any other soccer team is in any high level league. The parity is getting to make things more even as the years go by in womens soccer, but UNC is still a blue blood.....much like a program like Alabama in football. They have high school All American level talent at every single position, and depth as well.
Most teams that are playing with less talent will sit back in a low or mid block, and just look to counterattack with long balls to try to catch their opponents with lots of numbers pushed forward. And many times, it is very effective. I have lost count of the games I've seen one team completely dominate possession and shots taken, but lose the game because their opponent convert one or two of the very small amount of chances they got. It's just not feasible for a lot teams to think they are going to play possession soccer and have 3 in the back against UNC. They might as well just forfeit the game to us. But if they play in a way that really clogs up things for our attack, they have at least a chance to steal a game.
Even with UNC, there are going to be years where maybe we have more of our talent concentrated in the back, and choose to play a 4 person back line to get our 11 best players on the field, and maybe then we aren't pushing as many people forward. It's just like any other sport....in football, if you have a big monster OLine and a mediocre QB, you are probably going to be a running team. But if you have a great QB and loads of speed, you may be a spread offense that mostly passes. It's just hard to say this is how we're going to play always no matter what.....talent drives all of that. Good coaches can adapt to maximize what they have, stubborn coaches who only play one way all the time tend to struggle as soon as a key injury or two happen or as soon as they come across a bad matchup.
I've coached for a long time and I love for my kids to play possession soccer like UNC plays, but it's very rare I actually have to the players to pull it off. Super fun when I do, but sometimes you just have to accept who you are and look to counter if you want any chance of keeping games competitive.
We are just super duper spoiled as UNC fans in this case. Playing the style that we play is a luxury that most just can't replicate because they do not have the players to pull it off.
Last edited:
As for the ND game....outside of the win vs dook, I thought this was the best game we've played this season. I loved how we were getting the ball into the corners and getting crosses in more consistently, this is when we are at our best. As we keep saying, Manning is such a weapon down the left side and had a great assist to Blum (credit to Blum for the great hustle to get to that ball and finishing). Our first goal came from the ball coming in wide from Blum to Devey (what a first touch and finish by Devey), our second goal was ultimately from a foul drawn by Manning getting ready to serve another ball in from the left side. Last goal was Blum crossing the ball in from the right side to Denigan.
Devey has really grown into the 9 and looks settled there now, that has helped us a lot as the season has gone on....she's got great speed and a high work rate, and she's been good at finishing the chances she gets. That was a big question mark coming in for us this year and has been answered.
It's also pretty impressive that we can bring in a player off of the bench who was an All-American last year (Denigan)...our midfield is just stacked right now with Antonucci, Blum, Denigan, Pennie, Kennedy, and Manning/Munson on the outsides with their speed. Interested to see how Damon adjusts to losing Manning...thinking maybe Munson moves over to that side (I think she's a left-footed player anyways) and Blum plays on the right with Denigan moving back into the starting lineup.
Still wondering about Stratton. I wish we could get some kind of update on her....is she still sitting out because of some health concern, or is this just a lineup decision at this point? Right now, I still think we'd be better with her in the lineup....the one underappreciated element she gives us is that she is such a weapon on offensive corner kicks for us because of her height. We are not much of a threat on those when either her or Mara aren't out there, we are a small team and not amazing in the air. Stratton helped us score at least 3 goals off of corners that she got a head on during that stretch of games she started. Alvarez looks good back there, and is great on the ball and is very composed, I'd move her to the outside so Stratton could play CB, and as crazy as it seems, I'd put Gaetino on the bench. That'd be a tough decision....she's bigger and stronger and more experienced than O'Neill, but there is something about Gaetino I just don't trust in the back. She has a lot more bad/careless giveaways than she should, and she loses her mark more often than any of the others. Maybe I'm picking on her, but I watch her a lot during games and I just think she plays a little cockier and reckless than she should. I worry that could cost us in a big game that is close in the postseason. The other backs seems to know their roles and play with safety as their first concern.
I trust Damon's judgement though, he's the one who sees them in practice every week....what he's doing so far is really clicking. They really did play great against ND. I will say that ND has been dealing with some key injuries and a couple of their stars are not 100% right now, so I think they will be really dangerous in the postseason. They have some serious talent. But we can only beat who is put in front of us, and we more than handled business.
Also wondering if Trayer's situation will keep her out any more games....at some point, if she's going to be out for many more games....then we may just need to commit to Johann as the GK1 going forward. It's not ideal to bring in a GK late in the year who hasn't been playing for a while, especially when the games become win or go home kinds of affairs. Hopefully she's back soon, but Johann to her credit has made some really nice saves and not made any big gaffes back there...she's been excellent for us off of the bench when called upon. Still think Trayer has a slight edge due to her size/height advantage, but she can be a bit shaky with her feet, so the gap isn't as wide with Johann now.
Feels good to be #1, but another very difficult game awaits on Friday at FSU. They will be a physical/athletic team that gives us a different kind of challenge.
Devey has really grown into the 9 and looks settled there now, that has helped us a lot as the season has gone on....she's got great speed and a high work rate, and she's been good at finishing the chances she gets. That was a big question mark coming in for us this year and has been answered.
It's also pretty impressive that we can bring in a player off of the bench who was an All-American last year (Denigan)...our midfield is just stacked right now with Antonucci, Blum, Denigan, Pennie, Kennedy, and Manning/Munson on the outsides with their speed. Interested to see how Damon adjusts to losing Manning...thinking maybe Munson moves over to that side (I think she's a left-footed player anyways) and Blum plays on the right with Denigan moving back into the starting lineup.
Still wondering about Stratton. I wish we could get some kind of update on her....is she still sitting out because of some health concern, or is this just a lineup decision at this point? Right now, I still think we'd be better with her in the lineup....the one underappreciated element she gives us is that she is such a weapon on offensive corner kicks for us because of her height. We are not much of a threat on those when either her or Mara aren't out there, we are a small team and not amazing in the air. Stratton helped us score at least 3 goals off of corners that she got a head on during that stretch of games she started. Alvarez looks good back there, and is great on the ball and is very composed, I'd move her to the outside so Stratton could play CB, and as crazy as it seems, I'd put Gaetino on the bench. That'd be a tough decision....she's bigger and stronger and more experienced than O'Neill, but there is something about Gaetino I just don't trust in the back. She has a lot more bad/careless giveaways than she should, and she loses her mark more often than any of the others. Maybe I'm picking on her, but I watch her a lot during games and I just think she plays a little cockier and reckless than she should. I worry that could cost us in a big game that is close in the postseason. The other backs seems to know their roles and play with safety as their first concern.
I trust Damon's judgement though, he's the one who sees them in practice every week....what he's doing so far is really clicking. They really did play great against ND. I will say that ND has been dealing with some key injuries and a couple of their stars are not 100% right now, so I think they will be really dangerous in the postseason. They have some serious talent. But we can only beat who is put in front of us, and we more than handled business.
Also wondering if Trayer's situation will keep her out any more games....at some point, if she's going to be out for many more games....then we may just need to commit to Johann as the GK1 going forward. It's not ideal to bring in a GK late in the year who hasn't been playing for a while, especially when the games become win or go home kinds of affairs. Hopefully she's back soon, but Johann to her credit has made some really nice saves and not made any big gaffes back there...she's been excellent for us off of the bench when called upon. Still think Trayer has a slight edge due to her size/height advantage, but she can be a bit shaky with her feet, so the gap isn't as wide with Johann now.
Feels good to be #1, but another very difficult game awaits on Friday at FSU. They will be a physical/athletic team that gives us a different kind of challenge.
Last edited:
She is a freshmen who is still learning and growing. Remember she was gone with the U17 team at the start of the season. Not making any excuses just stating facts here.
I think Stratton is out due to concussion protocols. Does anyone know what happened to Trayer? How did she get hurt?
Have heard people speculate about that, but in the game she hit her head she came back in. So it would be odd that she’s missed multiple games because of that, but I don’t know. Would love to hear something more definitive other than message board speculation. She has been on the sidelines and seems fine and had no crutches or anything like that, so concussion protocol seems the most likely explanation. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…such a bummer though, she was playing amazing for us and got what was ultimately the decisive goal vs dook.
Of course. She is a huge asset to the team and I have nothing but respect for her. She's like Dahlien toward the end of her time here; when she gets the ball on the left wing, you know something good is going to happen. I just don't think that she needed to be subbed out before the 20 minute mark.
I have worked with several athletes who during course of play sustained a concussion but were able to continue in that game due to due to being in heat of moment and then felt the effects after wards. I myself fell in competition once but adrenaline kicked in and then I felt them the next day when I woke up and missed 10 days of competing/practicing.
Hi everyone, my 7 yr old granddaughter is going to be staying with my wife and I the weekend of the 10/23 Stanford match. I’ve never been to a UNC soccer match, so I have several simple questions.
1) What is the parking situation? (Ease of access)
2) Should I go through StubHub to get the 3 best seats?
3) Is there a time/place to meet the players before/after the match? (Pics/autographs)
Thanks in advance for your help!
1) What is the parking situation? (Ease of access)
2) Should I go through StubHub to get the 3 best seats?
3) Is there a time/place to meet the players before/after the match? (Pics/autographs)
Thanks in advance for your help!
These are a couple of excellent posts — bang on the money and great analysis.
I agree about Gaetino, particularly concerning pass completion. I can also picture there coming a time when we are defending a 1-0 lead and what we really need to do is regain and hold onto possession but Gaetino just boots the ball as far as possible, and the pressure starts all over again. Manning was doing this at the end of the Notre Dame game too — a bit oddly given we had such a large lead. (Just to add, I'm a huge Manning fan.) I also agree with your point that Nahas sees more of these players than we do, and I thought Gaetino had one of her better games on Friday, blocking a lot of shots.
I think defensive heading is a higher priority than offensive heading. We are scoring freely without relying on set pieces. I also think that two of Stratton's three goal involvements were flukey (one scored from lying on the ground and an assist that bounced off her torso at the far post), and she never scored at BYU.
Instead, the pressing question on my mind is: how are other teams going to score against us? As Michigan State showed, we are vulnerable to a quick counter with linear long passing to set up an effective striker. This is of a piece with your earlier analysis. In addition, I think we are vulnerable to a team that has both a player or two who can effectively cross the ball, and some tall players who are good at heading on set pieces. As Notre Dame lined up, it was striking how much taller they were than us. Fortunately, it turned out that their tall players did not have great heading technique, and that matters more than height: Alvarez isn’t the tallest but her technique is sublime. Nonetheless, they did score their goal from a set piece header, and I think our team last Friday would have given up more against a team better at heading. I still feel a bit burned from the 2022 college cup — in the semi, FSU’s comeback came from them hitting crosses to the far post that our smaller defenders just couldn’t deal with, and while UCLA's regular time equalizer in the final arguably involved a foul on our keeper, it was also a set piece header.
I think Trayer is ill and when she recovers, she walks back into the team. Johann is a good shot stopper, but her distribution isn’t up to scratch (you said no gaffes but I wonder if you are forgetting one goal kick that was hit low and went straight to Notre Dame — arguably they should have scored). she is also one of the least effect penalty stoppers I’ve seen in the college game.
I agree Notre Dame has a lot of talented players, but I don’t think it’s at all obvious that they will be back in form by the postseason. Often players just kind of struggle for a while after coming back from injuries, and the squad’s confidence is hardly going to be helped by the fact that they have won only 4 of their 11 games so far.
Devey is 2nd nationally in goals, 3rd in points. Dennigan is 14th in points
Post it in the locker room before our (possible) rematch.
1. On Fridays after 5, Stadium Drive is open to park. You can also try parking in the small lots at Davis Library or Bynum Circle, or in Cobb Deck (Parking garage). They’re all pretty close to the stadium. < 10 minute walk.
2. I would purchase through GoHeels.com instead of Stubhub.
3. Typically no, but if you get there super early, you might be able to get a player’s attention when they’re warming up.
Last edited:
I have added the nine 2028 recruits to the second post on this thread. Note that Voss was also added to the 2027 list as a late reclassification.
Combining the 2027 & 2028 classes together, 14 of 16 played for Team USA and another was a camp invite. That is recruiting at an insane level of quality and depth. On the downside, we may have to have open tryouts on campus if over half the team gets called up during the season, lol.
Last edited:
Thanks Oldwell. I told her that we were going to the game and she is just giddy about it.
A 7 year old would probably be able to easily get the attention of some players too.
I’d just look up the names by their numbers and then have her scream their name. I’m sure they’d be tempted to come say hi. A large majority of the stadium is general admission, so you’ll be able to get close to the field pretty easily if you get there early.
Hoping that our women make it out of Florida before the storm hits!
I was really looking forward to this one. A good road win would've been great for this team.
Looking at both schedules, this Sunday seems like the only possibility. If not then, I doubt it will be played.
I would hope not since they go to Clemson Thursday and at Wake Sunday- that would be alot of travel and soccer in 7 days.
Wish the game could have been moved and played in Chapel Hill. Miss seeing the ladies playing!
Yeah I doubt they are able to get that game rescheduled this late in the season. Really wanted to see how that one would have gone and would have been a great test for our team, and certainly one that we could have lost…and I see that as a good thing as you learn way more as players/coaches from the difficult matches than you do from easy games.
On the plus side, that’s one less game we could have where we could have suffered an injury and more time for the team to rest/heal up to be fresh for the stretch run. FSU is a very physical team so there was a high probability we would have come out of that one with our fair share of knocks, bumps, and bruises.
Are we now without Manning and Stanislaus going forward? I know it’s likely soon…
On the plus side, that’s one less game we could have where we could have suffered an injury and more time for the team to rest/heal up to be fresh for the stretch run. FSU is a very physical team so there was a high probability we would have come out of that one with our fair share of knocks, bumps, and bruises.
Are we now without Manning and Stanislaus going forward? I know it’s likely soon…
I disagree. This was caused by a hurricane which no one could have predicted. I am sure that the people who makes these decisions must factor this in. Lives would have been at stake. I am sure that they had a contingency plan in place if a natural disaster would prevent teams from playing.
I think he just means because we won’t get the points for winning, we’ll be behind other teams.
Latest
-
01
Inside Carolina Basketball
North Carolina Picked Fifth in Preseason ACC Poll
-
02
Inside Carolina Football
Close-Knit Culture, Camaraderie Fueling UNC's Progress in 2026
-
03
Inside Carolina Football Recruiting
In-State '28 LB Charlie Jones Likes What He's Seeing From UNC
-
04
Inside Carolina Baseball
Building an Elite Carolina Baseball Program - Carter Hicks Interview
-
05
Inside Carolina Football
The Weekly UNC Football Referendum - Daily Take