UNC Field Hockey 2025-2026
- Thread starter 3397char
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I didn't see the games, but I like the results. Went out there and dominated 2 really good Big 10 teams. And without Charly, yet.
Dani Mendez is really good..what a great pickup from the portal. She was the best player available so no surprise there.
In other news, UNC picked up a 2027 commitment from top 10 player Jack Shaw.
I watched both games.
R. Heck was clearly the best player on either team, comfortably operating through double teams. She has no assists on the season yet, but made multiple great centering passes that we just failed to connect on.
K Heck is starting and played well. Her goals were more opportunistic in nature, getting on the end of the ball near the net. If we get Bruder back I imagine Kara might come off the bench.
tons of freshmen, plus R-Fr Courtright, are major contributors this season. There is a lot of promise there, but the comfort and chemistry issues show at times, with more turnovers than we have seen in recent seasons.
Mendez is a + player. One goal she scored started with some pretty masterful weaving through traffic. Dixon was one of our bigger losses last season, but I think Mendez will do a pretty solid job filling that hole.
the biggest issue I have seen is difficulty with our defenders handling the high press and advancing the ball consistently. Mich in particular was successful at times in making us uncomfortable. Combine that with the turnovers and we did not have an advantage in time of possession. But the young and inexperienced defenders have been great at defending.
skubisz and Wimmer are splitting halves. Both have looked great in limited challenges. All good decisions so far and I think this is a position of strength.
we won these games on our finishing ability and our defense inside the arc. When we had the ball in a dangerous position we had the better ability to get a shot on frame, some of which were indefensible.
R. Heck was clearly the best player on either team, comfortably operating through double teams. She has no assists on the season yet, but made multiple great centering passes that we just failed to connect on.
K Heck is starting and played well. Her goals were more opportunistic in nature, getting on the end of the ball near the net. If we get Bruder back I imagine Kara might come off the bench.
tons of freshmen, plus R-Fr Courtright, are major contributors this season. There is a lot of promise there, but the comfort and chemistry issues show at times, with more turnovers than we have seen in recent seasons.
Mendez is a + player. One goal she scored started with some pretty masterful weaving through traffic. Dixon was one of our bigger losses last season, but I think Mendez will do a pretty solid job filling that hole.
the biggest issue I have seen is difficulty with our defenders handling the high press and advancing the ball consistently. Mich in particular was successful at times in making us uncomfortable. Combine that with the turnovers and we did not have an advantage in time of possession. But the young and inexperienced defenders have been great at defending.
skubisz and Wimmer are splitting halves. Both have looked great in limited challenges. All good decisions so far and I think this is a position of strength.
we won these games on our finishing ability and our defense inside the arc. When we had the ball in a dangerous position we had the better ability to get a shot on frame, some of which were indefensible.
I did an internet search for Jack Shaw and found this website that actually lists two 2027 commitments for UNC:
CLASS OF 2027
*Nexus Championship. *Junior Olympics. *US Junior Women's National Team Selection Camp. * US Junior Women's National Team. *US Junior Women's National Indoor Team. *Under Armour Select Game.
www.fhcollegepath.com
- Max FX top 10 MF Jack Shaw of WC Eagles from PA: U-16 USJWNT and well as the U-16 USJWNIT (indoor)
- Max FH #51-100 GK Piper Reisbane of WC Eagles from PA: U-16 USJWNIT (indoor)
Commitment confirmations on the WC Eagles Website:
Piper Reibsane – WC Eagles Field Hockey
wceagleshockey.com
Jack Shaw – WC Eagles Field Hockey
wceagleshockey.com
From Live Stats: UNC up 2 0 at the half. Bruder did not start, but subbed into the game.
Very fortunate to win this one. Got outplayed most of the 2nd half. Very sloppy passing and possession. We looked gassed at the end.
Agreed we looked gas and at times sloppy. I think this is good for the long run- we need to find ways to win while realizing there is alot to work on. I like how we've gotten behind in 2 of the last 4 games and not blinked an eye. We at least seem composed
i dasagree a bit with the takes above. We just beat the #10 team on the road, outshooting them 15-9. That is a pretty good day.
Both Princeton goals came on ”elevated corners” that were barely inside the attacking zone and far away from the shooting circle. To be elevated to a PC, the ref has to determine that the penalty was significant and intentional.
on the first Heck fell down and reached out while she was being run over. A foul? Yes. Intentional and aggregious? Well the Princeton homer announcers said “it is tough being the Honda Award winner because when you make a mistake like that refs assume it was intentional”
on the second Mendez reached out with her stick to intercept a long pass. The back judge ruled from 30 meters away that it hit the shaft instead of the face. It was close. And determined that this was intentional, which, if close, that’s quite a judgement call. Again, nowhere near the attacking circle. The announcers called the elevation “unfortunate.”
take those two 50/50 judgement calls away (I am being charitable here) and this game might not have been so close on the scoreboard.
with that said, I totally agree on our struggles with passing forward and maintaining possession. Our ball control from the defensive line through midfield is a work in progress on speed, judgement and execution.
i also agree that there was a noticeable ebb and flow of this match. Parts we dominated versus parts we fumbled a lot.
Princeton moved too easily up their strong side against our defensive left. they thus waltzed into the shooting circle at times and made some dangerous crosses that we did not touch, but neither did they.
Boere was named player of the game and really stood out. She is often receiving our PC entries and is working a sort of read-option where she chooses to either do a nifty back pass or take the shot depending on where the primary flyer goes. Her and Bruder should be a lethal combination up top and that can allow the Hecks to play in traffic in front of the net For deflections and rebounds. Boere is also our flyer on defense so she will be critical on APCs and DPCs.
Both Princeton goals came on ”elevated corners” that were barely inside the attacking zone and far away from the shooting circle. To be elevated to a PC, the ref has to determine that the penalty was significant and intentional.
on the first Heck fell down and reached out while she was being run over. A foul? Yes. Intentional and aggregious? Well the Princeton homer announcers said “it is tough being the Honda Award winner because when you make a mistake like that refs assume it was intentional”
on the second Mendez reached out with her stick to intercept a long pass. The back judge ruled from 30 meters away that it hit the shaft instead of the face. It was close. And determined that this was intentional, which, if close, that’s quite a judgement call. Again, nowhere near the attacking circle. The announcers called the elevation “unfortunate.”
take those two 50/50 judgement calls away (I am being charitable here) and this game might not have been so close on the scoreboard.
with that said, I totally agree on our struggles with passing forward and maintaining possession. Our ball control from the defensive line through midfield is a work in progress on speed, judgement and execution.
i also agree that there was a noticeable ebb and flow of this match. Parts we dominated versus parts we fumbled a lot.
Princeton moved too easily up their strong side against our defensive left. they thus waltzed into the shooting circle at times and made some dangerous crosses that we did not touch, but neither did they.
Boere was named player of the game and really stood out. She is often receiving our PC entries and is working a sort of read-option where she chooses to either do a nifty back pass or take the shot depending on where the primary flyer goes. Her and Bruder should be a lethal combination up top and that can allow the Hecks to play in traffic in front of the net For deflections and rebounds. Boere is also our flyer on defense so she will be critical on APCs and DPCs.
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A tiring road trip against a worthy opponent. I get that. Hopefully that performance is a one-off. A good win nonetheless and if nothing else, provides some teachable tape and hopefully motivation to get better. Nice time to have some tune-up chances next weekend before ACC play starts.
I said in an earlier post that Mendez is a pretty solid refill for Dixon and still stand by that. With that said, Dixon was special and and underrated on our team the last few years. I think Smith is also a huge loss, perhaps the most underrated player of all during her time. Throw in Ricardo, Smolenaars, and Lammers and that is quite a bit of experience just gone on defense and midfield.
To me the biggest issue is just familiarity and experience instead of talent, but that is at best an educated guess. I see pretty solid dribbling and stick work, it is more the crisp passes, anticipation and vision that I think should grow in time.
Disclaimer: I am not at all a decent judge of talent in this sport; still a noob.
Princeton has always been good in Field Hockey. Playing them at their place was a good test for our team. We have a lot of newbies and players that have never played together right now. They are getting better each time they play. IB is going to be good along with DM. IB is coming. She just got here a few weeks ago and she has already make a huge contribution already the last two games. Her passing and feel is incredible. She will be able to take up the lost of Smith IMO. Just asked Princeton. They did not know about her.
Picked up a commitment from top 10 player Maeve McGinley. 2027 class is looking strong so far. Reese D'Ariano, the prized recruit everyone is chasing is still on the board.
This game was a fun one and I always love beating up the Flamers.
What I noticed:
What I noticed:
- Our defensive passing to was MUCH improved. Quick, high velocity passes really outpaced any attempts by Liberty to press forward. At times we were moving so fast that it resulted in turnovers, especially early, but I bet the turnover rate was lower than earlier games against ranked teams because we were not bogged down by press.
- Central to this was Boere who has really settled in as our clear center defender after missing week 1. She passes with pace and accuracy. She also uses teh sky ball often and has pretty high accuracy and success rate there as well. And can pass forward diagonally too. So overall great vision and the skills to get it there ahead of the defense. Yet another great Dutch find and I will predict now many all conference accolades are in her future.
- Building on this, easily the fastest I have seen UNC play. This was a clear focus from the staff.
- Mendez once again looked great in the center and there are no worries on Bruder's health that I can see.
- Skubisz with a couple of great saves. The freshman has been impressive.
- Hak's assist to R Heck was impressive and my play of the game. it was really our only goal in the flow of offense.
- That French goalie on Liberty may look like a blue-footed booby in that color scheme
but she did not play like it. One superlative save after another. For UNC, way too many shots on her stick side. Often it is hard to choose, but I would bet that at least 7 of her 9 saves were strong side. - Been a long time since I have seen a penalty corner on an open goal; that was fun.
- Not sure who the TV announcer was on this game but he was fantastic. Give that man all the games he wants.
Saw Erin posted a pic of Maeve McGinley (a top 10 recruit in 2027)- I'm assuming this was a commitment. Anyone have confirmation?