UNC Wins College Cup

Well, UNC adds its 19th Championship Trophy!

Beat ND 2-1. Casey Noguiera with 2 goals. What a gun she has! That free kick from the top of the box was a BULLET! It was just by the side of the wall...and nicely tucked in the corner! The goalie didn't have a chance! She put away the game with the 2nd goal...there was only a couple of minutes left in the 1-1 match...just about to go into OT...when she nailed a nice shot just over the (head) reach of the goalie and into the far post.

I think...next to Stanford...the Tarheels are a team the Pilots will have to keep an eye on next year in 2009. They lose Averbach but most of their players will be back.

GO PILOTS!!!

Julie Foudy noticed that Casey's second ball was slighted deflected which redirected over the UND GK. It reminded me of how Stanford scored on us.

I have to say Notre Dame looked much better than I expected. So the final verdict for me is teams don't go undefeated for no good reason no matter what their strength of schedule. Carrie Dew was so dominant. Expect to see her at the Nordic Cup this summer.

I wonder how many 5 star recruits are going to commit to UNC the next couple of weeks, besides last years recruiting class here at FSU ( we will never have one like it again ), I am thrilled just to have at least one commit with national team experience, UNC has about 5 every year. Why don't some of these girls go elsewhere, how bout going to a lower tier school, and try to start something big. I read an article about one of our recruits ( Tiana Brockway )saying she always dreamed of going to UNC, hopefully in 15 years, that will have changed. Of all of women's sports, the lack of parity is most evident in soccer.

FSU, remember between 1984 and 1994 UNC were the queens of college soccer. Since Notre Dame won it 1995 we are seeing other teams sneaking in every couple years or so. But like you say their reputation kind of does their recruiting for them. Chances are that if you play at UNC for four years you will have at least one National Championship year.

1982....................... North Carolina (19-2)
1983....................... North Carolina (19-1)
1984....................... North Carolina (24-0-1)
1985....................... George Mason (18-2-1)
1986....................... North Carolina (24-0-1)
1987....................... North Carolina (23-0-1)
1988....................... North Carolina (18-0-3)
1989....................... North Carolina (24-0-1)
1990....................... North Carolina (24-0)
1991....................... North Carolina (25-0)
1992....................... North Carolina (25-0)
1993....................... North Carolina (23-0)
1994....................... North Carolina (25-1-1)
1995....................... Notre Dame (21-2-2)
1996....................... North Carolina (25-1)
1997....................... North Carolina (27-0-1)
1998....................... Florida (26-1)
1999....................... North Carolina (24-2)
2000....................... North Carolina (21-3)
2001....................... Santa Clara (23-2)
2002....................... Portland (20-4-2)
2003....................... North Carolina
2004....................... *Notre Dame (25-1-1)
2005....................... Portland (23-0-2)
2006....................... North Carolina (27-1)
2007....................... Southern California (20-3-2)
2008 North Carolina

Yes, I am familiar with their dominance. I remember the first year FSU played them, which happened to be the first year of our program 1996, 9-0 yikes. The lack of parity is still evident, don't you agree?

Yes, I agree but we (the rest of DIV I) seem to be chinking their armor every other year since 2001 so I guess I am saying there is hope.

Don't forget to factor Anson's sexual harassment case filed by a few of his former players. There was a long discussion about that here in Pilot Nation. That's got to have some future impact as far girls committing to play at UNC. Doesn't appear to have affected Anson and his program just yet...but definitely something to trend.

GO PILOTS!!!

I only saw a small part before leaving for the Pilot basketball game, but I did see the equalizer. What a shot.

Friggin' Tar Heels.

I don't know. As time goes by and AD continues to mind himself I think that suit will be less and less of a factor and maybe seen as an aberation. One thing that is a factor in UNC recruiting is scholarships. It is pretty well known that you can only get a full scholarship if and when you make the senior team. This supposedly is to prevent infighting or jealousy among the players. So if you have a great player that needs a scholarship they will be heading somewhere else.

If you look at their upcoming recruiting classes, it is safe to say the the harassment case is not even in the rear view mirror anymore, its gone, I am not even sure if the recruits know about it.

Hmm? Does that mean its mission accomplished for AD and UNC's spin machine then? That's a sad commentary on how 19 Championships gets you a pass for bad behavior...and recruits being blinded by the bright-light that eminates from a chance to win it all!

GO PILOTS!!!

UNC has a great program. So do Portland, UCLA, Stanford, and Notre Dame. Florida State, too. I think the jury still is out on USC. Santa Clara, we'll have to see if they can lick the injury bug and resurrect themselves. I'm inclined to include Penn State in the group, but not completely sure for another year or two until Erica Walsh proves she can be successful at the very top. But at least for the top 5 or 6, I don't see any need to be so preoccupied with UNC.

I do not condone Ansons past transgressions, just pointing out that it has had little if any effects on recruiting.

FSUfan wrote:If you look at their upcoming recruiting classes, it is safe to say the the harassment case is not even in the rear view mirror anymore, its gone, I am not even sure if the recruits know about it.

Not completely. I can think of two 2010 top rated recruits (TopDrawer five star) who's parents have stated they won't consider UNC. In at least one of those cases, Anson was the stated reason.

No question UNC is still a top power, but it is no longer THE power. They have won 3 of 8 cups in this millenium. before that, they won all but two championships. From here on out, the cup will be up for grabs every year.

Thanks for the info geezer, well said.

I do not condone Ansons past transgressions, just pointing out that it has had little if any effects on recruiting.

Same here FSUfan. I know you're a good guy. ....and I agreed with your rearview mirror analogy. Its right on. I was also...just commenting how the case may have not affected UNC's recruiting.

As Geezer pointed out, UNC is no longer THE (one and only) Power. The good thing is the stock of talented players has exploded in this country at the start of the Millenium. UNC literally can't sign em all. Many schools have developed championship caliber players and teams. Many have a legitimate chance to sign "the player"...whoever that might be. UNC has to compete for them nowadays. The era of the Tarheels having the pick of the liter has past.

GO PILOTS!!!

Re: Casey Noguiera's goals.

Her first goal off of the free kick was indeed a cannon blast and a great goal, but I wondered whether the UND wall was set up correctly. That 2 foot space to the left of the wall should not have been there. Casey may have taken the free kick before UND could position the wall.

I thought that the sun was a factor in her second goal. Her shot was made off of a feed from Tobin Heath. I thought that Tobin could have taken the shot herself from the center, but made what turned out to be a good decision to send the ball over to Casey on the left. Casey's shot beat the UND keeper who was looking almost directly into the sun.

The could have been a factor I personally think Julie Foudy was right when she said there was a slight defection off a player which made the save much harder for Lysander.

Purplegeezer wrote:

No question UNC is still a top power, but it is no longer THE power. They have won 3 of 8 cups in this millenium. before that, they won all but two championships. From here on out, the cup will be up for grabs every year.

As evidenced by this year's playoffs--UNC, at the hands of A&M, was ten minutes away from not making it to the College Cup.

Purplegeezer wrote:

FSUfan wrote:If you look at their upcoming recruiting classes, it is safe to say the the harassment case is not even in the rear view mirror anymore, its gone, I am not even sure if the recruits know about it.

Not completely. I can think of two 2010 top rated recruits (TopDrawer five star) who's parents have stated they won't consider UNC. In at least one of those cases, Anson was the stated reason.

No question UNC is still a top power, but it is no longer THE power. They have won 3 of 8 cups in this millenium. before that, they won all but two championships. From here on out, the cup will be up for grabs every year.

It's already up for grabs every year. Portland, Santa Clara, ND, and the California teams have been in the hunt for many years now... Plus, this year was a little bit different anyway since three of our best players were away. That possibly cost us at least one round of the playoffs...

The Tarheels have enjoyed the benefit of homefield advantage for their last three championships (2003, 2006, and 2008). These College Cups were all contested at the soccer stadium in Carey, North Carolina, which is a short drive from UNC-Chapel Hill.

This year (and maybe in '03 and '06 as well), all of their games through the quarters were played at Fetzer Field on the Chapel Hill campus and then the semi and final were at Carey. As a result, all of their games were played in front of a stadium full of fans wearing baby blue jerseys with splotches of black on their faces.

If homefield is worth +0.5 goals to the home team and -0.5 to the visitors, then this is a nice advantage to have through the playoffs.

Doesn't seem quite fair, does it, to play the Final Four in your own backyard. This seems like compelling evidence for the NCAA to spread the hosting around more, or at least to avoid having perennial contenders host regularly. How about Florida State, Florida, Miami, UCLA, Santa Clara, San Diego, and even Portland getting a chance? I know that Merlo is kind of small to host nowadays, but aren't there any other suitable facilities except at UNC, UT, and A&M? Surely Drake Stadium is large enough.

SoreKnees wrote:Doesn't seem quite fair, does it, to play the Final Four in your own backyard. This seems like compelling evidence for the NCAA to spread the hosting around more, or at least to avoid having perennial contenders host regularly. How about Florida State, Florida, Miami, UCLA, Santa Clara, San Diego, and even Portland getting a chance? I know that Merlo is kind of small to host nowadays, but aren't there any other suitable facilities except at UNC, UT, and A&M? Surely Drake Stadium is large enough.

Playing the College Cup at Drake would be huge for UCLA. They seem to get home field advantage every year through the quarterfinals and win out. Then in the College Cup--when not playing near home--their results are disappointing.

I thought the minimum capacity made it difficult for a lot of sites to host the Final Four. Maybe the NCAA could lower it just slightly to give more places a shot.

Whats wrong with playing in an NFL stadium like the USWNT does. I know the seasons conflict, but I am sure they could find a team on a off week of traveling.