So I watched a women's college soccer game last night. Yikes.

[Guest]

Not a low end game mind you, an ACC tournament game between Notre Dame and Pitt. #19 and #4 respectively. Good god was it painful.

Zero speed of play, almost no technical skill, bouncing balls, swings and misses, passes right to the other team, non stop turnovers, and girls who only use one foot. That's all without mentioning how poorly the goalies were in the pk's at the end.

I guess that's what girl's soccer is or has become, but I don't recall it being this bad as little as 3-4 years ago.

[Guest]

Not a low end game mind you, an ACC tournament game between Notre Dame and Pitt. #19 and #4 respectively. Good god was it painful.

Zero speed of play, almost no technical skill, bouncing balls, swings and misses, passes right to the other team, non stop turnovers, and girls who only use one foot. That's all without mentioning how poorly the goalies were in the pk's at the end.

I guess that's what girl's soccer is or has become, but I don't recall it being this bad as little as 3-4 years ago.

Other than a few truly elite teams that play possession it’s very reminiscent of HS soccer. Surprised ND is not one of those given they are #4 in the country.

[Guest]

Well, just looking at NDs roster and box scores they have and play a lot of graduate students and upper classmen. Even an average team that has played together awhile can outpace a group of great players with little exp together.

[Guest]

I don't understand the bouncing balls. Even at the HS level it's night and day with boys and girls.. The ball is constantly bouncing for girls games and boys take the touch to settle it. It's by far the most irritating aspect of girls soccer to me.

[Guest]

Well, just looking at NDs roster and box scores they have and play a lot of graduate students and upper classmen. Even an average team that has played together awhile can outpace a group of great players with little exp together.

5 of the 6 ND grad students are grad transfers, they haven't been in the program

[Guest]

It's a tournament game, those are always rugged. The girls can play better soccer than they showed, I'm sure of it. Amazed how one viewer watches one game and all of the sudden all of womens college soccer is terrible.

[Guest]

Not really surprising- in America what is looked for and prized in girls soccer is size - most coaches value and recruit players based on physical size rather than technical strength. It starts in the U littles and goes all the way up to college ball ( take a look at most college rosters and see the size of the girls). This focus on size has always puzzled me - you don’t need to be tall and big to be good at soccer, it’s not basketball. So the focus on size leads to a very physical rather than technical style of play. It’s easier for coaches to win games at the u little level with big players that just barrel through opposing teams rather than developing some of the smaller players. It is what it is, and it’s a systemic, cultural issue.

[Guest]

It's a tournament game, those are always rugged. The girls can play better soccer than they showed, I'm sure of it. Amazed how one viewer watches one game and all of the sudden all of womens college soccer is terrible.

My sentiments as well. Those PK’S were hit well to the corners. Players were decisive and goalies had no time to react. Again, Both, Pittsburgh and ND had great seasons and will have good runs in the upcoming tournament. I laugh when I read parents trying to explain technical players and player development. Like above in their minds it comes down to size. College coaches depending where they are on the soccer pyramid of competition and competitiveness have their own formula of what type of player they want in their program. I have no problem saying that either of those colleges would beat 99% of the D1 330 programs. Parents are entitled to an opinion as am I. You keep talking about technical ability and development. The truth or reality most TS Parents refuse to accept is that at that level of being a top 30 team in the top women’s soccer P5 conference; speed, quickness, athleticism, size, mental toughness and physical toughness is not developed. Either you have it or you play elsewhere.

[Guest]

You also have to keep in mind that we are at the end of the season and players are tired and may be playing with injuries. The benches are not deep so I'm seeing a lot of players taped up and just struggling. The season is compressed to two and a half months with 2 to 3 days in between games. Even professionals get a 5 to 6 days in between games. I compared the first 10 minutes of the last game and the first game for the same team and the difference was night and day. The pass completion was much higher in the first game, the two literally looked like different teams. This should be addressed going forward for the players health and to improve the quality of the games.

[Guest]

Not a low end game mind you, an ACC tournament game between Notre Dame and Pitt. #19 and #4 respectively. Good god was it painful.

Zero speed of play, almost no technical skill, bouncing balls, swings and misses, passes right to the other team, non stop turnovers, and girls who only use one foot. That's all without mentioning how poorly the goalies were in the pk's at the end.

I guess that's what girl's soccer is or has become, but I don't recall it being this bad as little as 3-4 years ago.

welcome. All this talk about elite players etc, where are they? Been watching my kids play in College for many years and the game has never been worse. The individual quality, tactics are non existent. Its degenerated into building physical teams, encouraging 50/50s and hoping to outmuscle your opponent in key duels. The need for accurate passing, clean first touch, great ballstriking is mitigated. We worship goalscorers and dont realize that someone has to score and its more about who is given the opportunity than how good they are.

[Guest]

"Why back in my day, we played total football. Kids these days...."

[Guest]

Other than a few truly elite teams that play possession it’s very reminiscent of HS soccer. Surprised ND is not one of those given they are #4 in the country.

Why? the team that has won more NTs than everyone else has played that way for years. Unique soccer skills take time to acquire and even more time to be able to execute under pressure. in college it is easier to create by applying speedy pressure that it would be to consistently recruit players who can create chances by applying skills under speedy pressure.

this is why I beleive players getting worse just makes coaching easier. Parents are paying for access to a College system NOT soccer excellence. If it were not for Football being the sport it is, Womens college soccer would look like mens college soccer - fewer scholarships(if any) lots of foreign competition and much more results variance. Too many people making a great living off the system for it to changes

[Guest]

"Why back in my day, we played total football. Kids these days...."

not at all. just comparing the evolution of a sport and where it occurs. Womens and mens soccer are not at the same stage of evolution. What level of soccer specific skills do players need to consistently out play speed, power and size? By the time you get to College you tend to have that in you or not. If the aim of Club soccer was professionals, the criteria would be different. Its only now other countries are developing critical mass that you are seeing the evolution move ahead in different countries with different development priorities. The USA was first to gain critical mass of women playing, College helped that immensely. That was enough to dominate the world. Its taken years for the RoW to gain critical mass and now the dominance is gone. College is about winning, not development

[Guest]

I think it's obvious that girls' coaches have just given up on trying to teach skill. Takes too long, and parents leave if the team doesn't win immediately. By the time they get to high school age it's a couple skill players dumbing down their game to play with low iq shin kickers.

[Guest]

I think it's obvious that girls' coaches have just given up on trying to teach skill. Takes too long, and parents leave if the team doesn't win immediately. By the time they get to high school age it's a couple skill players dumbing down their game to play with low iq shin kickers.

different end goals. all good, but as a sporting event, its not interesting to me unless i have a personal incentive to watch