CSA, SJEB, STA flocking to ECNL in full Flight

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Really still talking about goalkeepers?

I guess goalkeepers are not part of a soccer team?? No wonder people like you can’t appreciate the position.

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Did you know that Hope Solo was an amazing field player before she switched to a goal keeper. The one position that Americans can match up against any other position in the world is the goalie position. To play the position you have to be extremely athletic, fast, quick, smart to read the pitch as well as amazing hand/eye coordination. Tall basketball players make great keepers. The best goalies play the position like an additional “sweeper” who gets the team going offensively. Ever watch Manuel Neuer on Bayern?
Anyone who watches Liverpool can see how important the position is to Klopp. The goalie is part of the offense not just stopping shots on goal.

Well said!

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Did you know that Hope Solo was an amazing field player before she switched to a goal keeper. The one position that Americans can match up against any other position in the world is the goalie position. To play the position you have to be extremely athletic, fast, quick, smart to read the pitch as well as amazing hand/eye coordination. Tall basketball players make great keepers. The best goalies play the position like an additional “sweeper” who gets the team going offensively. Ever watch Manuel Neuer on Bayern?
Anyone who watches Liverpool can see how important the position is to Klopp. The goalie is part of the offense not just stopping shots on goal.

Hope Solo was over rated, never had to handle more than 2-3 shots a game. She benefited from being the tallest women on the team and a stellar def and mid field. Naeher stepped in and the team didn't miss a beat.

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Hope Solo was over rated, never had to handle more than 2-3 shots a game. She benefited from being the tallest women on the team and a stellar def and mid field. Naeher stepped in and the team didn't miss a beat.

Yes the US goalies really get tested especially in 14-0 drubbings of other teams. They got their work cut out for them!

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This is BS! Good goalkeepers need to be more athletic than field players. They need to use their feet and be able to distribute the ball. So technically they are field players and goalkeepers. I guess you have not witnessed high level teams where the ball is played out of the back.

Again...why is it bs that SOME of the GKs I KNOW aren't athletic enough to be high level field players? Did I say "All GKs"? Did I say "GKs cannot be athletic"? I don't ever recall saying any of those things. I simply said that SOME of the GKs I KNOW "...do not follow the pattern" of "being pushed into being the goalie". Do you believe that all of the GKs out there "were pushed into being the goalie"? If not, then why aren't you responding to the post that asserted that?

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Again...why is it bs that SOME of the GKs I KNOW aren't athletic enough to be high level field players? Did I say "All GKs"? Did I say "GKs cannot be athletic"? I don't ever recall saying any of those things. I simply said that SOME of the GKs I KNOW "...do not follow the pattern" of "being pushed into being the goalie". Do you believe that all of the GKs out there "were pushed into being the goalie"? If not, then why aren't you responding to the post that asserted that?

Calm down and ignore them. Some people here need to take reading comprehension classes with their own kids.

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Hope Solo was over rated, never had to handle more than 2-3 shots a game. She benefited from being the tallest women on the team and a stellar def and mid field. Naeher stepped in and the team didn't miss a beat.

Naeher might be the best the US has right now but she’s a big step down from Solo. Solo had a much better command of the penalty box and played with much more confidence. To be fair, Naeher is still gaining the experience that brings the confidence and control but she has made numerous poor decisions.

Maybe she keeps the position through the Olympics but the competition should be opened up to Franch and Murphy. I don’t think Harris is necessarily part of the mix moving forward.

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Naeher might be the best the US has right now but she’s a big step down from Solo. Solo had a much better command of the penalty box and played with much more confidence. To be fair, Naeher is still gaining the experience that brings the confidence and control but she has made numerous poor decisions.

Maybe she keeps the position through the Olympics but the competition should be opened up to Franch and Murphy. I don’t think Harris is necessarily part of the mix moving forward.

Overrated? Seriously? She was probably the best athlete on the pitch! It was so obvious the difference of the defense without her. They were not as confident to take chances or play a higher defense with Naeher in goal. Solo was considered the best goalie in the world so I am curious why you think she was overrated.

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Overrated? Seriously? She was probably the best athlete on the pitch! It was so obvious the difference of the defense without her. They were not as confident to take chances or play a higher defense with Naeher in goal. Solo was considered the best goalie in the world so I am curious why you think she was overrated.

Simple, SHE couldn't win. When it came down to her she cracked. She was lucky to have a defense full of all stars to prop her up. Why do you think Sweden was able to get past them in the Olympics. Sweden walled up and so they could face the WNT weakest link. That wasn't the first major tournament Solo choked in during a shoot out either. Any one of her backup would have done just as well having to save less than a handful of shots per game with that defense.

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Simple, SHE couldn't win. When it came down to her she cracked. She was lucky to have a defense full of all stars to prop her up. Why do you think Sweden was able to get past them in the Olympics. Sweden walled up and so they could face the WNT weakest link. That wasn't the first major tournament Solo choked in during a shoot out either. Any one of her backup would have done just as well having to save less than a handful of shots per game with that defense.

You really have no idea what you are talking about.

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Simple, SHE couldn't win. When it came down to her she cracked. She was lucky to have a defense full of all stars to prop her up. Why do you think Sweden was able to get past them in the Olympics. Sweden walled up and so they could face the WNT weakest link. That wasn't the first major tournament Solo choked in during a shoot out either. Any one of her backup would have done just as well having to save less than a handful of shots per game with that defense.

You have no clue. Prior to this World Cup she is more responsible for those stars on the USWNT Jersey than any other player with the big saves she has made over the years. She was an intimidating presence in goal with her reputation as the best unlike Naher who looked very nervous throughout the tournament.

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Simple, SHE couldn't win. When it came down to her she cracked. She was lucky to have a defense full of all stars to prop her up. Why do you think Sweden was able to get past them in the Olympics. Sweden walled up and so they could face the WNT weakest link. That wasn't the first major tournament Solo choked in during a shoot out either. Any one of her backup would have done just as well having to save less than a handful of shots per game with that defense.

Uhh genius, didn't the team and her win in 2015?

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Simple, SHE couldn't win. When it came down to her she cracked. She was lucky to have a defense full of all stars to prop her up. Why do you think Sweden was able to get past them in the Olympics. Sweden walled up and so they could face the WNT weakest link. That wasn't the first major tournament Solo choked in during a shoot out either. Any one of her backup would have done just as well having to save less than a handful of shots per game with that defense.

A few posts back, someone mentioned how people who don’t understand the position or the game point fingers at the gk for every goal. Thanks for the example.

Sweden sat back in a low block because they didn’t think the US offense could break it down. They thought they’d have a better chance in the crap shoot of penalty kicks rather than trying to run with the US. Turned out they were right, Sundhage outcoached Ellis.

The Sweden goal came off a counterattack that split the US centerbacks, Sauerbrunn and Ertz (Johnston at the time). The striker was 1v1 on goal and put it perfectly in the corner.

Given their strategy, Sweden did not have a lot of opportunities in the game but when they were in our area, Solo made plays that Naeher frequently has trouble with. In one she came off her line to break up a play at the 6 yard line and in another she goes out to punch away a cross at the far post. Both are types of plays that experienced keepers make that don’t show up in that stats because it prevents any shot before it occurs. Naeher has routinely had problems with those types of plays in the last few years, either being hesitant to come out or coming out and not making the play.

And the penalty kicks, it’s in the shooter’s favor. Solo saved one and the Swedish keeper saved one and the US put another over the crossbar. Them’s the breaks.

Solo created plenty of trouble for herself. I happen to think that the suspension from the team because of her comments about the Sweden game was bs and that she’d probably still be the US #1 but there is no denying that she caused issues. However, if your kid is a gk, boy or girl, have them watch her old games and then compare to current games. They’ll learn a lot by picking up on the differences.

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A few posts back, someone mentioned how people who don’t understand the position or the game point fingers at the gk for every goal. Thanks for the example.

Sweden sat back in a low block because they didn’t think the US offense could break it down. They thought they’d have a better chance in the crap shoot of penalty kicks rather than trying to run with the US. Turned out they were right, Sundhage outcoached Ellis.

The Sweden goal came off a counterattack that split the US centerbacks, Sauerbrunn and Ertz (Johnston at the time). The striker was 1v1 on goal and put it perfectly in the corner.

Given their strategy, Sweden did not have a lot of opportunities in the game but when they were in our area, Solo made plays that Naeher frequently has trouble with. In one she came off her line to break up a play at the 6 yard line and in another she goes out to punch away a cross at the far post. Both are types of plays that experienced keepers make that don’t show up in that stats because it prevents any shot before it occurs. Naeher has routinely had problems with those types of plays in the last few years, either being hesitant to come out or coming out and not making the play.

And the penalty kicks, it’s in the shooter’s favor. Solo saved one and the Swedish keeper saved one and the US put another over the crossbar. Them’s the breaks.

Solo created plenty of trouble for herself. I happen to think that the suspension from the team because of her comments about the Sweden game was bs and that she’d probably still be the US #1 but there is no denying that she caused issues. However, if your kid is a gk, boy or girl, have them watch her old games and then compare to current games. They’ll learn a lot by picking up on the differences.

Solo was awful on Dancing with the Stars.

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A few posts back, someone mentioned how people who don’t understand the position or the game point fingers at the gk for every goal. Thanks for the example.

Sweden sat back in a low block because they didn’t think the US offense could break it down. They thought they’d have a better chance in the crap shoot of penalty kicks rather than trying to run with the US. Turned out they were right, Sundhage outcoached Ellis.

The Sweden goal came off a counterattack that split the US centerbacks, Sauerbrunn and Ertz (Johnston at the time). The striker was 1v1 on goal and put it perfectly in the corner.

Given their strategy, Sweden did not have a lot of opportunities in the game but when they were in our area, Solo made plays that Naeher frequently has trouble with. In one she came off her line to break up a play at the 6 yard line and in another she goes out to punch away a cross at the far post. Both are types of plays that experienced keepers make that don’t show up in that stats because it prevents any shot before it occurs. Naeher has routinely had problems with those types of plays in the last few years, either being hesitant to come out or coming out and not making the play.

And the penalty kicks, it’s in the shooter’s favor. Solo saved one and the Swedish keeper saved one and the US put another over the crossbar. Them’s the breaks.

Solo created plenty of trouble for herself. I happen to think that the suspension from the team because of her comments about the Sweden game was bs and that she’d probably still be the US #1 but there is no denying that she caused issues. However, if your kid is a gk, boy or girl, have them watch her old games and then compare to current games. They’ll learn a lot by picking up on the differences.

This analysis is spot on. There are so many parts of a gk game that don't show up on stat sheets and is exactly why parents and coaches have a hard time understanding what makes one gk better than another. Solo was the best uswnt gk of all time for a reason, but some people refuse to separate her many prior personal issues with her play and/or can't see her game in totality. I agree with your recommendation for any aspiring gk (boy or girl) to watch her classic matches.