Womens USA team Who you got?

[Cletus]

Believe me it all comes into play...They could make 3 teams with all that talent and any one of these teams would crush the competition at the World games.

Checkmate. That’s the essence of it right there.

[njbill]

Believe me it all comes into play...They could make 3 teams with all that talent and any one of these teams would crush the competition at the World games.

Checkmate. That’s the essence of it right there.

That’s what we like to think here. Don’t think it is really true though. All you need to remember is 2015.

[Can Opener]

Prepare to be disappointed, Dad. She isn’t going to make the final team. What did Spallina say at the tryouts?

Just googled "Joe Spallina Charlotte North" and nothing popped up. Has he made comments about who has done well?

He said we are looking for assisted goals. And, nope, I didn’t whisper in his ear.

It’s on the video they put out.

It doesn’t matter there’s no way they aren’t taking her .

We’ll see. You can say there’s no way they aren’t taking her. I can say there’s no way they are. We don’t make the decision.

She is only a scorer. This team does not need more scorers.
It is essential that the attackers be excellent feeders and fierce redefenders. That’s why Treanor, Apuzzo, and Tumolo will make the team. North is lacking in those areas.

Ohlmiller gets on because of Joe.

So assuming they take five attackers, who gets the last slot? I say Scane. While granted she is not a top-notch feeder, she is a better redefender than North and an equally good scorer. What tips it for me is her physicality. The international game is a lot more physical than college. I would like to have a Scane-type player on the field in the event the team needs a tough, physical goal.

Are there any goals in this sequence that you would consider "physical?"
https://twitter.com/BCEagles/status/139 ... 03872?s=20
In your post you say that "This team does not need more scorers," but you then say that a big advantage for Scane is having her "when the team needs a tough, physical goal." Which is it? Do they need scorers or not need scorers? I will once again ask you to provide similar proof of Scane's ability to score physical goals, but you may be too busy searching for that elusive second TO in the Carolina game.

Because I am feeling generous, I will give you a chance to retract this statement without having me pile on: "She is only a scorer." Hint: Do 174 DCs and a 60%+ team DC winning percentage ring a bell?

Is there anything positive that you can say about this young woman? You are in a tiny minority of women's lacrosse followers who can only hate on CN. I understand you don't like me very much, but it is hard to maintain any credibility when every single comment you make about the #1 college player in the nation is negative.

[njbill]

You have an unhealthy, unnatural infatuation with this young woman. You pour over her stats again and again. You check her social media. And you call me creepy?

[Can Opener]

You have an unhealthy, unnatural infatuation with this young woman. You pour over her stats again and again. You check her social media. And you call me creepy?

Do you have something of substance to add? I thought we were all about "talkin' lax." Happy to engage with more facts, because TBH, it is really amusing to watch people publicly soil themselves.

As they teach kids in law school:
When the facts are on your side, pound on the facts.
When the law is on your side, pound on the law.
When neither is on your side, pound on the table.

[njbill]

I already told you why I don’t think she’ll make the team. More than once. You disagree. That’s your right. Now you are resorting to your typical “creepy” commentary. Spiraling down the drain. As usual.

By your own admission, you are new to the women’s game. You like glitz which is fairly typical of a newbie. That’s fine. I prefer tradition and substance.

[Cletus]

Are there any goals in this sequence that you would consider "physical?"
https://twitter.com/BCEagles/status/139 ... 03872?s=20
In your post you say that "This team does not need more scorers," but you then say that a big advantage for Scane is having her "when the team needs a tough, physical goal." Which is it? Do they need scorers or not need scorers? I will once again ask you to provide similar proof of Scane's ability to score physical goals, but you may be too busy searching for that elusive second TO in the Carolina game.

Because I am feeling generous, I will give you a chance to retract this statement without having me pile on: "She is only a scorer." Hint: Do 174 DCs and a 60%+ team DC winning percentage ring a bell?

Is there anything positive that you can say about this young woman? You are in a tiny minority of women's lacrosse followers who can only hate on CN. I understand you don't like me very much, but it is hard to maintain any credibility when every single comment you make about the #1 college player in the nation is negative.

Nothing has changed CO. You have the logical, reasonable perspective on Charlotte. The stats are there, the eye test is there, the clutch play is there. The rest of it's just noise and nonsense.

[njbill]

Says one BC fanboy to another.

[Cletus]

Are there any goals in this sequence that you would consider "physical?"
https://twitter.com/BCEagles/status/139 ... 03872?s=20
In your post you say that "This team does not need more scorers," but you then say that a big advantage for Scane is having her "when the team needs a tough, physical goal." Which is it? Do they need scorers or not need scorers? I will once again ask you to provide similar proof of Scane's ability to score physical goals, but you may be too busy searching for that elusive second TO in the Carolina game.

Because I am feeling generous, I will give you a chance to retract this statement without having me pile on: "She is only a scorer." Hint: Do 174 DCs and a 60%+ team DC winning percentage ring a bell?

Is there anything positive that you can say about this young woman? You are in a tiny minority of women's lacrosse followers who can only hate on CN. I understand you don't like me very much, but it is hard to maintain any credibility when every single comment you make about the #1 college player in the nation is negative.

One thing I've learned on here, CO--once you encounter a mind made up, it's best to let be. Save your keystrokes for more worthy topics.

[Cletus]

Says one BC fanboy to another.

I definitely am a fan of BC--especially this edition. I don't know if I like them better than the Big Three era, but they are an awfully exciting team to watch.

[njbill]

I know.

I don’t mind anybody advocating for North. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

What I mind is the creepy, ad hominem attacks (not from you). I more or less let them slide a few weeks ago. Not anymore.

[admin]

I know.

I don’t mind anybody advocating for North. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

What I mind is the creepy, ad hominem attacks (not from you). I more or less let them slide a few weeks ago. Not anymore.

Agreed. Let's be mindful of personal attacks...

[Lax101]

I’ve sorted the 36 players by position so the forum brainiacs can more easily give Jen Levy et al. advice on whom the final selections should be.

Attack (9)
Apuzzo - yes
Hendrick
McKone
North - yes
Ohlmiller - yes
Ortega
Scane - yes
Treanor - yes
Tumolo

Middie (17)
Arsenault - yes
Cummings - yes
Dirks
Garrett
Huff
Johansen
Kennedy - yes
Kent - yes
Mastroianni - yes
McCool - yes
Miller
Parros
Pirreca - yes
Sabella
Smith
Swart
Warden

Defense (6)
Block - yes
Carr
Douty - yes
Mercer - yes
O’Donnell
Trenchard - yes

Goalie (4)
Hogan - yes
Johns - yes
Moreno
Waters

I'm leaving the DL players out at this point just for the sake of discussion.

Middie heavy is an understatement. So what does that say about the positional make up of the final team? Two goalies obviously. Only four defenders? Seven or eight middies? Four or five attackers?

Suspect final selections will balance coaching relationships, existing experience, talent, ability to attract fans (social media) and fit with USA fast paced style. I am taking 5 attack, 7 middies, 4 defense and 2 goalies. My selections above balancing all of the factors.

Pirecca was moved to defense 1st day of tryouts. She is no longer in the middle group.

[Cletus]

I know.

I don’t mind anybody advocating for North. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

What I mind is the creepy, ad hominem attacks (not from you). I more or less let them slide a few weeks ago. Not anymore.

He didn't start off with attacks, but I can see why he ended up where he did, in a sense though, Bill. (Not that I agree with that, but I can see it.) You just wouldn't give an inch. And CO made several damn good cases. You always seem to be a measured, rational well-written njbill. But you go completely out of character (except for the well-written part) when it comes to North. Anyway--that's some of my perspective for what it's worth.

And it just occurs to me--you and I went toe-to-toe over North ourselves a while back. I think? we stayed pretty civil while trading verbal jabs, hooks and uppercuts.

[njbill]

I completely disagree Cletus. If he wants to defend himself, he can do so. Why are you stepping into this?

Yep, I wouldn’t give an inch because nothing he said was persuasive. You do realize that neither he nor you would give an inch either, right?

[Laxfan500]

Prepare to be disappointed, Dad. She isn’t going to make the final team. What did Spallina say at the tryouts?

Just googled "Joe Spallina Charlotte North" and nothing popped up. Has he made comments about who has done well?

He said we are looking for assisted goals. And, nope, I didn’t whisper in his ear.

It’s on the video they put out.

It doesn’t matter there’s no way they aren’t taking her .

We’ll see. You can say there’s no way they aren’t taking her. I can say there’s no way they are. We don’t make the decision.

She is only a scorer. This team does not need more scorers.
It is essential that the attackers be excellent feeders and fierce redefenders. That’s why Treanor, Apuzzo, and Tumolo will make the team. North is lacking in those areas.

Ohlmiller gets on because of Joe.

So assuming they take five attackers, who gets the last slot? I say Scane. While granted she is not a top-notch feeder, she is a better redefender than North and an equally good scorer. What tips it for me is her physicality. The international game is a lot more physical than college. I would like to have a Scane-type player on the field in the event the team needs a tough, physical goal.

Are there any goals in this sequence that you would consider "physical?"
https://twitter.com/BCEagles/status/139 ... 03872?s=20
In your post you say that "This team does not need more scorers," but you then say that a big advantage for Scane is having her "when the team needs a tough, physical goal." Which is it? Do they need scorers or not need scorers? I will once again ask you to provide similar proof of Scane's ability to score physical goals, but you may be too busy searching for that elusive second TO in the Carolina game.

Because I am feeling generous, I will give you a chance to retract this statement without having me pile on: "She is only a scorer." Hint: Do 174 DCs and a 60%+ team DC winning percentage ring a bell?

Is there anything positive that you can say about this young woman? You are in a tiny minority of women's lacrosse followers who can only hate on CN. I understand you don't like me very much, but it is hard to maintain any credibility when every single comment you make about the #1 college player in the nation is negative.

DC stats not going to factor much when you have Appuzzo Cummings and Treanor .

[Can Opener]

I completely disagree Cletus. If he wants to defend himself, he can do so. Why are you stepping into this?

Yep, I wouldn’t give an inch because nothing he said was persuasive. You do realize that neither he nor you would give an inch either, right?

May 29, 2021

Can Opener: Having said that, there's no way to sugar coat the DC performance yesterday. As you all know, I am a massive fan of North's success on draw controls. That has been a big factor in BC's success this year. Until yesterday, the team had not lost the DC battle all year, including against some of the top DC specialists in the country. Hey, even TD, Trevor and Nardella have off days sometimes. It happens. I've always viewed CN's DC prowess to be icing on the cake. I've been saying for weeks that if it's roughly a tie on offensive performance between North and Scane, the committee has to give it to North because of her historic DC performance.

NJBill: Kudos to you for your DC comments.

Maybe they are using the metric system in Jersey these days. I gave at least a centimeter.

[njbill]

Well, you were right North would win the Tewaaraton. It would be interesting to see what the Committee vote was. For lots of awards of this general nature, they release the voting, but not for this one.

Going into Final Four weekend, I thought North, Scane, and Ortega were still in the running for the T. North and Oretga did not have good semifinal games. Scane had a decent game. But Scane wasn't playing on Sunday, so that opened the door, in my view, for North. She had a very strong game, which sealed the deal, if it needed sealing in the minds of any Committee member.

If North were to make the national team (and without knowing what the draw rules are), I might put her on the circle as opposed to center if she were to be part of the draw team. But regardless of who makes the team, the US should be strong on the draw.

I am hoping that with the World Cup being in the US, the games will be broadcast on some cable network. Pretty sure that has never happened in the past. Games have been streamed. Sometimes the quality has been decent, sometimes not.

[Can Opener]

Prepare to be disappointed, Dad. She isn’t going to make the final team. What did Spallina say at the tryouts?

Just googled "Joe Spallina Charlotte North" and nothing popped up. Has he made comments about who has done well?

He said we are looking for assisted goals. And, nope, I didn’t whisper in his ear.

It’s on the video they put out.

It doesn’t matter there’s no way they aren’t taking her .

We’ll see. You can say there’s no way they aren’t taking her. I can say there’s no way they are. We don’t make the decision.

She is only a scorer. This team does not need more scorers.
It is essential that the attackers be excellent feeders and fierce redefenders. That’s why Treanor, Apuzzo, and Tumolo will make the team. North is lacking in those areas.

Ohlmiller gets on because of Joe.

So assuming they take five attackers, who gets the last slot? I say Scane. While granted she is not a top-notch feeder, she is a better redefender than North and an equally good scorer. What tips it for me is her physicality. The international game is a lot more physical than college. I would like to have a Scane-type player on the field in the event the team needs a tough, physical goal.

Are there any goals in this sequence that you would consider "physical?"
https://twitter.com/BCEagles/status/139 ... 03872?s=20
In your post you say that "This team does not need more scorers," but you then say that a big advantage for Scane is having her "when the team needs a tough, physical goal." Which is it? Do they need scorers or not need scorers? I will once again ask you to provide similar proof of Scane's ability to score physical goals, but you may be too busy searching for that elusive second TO in the Carolina game.

Because I am feeling generous, I will give you a chance to retract this statement without having me pile on: "She is only a scorer." Hint: Do 174 DCs and a 60%+ team DC winning percentage ring a bell?

Is there anything positive that you can say about this young woman? You are in a tiny minority of women's lacrosse followers who can only hate on CN. I understand you don't like me very much, but it is hard to maintain any credibility when every single comment you make about the #1 college player in the nation is negative.

DC stats not going to factor much when you have Appuzzo Cummings and Treanor .

DCs will still matter for North. Below are the stats for each of the four players for their senior years. The numbers are very similar among North, Apuzzo and Treanor. Cummings is significantly behind, but still a force in the draw circle. Will the coaches opt for a current player who has been sharpened by tough competition for the past four months, or a wily veteran who hasn't been playing full time for the past five years? All else being equal, I would take the player with recent experience under fire, although so much will depend on the chemistry of three teammates at the circle. I think it's fair to say that North's historic DC success will help her cause for making this team over Scane. Why wouldn't you want an extra player who can add this dimension to your roster? Even if another woman takes most of the reps, I would mix in North frequently to mess up the plans and rhythms of the opposing team.

North 2021
174 DCs
8.28 DCs/game
60.1% team DC win %
Tewy winner
Team won NC

Apuzzo 2019
191 DCs
7.96 DCs/game
62.6% team DC win %
Tewy winner
Team lost in finals

Treanor 2016
217 DCs
9.04 DCs/game
59.7% team DC win %
Tewy finalist
Team lost in semis

Cummings 2016
144 DCs
6.26 DCs/game
58.8% team DC win %
Tewy winner
Team lost in finals

[Can Opener]

Nice compliment this week for CN from UNC coach and former star Marie McCool.

“What the collegiate players have been able to do for our sport is incredible. Charlotte North specifically, she is so talented,” McCool said. “She’s doing things that nobody has done before with her stickwork. It’s so important for young kids to see those things.“

No mention of assists to shots ratio or excessive cellies so clearly Charlotte is learning from our posters.

Respect Marie and like her very much. That was a nice compliment about Charlotte North, but it really isn't exactly accurate. Marie is young, so she sees CN do things and assumes the things she sees are things "that nobody has done before". I could name a number of players(many of whom most of you would not know) who were stick wizards, but what CN has is TV(streaming incl.) and the big stage.
Always nice when players can respect other player's talent.

Marie McCool helped to coach a team that went 20-1 this year. She entered UNC in the fall of 2014 and went on to win a national championship and be named a Tewaaraton finalist twice. Prior to Carolina, she won three state championships at Moorestown. So that means she has been coaching, playing and observing lacrosse at a very high level for the past 11 years. Mesh pockets were first allowed in 2018 and by all accounts that enabled women to elevate what they could do with their sticks. Perhaps there were women before Charlotte who had greater skills, but given stick technology and North's innovation, McCool's statement is accurate that "She's doing things that nobody has done before with her stickwork." CN has hit 90 MPH on the radar gun. That is something that was simply not possible with the old technology. Of course there is also the increased hold of the mesh sticks that allow for more aggressive dodging and more creative shooting release points. I suppose it's possible that other women that most of us would not know achieved more with less. Would you mind sharing just a few names of those women?