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    State of NH Soccer

    Although NH has a huge population difference from our neighbors to the south, I believe we are getting closer to taking a regional title. My case in point in the U14G Stars vs. Seacoast at the Region 1 tournament. The Seacoast girls only lost 1-0 and had a few key opportunities to tie that game. What was the differentiator?
    Easy, it was speed of play. Stars players knew what they would do with the ball before they received it, Seacoast girls waited until recieving the ball before deciding where it was going. If NH coaches could work on that one skill, I believe this state would produce regional champs.

    #2
    The NH team barely got out of their half for the last 35 minutes. I think you may have seen a few other differences had the field been larger. Stars' speed (as opposed to speed of play) was negated in this game given the narrowness and shortness of the field. When they finally got on a normal sized field in the finals - they used their speed beautifully taking it to their opponents and winning 5-0.

    Then again without seeing the two teams face off on a normal sized field who knows? Certainly Seacoast played a very disciplined defensive game and came up with some amazing in the goal mouth saves. The Keeper was great, as was the back line and they saw a lot of action. The whole team played with great heart and I'm sure frustrated the Stars' players to no end.

    Comment


      #3
      I did not see the Region 1 game to which you guys allude but it sounds like Seacoast went in with a good game plan and had good and cohesive defending with a super effort from the keeper. Its worth noting that the Stars team has 2 or 3 NH-based players on its roster. Although I do not know how central these girls have been to the great success of this Stars team, I do know that each is a great player in her own right. Might the result have been closer, might the Stars and Seacoast teams be closer in competitive terms if the NH girls with the Stars were on the roster of the Seacoast team? I don't raise this point to criticize a NH-based player who plays in Mass. There are all sorts of very good reasons to play in Mass. For some players a Mass club is closer than Seacoast for training. Further, its a legitimate point that there are, generally speaking, more and better training/playing opportunities in Mass than in NH. Certainly, playing on a team as telanted as this Stars team is a legitimate draw in and of itself. My point simply is that, at any given age group and with the right training and playing opportunities, NH is begginning to have a player base of enough quality and depth to field soccer teams that can compete at the highest levels in the region.

      Comment


        #4
        state of NH soccer

        what is the best team for a girl D1 player to go to if she will be living near Concord?

        Comment


          #5
          Not to rain too much on the NH parade, but the Granite state's girls teams collected a grand total of 13 points in RR play. Compare that with 37 for Conn., 38 for Mass. and a whopping 58 of 63 for Eastern PA. NH is still a very long way from competing with its New England neighbors to the south, nevermind power states like New Jersey or EPA. I think it would be a monumental mistake to think that the individual performances in a single game should bring renewed confidence. The available player pool is just too small to think that consistent quality across the ages is a realistic goal. You may see the occasional team that competes on the NE stage and very rarely a team that is truly competitive on the regional level but I'm afraid that is about it.

          Comment


            #6
            To D1 player,

            The answer to your question is likely a function of your age group. Generally, Seacoast United has the highest level of excellence across each age group but there are a few exceptions to that general statement and they might be found at the Classics, the Phantoms or Granite FC. In terms of ease of access to training, the Classics and the Phantoms are probably the closest to you in Bedford and Manchester, respectively. Seacoast is a little further away in Epping and Granite FC the furthest in Nashua.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by old man on the mountain
              Not to rain too much on the NH parade, but the Granite state's girls teams collected a grand total of 13 points in RR play. Compare that with 37 for Conn., 38 for Mass. and a whopping 58 of 63 for Eastern PA. NH is still a very long way from competing with its New England neighbors to the south, nevermind power states like New Jersey or EPA. I think it would be a monumental mistake to think that the individual performances in a single game should bring renewed confidence. The available player pool is just too small to think that consistent quality across the ages is a realistic goal. You may see the occasional team that competes on the NE stage and very rarely a team that is truly competitive on the regional level but I'm afraid that is about it.
              In the past I would have agreed with the above comment. That has always been the excuse as to why NH teams don't produce regional champs. Our population is too small, our facilities inadequate, our players too involved in other sports basketball/volleyball/hockey. I would have agreed until I spoke with a Stars parent who informed me that 90% of their roster is made up of girls living in the Acton/Boxboro area. A much smaller geographical area than Seacoast draws from. OBTW their girls also play basketball/volleyball/hockey.

              Comment


                #8
                [quote=NH Expatriate]
                Originally posted by "old man on the mountain":cdb2ovii
                Not to rain too much on the NH parade, but the Granite state's girls teams collected a grand total of 13 points in RR play. Compare that with 37 for Conn., 38 for Mass. and a whopping 58 of 63 for Eastern PA. NH is still a very long way from competing with its New England neighbors to the south, nevermind power states like New Jersey or EPA. I think it would be a monumental mistake to think that the individual performances in a single game should bring renewed confidence. The available player pool is just too small to think that consistent quality across the ages is a realistic goal. You may see the occasional team that competes on the NE stage and very rarely a team that is truly competitive on the regional level but I'm afraid that is about it.
                In the past I would have agreed with the above comment. That has always been the excuse as to why NH teams don't produce regional champs. Our population is too small, our facilities inadequate, our players too involved in other sports basketball/volleyball/hockey. I would have agreed until I spoke with a Stars parent who informed me that 90% of their roster is made up of girls living in the Acton/Boxboro area. A much smaller geographical area than Seacoast draws from. OBTW their girls also play basketball/volleyball/hockey.[/quote:cdb2ovii]

                There may be a lot from A/B but they draw from the North Shore to Southern NH to Framingham and are essentially the team for kids north of Boston (the Scorpions having the same distinction south of Boston). Not sure about the 90% comment but I have never heard anyone refer to the greater Acton urban area - these kids are from greater Boston North with about 2.5 Million people in the area.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: State of NH Soccer

                  How can you base your opinion on this game? I heard Stars had a minimum of 6 golden opportunities to score, that with out luck seacoast would have lost 7-0. So beacause seacoast ONLY lost 1-0, NH is closer to winning a Regional championship? hehe...if you at least mentioned the U18& U16 seacoast boys making it to the semis, you may have some credibility....

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: State of NH Soccer

                    Originally posted by Anonymous
                    How can you base your opinion on this game? I heard Stars had a minimum of 6 golden opportunities to score, that with out luck seacoast would have lost 7-0. So beacause seacoast ONLY lost 1-0, NH is closer to winning a Regional championship? hehe...if you at least mentioned the U18& U16 seacoast boys making it to the semis, you may have some credibility....
                    We need to grow are other clubs teams in the state ,seacoast takes everbody and will put them on a team ,there just making money ,teams like the classics ,worldcup the phantoms ,need to grow ther programs so we can compete with these teams and give more exposuer to the kids,my child plays for the phantoms and i want to see this program succed,its sad when parents leave and bring there kids to seacoast,because ther chasing the winning programs,Lets grow soccer in new hampshire.Not every team at seacoast is premier.Lets spread the word abut programs like the phantoms that are new ,but have good coaches and plenty of growth potentional

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: State of NH Soccer

                      Originally posted by Anonymous
                      How can you base your opinion on this game? I heard Stars had a minimum of 6 golden opportunities to score, that with out luck seacoast would have lost 7-0. So beacause seacoast ONLY lost 1-0, NH is closer to winning a Regional championship? hehe...if you at least mentioned the U18& U16 seacoast boys making it to the semis, you may have some credibility....
                      Unfortunately I didn't see any of the boys games so I can't comment. I do agree that the Seacoast team got lucky and the Stars scoring opportunities were many. That said, my original post was really pointing out that NH teams need to learn to play a quicker style game. Kick and run soccer is old and outdated. Posses the ball and implement an effective game plan like the U14G Seacoast team and regional results will change.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        No doubt the Stars U-14 team is superior to the Seacoast U-14s. Would it have made a difference to the outcome if the three NH players on the Stars had been playing with the Seacoast team? On the same note, would it have made a difference if three or four of the most talented Classics U-14s (the conventional wisdom is that the Classics U-14s were blessed with more individual talent than the Seacoast U-14s) were also on the Seacoast team? To both questions I think the answer might well be yes. I am not suggesting that such a team would have beaten this Stars team -- the Stars U-14s are a very, very special team. The point is that NH has enough quality players at this age group (and I beleive others) to make one team (albeit this would be a hypothetical team) that would be competitive at the regional level.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Here is an article from Top Drawer soccer about the Stars-Seacoast game - It describes Seacoast's strategy to double team the Stars forwards. Clearly a great coaching job. (This online source never prints anything particularly negative by the way so you won't hear of mistakes or negatives about either team. )

                          U14 Girls: FC Stars of Massachusetts (MA) 1-0 Seacoast United (NH)
                          These U14 girls teams had to face off on a postage stamp here in Maine, and the field made for some tough times in the attack as both teams struggled to find space.

                          FC Stars came out aggressors, and featured a talented forward in Haley Brock. As Stars attacked, Seacoast quickly realized Brock would require extra attention. She was double teamed as Seacoast played with 5 defenders, dropping Gina Righini to help cover, when Brock was in the game. Righini did tremendous against the much bigger Brock, and since the field wasn’t much wider than the penalty box, Seacoast formed a defensive shell that was tough to crack. Alison Wilson led the Seacoast back line of Olivia Brown, Sheridan Benoit, and Meagan Williams, who all gave good efforts to thwart the relentless Stars attack. If Stars were able to get something going Seacoast keeper Taylor Booth was there, as she made numerous plays all game long.

                          The 2 teams battled through the 1st half trying to figure out how to play on the field, and Stars were left wondering how to get a goal.

                          As they came out for the second half Stars kept pushing with some better ideas of how to get a goal. Brock received the ball near the top of the box in the 1st minute and was finally able to beat Booth and the defense with a shot. However, she couldn’t beat the post as her shot hit the bar.

                          Just a minute later Phoebe Tateronis picked up a clearance and fired a shot at goal. Booth was there again to make a great diving save and tip the ball wide.

                          Stars seemed like they thought a shot from distance was going to be their best chance as they couldn’t get behind Seacoast. However, that might have been what they wanted the New Hampshire girls to think as minutes later Seacoast was sucked out, and Alexandra Doody chipped over them into the box. Brock ran on and headed over the onrushing Booth. But once again Seacoast would deny the Stars as Wilson ran in and cleared the ball before it could reach goal.

                          The half was not even ten minutes old and Brock would test Seacoast’s resolve again, but her shot beamed the crossbar as Seacoast’s goal had a force field around it.

                          Seacoast would weather the storm, and had an attack of their own with forward Charleen Sheehan. Sheehan’s physical presence allowed her to team to play in to her, and she did well to hold the ball and help Seacoast advance down the field. It would finally prove dangerous as Seacoast had pushed down field, and Sarah Brown got a hold of the ball on the right side. She decided to test Stars keeper Jessica Wiggins with a shot from 35 yards out, but Wiggins was able to tip the ball off the crossbar.

                          Jenna DiCicco, Kristen Gargiulo, and Rebekah Landers would not allow Seacoast another opportunity as they began to deny attackers the ball, and Stars went back on the offensive pinning Seacoast in once again.

                          Stephanie McCaffrey, Emily Manoogian, and Doody turned on the individual skill for the rest of the half. McCaffrey found Doody on a run on the left side of the box, but Booth would come off her line again to deny Doody.

                          It was obviously going to take some extra special skill to break Seacoast and get a victory, and Doody would provide it midway through the half. She got the ball near the half line and took off, beating 4 or 5 players, on her way into the box. She tucked a shot just inside the far post in a great display of ability to finally crack the 5-deep defense.

                          Stars would keep up the pressure, but there was no way Booth and her defense would be beaten again. However Stars were relieved to have a goal, and it was good for the win.
                          Here is an article from TopDrawer about the Phantoms U16s game Day 1 -

                          U16 Girls: Yankee United (CN) 2-0 Phantoms FC (NH)
                          The referees would be the center of attention again in this U16 girls game, but Yankee United were able to score a last minute goal to ensure they deserved the victory.

                          Both teams traded attacks for much of the 1st half, but keepers Andrea Tordanato of Yankee and Jenniferv Nichols for Phantom were not giving goals away.

                          Yankee would get the first golden chance when Heather Carpenter received a ball in the center of the box unmarked. She tried to pick out the far side, but Nichols read the idea and grabbed the shot 15 minutes in.

                          As the half wore down with stingy defenses ruling the game, Phantoms forward Shayla Bergeron ran onto a ball in the box, and was pulled back by a Yankee defender. The referee saw the play differently than everybody on the sideline, and called the foul on Bergeron as the teams went into the break at 0-0.

                          The Connecticut side came out of the break with energy and pushed the ball toward the Phantom goal. In just the 1st minute Shannon Morales and Kristen Forster worked a nice combination that sent Forster down the left side. She cut back and served into the box for Michelle Pullen, but the ball was just out of reach for Pullen.

                          As Yankee continued to press Morales fought off 3 defenders on the goal line, but Nichols came off her line well to pick off the cross. Minutes later Nichols was there again when Morales volleyed Pullen’s cross, and Nichols was able to tip the ball wide with a diving save.

                          Fifteen minutes into the half a Yankee attacker chased down a ball in the box, and a Phantom defender seemed to do well to get in position to deny the ball. The referee saw the move as a foul though, and issued a penalty kick. Allison Walsh stepped up and put the kick away for a 1-0 Yankee lead.

                          New Hampshire would go on the attack looking to get the goal back with a Cassandra Muse cross, but Tordanato came out to gobble up the serve. 5 minutes later Bergeron’s shot was deflected back to the near post, but Tordanato recovered to make the save.

                          With 5 minutes left in the game Yankee would seal it when they received a free kick in the attacking third. Tania Domingos tracked down the serve and finished to go up by 2, and Yankee United walked away with the victory.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: State of NH Soccer

                            Originally posted by Anonymous
                            How can you base your opinion on this game? I heard Stars had a minimum of 6 golden opportunities to score, that with out luck seacoast would have lost 7-0. So beacause seacoast ONLY lost 1-0, NH is closer to winning a Regional championship? hehe...if you at least mentioned the U18& U16 seacoast boys making it to the semis, you may have some credibility....
                            Does anyone have any info on the regional Seacoast boys game? How did they play? What happened in the semi's?

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by bouba diop
                              No doubt the Stars U-14 team is superior to the Seacoast U-14s. Would it have made a difference to the outcome if the three NH players on the Stars had been playing with the Seacoast team? On the same note, would it have made a difference if three or four of the most talented Classics U-14s (the conventional wisdom is that the Classics U-14s were blessed with more individual talent than the Seacoast U-14s) were also on the Seacoast team? To both questions I think the answer might well be yes. I am not suggesting that such a team would have beaten this Stars team -- the Stars U-14s are a very, very special team. The point is that NH has enough quality players at this age group (and I beleive others) to make one team (albeit this would be a hypothetical team) that would be competitive at the regional level.
                              The problem with the one (albeit hypothetical) team theory is think of it in regards to other states. Right now the top 6 teams in this age group are probably the Stars of Mass, Scorpions, PASCO, PDA, Braddock and Delco. Two are from Mass and two are from NJ. It is not uncommon for many of the top teams to be from NJ, it is a little unusual for Mass to have two great teams at an age group. Imagine if a couple of the key players from the Scorpions decided to jump ship and go with the Stars. Might disrupt their chemisty but also might turn a great team into something beyond even that. However, what it really says that if you have state-wide pool of at least 30-40 really strong players you will find enough of them concentrating into one program to make it regionally of maybe even nationally competitive. The problem for NH is that the pool of players at this level is probably more like 10-15. So you need all the stars to line up correctly including all of them playing for a single program and their chemisty being right if you want to be competitive. As for the speed of play decision making argument, you are right about how important it is, but if you figure out how to consistently develop that talent in 13, 14 and 15 year olds, bottle it and sell it and you will make a bundle.

                              Comment

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