Jump to content

SLU Women's Soccer Thread


Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, courtside said:

The two players that jump out first are Emily Gaebe and Madelyn Smith.

Smith scored the game winning goal in the 2019 USYS National Championship U16’s. She was one of four players on her team named to the best 11. (Chloe Netzel who won the golden ball award is committed to Xavier)

Smith is a very skilled, on the ball player, a creative, pass first, attacking midfielder. She spends more time creating opportunities for others, holding the ball, directing play, than scoring but can and does score as well. She does a lot of little things well and quietly. She would be expected to get time early at SLU.

Gaebe is an interesting story because she has scored a gazillion goals in high school. 112 in two seasons, 37 so far this year into the playoffs. And she has taken a lesser known soccer school into the final four twice before this year. She routinely gets double and triple teamed locally. She switched her club team to Smith’s higher profile team after the National Title. (even though her old one won two state titles) And, she kept scoring and scoring helping them go undefeated in league play and return to the National Playoffs the next year. (By the way, a high profile 2022 SLU commit plays up and starts on that team)

Gaebe is a pure goal scoring target forward. She doesn’t need much room.  Physical player, gritty. She can also play in space, can turn left or right and finish, can also score on set pieces. She is not a natural wing, or a box to box midfielder. She scores goals, and she does it often. (good basketball player too) Gaebe is likely to play up top and finish. Pure goal scorer type. The ball always seems to find her feet at the right time type of player. 

Gaebe’s nickname in hoops is “Bulldog” as she bulldogs herself down the lane. She averaged 14pts a game on a team that made its first hoops final four in 41 years. Reminds one a little bit of former SLU soccer standout Matt McKeon, nicknamed “Train” for barreling down the field through the opposition. It’s a different dynamic for SLU.

Some recruits over perform, some under perform, some perform as expected. And many things go into that of course.

These two mentioned are expected to have very good stand out careers at SLU once they adjust to the college game. They would be the two headliners. 2022 already has two higher profile recruit commits, both attacking midfielders. 

With regards to the others, 3 good defenders for back line depth, (Brinkman’s dad played locally on good Vianney teams, and D-2 at Rockhurst) backup keeper for Puricelli, and a speedy MF/F for depth there. We’ll see how they break into the mix. 

 

 

Thanks. Are Smith's on the ball skills comparable to or more advanced than Hannah Larson? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 2k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

4 hours ago, courtside said:

The two players that jump out first are Emily Gaebe and Madelyn Smith.

Smith scored the game winning goal in the 2019 USYS National Championship U16’s. She was one of four players on her team named to the best 11. (Chloe Netzel who won the golden ball award is committed to Xavier)

Smith is a very skilled, on the ball player, a creative, pass first, attacking midfielder. She spends more time creating opportunities for others, holding the ball, directing play, than scoring but can and does score as well. She does a lot of little things well and quietly. She would be expected to get time early at SLU.

Gaebe is an interesting story because she has scored a gazillion goals in high school. 112 in two seasons, 37 so far this year into the playoffs. And she has taken a lesser known soccer school into the final four twice before this year. She routinely gets double and triple teamed locally. She switched her club team to Smith’s higher profile team after the National Title. (even though her old one won two state titles) And, she kept scoring and scoring helping them go undefeated in league play and return to the National Playoffs the next year. (By the way, a high profile 2022 SLU commit plays up and starts on that team)

Gaebe is a pure goal scoring target forward. She doesn’t need much room.  Physical player, gritty. She can also play in space, can turn left or right and finish, can also score on set pieces. She is not a natural wing, or a box to box midfielder. She scores goals, and she does it often. (good basketball player too) Gaebe is likely to play up top and finish. Pure goal scorer type. The ball always seems to find her feet at the right time type of player. 

Gaebe’s nickname in hoops is “Bulldog” as she bulldogs herself down the lane. She averaged 14pts a game on a team that made its first hoops final four in 41 years. Reminds one a little bit of former SLU soccer standout Matt McKeon, nicknamed “Train” for barreling down the field through the opposition. It’s a different dynamic for SLU.

Some recruits over perform, some under perform, some perform as expected. And many things go into that of course.

These two mentioned are expected to have very good stand out careers at SLU once they adjust to the college game. They would be the two headliners. 2022 already has two higher profile recruit commits, both attacking midfielders. 

With regards to the others, 3 good defenders for back line depth, (Brinkman’s dad played locally on good Vianney teams, and D-2 at Rockhurst) backup keeper for Puricelli, and a speedy MF/F for depth there. We’ll see how they break into the mix. 

 

 

Is it true that the top players don’t play for state championship in club if they are on ECNL teams? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Courtside, any word on who the two high profile 2022 recruits are?  Unless you are part of the SLU staff, there is no reason that I'm aware of, to not talk about them.  Are they local kids?  Quite a few top HS Juniors have announced their College commitments , although they are just verbals and not binding on either parties until NLIs are signed e.g. the top goal scorer at Lafayette (Howard?) announcing for Wisconsin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, slufanskip said:

Thanks. Are Smith's on the ball skills comparable to or more advanced than Hannah Larson? 

Smith has that technical ability on the ball, yes. But they are different types of players.

As you well know, Larson is a dynamic, box to box, two way player with speed, North South player, tajes on defenders 1v1, elite competitiveness, fitness, etc...

Smith is very strong technically on the ball. She is a very cerebral player that controls and organizes the offensive midfield, creates opportunities for others, etc...ball on a string type of player. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, slu72 fan said:

Is it true that the top players don’t play for state championship in club if they are on ECNL teams? 

Yes and no. 

It depends on the club and the state/geography. It varies. But yes, ECNL clubs can and do send their best teams to ECNL Regional/National League play and the next team(s) below to State Cup. Yes, that happens. Keep in mind, there are also some state cup teams that could and would defeat ECNlL teams too. 

Club soccer is sometimes a head-spinning complex thing. 

Locally and regionally, SLU recruits from anywhere and everywhere. Nationally, SLU is more likely to recruit from ECNL, and Girls Academy. And finally, next they would look elsewhere if there was some other connection to see, find, know about a player. 

SLU has had success with a variety of types of organizations, clubs, etc...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, courtside said:

Yes and no. 

It depends on the club and the state/geography. It varies. But yes, ECNL clubs can and do send their best teams to ECNL Regional/National League play and the next team(s) below to State Cup. Yes, that happens. Keep in mind, there are also some state cup teams that could and would defeat ECNlL teams too. 

Club soccer is sometimes a head-spinning complex thing. 

Locally and regionally, SLU recruits from anywhere and everywhere. Nationally, SLU is more likely to recruit from ECNL, and Girls Academy. And finally, next they would look elsewhere if there was some other connection to see, find, know about a player. 

SLU has had success with a variety of types of organizations, clubs, etc...

 

Thanks 

courtside likes this
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, bauman said:

Courtside, any word on who the two high profile 2022 recruits are?  Unless you are part of the SLU staff, there is no reason that I'm aware of, to not talk about them.  Are they local kids?  Quite a few top HS Juniors have announced their College commitments , although they are just verbals and not binding on either parties until NLIs are signed e.g. the top goal scorer at Lafayette (Howard?) announcing for Wisconsin.

2022 Ellie Paloucek. Attacking Midfielder. Played up in higher Age Groups at LFA, High School is Webster Groves. Also another high school 1,000 point hooper. Had 29 points in State Semifinals hoops this past year. Ellie is a special talent in soccer, a big time player. She played Club with Gaebe, Smith etc...

2022 Taylor Krueger, CrossFire United, (ECNL) Portland Jesuit. High school team has Arizona, Washington, commits and others. 58 game win streak. 3 straight 6A State Titles. Another attacking midfielder that can also play up top. 

 

 

 

Reinert310 likes this
Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, courtside said:

2022 Ellie Paloucek. Attacking Midfielder. Played up in higher Age Groups at LFA, High School is Webster Groves. Also another high school 1,000 point hooper. Had 29 points in State Semifinals hoops this past year. Ellie is a special talent in soccer, a big time player. She played Club with Gaebe, Smith etc...

2022 Taylor Krueger, CrossFire United, (ECNL) Portland Jesuit. High school team has Arizona, Washington, commits and others. 58 game win streak. 3 straight 6A State Titles. Another attacking midfielder that can also play up top. 

 

 

 

Thanks for dropping all this knowledge, @courtside!

courtside and slufanskip like this
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, courtside said:

Smith has that technical ability on the ball, yes. But they are different types of players.

As you well know, Larson is a dynamic, box to box, two way player with speed, North South player, tajes on defenders 1v1, elite competitiveness, fitness, etc...

Smith is very strong technically on the ball. She is a very cerebral player that controls and organizes the offensive midfield, creates opportunities for others, etc...ball on a string type of player. 

Thanks. Yes I was only talking about her skill with the ball. Imo it is one of the areas SLU needs to improve on to take another step forward. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, slufanskip said:

Thanks. Yes I was only talking about her skill with the ball. Imo it is one of the areas SLU needs to improve on to take another step forward. 

Yep. And having more offensive players that can take on defenders 1v1. It’s like hoops in the sense of having a team that has some players that can create their own shot when the offense breaks down. The better or more elite players can create their own shot or offense when needed. 

Shields has been recruiting more skilled offensive players, more team speed, and more versatile athletic defenders. It’s coming along. 

slufanskip likes this
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, courtside said:

2022 Ellie Paloucek. Attacking Midfielder. Played up in higher Age Groups at LFA, High School is Webster Groves. Also another high school 1,000 point hooper. Had 29 points in State Semifinals hoops this past year. Ellie is a special talent in soccer, a big time player. She played Club with Gaebe, Smith etc...

2022 Taylor Krueger, CrossFire United, (ECNL) Portland Jesuit. High school team has Arizona, Washington, commits and others. 58 game win streak. 3 straight 6A State Titles. Another attacking midfielder that can also play up top. 

 

 

 

KS is truly going National in her recruiting.  Utah this year and Portland next!  It would be nice to add one or both of the St. Dominic 2022s.  St D. has become a real power.

I have seen Paloucek a few times this year and you are right.  She is outstanding.  Constant, aggressive motion and a powerful shot.  It's too bad that WG was so bad this year as her talents were wasted.  She could have really helped one of her neighbors, Nerinx or Kirkwood, even St J is not that far away from Webster.  

While I am not the soccer expert some of you are, I have seen quite a few boys and girls HS games this year and I honestly believe that if SLU  could close the MO/ILL borders, including the entire KC Metro area, that they could have a national power.  Losing top area players to Clemson, Wisc and Xavier, for example hurts, even though KS and her staff are doing an outstanding job with local recruits.  I know it's a dream world to get all of them, but I think this MO/ILL/KC Metro has shown itself via ECLN and GA leagues, to be a top-quality hotbed for girls soccer.  I would love to have gotten Duff (NH) (Clemson) this year and Howard (LAF) (Wisc) next year along with the St D 2022 "twins" into Katie's program.  Outstanding players like Lawler and Cytron have learned that the grass is not always greener leaving the area for other "national" programs and frankly, I think SLU can now be considered one of those "national" level women's soccer schools.

Not so with the men's program, although I do believe that some local players are just as talented as some of the out-of-area recruits that we are getting.  I know it's not the early 1960s, but doing a better job in local recruiting, and I think this appears to be happening, can go a long way to instilling a broader base of local interest in SLU Men's soccer.  I find it interesting that many/most of my friends who follow soccer are talking more about the Women's team than the Men's

Edited by bauman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/22/2021 at 10:39 AM, bauman said:

KS is truly going National in her recruiting.  Utah this year and Portland next!  It would be nice to add one or both of the St. Dominic 2022s.  St D. has become a real power.

I have seen Paloucek a few times this year and you are right.  She is outstanding.  Constant, aggressive motion and a powerful shot.  It's too bad that WG was so bad this year as her talents were wasted.  She could have really helped one of her neighbors, Nerinx or Kirkwood, even St J is not that far away from Webster.  

While I am not the soccer expert some of you are, I have seen quite a few boys and girls HS games this year and I honestly believe that if SLU  could close the MO/ILL borders, including the entire KC Metro area, that they could have a national power.  Losing top area players to Clemson, Wisc and Xavier, for example hurts, even though KS and her staff are doing an outstanding job with local recruits.  I know it's a dream world to get all of them, but I think this MO/ILL/KC Metro has shown itself via ECLN and GA leagues, to be a top-quality hotbed for girls soccer.  I would love to have gotten Duff (NH) (Clemson) this year and Howard (LAF) (Wisc) next year along with the St D 2022 "twins" into Katie's program.  Outstanding players like Lawler and Cytron have learned that the grass is not always greener leaving the area for other "national" programs and frankly, I think SLU can now be considered one of those "national" level women's soccer schools.

Not so with the men's program, although I do believe that some local players are just as talented as some of the out-of-area recruits that we are getting.  I know it's not the early 1960s, but doing a better job in local recruiting, and I think this appears to be happening, can go a long way to instilling a broader base of local interest in SLU Men's soccer.  I find it interesting that many/most of my friends who follow soccer are talking more about the Women's team than the Men's

SLU’s recruiting still begins and is mostly Metro Stl, including Metro East, State of MO, KC, both sides of it. SLU has also recruited Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, as Regional targets for a few players. It took time and effort for SLU to get more and more players to give SLU a look. 

SLU does have a player from Utah and another from Portland next year. As SLU has success, the geography expands. Originally, they took players where they could get them. Now MO/Il/KS has developed. Moving forward, National, International, diversifying recruiting will be added when there are fits.

Paloucek, and even Krueger, will be in the higher tier of recruiting ranking targets. (similar to Larson, Puricelli, etc..)

SLU isn’t going to have their pick of local stars. What they can do, and need to do, is to be competitive in that star segment of local recruiting, This means don’t let all of the elite local recruits get away. They can get some too. But some elite players will always go elsewhere for various reasons. That is not going change. SLU doesn’t play in a great league. Some recruits want to go away to school. Some want a different type of school. Scholarship situations, all kinds of things are factors. 

SLU is now able to be considered/respected as a legit choice by some higher level recruits that may not have considered SLU a few years ago. That is good progress. 

As Shields says, St. Louis has good prep/club soccer, for a metro of its size. There is also good soccer everywhere, and there is more depth and there are more stars more often in SoCal, Ny/NJ Texas, etc and other places. That may or may not be news to some, or it may hurt the feelings of some, but facts are facts.  Some years are better than others with regards to quality, quantity, etc...

For example, all 3 of Santa Clara’s National Title team up front players played for SoCal Blues. (They also found good players in Phoenix,Colorado, Seattle, Hawaii, Internationally, etc..)

As to the more specific local recruiting references..let’s take a look.

2021 Emma Mueller (SLSG/St. Joe’s) is a non nonsense closing center back with length and speed, committed to Vandy. Similarly, 2021 Mackenzie Duff (SLSG, Nerinx Hall), son of SLU hoops alum John Duff is 6 foot center back/defensive midfielder, that covers a lot of ground, who is committed to Clemson. (She is the all time leading scorer for her high school hoops team.) Both are SLSG (ECNL) players. 

2021 Ashley Martinez, (SLSG St. Dominic) Ashley is the highest rated recruit 2021 recruit in Missouri. She is committed to Wisconsin. A midfielder that can play a variety of positions. She will initially be used in the defensive midfield and back for Wisconsin. Does a lot of things well, ball winner. She is the scholar athlete of her high school.

Kate Gibson, (Puma FC, KC St. Theresa’s) is committed to Marquette. When Marquette had some of their good NCAA Tourney teams, they often recruited KC well. (New coach there is that same past assistant) Former star teammate Lily Farkas is doing well at Michigan. 

2021 Chloe Netzel (LFA, Liberty) is committed to Xavier, and is among the area leaders in scoring both high school and club.

There are more but these are some of the higher profile local 2021 players.

2022 and beyond have several elite level area recruits. Several of 2022 are already college committed. SLU is getting one of these in Paloucek, mentioned in previous posts.

 

2022 Grace Binduetel (SLSG/St. Dominic/Oklahoma St.)

2022 Macie Teater (SLSG/Holt/North Carolina)

2022 Rylee Howard (SLSG/Lafayette/Wisconsin)

2022 Kinley Brown, (SLSG/Francis Howell/South Carolina)

 

These above are the highest rated 2022 MO recruits. Just a slight tick below but still elite level recruits are:

Ellie Paloucek, (SLU) Delaney Ahearn (Mississippi St) Hailey Chambliss, (Illinois St.) Avery Christopher (WKU) Jessica Larson (Mizzou)

Others include 2022 good ones: Sarah Bozeman (Memphis), Sarah Foley (Illinois), Grace Coppinger (TCU), Jericho Frigon (KSU) Gabrielle Schlapper, (MSU) Riley Schmidt (MSU) Camille Welker (Iowa) Saige Wimes (KU)

2023 already has a dozen elite level local players including a forward from KC that SLU is recruiting.

There has to be mutual interest, a good fit, etc...that go into recruiting. Some players interest SLU more than others. And vice versa. Can they play and develop at a high level, matters more than their recruiting.

As for grass is greener exampes, those vary widely. Lawler for example got injured, moved home for recovery. This is common with serious injuries. She left on good terms with Oklahoma St. 

Some people are discussing the Women’s program more because they are winning more. It’s that simple. They have been on an upward projectory for years including best ever results. It’s been almost two decades since SLU men have had higher levels of past success and elite teams. Once they win at higher levels again, they will get discussed more often again. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Courtside, thanks for the great information on Women's recruiting, especially on the local scene.  It certainly points out that there is a lot of D1 talent coming out of high schools in the STL/ILL/MO/KA region. 

While I wish more of the local top players were headed to SLU, I guess one problem Katie might be having this next recruiting year could be playing time, with such a young team.  Certainly a few spots will be up for grabs next year, but depending on injuries, not many especially if Lawler can return to form and Cytron is as good as expected.  (It does look like Hannah L. is a possible redshirt this upcoming season).

Anyway, your report was probably the best recruiting report of any sport that I have read on Billikens.com.  Thanks!

Edited by bauman
ADDL INFO
Speyburn likes this
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep. One thing to remember and keep in mind, is to not get caught up in recruiting rankings. They have a value but they are also flawed sometimes. 

What you want are good (enough) players that can be developed into great players and a great team. 

There are many examples of players under performing or over performing their recruiting rankings. There is value to recruiting rankings, and it serves a purpose. You definitely want to be competitive with other programs for the best recruits, in order to be successful. But it’s a mix.

SLU has had examples. Hannah Friedrich, SLU’s best offensive player this past season didn’t play at the highest profile club team or high school locally. She did just fine. Alex Loera, an All American at Santa Clara, was named best defensive player of the College Cup Final Four. She was a good solid recruit but not at the levels of some others. I could name a lot of examples. Shields has a pretty good understanding of which players can play at the highest levels. She isn’t going to get all of them. But I think SLU has reached the point where expectations are league dominance, and top 25 or better teams annually. 

 

 

 

bauman and slufanskip like this
Link to comment
Share on other sites

35 minutes ago, courtside said:

Yep. One thing to remember and keep in mind, is to not get caught up in recruiting rankings. They have a value but they are also flawed sometimes. 

What you want are good (enough) players that can be developed into great players and a great team. 

There are many examples of players under performing or over performing their recruiting rankings. There is value to recruiting rankings, and it serves a purpose. You definitely want to be competitive with other programs for the best recruits, in order to be successful. But it’s a mix.

SLU has had examples. Hannah Friedrich, SLU’s best offensive player this past season didn’t play at the highest profile club team or high school locally. She did just fine. Alex Loera, an All American at Santa Clara, was named best defensive player of the College Cup Final Four. She was a good solid recruit but not at the levels of some others. I could name a lot of examples. Shields has a pretty good understanding of which players can play at the highest levels. She isn’t going to get all of them. But I think SLU has reached the point where expectations are league dominance, and top 25 or better teams annually. 

 

 

 

-I wish all of our teams matched the success these Ladies are having and are now expected to have 

slufanskip likes this
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Make good coaching hires. Give those coaches the resources needed to be successful. Keep them happy where they are.

Shields has had an interesting path. She is fom Southern California. She played at Harvard under two different head coaches. She stayed on as an assistant under yet a third head coach there for a few seasons. Shields left to be an assistant at Northwestern under Stephanie Erickson. Shields left Northwestern during a coaching change to go to SLU to be an assistant. Gets SLU HC position after Kat Mertz leaves after one season. Next season will be Shields' 9th as HC at SLU.

Stephanie Erickson was a one year head coach at Harvard during Shields' playing days there. She was also an assistant prior to that while Shields' was a student athlete there. Erickson was a star player at Northwestern, so she left Harvard after one HC season, be Northwestern's Head Coach.

Shields stayed at Harvard under the next HC Ray Leone a couple of seasons before joining Erickson at Northwestern. Erickson struggled in six seasons at Northwestern. And, she was let go.

Shields joined Mertz at SLU. Mertz went on to struggle at Oregon for seven seasons before she was let go. She was an assistant at Oklahoma for one season, before become HC at a D-2 school in Denver for next season.

Both Mertz and Erickson struggled as Head Coaches at Power 5 schools, after having success coaching other leagues, and, having a lot of success as high profile assistants at elite programs. (Stanford, UCLA, etc..)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, courtside said:

Make good coaching hires. Give those coaches the resources needed to be successful. Keep them happy where they are.

Shields has had an interesting path. She is fom Southern California. She played at Harvard under two different head coaches. She stayed on as an assistant under yet a third head coach there for a few seasons. Shields left to be an assistant at Northwestern under Stephanie Erickson. Shields left Northwestern during a coaching change to go to SLU to be an assistant. Gets SLU HC position after Kat Mertz leaves after one season. Next season will be Shields' 9th as HC at SLU.

Stephanie Erickson was a one year head coach at Harvard during Shields' playing days there. She was also an assistant prior to that while Shields' was a student athlete there. Erickson was a star player at Northwestern, so she left Harvard after one HC season, be Northwestern's Head Coach.

Shields stayed at Harvard under the next HC Ray Leone a couple of seasons before joining Erickson at Northwestern. Erickson struggled in six seasons at Northwestern. And, she was let go.

Shields joined Mertz at SLU. Mertz went on to struggle at Oregon for seven seasons before she was let go. She was an assistant at Oklahoma for one season, before become HC at a D-2 school in Denver for next season.

Both Mertz and Erickson struggled as Head Coaches at Power 5 schools, after having success coaching other leagues, and, having a lot of success as high profile assistants at elite programs. (Stanford, UCLA, etc..)

 

Making good coaching choices and keeping them happy is how SLU can succeed in all our programs. We had a good volleyball coach in Ann Kordis but couldn't keep her. In spite of a tough year our baseball coach has done a good job. Hopefully Kadish is that guy. Stone is obviously the best women' s basketball coach we've had.  All good coaches. Give them the resources and they will succeed. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, brianstl said:

I think Puricelli is being somewhat slighted in these national rankings awards.  She was so good.

Puricelli was named the 7th best Freshman keeper in the country. (The top two faced each other in the National Title Game)

Stram was top 25 Freshman defenders.

Larson was 6th best Freshman midfielder.

Friedrich was named 14th best midfielder in the country overall.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...