Will Alex Morgan Go Out A Winner?

Spare a thought for Alex Morgan. She’s already grabbed a U-20 World Cup winner’s medal while claiming the Bronze Shoe and Silver Ball at the same tournament. She’s a full USA international before she’s graduated college. She’s a potential #1 overall pick in January’s WPS Draft and is a pro team’s marketing dream.

But what Morgan isn’t is a winner at the college level. Her Cal Golden Bears haven’t been past the second round in her three years in Berkley. To be fair, she was gone for 2008′s NCAA Tournament, dealing with the final U-20 World Cup to be held in the fall. Without her, Cal went down meekly in the first round. All the while, the Golden Bears have looked well off the pace of traditional powers Stanford, UCLA, and USC.

2009 was an exercise in frustration for Morgan and her teammates. The Golden Bears were good enough to beat Texas A&M; and draw with Santa Clara but bad enough at times to lose to Cal Poly and Sacramento State, both minnows in the world of college soccer. Then, coach Neil McGuire promptly walked out on the team for “personal reasons”, prompting a less than flattering Twitter reaction from Morgan and teammates.

McGuire managed to slink back and reclaim his position, and Cal gained a pair of clutch wins against the Arizona schools of the Pac-10 to sneak into the back door of the NCAA Tournament. An extra-time win against Auburn bought the Golden Bears a date against Florida State, where they went down tamely before the end of the first weekend again.

Morgan gets one more chance to lead her team to glory in 2010. Losing their senior goalkeeper and half the back line doesn’t bode well for the Golden Bears though. The three keepers on the roster have a combined eight and a half minutes of experience. Samantha Walker and Danielle Brunache both return to the Cal defense, but the Golden Bears may need an immediate contribution from freshman Emi Lawson if they are to solidify the defense.

The Golden Bear attack took a major hit when Lisa Kevorkian decided to transfer to Boston University over the offseason. Kevorkian scored eight goals in 2009, taking a lot of pressure off of Morgan. Now, the task of being a second scoring option will either fall to junior midfielder Katrin Omarsdottir or a cadre of talented freshmen. Rachel Mercik will probably get the first crack at the role, but midfielders Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick and Kate Bennett could also be asked to contribute on the scoresheet.

Cal gave itself a pretty easy non-conference schedule besides big matchups with Santa Clara and Portland. But both matches against the WCC powerhouses are in Berkley. In fact, Cal’s first nine matches are at home. The beginning of Pac-10 play is rough with trips to USC and UCLA on the docket. But Stanford comes to Berkley for their annual rivalry clash, the first of three closing games at home for Cal. Morgan’s goals should mean that the Golden Bears have a chance of getting past the first weekend in the NCAA Tournament, but questions in goal and on defense mean they may not get much farther.

Give Me Some Other Names to Know

Besides those listed previously, keep an eye on…

Florida State – Ines Jaurena (D), Ella Stephan (D), Toni Pressley (D), Tori Huster (M), Amanda DaCosta (M)

South Carolina – Kayla Grimsley (F)
Santa Clara – Bianca Henninger (GK)
Texas A&M; – Rachel Shipley (M), Whitney Hooper (F)
LSU – Mo Isom (GK)
Florida – Ashlee Elliott (M/F)
Central Florida – Aline Reis (GK)
BYU – Carlee Payne (F)
Oregon State – Courtney Wetzel (D)
Michigan – Jackie Carron (D)
Ohio State – Tiffany Cameron (M/F)
Oklahoma State – Adrianna Franch (GK)
Marquette – Natalie Kulla (GK)
Memphis – Vendula Strnadova (M), Ashley Berra (F)
Georgia – Laura Eddy (D), Bailey Powell (D)
Michigan State – Laura Heyboer (F)
Charlotte – Whitney Weinraub (F)
Texas – Alexa Gaul (GK), Leah Fortune (F)
Georgetown – Ingrid Wells (M)
Auburn – Katy Frierson (M)
Wisconsin-Milwaukee – Sarah Hagen (F)
Additionally, here are some freshmen (not listed above in the bigger team previews) to keep an eye on:
Arizona – Jazmin Ponce (M)
Arizona State – Vittoria Arnold (GK)
Auburn – Bianca Sierra (D), Ashley Kotero (M)
Clemson – Vanessa Laxgang (M), Lauren Arnold (GK)
UConn – Cynthia Leblanc (GK)

To be continued tomorrow…

View Original Post at allwhitekit.wordpress.com

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