[Northern Express]

Wow! 5 games into the season and no one has anything to say......where has everyone gone?

[BJWilliams]

I was talkign to a friend of mien about them at TRBC. Really its hard to really pass judgment on Coach Celi because she has mostly players brought in from the previous coach. Im hoping they give her til 2011 when its all her own players.

[Stevev]

From what I have been able to gather by following them on gametracker it does look like the team is slightly improved over last year although the record doesn't reflect it. We just don't have the talent yet to compete with the likes of ODU or JMU yet. We need to be patient with the womens program and maybe they can turn things around next year or the year after.

[Northern Express]

As far as talent goes, Coach Jess stated in her pre-season radio interview that she believes we have the best talent in the Big South last year and this year. 4-16-2 record?????? If its not talent, according to her, then whats the problem? Hopefully by the time conference play starts, whatever needs to be corrected will be. Otherwise, the AD may have some tough decisions to make.

[luflame15]

I honestly believe if things dont make a quick turn for the better , Coach Celi's tenure will be short lived if she cant turn the season arounf.

[bigsmooth]

other than the UVA and ODU matches they ladies have been competitive. the last two matches have been 1-0 losses. it appears the ladies lack offense, and have shown improvement. let's hold judgement till they start Big South play.

[Northern Express]

Two more losses are on the books.....both winable games this weekend.

[Northern Express]

Bigsmooth......here are the 7 game comparison stats:
2008: 0 wins 6 losses 1 tie 2 goals for: 17 against

2009: 1 win 6 losses 4 goals for: 16 against

.......improvement or history repeating itself?

[flamesbball84]

well it isnt much improvement, but 1-6 is better than 0-6-1

[Northern Express]

FYI deeper stats reveal some eye opening numbers after 7 games

2008 Liberty shots at goal = 80 /// 2009 = 53
2008 Opposition shots at goal= 126 /// 2009 =127

2008 Liberty saves = 47 /// 2009 = 50
2008 Opposition saves = 25 /// 2009 = 26

Conclusions: defensively exactly the same/offensively fewer opportunities(80 to 53) but thankfully a better Shots on goal percentage.

[JJK03]

First of all, to say that she still has the prior coach's recruits/players.., those recruits that may be "hindering" Ms. Celi were named #1 recruiting class in the Big South last year, she had a team that had leaders who had won the Big South and knew how to win. The problem is not only the record, but there are many inconsistencies in interviews. What is said and what shows in the field don't line up from the goalkeepers to the forwards. For example, I read through some interviews and saw goalkeepers will be splitting time, having not seen that in games then find that Nyholt has a concussion, has this concussion been all season? BEFORE Big South is a good time to test BOTH keepers so one won't be cold should the starter get hurt...please, correct me if I am wrong. If the team reads or listens to the interviews, they must be confused on game day.

[socrad]

They do look exactly like last year, and yes I also heard she has the best talent in the Big South. I do believe they have the talent to compete, however this coach needs to motivate them. I do not think that she has their respect. She needs to get players in the right positions and bench a few players who do not perform, are slow or just don't listen. Don't understand why she does not play LH and plays other players who do not have the ability or experience. The freshman class is outstanding. The post that they are the previous coach's recruits and somehow they are not skilled. What cool aide are you drinking?

[ICYB]

With time running out on the clock, down by one, there is no sense of urgency in their play or the coaching. There seems to be no plan as they seemingly wander around the field chasing the ball rather than controlling it. That falls squarely on the shoulders of the coach.

On another note, the whole idea of this team being a family is not quite accurate. That is evident now and will become all the more obvious in the coming days. It is sad when you think about what could have been and what reality is. Poor choices 14 months ago are now in full view.

[Northern Express]

Socrad.......checked the roster and can't find a LH....????? Are you referring to KH,EH,LN or LS?

[JJK03]

Can anyone else listen to the latest interview by Celi? It doesn't seem to be working. I was excited to hear all about the last two games and the Brazil trip over the summer and couldn't get the feed. Anyone else? If so, can I have a recap?

Also, this game Thursday should be a W. This team doesn't look too promising. If we don't come out on top, it will be hard to keep heads up.

[flamesfan10]

I don't think pretending that Jess Celi will magically become a better coach once she has a roster of her own recruited players to choose from. All the players currently on the roster who she recruited exclusively probably won't see much of any Division 1 playing field. Besides so much of her recruiting mentality involves some sort of funky spirituality. She would probably recruit anyone who insisted God was "calling" them to LU.
As for this season, I've seen some encouraging trends in recent games. She seems to be changing around the attacking formation, allowing the team to be more creative in the attack. Unfortunately, it's seems to be a little late to be introducing changes like this. I wish she'd started the season in a formation that is actually playable for the players she has. She's forcing her more creative attackers to the wings, not allowing the team to utilize it's strengths. This 4-4-2 system with wide attackers would work if she had a team of superstars to choose from (like her previous Charlotte Eagles team), or at least a team with more fast, quick, attack minded players on the roster. As it is she's got to use what she's got. Currently it's like forcing square pegs into round holes.

[luwsld III]

flamesfan10...I couldn't agree more! JJK03, I cannot hear the interview either but I hope you were being sarcastic on your excitement about their Brazil trip, but looking at your postings I assume you are. I heard that the team brought their old uniforms and "lost" them. Well, looks like the team has new uniforms this year but seemingly they bring no luck. Does the AD come to the games to see the star coach?

[JJK03]

Maybe it's best that we can't hear the interview. I'm sure the AD stops by..everyone slows down for a train wreck.

[socrad]

Socrad.......checked the roster and can't find a LH....????? Are you referring to KH,EH,LN or LS?

LN sorry

[flamesfan10]

Why doesn't LN feature more frequently for more extended periods of time? I'm a bit puzzled.
Why is MO played on the wing and not centrally? These are my biggest questions for the coach.

[JJK03]

Last night looked great! An interesting line up came to play very well. This game couldn't have been at a better time with Big South play around the corner. As frustrating as it can be in the seemingly long "preseason" before the Big South play, for the record, none of that matters. Hopefully this W can lift some heads and get Liberty into the tournament this year.

[PAmedic]

Can anyone else listen to the latest interview by Celi? It doesn't seem to be working. I was excited to hear all about the last two games and the Brazil trip over the summer and couldn't get the feed. Anyone else? If so, can I have a recap?

Also, this game Thursday should be a W. This team doesn't look too promising. If we don't come out on top, it will be hard to keep heads up.

Glad to see you were right and we got the win.

to be fair- we only allowed 4 goals in the last 3 losses combined- the issue, obviously, was lack of any offensive output; at least GOAL scoring.

And for the record- the mp3 file of Nick's interview opened but had no content when I tried as well ... paging the SID (or whatever they're called now)

Hoping we're off the schnide now in time for conf matches

[JJK03]

Yeah, it looks pretty good. LN scored a great goal, then MO and SB had plenty of opportunities from the latest edition to the offense AL (previously starting at Defender). Most everyone got some playing time, which helps team morale as well. After such a need for offense, it seems almost too good to be true. Time will tell.

[Northern Express]

No doubt this was a morale win for the girls. A nice rest before a test against Longwood who have already defeated 3 Big South teams. Then 4 conference games in 9 days. This will determine the true fibre of this team and the coaches.

Yes the offense got in gear against FM but a couple of nagging issues were also uncovered.
First, no one outside of the starting lineup registered a shot on goal. Second, we gave up 9 shots to a very weak squad and 5 of those shots came from 1 player. There is a problem in my opinion defensively in the midfield. This was evident in several of the previous games which also limited the opportunities for the attack. If you cannot consistently win in the middle you cannot expect to win the game. You give up too much defensively and provide little to no support to the forwards. The coaches need to put the strongest and most skilled players there and leave them alone. For example, a player like LN has no business playing up front. Most valuable in the middle fighting for 50/50 balls. AL is a pitbull too. Put them where the wars need to be won. Team defense wins championships, especially in the Big South.

[JJK03]

Listened to the latest interview...interesting..listen to it.

http://www.libertyflames.com/index.cfm? ... 42&TeamID=

Highlights:
---We are a family---
---Valpo grass was high and hindered play---
---N IL was one of the best games---
---How Brazil trip prepared the team for this season---

Next game Longwood...4-0 against Big South teams this Fall.