TU Women's Soccer Fall 2023

[TulsaRulzOSUdrools]

Don’t really care if our players come from Tulsa, OKC, Dallas or wherever. We just need higher quality players across the board. Just my opinion but we need to work harder in recruiting. Reach out to top players and not rely on girls reaching out to us.

I know a lot about TU and I am really partial but I look at it like this.

This guy hopped straight from high school. That is fine he was an assistant but honestly, what did he do in high school or club? Not much. I read that bio and I have to laugh. What has he done at TU in charge? Nada.

If he supposedly has that kind of bias you all talk about, he has to be tossed for that reason alone.

I watched a couple of girls games last year, and I had a tough time. I was brutal. There was a bunch of basic stuff that could have been corrected.

Got to go. This John Philipsesque experiment but worse has to be over.

 

[lawpoke87]

I know a lot about TU and I am really partial but I look at it like this.

This guy hopped straight from high school. That is fine he was an assistant but honestly, what did he do in high school or club? Not much. I read that bio and I have to laugh. What has he done at TU in charge? Nada.

If he supposedly has that kind of bias you all talk about, he has to be tossed for that reason alone.

I watched a couple of girls games last year, and I had a tough time. I was brutal. There was a bunch of basic stuff that could have been corrected.

Got to go. This John Philipsesque experiment but worse has to be over.

I would be more understanding if I believed the staff worked their tails off to bring in the best possible players.

 

[TulsaRulzOSUdrools]

I would be more understanding if I believed the staff worked their tails off to bring in the best possible players.

I would have been more understanding if I had watched some games and if some basic stuff had been cleaned up. I watched Troy Tarchik cringe during the games. I know it. It was wildly bad at times.

 

[TU_BLA]

I was shocked we were dominated like that. Hopefully OSU is a lot better than predicted. If not, it’s going to be another long season.

Actually, TU started slow last season as well in their non-con and preseason games, didn't look very good and then went on a 6 or 7 game unbeaten streak in conference. Granted a lot of those were draws but TU didn't look good against OU or OSU last season. Should we be a lot better....yes, but a bad loss in a game that doesn't count other than to evaluate what you have or don't have is not necessarily a terrible thing.

That said, we do need to move on from Rhein. The funny thing in soccer is the record is not necessarily a true tell of how things are going. Berhalter is a perfect example. In college athletics the caoch is evaluated on several factors....recruiting, retaining, wins/losses, grad rates, and in soccer, coaches need to be adaptable. They need to be able to adjust their tactics to the talent they have plus be able to adjust game plans for certain teams. IMO, Rhein is a C at best in recruiting, probably a B in retaining, C in record, A in grad rates, D in tactical improvements. Overall, it's not good enough to keep around when there are good solid coaches out there who can bring a little more energy to the program and start hyping these local players. Troy Tokarchik is a great soccer coach. I don't know how well he'd do recruiting but he certainly knows the players in this area well. I mean we got rid of the volleyball coach 2 years ago b/c avg. wasn't good enough. I still think it's time to move on from Crissy Strimple in softball because avg. shouldn't be good enough especially with the track record TU had before she was the HC. Same with Rhein. The standard for our Olympic sports shouldn't be "just don't embarrass the university".

 

[TU_BLA]

Another 4 from OKC. That is a pretty good amount. That is more than I would have expected.

Could we do more there? Probably. But it we need to win in Dallas, Houston, Kansas city and saint Louis too.

Back when Randy Waldrum was the HC, he brought a ton of girls in from St. Louis and KC. He was getting players from some of the top HS in St. Louis like Cor Jesu Academy. He had his local Tulsa players as well as several good players from Dallas. Right now it seems as though Rhein has established a pipeline with the soccer capital of cornfields....Bettendorf, IA. There might be some nice players in IA but I'm pretty sure you're not going to build a D1 team on a group of players from IA.

TU as a whole needs to re-establish their pipeline of students from StL. One year as a hall director, I had 14 students from SLU-High. That was just my building, there were probably 10 others that came from that HS.

 

[TulsaRulzOSUdrools]

Back when Randy Waldrum was the HC, he brought a ton of girls in from St. Louis and KC. He was getting players from some of the top HS in St. Louis like Cor Jesu Academy. He had his local Tulsa players as well as several good players from Dallas. Right now it seems as though Rhein has established a pipeline with the soccer capital of cornfields....Bettendorf, IA. There might be some nice players in IA but I'm pretty sure you're not going to build a D1 team on a group of players from IA.

TU as a whole needs to re-establish their pipeline of students from StL. One year as a hall director, I had 14 students from SLU-High. That was just my building, there were probably 10 others that came from that HS.

Let's not get too crazy about IA. If we consistently recruit Iowa, we should lose our minds. That is not the key to victory. No one wins championships in soccer recruiting Iowa. No. One. There will be one-offs.

There can be good ones here and there. Unfortunately, I don't think half our team can be built off of Tulsa. I don't believe it. Unless you are getting the top girls year and year out, you are getting the third or 4th girl. Many may want to get out of town, which is understandable. That will not be the 3rd or 4th level girl like in Dallas year and year out. In Tulsa, there are exceptional teams from time to time. So that third or fourth girl is great. I have always said this. We don't always have excellent teams at the highest levels every ear. They might finish 5th. At the ECNL-NL level, that isn't always a horrible result for Tulsa. We are talking about one goal difference lots of times. There may be a lack of consolidated talent in the age group because one to four kids decide that they like playing at another club. That is fine. That is their choice and prerogative. It just prevents the teams from becoming exceptional on a team basis. We don't have enough people, like an 8M plus market like Dallas, to field a team of entire D1 athletes at Solar, Real Colorado or FC Dallas.

Look at the football and basketball teams in the area. We don't always have exceptional talent here. Kids who are supposedly amazing aren't that am zing. Bill Haisten may rate them excellent in the paper, but at the end of the day, they aren't ready for the next steps.

 

[lawpoke87]

Back when Randy Waldrum was the HC, he brought a ton of girls in from St. Louis and KC. He was getting players from some of the top HS in St. Louis like Cor Jesu Academy. He had his local Tulsa players as well as several good players from Dallas. Right now it seems as though Rhein has established a pipeline with the soccer capital of cornfields....Bettendorf, IA. There might be some nice players in IA but I'm pretty sure you're not going to build a D1 team on a group of players from IA.

TU as a whole needs to re-establish their pipeline of students from StL. One year as a hall director, I had 14 students from SLU-High. That was just my building, there were probably 10 others that came from that HS.

Scott Gallagher is THE premier St Louis club on the girls side. TSC and SG play friendlies in Springfield this upcoming weekend. TU should have every staff member at those friendlies dress in TU gear. I will let you know if Rhein and crew show. TU could also host friendlies on a Sunday and invite SG and Solar or FC Dallas. Open up the soccer facilities for the girls to tour.

We need to get on the radar of the top players during their freshman and sophomore years. Invite them to TU camps and waive the fee. Show up at team trainings. Basically get in front of these kids. Be seen. Many of the top kids will commit the summer after their sophomore year. It’s a mistake to sit back and wait on these girls to contact TU.

I’m not thrilled at the idea of hiring another high school coach. The level of high school soccer week in week out just isn’t very good. I would much prefer an assistant college coach from a proven program or even a high level ECNL coach from an area like Dallas.

Concentrating on Iowa is silly with Dallas and St Louis nearby btw.

 

[TU_BLA]

Scott Gallagher is THE premier St Louis club on the girls side. TSC and SG play friendlies in Springfield this upcoming weekend. TU should have every staff member at those friendlies dress in TU gear. I will let you know if Rhein and crew show. TU could also host friendlies on a Sunday and invite SG and Solar or FC Dallas. Open up the soccer facilities for the girls to tour.

We need to get on the radar of the top players during their freshman and sophomore years. Invite them to TU camps and waive the fee. Show up at team trainings. Basically get in front of these kids. Be seen. Many of the top kids will commit the summer after their sophomore year. It’s a mistake to sit back and wait on these girls to contact TU.

I’m not thrilled at the idea of hiring another high school coach. The level of high school soccer week in week out just isn’t very good. I would much prefer an assistant college coach from a proven program or even a high level ECNL coach from an area like Dallas.

Concentrating on Iowa is silly with Dallas and St Louis nearby btw.

There's 3 players from Bettendorf, IA on the roster this season. There are 6 from the DFW area. There is 1 from Eureka, MO which is a small suburb on the very southwestern edge of St. Louis. And the players from OK were good players but not anywhere close to being the best on their club or HS squads. 1 from Kansas City. There seem to be a good number from Florida (but they're all related). Point is, that's a lot of players from a small city that probably has so-so soccer at best relative to where we're seeing the other players come from.


If what you're saying is true, he's only recruiting players who contact him first, this is the wrong approach. It also tells me he doesn't quite get what TU is about and being able to sell the small private education to potential players. We've had coaches excel at that aspect (Tom for one). How hard is it to recruit Dallas/Ft. Worth, Kansas City, and St. Louis...all places with high level youth soccer clubs. TU being in the middle of that triangle should make it easy to bring in some really good players.

By contrast, look at the men's program. Lot of international kids (Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Ghana) who have CC experience. Few kids from Dallas, few from KC, some scattered around the country and a few of the best players from Tulsa. I don't know how Tom is finding the kids from Spain but there are 5 on the roster. I'm not saying we should only be recruiting international kids but maybe Rhein should ask Tom a few questions about how he goes about it. Heck one of the best players in the NCAA was the Florida State player who was from Jamaica...who then became an international star during the World Cup. There are hidden gems out there who can play but you've got to do some actual work to ID and get them here. And you're right, Rhein needs to invite these girls to camp for free...there are enough dreamers who sign up and pay the exorbitant ID camp fees hoping they get noticed.

 

[lawpoke87]

There's 3 players from Bettendorf, IA on the roster this season. There are 6 from the DFW area. There is 1 from Eureka, MO which is a small suburb on the very southwestern edge of St. Louis. And the players from OK were good players but not anywhere close to being the best on their club or HS squads. 1 from Kansas City. There seem to be a good number from Florida (but they're all related). Point is, that's a lot of players from a small city that probably has so-so soccer at best relative to where we're seeing the other players come from.


If what you're saying is true, he's only recruiting players who contact him first, this is the wrong approach. It also tells me he doesn't quite get what TU is about and being able to sell the small private education to potential players. We've had coaches excel at that aspect (Tom for one). How hard is it to recruit Dallas/Ft. Worth, Kansas City, and St. Louis...all places with high level youth soccer clubs. TU being in the middle of that triangle should make it easy to bring in some really good players.

By contrast, look at the men's program. Lot of international kids (Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Ghana) who have CC experience. Few kids from Dallas, few from KC, some scattered around the country and a few of the best players from Tulsa. I don't know how Tom is finding the kids from Spain but there are 5 on the roster. I'm not saying we should only be recruiting international kids but maybe Rhein should ask Tom a few questions about how he goes about it. Heck one of the best players in the NCAA was the Florida State player who was from Jamaica...who then became an international star during the World Cup. There are hidden gems out there who can play but you've got to do some actual work to ID and get them here. And you're right, Rhein needs to invite these girls to camp for free...there are enough dreamers who sign up and pay the exorbitant ID camp fees hoping they get noticed.

1). I don’t know for a fact that he’s only recruiting players who contact him first. I do know that TU isn’t near as visible at the top clubs as I would like. I do know that TU isn’t sending out camp invites to girls on the US Soccer camp ID camp list.

2). Rhein didn’t attend ECNL nationals this year. TU sent Kaylee Rodriguez. I never saw her but since we only sent one person that’s not surprising. SMU sent three coaches including their head coach and they canvassed as many games as they could between them. Looking at a few AAC schools : ECU 3, FAU 2, UNT 2, Charlotte 3. All sent head coaches btw.

Maybe theres a good explanation for all these points I bring up? Just seems like these are easy things to do in order to be seen by the top players. Again…I believe we need to get in front of these girls during their freshman and sophomore years. We need close relationships with the upper level coaches and directors at the top clubs. Kaylee might be a great coach someday but she was coaching the second team at WSA when Jo was hired by TU and then we hired her after Jo left TU. Why are we hiring assistant coaches from a non-ECNL club? I think we probably all know the answer

 

[TU_BLA]

1). I don’t know for a fact that he’s only recruiting players who contact him first. I do know that TU isn’t near as visible at the top clubs as I would like. I do know that TU isn’t sending out camp invites to girls on the US Soccer camp ID camp list.

2). Rhein didn’t attend ECNL nationals this year. TU sent Kaylee Rodriguez. I never saw her but since we only sent one person that’s not surprising. SMU sent three coaches including their head coach and they canvassed as many games as they could between them. Looking at a few AAC schools : ECU 3, FAU 2, UNT 2, Charlotte 3. All sent head coaches btw.

Maybe theres a good explanation for all these points I bring up? Just seems like these are easy things to do in order to be seen by the top players. Again…I believe we need to get in front of these girls during their freshman and sophomore years. We need close relationships with the upper level coaches and directors at the top clubs. Kaylee might be a great coach someday but she was coaching the second team at WSA when Jo was hired by TU and then we hired her after Jo left TU. Why are we hiring assistant coaches from a non-ECNL club? I think we probably all know the answer

I agree with all of this. It's almost unheard of that a D1 college head basketball coach doesn't attend one of the premier Nike showcase events during the summer, right? Why would any soccer coach think it's OK to not go to basically the equivalent for girls' soccer? It doesn't make sense. It's the PM approach to recruiting...only focus on lesser players you have less of a chance of getting rejected by instead of shooting for the moon.

 

[TulsaRulzOSUdrools]

If Jim Rhein and the whole staff aren't attending every spring event, he should be let go. Sorry. That is the damn truth. Unless there is someone, they are trying to close.

There better be a damn good reason, like my wife or son is in the hospital, but other than that. Sorry you miss your kid's damn concert or game. That is what you were hired for.

 

[lawpoke87]

These are the ECNL girls showcases this past spring. Recruitment age girls only

Florida Jan 2024. TU sent no one
Dallas Feb 2024. TU only sent Jo
Florida March 2024. TU sent no one
Phoenix April 2024. TU only sent Kaylee
North Carolina 2024. TU sent no one.

Doesn’t look like Jim has been to a single showcase or nationals this year. Really not sure what to say about that other than post it. Not sure if there’s another program in the country where the head coach hasn’t attended a single ECNL showcase or nationals.

 

[TulsaRulzOSUdrools]

Time to fire. Goodbye.

 

[lawpoke87]

We need Huffy to come in and tell us everything is good with JR and the program. That the commitment is there and great things are on the horizon.

I’ve wanted my daughter to play soccer at TU since she was in academy. Sadly, I wouldn’t support that decision today. Hopefully things change in the next two years.

 

[TulsaRulzOSUdrools]

We need Huffy to come in and tell us everything is good with JR and the program. That the commitment is there and great things are on the horizon.

I’ve wanted my daughter to play soccer at TU since she was in academy. Sadly, I wouldn’t support that decision today. Hopefully things change in the next two years.

My prediction is that he will not be there in two years. I went back and looked at recent results with OSU. They were not this. Yuck.

 

[TU_BLA]

We need Huffy to come in and tell us everything is good with JR and the program. That the commitment is there and great things are on the horizon.

I’ve wanted my daughter to play soccer at TU since she was in academy. Sadly, I wouldn’t support that decision today. Hopefully things change in the next two years.

What does your daughter want?

 

[lawpoke87]

What does your daughter want?

She’s really open at this point. She likes SMU because she’s been on campus and given a tour of their facilities. She likes University of Texas because her grandfather is a grad (and pushes them) and they send her lots of emails/invites. In the end I believe she will want to stay fairly close to home (4-6 hours). She receives 3-4 emails from schools a week. Sure would be nice if TU sent something . Her mother and I can only pitch a school so much (we are both TU grads). At some point it’s up to them to recruit the kid. We will start focusing on recruiting this spring.

Kaylee was coaching the 09s at WSA a year ago. She could call the WSA 2010 coach and ask him who the top 2-3 freshmen in the state and have an answer immediately. Every high level coach in Oklahoma knows the top girls. If TU doesn’t it’s only because they’re complacent.

 

[tudirk]

ORU Women play OSU coming up it will be interesting how they do against the Cowgirls compared to us. ORU has practiced at the Scheels facility the last 2 weeks.

 

[TulsaRulzOSUdrools]

ORU Women play OSU coming up it will be interesting how they do against the Cowgirls compared to us. ORU has practiced at the Scheels facility the last 2 weeks.

That is because their joint is awful

 

[lawpoke87]

We host Central Arkansas on Thursday. We handled them rather easily on the road last year 2-0. It’s a game we should win. Would be nice to start the season 1-0.

 

[TU_BLA]

ORU Women play OSU coming up it will be interesting how they do against the Cowgirls compared to us. ORU has practiced at the Scheels facility the last 2 weeks.

If I remember correctly last year we got whomped on by OSU and OU and ORU played them tight. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought TU snatched a draw from the thrill of victory against ORU last season dominating possession for the most part and conceding a late goal due to a stupid play. Maybe it's another game I'm thinking of because TU dropped a lot of points from a winning position last season ending up with a bunch of draws in the previously mentioned unbeaten streak. Tells me, tactically, we go into park the bus mode after going up instead of staying on the attack.

 

[lawpoke87]

If I remember correctly last year we got whomped on by OSU and OU and ORU played them tight. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought TU snatched a draw from the thrill of victory against ORU last season dominating possession for the most part and conceding a late goal due to a stupid play. Maybe it's another game I'm thinking of because TU dropped a lot of points from a winning position last season ending up with a bunch of draws in the previously mentioned unbeaten streak. Tells me, tactically, we go into park the bus mode after going up instead of staying on the attack.

We lost to ORU 2-1 last season. Outshot them 21-8 as well as outplaying them. Just one of those games.

 

[TU_BLA]

We lost to ORU 2-1 last season. Outshot them 21-8 as well as outplaying them. Just one of those games.

Yeah, I remember watching most of the 2nd half and thinking how they hell are we losing to them? I thought there was a draw in there but you've jogged my memory. ORU acted like they had won the WWC at the final horn...and me thinking we were in for a really long season but they seemed to turn it up right after that and started playing better.

 

[lawpoke87]

I might have been a little too critical of the TU women. OSU beat #6 Nebraska 2-0 in Lincoln tonight. The Cowgirls are apparently legit. 5-0 while not good doesn’t look near as bad this Thursday night. TU’s game against Central Ark has been rescheduled for 10am Friday am.

 

[lawpoke87]

Girls are up 4-2 late. Hannah Chance, transfer from OSU, has been the best player on the field. She’s a legit difference maker. She is also an example of the caliber of recruit we need to be signing out of high school.

 

[TU1NNJ]

Girls are up 4-2 late. Hannah Chance, transfer from OSU, has been the best player on the field. She’s a legit difference maker. She is also an example of the caliber of recruit we need to be signing out of high school.

TU 5 UCA 2 Final

 

[lawpoke87]

The girls play Missouri State today at 4pm. Missouri State lost their opener to Missouri 2-0 but were competitive. This will be a test.

 

[lawpoke87]

The women lost 1-0 to Missouri St and were throughly outplayed.

Shots. 24-11
SOG 13-3
Corners 10-5

 

[TulsaRulzOSUdrools]

The women lost 1-0 to Missouri St and were throughly outplayed.

Shots. 24-11
SOG 13-3
Corners 10-5

That is a joke

 

[TU_BLA]

2-2 draw vs Kansas today. Somehow managed to get a point despite the stats looking similar to the game vs MoState.

 

[lawpoke87]

2-2 draw vs Kansas today. Somehow managed to get a point despite the stats looking similar to the game vs MoState.

You know you’re fortunate when you score 2 goals with one shot on goal. Happy for the draw. Like you said….game stats were awful for TU. SOG 13-1

 

[TulsaRulzOSUdrools]

You know you’re fortunate when you score 2 goals with one shot on goal. Happy for the draw. Like you said….game stats were awful for TU. SOG 13-1

KU Shots 30
TU shots 6

Yeesh.

 

[TU_BLA]

You know you’re fortunate when you score 2 goals with one shot on goal. Happy for the draw. Like you said….game stats were awful for TU. SOG 13-1

Kansas coach was very frustrated at half time, thinks they should have scored 3 goals in the first 20 minutes.

 

[lawpoke87]

The ladies play ORU today. Hate it’s during the opening football game. I expect us to come out and control the game from the start. I’ll go 2-0 TU.

 

[lawpoke87]

ORU scores in the 88th minute to earn a 1-1 tie. TU was outshot 17-12. Did not see that coming.

 

[TU_BLA]

ORU scores in the 88th minute to earn a 1-1 tie. TU was outshot 17-12. Did not see that coming.

I've seen enough this season to know it's time to move on from Rhein. It's not going to get any better than this and I feel like this team has hit its ceiling.

 

[TulsaRulzOSUdrools]

I've seen enough this season to know it's time to move on from Rhein. It's not going to get any better than this and I feel like this team has hit its ceiling.

He hit his ceiling before he was hired at Bixby. Once under him, they went to the state semi-finals. That isn't an impressive record.

What did we think was going to happen at TU? Rocking it to sixth place in the American?

 

[TU_BLA]

He hit his ceiling before he was hired at Bixby. Once under him, they went to the state semi-finals. That isn't an impressive record.

What did we think was going to happen at TU? Rocking it to sixth place in the American?

Was he hired by Gragg or Dickson? I know he was a convenient hire because he was already on campus and the previous coach left rather late in the summer. Sort of the same way Strimple was hired. Hopefully the new AD wants to get his own folks in place and I'm sure he's got some decent coaching contacts for those sports. We should be better in women's soccer and softball. TU has great facilities for a G5 for both those sports. I'm convinced the soccer pitch at TU is the best in the state.

 

[TU_BLA]

Women beat up on Arkansas Pine Bluff, 9-0 yesterday. We know we can beat hapless teams but can barely compete with teams we should be able to compete with.

 

[lawpoke87]

Women beat up on Arkansas Pine Bluff, 9-0 yesterday. We know we can beat hapless teams but can barely compete with teams we should be able to compete with.

Yeah….my daughter’s U15 team could beat Pine Bluff. Two more OOC games this week before we open conference at Rice. Need to get on a roll.