Colorado University Athletics
Cassie Phillips (left) and Becca Rasmussen are two of the top candidates to replace Morgan Stanton's spot in the lineup.
Photo by: Andy Schlichting
Position Preview: Midfielders
August 15, 2017 | Soccer
BOULDER – Colorado's midfield was undoubtedly one of its strengths a season ago, and barring injuries, should be once again in 2017. The lone loss to the group, however, is a big one as Morgan Stanton was the team's "unsung hero," according to head coach Danny Sanchez, and served as a team captain. But the three returning starters, like Stanton, each started all 22 games in 2016. Sanchez knows finding a replacement for Stanton will be a key to the team's success this fall.
"Really, the big question mark is [replacing] Morgan," Sanchez said. "[She] was the unsung hero of the team and did all of the running, all of the defensive work, kept the ball for us. That's a big loss so hopefully we can identify someone early in the season to kind of fill that role and leadership in the midfield for us."
Junior Sarah Kinzner knows replacing Stanton will be key, but likes how the midfielders have performed so far this fall in camp.
"It's going to be really hard to fill that position, but I think we have some great personnel on the team who will do their best to fill those shoes," Kinzner said. "It will be tough, but so far in training, I think that us midfielders have been working really well together."
Returners
Looking at the three returning starters, the Buffs have three impact players. Taylor Kornieck was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and is a Preseason All-American this season. In 2016, she had 11 goals and four assists, finishing with the second-most points (26) in a season by a CU freshman. On the outside, Kinzner had four goals and three assists in 2016 and was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team in 2015. She is CU's most experienced player in the midfield, having started all 42 matches in her first two seasons. Megan Massey also returns to the outside, opposite Kinzner. She finished her sophomore year with 15 shot attempts after transferring from Tennessee.
"We had a really cohesive unit and I think that was a strength of ours, especially as we got into Pac-12 play," Sanchez said of the play of his midfield in 2016. "Megan, [in her] first year after transferring, she had a good season, but we're looking for a little more from the offensive end. Obviously Taylor has been well-documented. She had a fantastic freshman year and I think she'll have an even better sophomore year. And Sarah really upped her game from her freshman year to her sophomore year. She really was a lot more strong and a lot more confident on the ball."
If the spring was any indication, Massey's offensive production will go up this season. She and Kinzner tied for the team's lead in assists with three each during the five-game spring season. Kornieck had three goals and Kinzner added one.
Potential Stanton Replacements
CU has quite a few candidates to step into Stanton's role in the central midfield. Transfers Cassie Phillips and Becca Rasmussen are two of the top candidates after both players joined the team for the spring semester and have that experience under their belts. Both players were starters at Power Five schools previously; Phillips started 20 times in two seasons at Maryland and scored one goal. Rasmussen started 45 matches in three years at Georgia and had two goals and four assists. She also could see playing time as a forward when she is not in the midfield.
"Cassie Phillips did a good job in the spring after transferring in and having that semester under her belt really helped her," Sanchez said. "She's a very technical player with a great engine and is very fit.
"Becca Rasmussen has the ability to play up top or in the midfield. We'll see her in both places. She's very good on the dribble, very good in the final third. She's a player that is probably along the lines of a Hannah Scheid, in that she can play on multiple lines and have an impact. Her defined role won't be known at CSU on Friday; it'll take some time. But even within a game I could see her playing up top, in the midfield, or out wide. She is dangerous anywhere in the final third."
Another candidate to keep an eye on for Stanton's role is junior Alex Vidger. She played as a center back last season, but came to CU as a central midfielder and played there at times as a freshman in 2015. While playing in the back, she scored two goals and had an assist as a sophomore last year.
Scheid, a senior from Germany, is another player that will see time as a midfielder, but more likely on the outside. One of two naturally left-footed players on the roster, she can play on the left side of the field at any of the three levels. She sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules and will have one year of eligibility remaining.
Juniors Nancy Best and Isobel Dalton have also been impressive during camp and are likely to see action. Best can play in the central role that Stanton was in a year ago, while Dalton is more comfortable on the wings. Best is coming off a knee injury suffered late last season, but has shown few lingering effects so far this fall. She made 11 appearances last season before her injury. Dalton transferred to CU last season and made seven appearances, totaling one assist as a sophomore.
Jordan Goodwin is another player in the mix for playing time as a holding central midfielder. A freshman from Broomfield, Colorado, she was a first-team all-state player as a senior this spring.
A Bright Future
CU certainly has an experienced, if not one of the best groups of midfielders in the Pac-12 entering 2017. And with just two seniors in the bunch, it should remain that way for at least one more season in 2018.
"Us three [returning starters] will still have another year after this to play with each other so [we want to be] keeping this going and building each year," Kinzner said.
"I think it's a solid group," Sanchez said. "If you go up-and-down the rosters of every team in the Pac-12, every team has very good players and everyone has a lot of depth...We have a lot of not only depth, but a lot of experience."
With all of that experience and talent, Sanchez and his staff will be looking for the right combination of players at the right positions early in the season.
"Finding the cohesion, finding who is going to play, finding how we are going to do our substitution patterns as we move players along the lines, that'll be more of the question mark, especially early in the season."
The Buffs open the season on Friday at Colorado State at 5 p.m. They return to Prentup Field on Sunday to host Colorado College at 3:30 p.m.
"Really, the big question mark is [replacing] Morgan," Sanchez said. "[She] was the unsung hero of the team and did all of the running, all of the defensive work, kept the ball for us. That's a big loss so hopefully we can identify someone early in the season to kind of fill that role and leadership in the midfield for us."
Junior Sarah Kinzner knows replacing Stanton will be key, but likes how the midfielders have performed so far this fall in camp.
"It's going to be really hard to fill that position, but I think we have some great personnel on the team who will do their best to fill those shoes," Kinzner said. "It will be tough, but so far in training, I think that us midfielders have been working really well together."
Returners
Looking at the three returning starters, the Buffs have three impact players. Taylor Kornieck was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and is a Preseason All-American this season. In 2016, she had 11 goals and four assists, finishing with the second-most points (26) in a season by a CU freshman. On the outside, Kinzner had four goals and three assists in 2016 and was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team in 2015. She is CU's most experienced player in the midfield, having started all 42 matches in her first two seasons. Megan Massey also returns to the outside, opposite Kinzner. She finished her sophomore year with 15 shot attempts after transferring from Tennessee.
"We had a really cohesive unit and I think that was a strength of ours, especially as we got into Pac-12 play," Sanchez said of the play of his midfield in 2016. "Megan, [in her] first year after transferring, she had a good season, but we're looking for a little more from the offensive end. Obviously Taylor has been well-documented. She had a fantastic freshman year and I think she'll have an even better sophomore year. And Sarah really upped her game from her freshman year to her sophomore year. She really was a lot more strong and a lot more confident on the ball."
If the spring was any indication, Massey's offensive production will go up this season. She and Kinzner tied for the team's lead in assists with three each during the five-game spring season. Kornieck had three goals and Kinzner added one.
Potential Stanton Replacements
CU has quite a few candidates to step into Stanton's role in the central midfield. Transfers Cassie Phillips and Becca Rasmussen are two of the top candidates after both players joined the team for the spring semester and have that experience under their belts. Both players were starters at Power Five schools previously; Phillips started 20 times in two seasons at Maryland and scored one goal. Rasmussen started 45 matches in three years at Georgia and had two goals and four assists. She also could see playing time as a forward when she is not in the midfield.
"Cassie Phillips did a good job in the spring after transferring in and having that semester under her belt really helped her," Sanchez said. "She's a very technical player with a great engine and is very fit.
"Becca Rasmussen has the ability to play up top or in the midfield. We'll see her in both places. She's very good on the dribble, very good in the final third. She's a player that is probably along the lines of a Hannah Scheid, in that she can play on multiple lines and have an impact. Her defined role won't be known at CSU on Friday; it'll take some time. But even within a game I could see her playing up top, in the midfield, or out wide. She is dangerous anywhere in the final third."
Another candidate to keep an eye on for Stanton's role is junior Alex Vidger. She played as a center back last season, but came to CU as a central midfielder and played there at times as a freshman in 2015. While playing in the back, she scored two goals and had an assist as a sophomore last year.
Scheid, a senior from Germany, is another player that will see time as a midfielder, but more likely on the outside. One of two naturally left-footed players on the roster, she can play on the left side of the field at any of the three levels. She sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules and will have one year of eligibility remaining.
Juniors Nancy Best and Isobel Dalton have also been impressive during camp and are likely to see action. Best can play in the central role that Stanton was in a year ago, while Dalton is more comfortable on the wings. Best is coming off a knee injury suffered late last season, but has shown few lingering effects so far this fall. She made 11 appearances last season before her injury. Dalton transferred to CU last season and made seven appearances, totaling one assist as a sophomore.
Jordan Goodwin is another player in the mix for playing time as a holding central midfielder. A freshman from Broomfield, Colorado, she was a first-team all-state player as a senior this spring.
A Bright Future
CU certainly has an experienced, if not one of the best groups of midfielders in the Pac-12 entering 2017. And with just two seniors in the bunch, it should remain that way for at least one more season in 2018.
"Us three [returning starters] will still have another year after this to play with each other so [we want to be] keeping this going and building each year," Kinzner said.
"I think it's a solid group," Sanchez said. "If you go up-and-down the rosters of every team in the Pac-12, every team has very good players and everyone has a lot of depth...We have a lot of not only depth, but a lot of experience."
With all of that experience and talent, Sanchez and his staff will be looking for the right combination of players at the right positions early in the season.
"Finding the cohesion, finding who is going to play, finding how we are going to do our substitution patterns as we move players along the lines, that'll be more of the question mark, especially early in the season."
The Buffs open the season on Friday at Colorado State at 5 p.m. They return to Prentup Field on Sunday to host Colorado College at 3:30 p.m.
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