Jessie Fleming

[Forgedias]

Jessie Fleming didn't suit up this match on Friday. I am assuming so correct me if I am wrong that she is being called up for friendlies for these 2 weeks that the FIFA window has opened up for. The 2 matches that UCLA have are fairly easy matches. They beat the University of Pepperdine 3-0 today and Sunday they will play Long Beach State.

Edited September 17, 2016 by Forgedias

[rob.notenboom]

43 minutes ago, Forgedias said:

Jessie Fleming didn't suit up this match on Friday. I am assuming so correct me if I am wrong that she is being called up for friendlies for these 2 weeks that the FIFA window has opened up for. The 2 matches that UCLA have are fairly easy matches. They beat the University of Pepperdine 3-0 today and Sunday they will play Long Beach State.

As far as I know, the Canadian women have no friendlies scheduled during this window. Here is a link that lists all of the Canadian national team games for all age groups and both genders on the front page. http://www.canadasoccer.com

[tc-in-bc]

At the 23 minute mark of episode 14 of the For Kicks Podcast, the two hosts expressed frustration and disappointment  at the CSA for not having any matches scheduled for the CANWNT during this September FIFA window -- which is in contrast to many other women's national team programs during this break. Post-Olympics the CSA did hint  that there would be some upcoming matches for the CANWNT.

 

https://forkickspodcast.com/2016/09/14/for-kicks-episode-14-catching-up-with-the-canadians/

[Blackdude]

21 hours ago, Forgedias said:

Jessie Fleming didn't suit up this match on Friday. I am assuming so correct me if I am wrong that she is being called up for friendlies for these 2 weeks that the FIFA window has opened up for. The 2 matches that UCLA have are fairly easy matches. They beat the University of Pepperdine 3-0 today and Sunday they will play Long Beach State.

It could also be because they're playing Pepperdine and want to see their other players.

[tc-in-bc]

Uh oh.  Jessie Fleming is hurt/injured.   Quote:

 "For the first time since she arrived in Westwood, freshman midfielder Jessie Fleming did not make her way onto the pitch. The Canadian Olympian leads the team with five goals this year, but was kept out of the entire match.

“She got a little knock yesterday so we were just being cautious today,” Cromwell said. “She could’ve played but it didn’t make sense in her playing.”   "

http://dailybruin.com/2016/09/16/strong-second-half-gives-womens-soccer-a-shutout-win-over-pepperdine/

Edited September 18, 2016 by tc-in-bc

[paul-collins]

Two more last night? 

 

 

[Joe MacCarthy]

Yowza, that second goal was something, kinda reminded me of Kara Lang.

[Joe MacCarthy]

 

 

[Dub Narcotic]

7 hours ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

Yowza, that second goal was something, kinda reminded me of Kara Lang.

How many of our male players can do that? Very impressive.

[Joe MacCarthy]

A little perspective...

[/img]

 

 

 

 

 

[tc-in-bc]

[ 1 ] That was a nice long distance goal by Jessie Fleming and I hope we see more of that with the CANWNT. Broadly speaking, this was  issue for Clare Rustad during some of the broadcasts -- that the CANWNT didn't seem to have any players who could shoot the ball on frame from outside the 18 yard box. Sounds like Fleming is just what the doctor ordered.

[ 2 ] Jessie Fleming is currently tied for 37th in NCAA women soccer div 1 Total Points with 5 freshmen ahead of her on the list.  (  Some other Canadians on the list:  Valerie Sanderson,Memphis is tied for 8th  with 20 points, and freshman Evelyne Viens, South Florida -- from Quebec -- is tied for a 31st  with 16 points.

http://

[ 3 ] Jessie Fleming is currently tied for a  24th in NCAA women soccer div 1 Total Goals with 3 freshmen ahead of her on the list.   ( Other Canadians on the list:  Valerie Sanderson, Memphis is tied for 11th with 8 goals; freshman Evelyne Viens, like Fleming, has 7 goals )

http://

[ 4 ]  Evelyne Viens : http://www.journaldequebec.com/2016/04/05/je-ne-revais-pas-a-la-ncaa

Edited September 24, 2016 by tc-in-bc

[tc-in-bc]

[ 1 ] The information comes  from NCAA women soccer statistics:

http://www.ncaa.org/championships/statistics/womens-soccer-statistics

On the " UCLA  Women's Soccer National Ranking Summary " page ,  Fleming is only ranked in three categories:  Total Points, Total Goals, Game-Winning Goals. (I didn't screenshot the last category)  It is a surprise though that she is not ranked in the Points Per Game or Goals per Game categories:

http://

http://

Jessie Fleming's 2.5 points per game should be ranked fourth and her 1.166 goals per game should be ranked third on their respective lists. Maybe an oversight? Maybe the answer lies in their Statistics Policy? I don't know. ( side note Jenna Hellstrom, Kent State, who is fourth on both lists ,is a Canadian )

[ 2 ] There probably are NCAA stats for field positions but I have not seen them. My main complaint would be that some schools play in weak conferences whereas other schools play in strong conferences and that's not reflected in these stats lists.

Edited September 24, 2016 by tc-in-bc

[Forgedias]

Its good your following the game stat wise. Its good to make some comparison. Jessie Fleming has played quite a few less games then those players at the top of the list. And then you have to compare the strength of schedule since UCLA played a strong schedule so the goals will be a lot less.

Take for instance Brigham Young University (BYU) Ashley Hatch who leads the NCAA with 11 goals has had a weaker schedule. They have games where they have blown out teams by scores of 7-0, 5-2 and 4-0. By playing weaker teams, they in essence can pad their statistics with pummeling teams much weaker then they are. And Jessie has also played 2 fewer matches then Hatch.

UCLA on the other hand has had a much difficult schedule and has scored much less often but in those goals, Jessie Fleming has featured as a key contributor for those games. Scoring 5 goals in 4 straight games against some very tough teams and in the last game 2 goals. Without Fleming its very hard to see UCLA doing as well as they are doing now since they have some players missing for the U20 World Cup.

Another thing about Fleming. She plays the midfield. She is very much a box to box midfielder. And by saying this, she plays the entire pitch from her defensive third all the way into the opposing team's box. You can say most midfielders would be categorized as thus but I disagree. Box to box midfielders do a lot of work for their team. They run down opposing forwards, mark midfielders and push up and make forays into the attacking third. It takes quite a toll on a player and so very few players play like this. Its why you have terms like Attacking or defensive midfielders because specializing has become more common.

[Forgedias]

Here is something I did not know. Jessie Fleming before this game only played 5 matches. Arizona State was her 6th match so she has scored 7 goals in 6 matches. Thought Fleming had more matches played then this but it makes sense since she didn't suit up the previous matches. Maybe she took a knock and sat for that time.

Here is an article that brought this all up.

http://pac-12.com/article/2016/09/21/thursdaygoals-pac-12-womens-soccer-preview-arizona-state-no-11-ucla

Jessie Fleming, freshman - midfielder: Although she's only played in five of UCLA's eight matches to date, Fleming's performance on the pitch has been prolific. The Canadian freshman has netted five goals in that span and recorded an assist, averaging a staggering 2.20 points per game. Fleming's foot skills and ease are impressive to watch and surely equally frustrating to defend her.

She'll need a few more games under her belt to hit the minimums on the NCAA stat sheet, but safe to say she's worthy of Pac-12 Freshman of the Year considerations.

Edited September 25, 2016 by Forgedias

[Forgedias]

Watched the UCLA and Arizona State match which was rebroadcast today. Great highlights of Jessie Fleming. The casters were oh-ing and ah-ing Fleming's flick passes and dribbles. Unless they were forced to, UCLA rarely ever long balled the ball forward and kept the ball on the grass. A lot of one touch passing by the UCLA team which was pretty to watch.

What the casters were said about Fleming.

"What a luxury to have to someone like Fleming in the center midfield spot when your a forward"

"Jessie Fleming has put together a highlight reel so many great flicks and tricks"

"We're running out of superlatives for this young lady Jessie Fleming, she is the real deal"

Jessie Fleming was a real pleasure to watch, always watching where Fleming is playing instead of the ball because I am looking at her movement. The flick passes and dribbling she was doing was under pressure. When she got the ball, Arizona would have 1 or 2 players immediately try to close in on her so she would flick the ball to another player to free them up for a run or take the ball and dribble and hold possession until she could turn and make a forward pass. She held that center midfield in place when Anika Rodriguez a red shirt freshman took a knock and was subbed out. Fleming played most of the game getting subbed out once in the first half and I think played the full 45 in the second.

 

[Forgedias]

UCLA wins both their games this week. 1-0 against Oregon State and 3-2 against Oregon University. Sadly Jessie Fleming wasn't able to get a point in either game. The Oregon State wasn't televised or on audio but the Oregon game was live streamed on the University site.

UCLA took a pretty big blow when Darian Jenkins went down to injury. She had to get sent to the hospital so its pretty serious. UCLA had to play on a turf field and it looked from the stream perspective that when she was running down the side line and tried to stop and turn, she pulled something and went down immediately. So probably a turf injury.

Onto the game, Jessie Fleming looked great whenever she had the ball. Making dekes and avoiding tackles. The problem is the turf field at Oregon, the ball was very bouncy. It bounced all over the place and UCLA were content to use the wide field to try to build possession. Which meant Fleming did not get many touches especially in the first half. The second half was a lot better for Fleming but UCLA were just using the touch lines to move the ball down too often. I really think they need to get Fleming more involved in that game but maybe the turf and the heavy rain that was apart of the game made them want to play to the touch line. But when Fleming was involved, good attacking pressure up the middle happened. With Jenkins now injured, it now becomes even more important to use Fleming as the center where the offense should go through.

[rkomar]

I watched most of the stream, and didn't see a lot of balls booted over the midfield from UCLA.  It looks like they are trying to attack through the midfield now.  So, it looks like those early predictions of Forgedias were correct.  Good job!

[Joe MacCarthy]

Fleming Wins Multiple Player of Week Awards
Freshman named UCLA/Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week and Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
September 27, 2016

Freshman midfielder Jessie Fleming of the UCLA women's soccer team was voted the UCLA/Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week for Sept. 19-25 and was also honored as the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.

Fleming scored two goals in the Bruins' 2-0 victory over Arizona State on Sept. 22, adding to her Pac-12-leading goal total of seven in just six games. Fleming's goals came in the first eight minutes of the game and came three minutes apart. The first was a tap-in from eight yards out in the sixth minute, and the second was a long-distance golazo into the upper left corner in the ninth minute.

This is Fleming's third UCLA/Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week honor of the season and of her career.

The UCLA/Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week is chosen by fans on Twitter via @UCLAAthletics. This week, Fleming beat out women's volleyball player Reily Buechler, who had a match-best 21 kills along with nine digs in the Bruins' win over USC, and men's water polo goalkeeper Garrett Danner, who had 36 saves in three games to lead UCLA to the Mountain Pacific Invitational Championship.

In addition to her Player of the Week awards, Fleming was named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week.

[Joe MacCarthy]

The next face of Canadian soccer (and smart to boot, an engineering major)

(photo by Scott Chandler)

[Forgedias]

UCLA tied California today 1-1. Cal almost won it until the 89th minute when Proctor for UCLA would score in the last minute forcing overtime. Jessie Fleming was of course the best player on the pitch. She had 2 great shots on goal during regulation time, one point blank shot and another where she deked a Cal player right outside the box and got a great shot off forcing a finger tip save by the Cal Keeper Emily Boyd. And yeah Boyd had a great game. Fleming also had the best chance in overtime. She was point blank about 6 yards out from the goal line near post in a crowded box and Boyd again stood her ground and parried the shot off and the rebound was cleared.

There was another point in the first half I think where Fleming and another Canadian player Emma Fletcher were faced off against each other. Fleming with the ball and Fletcher was man marking her and Fleming flicked the ball and turned 180 degrees shedding Fletcher from her and freeing herself from her mark. That got some oh's and ahh's from the crowd.

Its disappointing that Fleming couldn't earn a point despite all her efforts but she was trying to carry her team. You could see it. UCLA had a very hard time keeping possession against Cal. They dominated ball possession in the first half and continued to control quite a bit of it in the second half. Part of those problems is the ball handling by the UCLA players. They took a lot of hard touches forcing them to take more touches to get the ball back and frequently they couldn't keep possession. When they did, they would create some opportunities but it was frustrating to watch at times. Fleming on the other hand, is such a joy to watch play with the ball when she does get it. She has the ball at her feet, she rarely misplays the ball and she has sweet touches on the ball that allows her to dribble. In fact when she has the ball and dribbles, she forces the other team to swarm her with players or hug her. Frequently she has a player draped on her back as she is holding onto the ball.

Fleming only subbed out once late in the first half. She played the entire second half and both overtimes. So her minutes were sizable today. Probably 43, 45, 10, 10 which equates to something like 108 minutes today for her.

Edited October 7, 2016 by Forgedias

[Forgedias]

 

So here are the highlights of the game. All 3 of Jessie Fleming's chances are on display. It really shows who was the top player for UCLA because Fleming has featured on these clips. All 3 of these chances were good scoring chances and Emily Boyd played an outstanding game to stop UCLA.

[Forgedias]

Wondering if any of you are watching West Virginia? Their feeds are free so no subscription required. They have of course Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Buchanan but they also have 3 or 4 other Canadian internationals on their squad. West Virginia are the number 2 ranked team in the country. They play a very attractive ball possession game and pass the ball and dominate possession. In all their games, they outshoot the opposing team. They lost one match this year to Georgetown in double overtime which I watched and if the Mountaineers had better finishing, they would of won that match in full time instead of being pushed into overtime where a great goal ended it for Georgetown because they clearly dominated that game as well.

West Virginia unlike many of the top schools do not attract the best prep athletes in the nation. Programs like North Carolina, Stanford, Duke, Penn State and UCLA tend to be places where the top prep athletes head to. So West Virginia have to try something different. They focus on recruiting the top Canadian players and bring them to their school. And unlike the top schools, these Canadian internationals are focused on getting playing time, not trying to play for a top program because they are aiming to get noticed by their national teams. Playing time is key for them so if a school can attract the top Canadian internationals and have success, then it breeds more success when other Canadians notice this and pick them to play for.

Kadeisha Buchanan (4th year)

Ashley Lawrence (4th year)

Amandie Pierre Louis (3rd year)

Carla Portillo (3rd year)

Bianca St.George (2nd year)

Easther Mayi Kith (2nd year)

Rylee Foster (1st year)

So you can see they have a large Canadian squad already on the roster. And this U17 World Cup, who knows, we may see more heading over. Canadians tend to commit to colleges that have other Canadian stand outs and West Virginia isn't a bad place to be for them.

To illustrate how dominate West Virginia is. They are currently playing conference schedule matches and today they played against Kansas University and completely dominated them for possession. Probably 80% of the ball possession was on their side. They only scored one goal but they get a ton of shots on the opposing team. The Mountaineer back line is nearly all Canadian. They have Buchanan and Mayi Kith as the center back duo who both act like liberos. They are free to attack up the field when they feel they can and both did in this match because Kansas gave them tons of room to move forward. I compare Mayi Kith to a mini Buchanan because she acts like Buchanan back there. She doesn't have that intimidating presence that Buchanan has where she will get physical with the forward if they step into her space but Mayi Kith is very mobile and fast. She can play the ball with either feet and is a great ball handler. The outside backs are Pierre Louis who is a converted forward and Carly Black. Bianca St George gets subbed in the outside back role for minutes though she isn't a starter. Ashley Lawrence in the beginning when she returned from the Olympics played as an outside back like she did at the Olympics but with the loaded back line they have, Lawrence was moved to the midfield with Carla Portillo.

West Virginia play in a 4-3-3 and watching Lawrence play, she is very much like Jessie Fleming. Making step overs, flicking balls and constantly dribbling at the defenders. She forces defenders to hug or send 2 players to mark her and while Fleming may have some trouble with the more physical play in the college system. Lawrence is very much at ease when under physical duress by another player going into her space. She easily sheds players off her and moves the ball forward. I can see Fleming becoming like this when she works more on physical training that she can handle 1 or 2 players pressing her hard like Lawrence can. Lawrence is very dynamic on the field and you can see the offense constantly moving forward with her in the midfield.

I've had a lot of arguments about Buchanan and Lawrence being elite because when I look at college players, I look at them not by nation, but by the work they have done. And when people argue with me that they are not elite and then I find that both amusing and shocking because they have not watched them play at the college level where they crush their opponents and at the Olympics. They only look at their mistakes.

With Buchanan, they say she is too aggressive and physical and I go that is good in a center back. In fact when Buchanan gets physical with a target forward, she shuts them down because she can intimidate them. If the Boston Breakers were to draft Buchanan first over all, they would reduce the goals allowed since they allowed over 40 goals this year in a 20 game season. They need help and Buchanan would be a great answer.

And for Ashley Lawrence. I keep pointing to the Brazil game and point how she single handily destroyed the entire team with her speed and ability to flank them on the wings. Yet people say Brazil is old, so was the USA team who were the oldest team in the Olympics. There were some very biased views on these two Canadian players. And what makes Lawrence even more special is that she is left footed. Its already hard to find left footed backs and many times you have to convert forwards to play those spots. Its even harder to find gifted technical left footed backs like Lawrence. She is so special that she can play either wing and not lose any effectiveness because she can use either feet. And West Virginia knows this because they use Lawrence on corner kicks and spot kick duties. On either side she will use either her right or left foot to loop kicks in. That isn't normal, you need a player that is comfortable with either feet to do that.

For Lawrence I have her tabbed going to the Seattle Reign because they desperately need a left footed outside back and Lawrence checks every box. Speed, technical and can play the possession style that Seattle plays.

Oh I should talk about Rylee Foster. I first noticed her when she played against the Americans and had that crazy game where the USA team were in the Canadian half for most of the game. They were shelling Foster all game long and Foster was making some ridiculous saves. Parries, kick saves. So I was a bit curious to see how she would develop. Keepers really need time to develop but you can see their potential if you get a few matches in. With Foster, she doesn't get tested that much since her team is so damn good in front of her with Buchanan and Mayi Kith holding the center, they take out most threats that try to get shots on goal. But what you do notice is that she is big and potentially could be athletic. She has some good quickness and footwork as well. She isn't afraid to come outside the box to play balls passed to her and today against Kansas, she only had to make 2 saves but the second one required her to react quickly to make the save to preserve the shut out and she looked good doing it.

The question is whether Rylee Foster will be going to the U20 World Cup this year because if she is, then West Virginia will lose their top keeper since Foster plays most of the matches.

[tc-in-bc]

Jessie Fleming showing up on goals per game and points per game stats list. Other Canadians also highlighted:

http://

http://

http://

[tc-in-bc]

[ 1 ]    Topdrawersoccer.com  :   Women Freshmen Top 100    2016 Midseason Ranking:

1.  Jessie Fleming    --   midfielder    UCLA

13. Evelyne  Viens   --   forward        USF

23  Rylee Foster      --  goalkeeper   WVU

52. Olivia Sheppard  --  defender   Princeton

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college/freshmentop100/index.jsp

 

[ sidenote ] Deyna Castellanos is number two on the list.

 

 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

27 minutes ago, tc-in-bc said:

13. Evelyne  Viens   --   forward        USF

D'où sort cette fille?

http://www.journaldequebec.com/2016/04/05/je-ne-revais-pas-a-la-ncaa

Zero résultats sur canadasoccer.com !

19ans..(en avril 2016)

@tc-in-bc or @Blackdude , if she is turning 20 (or turned 19) this year, then she could play in the U-20's this year right? Crazy stats!

The only player above her in those goals/game stats rankings, Ashley Hatch, just got invited to a senior USWNT camp.

http://www.sltrib.com/home/4439255-155/soccer-alta-high-product-kealia-ohai

_________________________

EDIT: Hellstrom is a '95 so will just need to keep playing well to make senior camps

http://www.canadasoccer.com/?t=profile&pid=1458

Edited October 9, 2016 by Olympique_de_Marseille