So, CRS is missing a bunch of key folks. WAS is "just" missing Bompastor. Both need points to try and stay in playoff contention. I'm predicting a WAS victory but my predictions often fall short. What say you Freedom fans? What lineup do you expect to see?
I'm guessing Asante will start in the midfield instead of (not necessarily replacing) Bompastor. I'm not sure what the alternatives are - we don't have anyone who can come close to ruling the left flank the way Sonia does.
I am going in very hopeful for a win and I think with all the players CRS are missing through national team duty and injuries should make it easier, but I don't want the Freedom going in thinking it is a gimme game because no game is in this league. I fully expect Asante to start, most likely in a holding mid spot, which is what I saw her play when she came into the game against Sky Blue. I would say that she might start at centerback, which would allow Nikki to roam up top with Abby again, but I am not a big fan of messing with the backline again. Plus I like the Nikki / Cat combo. The backline has looked better and could have realistically had three shutouts in a row if it wasn't for the own goal against Sky Blue. If Asante is in the holding mid spot with Long this would allow Huffy to move out to the wing. I know she is better on the right than the left, but the few times I have seen her playing on the left she hasn't looked too bad and honestly I think she is the best option. Also with Asante we might not need two defensive mid-fielders, but Jim probably won't change that. I expect to see Lene start again up top with Abby, mainly because the 4-5-1 from last game I think was to try to stifle the FCGP pride - Freedom chose to play defensive, but I am hoping this game they will decide to go offensive. My starters would be: Harris, Moros, Whitehill, Marshall, Sauerbrunn, Sawa, Long, Asante, Huffman, Lene, Abby Side note: It was nice to see from the pictures from the FCGP game I saw that the bump on Harris's forehead was no longer the size of a orange. She hit her head hard on the post at Sky Blue and had a huge welt...surprised she didn't come out but she was determined to finish. The doctors checked her out thoroughly during half time, but all I think was " here we go again with keeper injuries"
Dreadful first half from the Freedom, better in the second. Huffie did switch over to the attack, on the right in the first half and on the left in the second. (Those of us in the cheap seats got to see a lot of her!) Didn't really seem as if we had a left flank attacking midfielder in the first half at all, just Becky Sauerbrunn coming forward when she could.
See I thought Huffy started on the left and played there mostly in the first half. I saw her quite a bit on my side, although I did notice she would switch to the right every now and then. Maybe I'm wrong, but she is in a lot of my pictures and I remember yelling her name quite a few times during the first half. Freedom did seem to playing with only one holding mid in the first half (Asante) and couldn't seem to break up the Chicago attack enough to even attempt to possess the ball. Once Bock came to sit next to Asante in the second half things seemed to go a little smoother. Really wish Huffy had been able to get that #3 goal mainly because I want her to score more - she gives everything on the field and deserves to have more goals. On that particular play the Chicago defense just seemed to assume the offsides would be called on Abby, but it wasn't since she didn't make a play to ball. Huffy took advantage and I have to give her props for that. I thought Ashlyn played an excellent game and I can see her gaining more confidence each time I see her. She made some decent saves in the first half and came out at the right time to challenge Masar for ball. The crowd was great considering the size, but the biggest cheerleaders were definitely Erin McLeod, Meagan McCray, Lisa DeVanna and Christie Welsh. My favorite chant from Erin during the Freedom corners: "Put the biscuit in the basket" There is still a lot of work to do and Chicago was definitely short handed, but I will take the 3 points. It was worth the 2.5 hour drive in rush hour traffic to get to the Plex. I was told though that I made a couple of appearances on the webcast...does that mean I am famous?
I can't say I was paying hugely close attention - I just have clear memories of her bringing the ball forward right in front of me a couple of times. Most of the first half was played at your end of the field (versus mine), so I daresay your impression of the positions is better than mine. Yes, that was a big letdown on the part of Chicago's back line combined with some crafty play by Huffie. Harris was superb - and she was my fantasy team captain! She's not playing like a rookie at all. The Freedom bench has really gotten into it the previous home game and this one. I can hear them even over the singing and drumming sometimes, even when I'm sitting near it.
That's the kind of thing that happens when you only draw 2,511. Hopefully with two weekend matches coming up, it'll get better.
I thought I heard a bagpipe.... /TweetyBird accent You got the 3 points so that's one job done. Of course, atm, SBFC has 2 games in hand on you but have to face Philly & FCGP in their next 2 games. Abby looked really tired on the webcast. Did she look that tired in person? If Huffman had scored, I think Abby might have gotten a sub/rest.
If we needed any further proof Erin is from Canada lol... Although we got a crucial 3 points, I don't think last night really bode well for our immediate future. We really struggled (esp in the 1st half) against a completely decimated team. Hopefully Bock will play a meaningful role in our season yet.
To be precise, they play Philly, then they play us, then they play GP. As I indicate elsewhere, it's not outrageous that we might have clinched a playoff spot at that point even though we only play one game in that stretch.