Well we have some work to do. The centerbacks are lacking, I think Pressley is giving it her all but is just not good enough given Gayle's inability to play defense. She (Gayle) is so often out of position that Pressley is exposed. I think the right side of Dunn playing in front of Krieger will shine as time passes but we need some stepped up play by the role players on this team.
Parsons is not impressing me so far. When you play a possession oriented team you need to play your best possessers, namely Lindsey. What was he thinking waiting until the 65th minute to bring her in, down 2-0? I still have problems with his drafting. He has a glut of midfielders and no depth in back or up front. Now with Weimer out and who knows what has happened with Nairn's injury, this could go from promising to horrible.
Agree. The defense is the main problem and it affects play of a whole team. I really wish they'll gave Bianca Sierra chance in the next game. Apparently she can play all positions at the back so why not put her in a place of Gayle. I can't imagine she can be worst especially after her good performance in preseason. I wasn't impressed with Lindsey last season but from I've seen so far this year she's a different player. She should start. Averbuch was just awful. Taylor is excellent striker but what she can do when midfield can't connect with her. I really hope Nairn is ok, but even if she is, they still have to figure out defensive problems. If not, this might be a long waiting till June and these new defenders to come in.
A team that won 3 games last year and has been revamp you have to give it some time. Seattle could very well win the whole thing this year while the Spirit is playing for respectability and relevance. The Spirits goal this year should be to finish 6th in the league and that would be a very good year for them.
I wasn't impressed with Lindsey last season but from I've seen so far this year she's a different player. She should start. Averbuch was just awful. Taylor is excellent striker but what she can do when midfield can't connect with her. I really hope Nairn is ok, but even if she is, they still have to figure out defensive problems. If not, this might be a long waiting till June and these new defenders to come in.[/quote] Lindsey had to do too much last year. She was surrounded by newbies. It was her and Matheson. Now she can step into her role of possesser/passer. Now we'll see if Parsons is smart enough to use her. Adams is no Lindsey. She may be fast, but does not have soccer smarts. She has a lot of work to do to get her game at a high level IMO. As for Averbuch, she is coming off a serious illness and probably does not have her full fitness back yet. Lindsey and Averbuch played together a lot at the WNT level, so that pairing should be very good, if allowed to happen. Bad news re Weimer, and here's hoping Nairn's injury is not serious.
Other than the set pieces, I don't think the Spirit played bad at all. You take away those 2 goals, and it was a 1 - 1 game. Which considering the Reign are one of the favorites to win this season, is pretty decent. Of course the defense could be a lot better (especially on the set pieces) and Harris might've been able to stop that shot from Fishlock (although I'd say the defense really shouldn't have given Fishlock that much space right outside the box). But, for a team that struggled like they did last season, this is a vast improvement. I would not say it's atrocious at all. Harris came up with more big saves than she let in soft goals... even though I think she might've been able to stop Fishlock's goal, it wasn't exactly a soft goal.
I thought the Spirit looked ok, they especially were very "pesky" in putting pressure on the ball. But, I thought a good number of their players tried to hold on to the ball and do it all themselves, which slowed down their speed of play. Maybe no one was moving to get into position to receive the ball, but it's not what it looked like to me. Did anyone else see that or was I just imagining it?
Jonathan Tannenwald @thegoalkeeper 17h Washington Spirit-OL Reign game has been canceled because of “breaches of the league’s medical protocols by the Spirit.” This one is officially declared a Spirit forfeit and a 3-0 Reign win in the record books.