Okay, time for the team to get over the close call Wednesday night, and start preparing for the game on Sunday at 3pm pacific time. And it will be another FSC game of the week, so the team will want to look sharp against the team that has been preparing for them all week. Should the team try to do anything different on the field, playing against the highest scoring team in the league? With this being the 3rd game in just over a week, can we expect the coach to substitute sooner, and to use all 3 subs? Go, Sol!
If anybody wants to meet me at the game and sit in my season tickets with me, I've got an extra for sunday. pretty decent seats. It's going to be a good game. Start the talkin, people.
Okay, I'll dive in here: Defense: We need somebody fast to stay with DeVanna = Larkin We need someone big to stay with Wambach = Falk We need someone shifty to stay with Bompastor = Miyama Offense: Zerboni looked good in the two games she subbed in. Lineup: Marta Duan Miyama Abily Larkin/sub Zerboni when DeVanna runs out of gas Boxx Cox Falk Bock Makoski LeBlanc
where is your section located?? My seasons tickets are in section 102 which is in the endline area and not too bad, but sometimes I wonder how the sideline seats compare if you are in those sections but otherwise I'm fine where I'm at. Anyway, I always have high expectations for LA SOL and I was a tad disappointed they gave up a goal for Chi-Town.... however I knew realistically that it had to happen sooner or later and I had to come to terms that at some point, their shut-out and winning streak would soon come to an end. I'm so happy that Abily got a goal in at least.. For the Freedom on sunday, I'm actually a little unsure what's going to happen, SOL again no offense to anybody looked kinda tired and struggling and the passing was sloppy, and they didn't seem very fast as they did.... in previous games and I dont know if its because they just played St Louis a few days back or just a bad day for them.... So I'm hoping they are somewhat rested for that game, because if they play the game the way they played with Chi-Town, they may finally lose..... though pardon the negativity..... I'm always assuming they will win of course, but yeah...that wednesday game was not that great.
Lakers game starts right after the Sol game. I sense an opportunity here. Anyone want to get together somewhere to catch the end of the Lakers game?
I suggest we stay with same lineup as Weds. night just bring subs in earlier in 2H after checking with the vets to see how their tired legs are doing. Big difference in how you play if only have to go 45 mins. Three games in 8 days is a lot. Don't think we have any glaring weaknesses just need to execute better and finish our chances. Washington game going to come down to who scores first (as obviously that team will have huge advantage). Think Freedom will score given their horsepower and season track record, but critical for Sol to strike first which will give us confidence and allow us to play more relaxed, creative soccer. My two cents.
It's not like we're playing man-to-man, so no, I don't think you need a Larkin / DeVanna matchup (it's not like Larkin, a forward, would be covering DeVanna anyway). I'm more concerned with the effects of 3 games in a week. I thought Miyama used a tremendous amount of energy last game - slide tackles in midfield even late in game. Bock has a nagging injury or two but looked strong to me when she was subbed; in fact my quick impression was that Abily was more tired than Bock was, but then Abily goes on to score the tying goal. That's why Abner's the coach and I'm not... I'm tempted to put in Frisk here, an extra pair of fresh legs. But in place of Makoski on the outside or Franko in the center? I'm assuming Wagner isn't ready. If she was 99 to 100%, then I think Wags gets the start and Miyama comes in as a late sub if we need a spark in the midfield; Miyama's been great but I'm worried about fatigue and Wags has played pretty well. Plus Washington doesn't have great overall team speed. If Wags isn't ready, the dropoff is too great - you go with Miyama and hope for the best. I'm going to assume Bock needs a couple extra days to recover, which is too bad because I always feel better when she's out there. Lisa Sari in place of Bock. Leblanc Makoski Falk Frisk Cox Boxx Sari Abily Miyama Marta Duan In this lineup expect the usual sub of Larkin for Han Duan at some point. And expect Zerboni, Bogus or Wagner probably for Miyama, possibly for Abily.
Well interesting line up for today's game with Bock up top and the new player Sanchez starting in the back.....don't think any of us called this lineup and it was quite the surprise. Overall, thought the Sol played a very good game and looked powerful today. Lots of ball movement, scoring opportunities and best of all a dominating MF that controlled the game for us. We look very good in those games (SL and now Wash) when Sol MF controls this area of field. Defense played their usual stellar game, forwards look more dangerous with the give and go's between marta and brittany and midfield played great possesion soccer all game. I like this formula and was fun to watch. Other thoughts from those that were there??
I agree with everything Merlin said!! Again I'll stick to my "when Miyama has a good day, the Sol have a good day" idea. MF were really completing lots of passes and anticipating movement well. Miyama, Boxx, and Abily are really starting to gel. Abily impresses me more every week as a very intelligent player. I think Bock works great up front w/ Marta in a 4-4-2. They looked tight today. Great game, I'm glad they'll have a week before having to play another game again after this rough week.
I told you guys about Bock from the beginning. IMO, Hanks scored a lot of goals at Notre Dame because she was at the end of a lot of Brittany Bock's wonderful passes and Bock scored some great ones herself. She's also a workhorse on the field. I firmly believe that if Bock had not gotten hurt just before the NCAA tournament and had to play sparingly in a brace on her leg at Cary, NC, Notre Dame would have beaten North Carolina this year in the NCAA finals. It may end up to be that the Brittany Bock was the best college draft pick of WPS 2009. BTW, what was the attendance for the Sol game today?
I just came back from the game and it was very entertaining and impressive. I thought maybe the SOL would be tired from already playing two other games in matter of days but they played stronger than ever today. One thing I noted, Han Duan was totally out. Bock was again put up front like everybody stated which seemed to work very well. Keri Sanchez which totally threw me off finally played for the first time a full 90min game.. and i was like whoa that's really interesting. Aly Wagner was back playing which surprised me because I wasn't sure when she was returning but I didnt' catch what happened to her and Zerboni was put in her place eventually. Obviously she was injured , because the coach would never sub a player that early. I want to say that was the only substitution we had during the whole entire game.... I was thinking maybe Han Duan would make an appearance but no... she was out the whole time... which sparks my curiousity once more... what exactly are they doing with Duan?? I love to see her play and she puts so much effort into it it's fun watching her. Forgot to mention, OMG ABILY!!! SHE'S OFFICIALLY MY FAVORITE PLAYER 3 goals in a week, that's pretty amazing. I think she has finally surpassed Kelly Smith.
This team is running away with the league. They made good choices from the get-go with the right coach, right GM, the right foreign players, the right regular draft, the right college draft and the right combination of players in the game. Abner Rogers is my early pick for coach of the year.
The game was amazing. I had so much fun. I think the Sol played one of there or the best games today in the entire season. Abily just surprises aswell as Bock. Bock has been a great player for the Sol the whole season. I liked the Bock Marta combination a lot better then Han Duan and Marta. I'm sorry but Han Duan is just is not cutting it for me. I have been to every Sol home game and too me she sometimes looks a bit lost out there. One thing my little fan section (108) kept saying is what's up with the sub rotation, I mean the only player that seems to be on that rotation is Katie Larkin and sometimes McCall Zerboni. I mean the Sol played 3 games in 9 days and I'm scared that if a starter gets injured and players like Barnes and Frisk have to play the may seem a bit lost. Well those are just my 2 cents. Some of us (section 108) told Frisk when she was signing autographs, "Girl you need to tell your coach to put you in, what's up with that, we want to see you play." She laughed and smiled and said, "thanks guys." Anways, is it safe to say that the Sol WILL BE in the playoffs????? I think so, 12 point lead from the Freedom even if we have played more games, uhmmm I think I should start saving for my WPS Championship tickets.
Very, very entertaining game. Aly Wagner and Alex Singer collided going for a header. Poor Aly, blood gushing from a head wound, ran to the locker room and did not return. She might need stitches if the blood was any indicator. Interesting but effective lineup. Everyone played well.
yeah I noticed the substitutions were getting a little predictable with Zerboni or Larkin always coming in, that's why I was surprised to see Sanchez out there a player who has been on the bench all season, It was like a big WTF to me not because I have a problem with her, just it surprised me out of the blue, they put her in, and she plays the entire game.... Also, today I was viewing the game from Marta's Maniac's 119 section because I finally got my two friends to go to the game today with me and I "snuck" into the section from my usual 102 section. Secretly a part of me would have preferred my usual 102 spot for this match, but oh well. I DID NOT see the header that caused the Aly Wagner injury. For whatever reason my friend and I were discussing the differences with women professional soccer and the WNBA. I saw that Alex Singer was hurt but I did not see Aly Wagner, did she just run off the field?? I wish I could see a recap of that. I really was super excited to see Wagner play today It also surprised me that Han Duan wasn't even starting.. so I thought maybe she was injured or ILL? But maybe the coach is starting to see that she doesn't work very well with Marta. Everybody who has seen every game knows this even if they refuse to admit it. I love Han Duan, I've seen her play very well on her national team, but here.... the truth is, maybe Bock does indeed work better with Marta.... who knows? The freedom actually disappointed me this game because I was expecting them to really tough it out and try and own the SOL, and I had high expectations for Bombastor, De Vanna and Wombat, but they failed to impress me(besides Bombastor's goal)
I guess, if I really want to be picky, I should get upset about one goal given up by Sol...But, one cannot really expect that the other team would not score at all at Home Depot Center...Even Barcelona and ManU gave up goals at home... Did you see the handball which led to Abily's penalty? I missed on FSC...I actually watched WPS's video stream... Han Duan didn't play...FSC guy mentioned her absence...Back injury? FSC guy also quoted Sol manager as saying maybe a translator was needed to get his points across to her...Who knows? Nine more regular season games to go...I would not be shocked if Bock started in place of Duan in most of them. Bock will probably be called to the USWNT again for Canada friendlies...Then probably Duan will play while Bock is gone... FSC showed Bock's mother... Sol will probably be in the playoffs...Unless there is a huge collapse...
Random thoughts: Perfect weather for a game, right around 70, fairly low humidity, little wind. And most of the stands were in the shade well before game time (except for the open end - Marta's Maniacs section (at least the top half) were in the sun all game. Sol should honor a NWT legend before everygame - yesterday it was Joy Fawcett, the first game it was Mia Hamm. And both games were wins by two goal margins! It was nice to see Walt, the girls, along with Ma & Pa. The fans around me noticed that Han was missing. But I wondered - what happened to Manya? I hadn't seen anything about her being injured, and she certainly had been playing well. Did the broadcast say anything? Keri Sanchez looked very solid out there at right back, defended well and supported the attack without making any bad passes. Cox looked pretty good, also, except she made a few of those passes that I've come to expect from her - right to the opposition, or so weak that they give the opponents time to pick them off. The atmosphere at the game seemed the best so far. I liked those drummers at the top of the closed end. The PA system seemed a bit more muted than previous games. There wasn't as inappropriate music. I liked that they played the evil empire theme from Star Wars when the Freedom were introduced . As with everyone else, I was surprised at how much energy the players still had after those other two games and surprised that coach didn't more often and sooner. Although the team has a large lead at the moment, don't forget that they have played 2 or more games more than the other teams (except the Pride). If Boston was to win the 3 games in hand that they have right now, that would almost put them even with the Sol. Which brings up the question - why has Boston played so few games? Marta seemed frustrated at times - the Freedom did a fairly good job of keeping 2 or more players between her and the goal, but that left openings for other players, who are getting better at supporting her. The handball is shown in the game highlight video at the WPS site. Really unfortunate, can't understand why she would reach out her hand to a ball that was obviously going wide of the goal. I certainly didn't even notice that she did it when it happened, neither did any of the people around me. I had thought at first that the CR was signally for a corner kick, that someone had deflected the ball wide right after it was hit. Bompaster looked very good - her play and that of Abily certainly show why Olympic Lyonnais (sp?) were so bent out of shape at those two leaving. DeVanna looked very dangerous at times - showed off a lot of 'Marta-like' moves so the Sol gave her to 'Marta-like' treatment - players swarmed towards her (and Bompaster) once they got in the attacking third. Why did Boxx get a card for that tackle where she got all ball and then the Freedom player (who came in late) tripped over her feet? Especially after the ref let Abby get away with a 'cleats-up' tackle along the sidelines in the first half? Wagner played well while she was in there. Since she was on the far side of the Freedom player when they went up for the header, I couldn't see what happened to her. She didn't go down like Singer, who everyone seemed to be worried about. Next thing, she is on the the sidelines being assisted towards the tunnel with a towel held up to her forehead...
Most likely. You guys at least have secured 1st place through week 14, and if you go by games played, you've secured first through game 12. Even if you guys averaged 1 PPG for the rest of the season, the other teams would have to average roughly 2 PPG to catch up. I haven't actually crunched the numbers yet, but even if you lost every game for the rest of the season I think you'd still be in the playoffs. Curse you.
Yay us! I heard Duan was a maybe for the game yesterday. She was listed as having a lower back injury. As much as she's a sentimental favorite for me, there's no question that Bock suited up and showed up in this one chance up front more than Duan has in all the games she's played. I think if the Sol want to be even stronger than they already have been, they'll keep Bock up front w/ Marta. Marta was frustrated that she didn't score, I know I'll get all the slack by everybody saying, "She's just competitive, she's just Brazilian, blah blah..." Well, I don't care if Marta scores or not as long as the Sol win. To me she's just another one of the 11. She's a great player, but it takes 11 to win. As far as the goal we conceded, I watched the replay and LeBlanc did everything right, did not hesitate coming off her line to go out and get the ball, just Bomp managed to get there a little faster. Hey, I'm in section 108 too!!! Row D.
Agree with Ley82 - I also think that this was one of the better games played by the Sol this year (the other dominating game was last week against St. Louis). In both games we were in control in all 3 areas of field. Marta and Bock looked good together and like they were complimenting each other, although they have long way to go before really clicking. Han and Marta just have not clicked yet this season and look like 2 players doing their own thing. Perhaps the language barrier is larger issue than we think as neither can really talk to each other in depth. Was impressed with defense as always and specifically, the new defender Sanchez who has only been on the team for past 2 weeks as she was a recent pick up. She made some very good runs down the sideline and was very aggressive in 1H. Defense did nice job of limiting Wambach and De Vanna who can be dangerous if let them play their game. Midfield looked solid and supported the forwards well. Agree that when Miyama does well and gets forward good things happen for the Sol as she is a great passer and play maker. Yes, we are in good shape for playoffs but season is long and we are only half way (actually 11 games) so let's not get too excited just yet. There will be some speed bumps along the way. The goal, of course, is to finish in first place so we can host the championship.
hi - the SOL are coming to NJ soon - what is the bext way to get Autographs ? Do I arrive early, or late ? Or invade the dressing room ? - ooooops fruedian slip .... But my question was serious - any help appreciated. TiA.
at the Sol games the players just kind of wander over to the seats after the game is over and sign autographs and talk to you or whatever. When the Red Stars played last week, some of them came over too, I think it's more common maybe for the home team to do it.
