Starfire is a pain to get to for big-event days. No public transportation, parking is limited and there is only a two-lane bridge to get in and out of the place. And as the previous poster mentioned, there is nothing to do in the area to kill time or wait out the crowds (except for the pizza place inside the complex). But on clear sunny days there is hardly a better place to watch a soccer game than the stadium's main grandstands with Mt. Rainier in the distance. My opinion for why the WPS "succeeded' on the east coast and not out west is because of the concentration of cities along the eastern seaboard. Seattle only has Portland (and Vancouver north of the border) within reasonable driving distance, while the northeast has a bunch of cities clustered; New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, and many more.
The Sounders women beat the Vancouver Whitecaps yesterday 2-0, in Vancouver BC. None of the Sounders' USWNT players where there, since the WNT was playing China in Philadelphia. Nevertheless, there were 1,465 fans in attendance in Vancouver.
Match report on that women's Cascadia battle is up here: http://equalizersoccer.com/2012/05/28/sounders-women-top-whitecaps-2-0-in-opener/
Good effort by the Sounders Women, especially the young ones who were playing for the first time. Very picturesque setting on a gorgeous day. Whitecaps management knows how to put on a show.
Sounders defeat the Colorado Rush tonight 2-1. It looked like an excellent crowd, so it will be interesting to see the attendance figure. At least Rapinoe, Solo, and Leroux played for the Sounders. The game was on-line, but I couldn't be sure about whether the other "stars" were there. I thought maybe I saw Winters, but wasn't sure. I don't think I saw Morgan.
I went to the Sounders/Rush game last night and it was a great game. Good crowd again. Rush hit the crossbar at least 2 or 3 times. Solo was definately tested last night. Veronica Perez (Sounders) with a nice goal on a free kick low around the wall. Good to see Brittany Bock (Rush) play. Seems to me she is well respected by her peers. After the game I saw Solo, Morgan, and others go up to her and talk. Of course as we know she played with Morgan on last years WNY Flash. Aside from the USWNT players, the player that impressed me the most was #10 for the Rush. What a player! She was a tall forward with mad skills and mobility. The Sounders had a nightmare marking her. She scored the goal for Colorado. All in all a beautiful, warm night at StarFire. Being from Chicago, I doubt I'll become a Sounders fan all of a sudden over the Red Stars and Fire, but I have to say the Sounders fans, men and women do bring it. It will be interesting how the attendance will stack up when the USWNT players leave for the Oly's but for right now it's a lot of fun and very good soccer. Headed to Chicago this weekend where I'll be seeing Boston Breakers vs. Chicago Red Stars. It will be interesting to compare the two leagues, somewhat.
Yup. Thanks. I googled her and she is on our U-20 USWNT. Also heading to UNC next fall. Very impressive.
The bigger test will be next season if the USWNT players leave. They moved a lot of season ticket sales based on the USWNT signings, so I'm not sure you'll see a drop even after they leave for the Olympics. If the USWNT players don't come back next season I would be shocked if there wasn't a significant decline.
The Rush was very impressive, and they are a very young team. Lindsey Horan is the #2 player in the class of 2012 (I'm talking high school!). Gabby Miranda is the second best player of the 2013 class, joined by Morgan Stanton (#22), Lizzy Raben (#23), and Danica Evans (#29).
Plus, the Rush's left mid is Kendall Johnson, who is a dark horse possibility to end up ultimately as the WNT's left defender.
Yoshou, I'm not saying you're wrong, but I wonder if leaving is such a sure thing? Where else to go? Some of these players have significant ties to the Northwest, and who knows what the "pro" options look like for next year. If the Nats are already being compensated for National Team duty, with bonus money tied to participing on a league team, why not stay? Moreover, along the lines of the men's team...if there are pro facilities, good crowds, good coaches, strong teammates, and the best place to live in the U.S. , the intangibles stack up. For the Nats at least, Sounders is not the main gig, it's a side gig, a really good one. For the rest, a great gig with a chance to play with the Nats. Getting paid will be the first concern, and I hope they find a way to get paid real money, but right now, I'm not seeing that a better option is in existence.
(Personally, I'd really like to see some USWNTers go to Sweden, Germany, and France for better competition / training, esp. if they can get on a team that plays in the Champions League.) That being said, I do hope Sounders Women can retain their support next season as well.
I believe Monday's will be the last Sounders' game of the season with the WNT players, they'll leave for camp later in the week and won't play Friday night. The WNT is scheduled to play Sweden and Japan in Sweden in the middle of June and has a game against Canada in Utah on the 30th. The Sounders will be without Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan, Hope Solo, and Megan Rapinoe the rest of the way. Keelin Winters has a contract with German Bundesliga FCC Turbine Potsdam, one of the top women's teams in Europe. Stephanie Cox will be freed from her contract to consider her options. Whether attendance drops is not an issue, the star-studded roster was an unprecedented occurrence and great while it's lasted. Most important, the Sounders Women have become a part of the public consciousness in the Seattle area thanks to the big names and it is now up to Amy Carnell and the rest of the Sounders Women management to figure out how to make the most of it.
Playing without Leroux and Rapinoe, Sounders beat hard-charging Colorado Rapids 3-0 on a chilly night. Two yellow cards for Rapids, one on a foul on Hope Solo. Surprisingly Solo and Morgan weren't pulled, both got knocked down by rough play. Stephanie Cox had the goal of the game from way out on a free kick.
She was very fun to watch on the concacaf qualifiers...very good and very mobile.. once the pia era is done I imagine her getting call up sooner than later
She's a forward. fast big quick technical she'd often drop back though and was good in the midfield. very good at winning balls. can play with back to net or going forward. the whole u20 team was very fluid - in play and their own movement. Morgan Andrews? she's 16? i haven't seen her play much but i think she's on a different team. or did you mean Morgan Brian - BTW the U20 team tied the u23 team two weeks ago 4-4. The u20 goalkeeper made two bad mistake though. I understand the u20's outplayed their older compatriots - most of whom play professionally.
Morgan Andrews is 17 and now playing on the WPSL-Elite New England Mutiny (amateur squad, obviously). She is on the U-17 US team and just made her "pro" debut, starting and doing pretty well.
Oh, right. There is a Morgan Brian too. Sheesh. So many Morgans coming up through the ranks. Fast, big and technical, huh? Interesting. I was thinking of Morgan Andrews because she's the U-17 Captain, I believe, and recently was awarded national high-school Gatorade player.
Morgan Andrews was the Gatorade nat player of the year..I think i've only seen her play once though has anyone seen her play a few times? There are a lot of Morgans, in a few years there could be numerous on the field together for the Nats.. alex morgan, morgan brian, morgan andrews, captain morgan, etc..
The Freedom had three Alexandras for a while: Ali Krieger, Allie Long, and Alex Singer. Not so much on the Morgans.
The Sounders women and the Vancouver Whitecaps tied yesterday 0-0. Attendance was a 4,500 sell out. Without the USWNT players.