Semi-final predictions: Pia Ruined Her vs. The Dan We Love To Hate

Talk about drama!

Coach of the Year vs. Player/Coach who never gives up
Player of the Year vs. Rookie of the Year

This game has all the makings of a great match!

magicJack at Philly, Saturday 4:00

Four points will be awarded if you correctly predict the winner and score in regulation play or overtime OR if you correctly predict the exact score of a tie and the team that advances on p.k.'s. (e.g. US 2 - Brazil 2, U.S. advances).

Three points will be awarded if you correctly predict the exact score of a tie but pick the wrong team to advance on p.k's (e.g. U.S. 2 - Brazil 2, Brazil advances) OR if you predict a tie with the wrong score but pick the correct team to advance (e.g. U.S. 1 - Brazil 1, U.S. advances).

Two points will be awarded if you correctly predict the winner in regulation play or overtime and the spread OR if you predict a tie with the wrong score and the wrong team to advance (e.g. U.S. 1 - Brazil 1, Brazil advances).

One point will be awarded if you correctly predict the winner in regulation play or overtime.

All predictions are due prior to kickoff.

I say... PHI 2-1 mJ

First prize is a trip to the Olympics to see the USWNT, right?

This one is hard, but Abby is horrible at subbing. It took some guy in the 80th min to call her to the sideline to get players out.

if DeVanna and Masar are used, then MJ win, just better when you look at their first 14 players.

Vero will play with confidence like Press (even made Alex Scott look normal) did against Boston. Amazing what happens when you give a player an award.

Philly fans have no reason not to put 10k in the 18k seat stadium. Hope Rapione and Abby are coming to town. Ticket prices are a bit high though.

I have to go against the curve on this one because I think Abby will try to run 80mins again with Press vs subbing herself in and starting with devanna and masar (they wrecked philly's defense the last game of the season) to play with legs of the Philly defenders, soften them up after 45 mins.

Phil 3 MJ 2 extra time

There goes another sellout in Rochester.

Go Jacks!

I'm going to go against the grain with this one and say MJ wins 2-1. I know we lack a true coach and that Abby's subbing patterns have been questionable but I think she'll pull it out. Plus call me a sucker but I would like to see Abby win something this year.

Philly 3, magicjack 1


Scoreboard: Tasha Kai, Amy Rodriguez (GW), Amy Rodriguez (insurance),
& Christen Impress.

"The Dan We Love to Hate" So true....

-mJ is 6-0 in their past 6 games, despite having played all of those within 18 days of each other. However, five of those have been home games.
-PHI is 3-2 in their last 5 games, with two of those wins coming 1-0 over Atlanta and Boston, as well as a last minute 2-1 over a sputtering NJ team. One of those losses was 2-1 @ mJ.
-PHI demolished mJ at home this year, but that was during WWC and obviously mJ is a drastically different team coming into this game.
-Although they split the season series 2-2, PHI outscored mJ 11-5 overall, and 9-1 at home. If you remove the 6-0 game from the equation, these two teams are dead even in terms of scoring.
-Lloyden vs. Barnhart: 1.13 GAA vs. 1.11 GAA

It's gonna come down to who can make that one extra save...

Final Score: mJ 2 - PHI 3

I think it is going to come down to who makes a sub around the 60th-70th minute mark. But maybe not. I'm still mulling my prediction--I'm torn.

Magic 2 Philly 1

Basing it on the last game is a poor estimate... they played in hard rain, had a rain delay, then high winds... conditions that Philly does not do as well in... basically some luck and the weather determined the outcome - could have bounced either way in those conditions..

Philly 3-1

MJ is not facing a slow defence

Kai, Vero and Del Rio - goal scorers

Or we get the win with an Adams Header

By the way - Philly is the most fit team in the league

Sorry, people are buying into the 6 goal game.

MJ comes down to how they use Abby, Press, Devanna, Huff and Masar.

MJ is 2-0 vs philly when their FULL squad is intact. MJ beat Philly when they started the season 3-0 and the least game where their subs, Masar and Devanna, wrecked Johnson, McNeil and crew.

This game is on Abby. If some guy is calling her over to the sideline to make subs MJ is in trouble. If their legs are rested and subs are timed right, they will wreck Philly again. Full squad vs Full sqaud.

Vero is good for a goal. Kai has been absent. A-Rod isn't really there. there is Philly's offense.

But, as noted, Abby doesn't seem to understand coaching while on the field like rampone did, and Philly has a monster advantage there.

I predict Abby and Press will start and will have no legs at the 60th min but Abby will continue to try and press to no avail. Press, Masar and Devanna should start and throw a curve at Riley, Mas and Dev play Excellent together, and Press is on a run after her award. That's a small front and they will turn Philly's defenders legs to jelly after 45-50 mins of chasing them. MJ's backline is strong, so I have no doubt if they dont score with that group it wouldn't be more than 1-0 or 0-0 at the half with Abby and Huff subbing in after 45 min. That's a killer for Philly because MJ would be even stronger in the final 45.

Philly game is over the top but Rampone and Sauer have equal or better pace then Philly's forwards, so they can keep Philly to 1 goal as they have done when both full squads have been on the field.

Abby, trying to save the league, will blow the correct sub patterns for MJ and that will cost them a tight game because no one will have legs late. Philly 3-2 extra time.

the only thing bad about this is Rochester doesn't fill the stadium unless Abby is there.

In a perfect world, MJ routes Philly, and Sahlen Stadium breaks the 15404 attendance record.

oh, and philly score at least 1...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3d0yvR_WjU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3d0yvR_WjU[/ame]

On the other hand, both games were at FAU, and Philly was missing their MVP for the first game.

That being said, no one should pay much attention to the two matches at Widener since both were during the WWC.

I think MagicJack has the more talented roster, but they've also got to be close to running out of gas facing their tenth straight Wed-wknd-Wed-wknd match. That balances things out and leaves it to the coaching, where Philly has a distinct advantage.

I don't think being a player/coach is as hard as you guys make it out.

A couple of weeks ago when Abby was dying, she subbed herself at the half. I thought she looked much better Wed. Clearly, she wants the more experienced players to finish teams off and does not quite trust the subs. Myself, I would have thought of resting both her and Boxx, but she knows her team.

Remember, these gals went 120 twice at the WC, and Abby was hurting more then, IMO.

i think everyone agrees with the coaching advantage. with it nationals on roster, can MJ use a similar lineup as they did in the last game and sub in their strengths in the 2nd 45? Vero is good for 1 goal at best against MJ's backline, and i don't see her going off for a hat trick. Philly forwards arent going to run past Rampone. Marta has problems doing that. Backline and Midfield in tact, MJ proved it can run reserve forwards against philly's backline and score on them. that's a big advantage. but it won't play out that way because abby won't bench her and Huff or Press for the 1st 45 mins. You can be coach of the yr, but your players would have to deal with that type of sub pattern on the field . it won't happen, so philly probably wins in extra time.

Doop, Doop, Doop.

WHere did you pull the 3-0 score from? Other than the lone Sky Blue game Philly has not been beaten by more than 1 goal... MJ barely beat Philly in both games and conditions on the fields both times were bad

Wrecked is not scoring 2 goals and winning by one

Keep thinking they will win because the beat them when Philly had nothing left to raise their playoff standings... I am sure Philly put the best team out on the field in those conditions..

it's when MJ started off 3-0 before they lost to WNY. i didn't say they beat philly 3-0.

conditions or no conditions, MJ is the better team, and Philly has been a 1 goal per game wonder the last couple of weeks with Vero bailing them out. Full squad against Full squad, MJ is 2-0 vs them. but MJ is on a bad schedule, and Abby showed against Boston she has no clue when to start pulling players including herself when she can't even run anymore. Press and Abby for 80 mins against Philly is a defeat waiting to happen. Got it now.

Doop, Doop, Doop

MJ 2 - Philly 1

MJ is a better team and is better now that psycho man is off the sideline. Paul Riley will not play his best players in spite of himself. He has a grudge against US Soccer and he's using Lindsey to show it. He HAS to play Barnhart b/c she's better than Val, and he thinks A-Rod's speed will kill, despite the fact that most of the time she can't hit the broad side of a barn.

I think Philly should start with A-Rod and Boquete up top; midfield would be DiMartino, Buz, Lindsey, and Lohman.

Sub Kai and Del Rio if necessary.

I don't hold out high hopes tho. I can def see a WNY/mJ final.

http://www.womensprosoccer.com/Home/news/general/110819-joanna-lohman-blog-6

Lohman piece.

Riley has them playing the underdogs.

MJ is the team showing up with questionable legs and no coach.

Sorry Lohman, even MJ fans think Philly is the favorite under the current conditions.

Doop, Doop, Doop

Great game, I say Magicjack 3 Philly 2 . Thats if Abby makes a few good subs and changes on the fly when needed. I predict a sold out final in Rochester that will again break the attendance record. Thats a big "IF" on Abbys part, they should at least have a trainer or any warn body helping her on the sideline.

ESPNW reader poll - Who will win the championship?

MagicJack: 56%

Flash: 35%

Philly 9%

Oh, so we're trusting a fan poll now?
Abby was robbed COTY!

Cheesesteaks 3-2 magicJack

Philly 2 - magicJack 2, magicJack advances

The clarity of the sentence was not apparent

There are almost too many factors to consider in this match. My brain is hurting trying to sort it out.

My brain wins out over my heart...

magicjack 2, Philadelphia 1

For all the excitement over Philly's offense, if you take away four games in the middle of the season during the World Cup, they scored just 16 goals in 14 matches. They usually win with defense. I am worried about Press or De Vanna against Krzysik and McNeill. One of the knocks on Krzysik in Chicago was that she was slow.

One factor that could play in though is that Philadelphia has outscored their opponents 18-7 in the 2nd half, when magicJack might be feeling some fatigue.