In-game/post-game: Spirit v. Freedom (R)

[FlashMan]

no flames
no trolls
no misgivings

[FlashMan]

Shawn, for some reason I can't "sticky" this thread from my home computer. If you're out there, could you kindly do so?

Otherwise everyone, enjoy anyway!! :)

[FlashMan]

0-0, 7:28 mark.

I'm watching both the Spirit game and the MLS game.

[FlashMan]

0-0 HT. Haven't seen too much of the game and I haven't seen any scoring chances when I've watched.

I like the mike on Julie!!

[FlashMan]

1-0 Freedom, 70 minute mark. Didn't see it, don't know what happened.

Boxx came down and took and incredible left-footed long range shot, which Mullinix was just able to parry off the crossbar. Very close.

[FlashMan]

1-0 Freedom, full time. Looked very hot & humid in D.C., girls totally spent by the end of game.

Showed a replay of Spirit shot being cleared off line. VERY close, but I don't think the ball fully crossed.

Are we officially out of the playoff picture now?

[macnmil816]

Was it just me or were there like only two fouls called against WA?!!

Much better game than the previous two, just not good enough.

The mic on Jules was hilarious. When she's like 'they can't call it from there, they can't even see it' LOL and then her singing at the beginning...classic.

My biggest complaint was Anson and Beth!! Ohmigosh, they would not shut up about Washington. The freedom would do an okay play and they'd be like 'wow that was amazing' and then just like that the Spirit would take it away and nothin was said. It really bugged me. I was almost ready to go find the ear-plugs.

[Alana1079]

You know, they lost, but I still think they played very, very well. Considering the last two games, this was a nice change of pace. Jules cracked me up at halftime singing...lol. She is so goofy. I love it.

[Tsunami]

Spirit 0, Freedom 1
Spirit Will Play First Wednesday Night Home Game on July 31 at Torero Stadium vs. Atlanta Beat
WAMBACH GOAL DOES IN SAN DIEGO AS SPIRIT FALLS TO FREEDOM, 1-0

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Saturday, July 27, 2002) - The San Diego Spirit played a solid match but couldn't find a way around goalkeeper Siri Mullinix and fell to the Washington Freedom, 1-0, on slick turf at RFK Stadium. The Spirit dropped 4-9-4 (16 points) on the season while Freedom moved to 8-5-5 (29 points) and a step closer to a coveted playoff spot. The match was televised live nationally on PAX TV.
A mid-game rainstorm that eventually gave way to sunshine made the turf a bit slippery, but it didn't bother either team, both of which played quality soccer throughout the match. The Spirit actually out-shot the Freedom 11-10 and had six shots on goal to just three for the Freedom, but the difference in the game was a beautiful 67th minute goal from rookie striker Abby Wambach. The 5-foot-10 forward collected a short pass from Mia Hamm inside the penalty area and rifled a shot under the crossbar and over flying Spirit goalkeeper Carly Smolak.
"This is a game we had to win," said interim head coach Kevin Crow. "A loss or a tie did not do us any good. At the end of the day, we just did not play well enough to win."
The Spirit had a great chance to change the complexion of the match in just the 8th minute when Sherrill Kester lofted a cross into the penalty area from right wing. In her only mistake of the game, Mullinix rushed out of her goal, only to miss the ball, and it bounced to Shannon MacMillan. The Spirit forward had an instant to react to the ball and only got a piece of it on her first-time volley, sending the ball rolling towards the net. As the ball nipped at the goal line, Freedom defender Jenn Grubb came sliding in to clear it away.
The Freedom had just one good scoring chance in the first half, that coming in the 36th minute when Pu Wei sent a header over the crossbar off a cross from German international Steffi Jones.
Hamm, still not 100% recovered from pre-season knee surgery, entered the game at halftime and had a great chance in the 55th minute as Skylar Little rounded Amy Sauer in the right side of the penalty area. Little played a short pass back to Hamm, but she blasted her shot over the crossbar from 12 yards away. Hamm another chance off a free kick in the 65th, but Smolak gobbled up the skipping shot. Two minutes later, Wambach tallied after Ann Cook had got the ball to Hamm after a nice dribble run. Hamm slipped a short chip to Wambach, who collected and then shot as she was falling down.
The Spirit had three good chances in the last 20 minutes, but Mullinix was there to save each time. In the 71st minute, substitute Shannon Boxx turned inside from just outside the right corner of the penalty are and cracked a sizzling left-footed shot that Mullinix pushed off the crossbar with flying save. In the 73rd minute, substitute Margaret Tietjen took a soft shot from the top of the penalty area, but it was headed into the lower right corner before Mullinix scrambled to save.
One minute after that, a ball popped to Jenny Mascaro inside the penalty are and she got some heat on her shot, only to see it pushed away by Mullinix, who also had a nice punch off dangerous cross in the second half and came off her line quickly clear the ball away and diffuse a Spirit break in the first.
"They came out on top today with a great goal," said MacMillan. "They were very organized and in the defense and when they went up a goal it just made it harder to score. They were man marking out there and I was trying to create space in the final third, but they stayed organized and had someone on me at all times."
Spirit forward Julie Fleeting, who had registered at least a point in the first three games of her WUSA career, was held without a point for the first time.
Spirit goalkeeper Carly Smolak got her third consecutive start and played a solid game, although she had to make just two saves, and took her first ever loss as a starter. After beating the Freedom in two out of three games last year, and tying one, San Diego ends this year with a 0-3-0 record against Washington while scoring zero goals to Washington's eight.
The Spirit returns home for a Wednesday night match against the Atlanta Beat on July 31 with kickoff set for 7 p.m. PT at Torero Stadium. It will be the second-to-last home game of the season for the Spirit, which finishes up the 2002 campaign at home on Aug. 11 vs. the Carolina Courage.

San Diego Spirit 0, Freedom 1
RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
July 27, 2002 - 1 p.m. ET Kickoff

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 1 2 F
San Diego Spirit 0 0= 0
Washington Freedom 0 1= 1

Scoring Summary:

WAS - Abby Wambach 9 (Hamm 2, Cook 1)67th minute.

SPIRIT - Carly Smolak, Kim Pickup, Joy Fawcett, Rhiannon Tanaka, Amy Sauer (Margaret Tietjen, 59), Julie Foudy - C, Lori Lindsey (Shannon Boxx, 62), Jenny Mascaro, Sherrill Kester, Julie Fleeting (Shauna Rohbock, 75), Shannon MacMillan.
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Mascaro 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Boxx 2); FOULS: 8 (Foudy 2); OFFSIDE: 0; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: (Smolak 2); CATCH/PUNCHES: (Smolak 1); CAUTIONS: (Pickup, 84); EJECTIONS: None

FREEDOM - Siri Mullinix, Skylar Little, Carrie Moore, Jen Grubb, Emmy Barr, Steffi Jones, Monica Gerardo (Jacqui Little, 66), Sarah Kate Noftsinger (Ann Cook, 58), Pu Wei (Casey Zimny, 87), Bai Jie (Mia Hamm, 46), Abby Wambach.
TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Four with 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Wambach 2); FOULS: 12 (Wambach 4, Pu 3); OFFSIDE: 1; CORNER KICKS: 10; SAVES: (Mullinix 5); CATCH/PUNCHES: (Mullinix 4); CAUTIONS: None; EJECTIONS: None.

Referee: Ricardo Salazar; Referee's Assistants: Melanie Johnson, Kim Oberle; 4th: John Schmitz.
Attendance: n/a pending second half of DH featuring D.C. United vs. New
England. Weather: Mixed clouds and sun, rainy - 81 degrees.

[M9fanatic]

I wasn't going to post but... i can't help it.
My two favorite players #9 & #8 and my two favorite teams going at it.
It sucks that the Spirit are out. You know there is no other player besides Mia that I would love to see hoist the cup more than Jules. Julie really deserves a piece of what she helped create.

It was a pretty even game. And thats pretty much all I will say about the game... the pain is too great.

I enjoyed the Jules sound bites. A lot :D She's great isn't she? What a great leader.

[M9fanatic]

Well now there is nothing wrong with playing spoiler, is there?

I hope the Spirit beat the crap out of the Beat... twice :D

They need to be put in their place!!

And you know what? I think the Charge secretly enjoy being put in their place by the Spirit!

[Mike Lane]

I don't want to be a troll,,,, you guys can hope to beat us. You haven't got much else to hope for.

[Soccersuzie]

you are a troll. bubie.

;)

anson and beth didnt make me press the mute button at times...it was that annoying horn plus the non-stop screaming from the girls. you would think by the 70th minute they would shut up, but no..... mia riles them all up with the touch of the ball. ughhh

"we come to america!" thank you julie, lovely singing. and that part where she sees julie fleeting andi s like "what do you want, what do you want..."

[FearM9]

From the San Diego Union Tribune:

Spirit shut out of WUSA playoffs again, coach presumes (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/sun/sports/news_1s28spirit.html)
By Cynthia Hobgood :D:D
SPECIAL TO THE UNION-TRIBUNE
July 28, 2002

[macnmil816]

I know those girls would not shut up. I was like, yell when they score not whenever Mia is within 30 feet of the ball!

hehe So by your sig I see you saw Prehtina's goal celebration too. AHH! The announcers kept goin on and on about how it was a great celebration. How is ripping off your shirt a great celebration? I guess in some countries. I thought Mac's celebration a few weeks ago when she went and high-fived the crowd was great.

[ranjeboom]

Originally posted by M9fanatic
... that I would love to see hoist the cup more than Jules. Julie really deserves a piece of what she helped create.


Can't help but agree with you there, but I believe Foudy is meant for bigger and better things off the field. By all accounts, she is a tireless "underground" worker for all things soccer, and it seems that her accomplishments on the field are only secondary to what she has done, and continues to do, behind the scenes.

Sure she deserves to hoist a cup, but quite frankly, I'd rather have her plugging away in the back room, playing golf, wooing, and charming the pants off the money boys for the league's perpetuation.

Yeah, she's a crowd draw but I would never underestimate what she does politically for the league and for womens sports in general.

[Soccersuzie]

Originally posted by macnmil816
I know those girls would not shut up. I was like, yell when they score not whenever Mia is within 30 feet of the ball!



which was pretty much the whole half. and the sad part was they spent the first half warming up. ughhhhh.

[mhw166]

So- I drove ten/eleven hours to go up and see the Freedom. I had dreamed of seeing them in person...and for my birthday- it finally came true.
Tell me about those Mia fans. We sat next to boring, dull people. Then on the other sides, there were VERY vocal Freedom fans. Everytime i screamed for the Spirit, i thought my life was in danger.
I made a sign saying, "All the way from KY to get some SPIRIT"...did anyone see it on TV? After the game, Mac came over. I could tell she was bummed. I wanted to tell her that all the Spirit fans will love them no matter what. Then a manager saw my sign and pulled Julie over to me. It was surreal. I know i seem really stupid when i say this, but my legs were shaking & i was speechless.
Does anyone know of an email address/ address where fans can write? I would really love to tell them how much being at that game meant to me.

Spirit fan,
molly

[Alana1079]

Originally posted by ranjeboom

Can't help but agree with you there, but I believe Foudy is meant for bigger and better things off the field. By all accounts, she is a tireless "underground" worker for all things soccer, and it seems that her accomplishments on the field are only secondary to what she has done, and continues to do, behind the scenes.

Sure she deserves to hoist a cup, but quite frankly, I'd rather have her plugging away in the back room, playing golf, wooing, and charming the pants off the money boys for the league's perpetuation.

Yeah, she's a crowd draw but I would never underestimate what she does politically for the league and for womens sports in general.
Well that pretty much says exactly what I think. Very well said, ranjeboom. I don't think there's a single person in the game who works as hard as she does to promote soccer. As long as Jules is there charming the CEOs of every company she can get her hands on, the WUSA, in my opinion, is safe.

Now, to add my two cents, Jules RULES!! Not nearly as articulate, but just as true...

Julie Foudy for President!! [ (of the United States, people...at least we'd have a funny president who could outrun anyone in the Secret Service. Okay, I'll shut up now. Too much sugar for me this morning...)

[JTorres]

Was there any mention of the humidity doing in the Spirit on Saturday? I thought the Spirit looked like they might be the team to break through with a goal but it wasn't to be.

Also, was there any reason given in the press why Foudy took the corners instead of Mac after awhile?
Even with Wambach & Jones defending, I would have taken my chances with Mac serving the ball and trying to hit Foudy, Fleeting or Fawcett or getting a short clearance situation set up by the scramble.