Six-match week, with all nine teams playing. Three of tonight's teams (Chicago, Orlando, Washington) play twice. No midweek blues here. We're closing in on a pair of games tonight. #WASvUTA | #CHIvORL | #NWSL pic.twitter.com/9A1zqhTwEH— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 21, 2019
[#2.CHI-ORL.#9] Davidson for Naughton (and Ertz => CB); Colaprico for K.Johnson (and Wright => FW). Your #MKOT Starting XI for #CHIvORL, presented by @MagellanCorp 📝: https://t.co/PGf47VL2v3 pic.twitter.com/OnJXC8Zgyk— Chicago Red Stars (@chicagoredstars) August 21, 2019 Morgan for Ubogagu; Weatherholt for Boyles. And that's the T The XI for #CHIvORL. 😈 📺 @YahooSports pic.twitter.com/onilkGYlSy— Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) August 21, 2019 Chicago: OK (<= Q) Brian Colaprico Davidson / Q (OK =>, starting) Wright / OUT (=) Jahansouz Mautz Vasconcelos Orlando: Q none / OUT (RED =>) King (=) van Egmond / RED Marta (2 of 2) / 45D (=) Pressley / MAT (=) Leroux
06' 0-0 Dahlkemper longball to 30m circle right, Morgan gets sandwiched by Ertz and Gorden, takes a leg part to her -- head? Morgan stays down, Chicago counter. Nagasato passes to Kerr at 27m mid-left, she touches to 25m arc left, shoots right foot rising over Harris's hand, off crossbar 1/3 left, ball bounces into box and Orlando clears into far touch. Stoppage. .@samkerr1 came oh so close to adding to her league-leading tally.0-0 | #CHIvORL pic.twitter.com/yHGM4mzxXG— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 21, 2019 10' 0-0 Morgan is still lying on back, trainers checking her head/face/jaws. She flashes a smile to Naeher. Stretcher staff roll out the sci-fi stretcher on wheels -- precautionary/protocol, not urgent. 11' 0-0 Trainers finally sit Morgan up. 12' 0-0 1st attempt at pulling her to feet ... no, they decide not. Morgan stands! Trainers help her walk off, stretcher not needed (it retracts landing gear). She looks woozy, not fully alert. 13' 0-0 Trainers walk Morgan down the tunnel. 13' 0-0 Orlando subs in (1 of 3) #6 Chioma Ubogagu for #13 Alex Morgan. Sigh.
[#7.WAS-UTA.#4] Logarzo for Lavelle. The XI for tonight against Utah at the Plex!#WASvUTA // #CatchTheSpirit pic.twitter.com/hTPBcirOco— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) August 21, 2019 Jónsdóttir for Stengel. LET'S GOOOOO! 💪 pic.twitter.com/ZVoSnD8oi7— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) August 21, 2019 Washington: OK (<= Q) Feist Matthews / Q (OK =>, not a sub) Lavelle / OUT (=) McGrady Pugh / MAT (=) Eubanks / (4YEL Dougherty Howard) Utah: Q none / OUT (=) Laddish (=) Moros O'Hara / SEI (=) Lytle Ratcliffe 02' 0-0 Siren, lightning sighted! All exeunt, weather delay We are currently in a weather delay...please return to your vehicles until further notice.— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) August 21, 2019
25' 0-0 Kerr sweeps down box left for Nagasato to 12m, DiBernardo lurks at 11m 2/5 right. Nagasato cuts back to right foot, cross to 10m center, DiBernardo jumps in front of Edmonds and flick-heads across mouth, wide right. 25' Keep knocking on the door. 0-0 #CHIvORL | #MKOT pic.twitter.com/AGPQF2AP2g— Chicago Red Stars (@chicagoredstars) August 22, 2019 30' 0-1 Long spell of Orlando possession, pinning Chicago in their 1/3. 33' 0-1 Ubogagu left throw-in at 33m, to Viggiano cutting down wide left, tap back to Ubogagu. One-touch cross outswinging past Gorden to 8m center, Hill hop-heads down across mouth, it bounces past Naeher's dive, into right side netting 1/4 high just behind right post. The pass by Chioma Ubogagu. The finish by @r_hill3. One pretty goal for @ORLPride.0-1 | #CHIvORL pic.twitter.com/UkAtphSUeX— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 22, 2019
42' 0-1 Orlando are dominating in midfield, Chicago can't sustain possessions except by hoofing long. +8'. 45+0' (of +8') 0-1 Chicago attack into box, Orlando calmly close it down and pass wide left. Chicago maintain a very high press, with 4 defenders up at 27m wide right, trapping Orlando deep. Zadorsky finally kicks long to circle back, Ertz collects, passes beyond Short to DiBernardo at arc top wide right -- and Short continues her run through box top right. DiBernardo taps down wide right to Short, Short crosses to 2m 2-right for Kerr cutting center-to-right. Kerr stoops but misses (dummies? ) a glance-header, ball continues untouched past Harris. Harris drags right glove behind her torso for exactly that possibility, blocks with wrist/forearm, wide right and over. 45+' | N🛡pe 0-1 | #CHIvORL pic.twitter.com/AagVpuiZ46— Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) August 22, 2019 HT 0-1. Orlando are playing with calm in the back and a bundle of energy up top.
[WAS-UTA] may resume at 21:17 EDT, about 35' from now. We're looking at play potentially resuming at 9:17 p.m. ET. #WASvUTA https://t.co/qfuGMPTPG9— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 22, 2019 Sooooooooooo....we got the all clear...refs are checking fields....players will do a 20 minute warm up...hoping to kick off at 9:17 pm. Gates will be reopened shortly...no bag check...Lauren will be available following kick off at GATE A to redeem your Audi game of choice.— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) August 22, 2019
46' 0-1 Chicago subs in (1 of 3) #5 Kathleen Naughton for #24 Danielle Colaprico. NWSL pbp & stats seems to have died -- it froze at 22', then rolled itself back to 13' and has been stuck there since. 46' 0-1 Nagasato chips from circle halfback left to 35m arc left, Edmonds clangs the bounce into Kerr's stride through 28m left post, already leaning chest ahead of Zadorsky with inside position. Zadorsky pulls self ahead on the left, Kerr veers rightwrad to away from 9m 3-right, shoots right instep low across mouth. Harris slides out through 7m and blocks with body, ball goes wide right and topspins over endline. .@Ashlyn_Harris denies Sam Kerr to keep @ORLPride in the lead. 🙅♀️0-1 | #CHIvORL pic.twitter.com/d3ldUH5n68— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 22, 2019 49' 0-1 Hill chases a longball to arc top right, looking back over her shoulder. Naeher comes out thereat, Hill turns head and sees her not-in-time to stop, puts hands out shoulder-high and pokes a knee into Naeher's left lower abdomen. Ooof, foul, Naeher stays down for a bit. NWSL pbp just downloaded up to 27' Time Warp II: It rolled back to 13' again!
58' 0-1 Orlando gack a terrible pass directly to _ at 25m center. Quick pass to Nagasato at arc center, Krieger fronts her and forces her to turn rightward. Nagasato taps to 11m mid-right, DiBernardo runs on unmarked and shoots one-touch right instep, juuuust wide right 1/4 high. 60' 0-2 Emslie receives at 35m wide right behind Wright caught high, dribbles down right touch with Wright in pursuit, to 5m wide right. Bullet ground cross to 5m center, Chicago clear past box top. Ubogagu passes from 33m box left down box left for Hill -- and promptly back-cuts Short not sprinting, going on her own run up mid-left lane. Hill chases to 15m box left, one-touch ground pass to Ubogagu at 12m 6-left. Ubogagu touches to 8m 6-left, shoots left instep across mouth, under Naeher's left hand, into back right low. .@r_hill3 returns the favor to @ChiAlreadyKnow as @ORLPride now have a two-goal lead.0-2 | #CHIvORL pic.twitter.com/fAWgcV7IjG— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 22, 2019 63' 0-2 Chicago subs in (2 of 3) #9 Savannah McCaskill for #10 Vanessa DiBernardo.
65' 0-2 Nagasato passes from 27m center through box top 6-left, Kerr chases alone. Zadorsky closes inside-out from box top center, slide-pokes at ball and clips Kerr's foot, Kerr then sprawls-and-surfs over Zadorsky into box. Foul called just outside box, at the spot of the first contact. Free kick blasted into wall, bounces away. 68' 0-2 Davidson spins ccw down right touch to 7m, crosses to 6m 2-right. Ertz comes back to ball, glance-heads down off Zadorsky's chest, ball reflects toward right post, Harris dives left and pushes ball away along endline. Ball stays in, Ertz chases it down. .@Ashlyn_Harris is having herself a game. 0-2 | #CHIvORL pic.twitter.com/QJEifuQlt4— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 22, 2019 80' 0-2 Orlando subs in (2 of 3) #25 Joanna Boyles for #23 Marisa Viggiano.
[WAS-UTA] resumes at 21:14 EDT. 02' 0-0 Drop ball to Washington, they kick it to Utah. 04' 0-0 Corsie passes wide right with head down -- directly into Hatch at 34m mid-left Hatch takes the rebound to 22m arc left, shoots right instep to crossbar 1/4 right, Barnhart jumps and tips it over. May have been a delay, but the focus is always at 💯@nbarnhart starts things off with a 💪 save.0-0 | #WASvUTA pic.twitter.com/YvvjBrWR0Z— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 22, 2019 05' 0-0 Yellow card on Kellond-Knight, for a foul on Rodriguez. 11' 0-0 Logarzo fouls Vero, who hobbles into touch. Eventually, she returns.
[CHI-ORL] 81' 0-2 Yellow card on Krieger, for a foul on Kerr. 84' 0-2 Orlando subs in (3 of 3) #20 Abby Elinsky for #15 Rachel Hill. 85' 0-2 Chicago subs in (2 of 3) #33 Katlyn Johnson for #13 Morgan Brian. 90' 0-2 Chicago skip a ground cross from ~27m wide right to Kerr 1/2 step ahead of Kennedy through arc top center. Kennedy hauls Kerr down with left arm wrapped over shoulder. Foul, DOGSO, straight red card on Kennedy. +6'. 90+1' (of +6') 0-2 McCaskill fk at arc center, into the wall('s head), deflects high over bar. 90+3' (of +6') 0-2 Davidson right ck, to 6-top 1/4 left, Kerr jumps and heads over bar.
90+6' 1-2 Nagasato receives at box top left, sees 2-v-4 in the box. Ground cross to box top center, McCaskill runs on and snipes right instep up centerline, Harris limbos and palms it off crossbar, it bounces away to arc top. Davidson touches leftward past Elinsky(?), shoots left instep through legs, beats Harris's dive, just inside right post low. Davidson's 1st NWSL goal! First a cross bar from @smccaskill_21's effort and then a shot from distance by @tierna_davidson finds the back of the net to pull a goal back for @chiredstarsPR.1-2 | #CHIvORL pic.twitter.com/2N7EMVsxcx— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 22, 2019 FT 1-2. Chicago's 2 games in hand on Portland have gone the way of a frozen thing in summer. They stay in 2nd, pending other matches this week. Orlando hops back over Sky Blue into 8th -- they both beat Chicago in consecutive weeks , so this alone cannot separate them
[WAS-UTA] HT 0-0. Washington 8(1)-(0)0 shots(sog), 3-1 corners, 11-4 crosses (3-16 clearances), 0-2 offsides, 5-4 fouls, 62% possession. Much better energy from Washington this week.
FT 0-0. Washington 18(2)-2(7) shots(sog), 8-2 corners, 20-15 crosses, 15-29 clearances, 0-2 offsides, 7-7 fouls, 56% possession. Utah came on late with some dangerous half-chances ... but not today.
Do I remember well that Alanna Kennedy was recently sent off for DOGSO at the World Cup also, in the Round of 16 match vs Norway? Not a bad sign for a Center Back when you are sent off for DOGSO twice in barely two months of high level competitive football... Could it mean there's something critically wrong in the way you defend?
Of course: as a Nadeshiko Japan's fan, I've never liked a Red Card more than Iwashimizu on Morgan in the dying minutes of extra-time of the 2011 WWC's final vs USA.
Who needs Morgan and Marta when you've got Hill and Ubogagu? I wonder about Morgan. During the World Cup and now she has spent more time on the ground than she has upright. Chicago dominated the match, but had everything go wrong. The soccer gods were having a good laugh at Chicago's expense. Not taking anything away from Orlando which played well. By contrast, Washington (surprisingly) dominated Utah. Their swarming defense (and a little luck) neutralized Rodriguez and Press. I expected Washington to wear out in the second half and Utah to get a goal or two. They didn't. I'm impressed with Sam Staab.
The ref was not popular in this game! Kerr was fouled more and no calls. GK Harris was doing A LOT of stalling and never got a card. Nice crowd, 5.4K, for a mid week game. Just wasn't a CRS night! Tough game coming up for them next in POR.
We all should have seen that Orlando win coming, considering they beat Chicago in Chicago twice last year (although to be fair, both wins came before they hit the skids in mid-June).
Today is going to be a whole lot of fun.#NCvSEA | #WASvORL | #HOUvNJ | #NWSL pic.twitter.com/YLkgidEOcX— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 24, 2019 [#3.NC-REI.#5] Identical (to Week 17). [Starting XI] It's Wizard Night and this lineup doesn't lack magic#NoFinishLine pic.twitter.com/vuJa20tSI2— NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) August 24, 2019 Jiménez Delgado for Groom (and White => RF). Our starting XI for #NCvRFC.#ShePlaysHere #BeBold pic.twitter.com/FiT3X8dQmT— Seattle Reign FC (@reignfc) August 24, 2019 North Carolina: OK (<= Q, starting) S.Mewis Ln.Williams (<= Q, sub) McDonald / Q (=) Rn.Williams / OUT (OK =>) Pruitt (=) Harbison Reign FC: Q none / OUT (OK =>) Groom (=) Cox McNabb Rapinoe Utsugi / 45D (=) Ld.Williams / SEI (=) Betos Fishlock J.Johnson T.Smith Spencer Watson / (4YEL Barnes)
[#7.WAS-ORL.#8] at Audi Field! Marta for Emslie; Boyles for Kennedy; Pickett for Morgan (and Edmonds => LF). Tonight’s Pride XI taking on the Spirit! 📺 @YahooSports #WASvORL | #SKOPURP pic.twitter.com/DaYKvNPKmS— Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) August 24, 2019 Farquharson for Logarzo; Bailey for Kellond-Knight. .@WashSpirit starting XI: Bledsoe; Huster, Nielsen, Staab, Bailey; Farquharson, MDH, DiBiasi, Sullivan (c); Hatch, Thomas As expected, no Lavelle (head) or Pugh (hip). Pugh is doing light warmups on the field. #WASvORL / #CatchTheSpirit— Emily Olsen (@EmilyTOlsen) August 24, 2019 Washington: Q none / OUT (OK =>) Kellond-Knight (Q =>) Lavelle (=) McGrady Pugh / MAT (=) Eubanks / (4YEL Dougherty Howard) Orlando: Q none / OUT (OK =>) Morgan Ubogagu (=) King van Egmond / RED Kennedy / 45D (=) Pressley / MAT (=) Leroux
[NC-REI] 10' 0-0 NC launch many lightning attacks, Reign scramble them all clear. 12' 0-0 White left ck, tight topspin dive just over S.Mewis's head, untouched to 2m left post. It ricochets off Yanez's left ankle, over endline left before she can react. 12' 0-0 Off that gk, NC longball ahead of Ln.Williams through circle top box left, down box left to 5m. Ground cross to 7m 1/3 left hits Dunn, bounces around, finally Catley clears. 14' 0-0 Mathias left ck, to 9m 3-right. Erceg sideheads down to Hamilton facing away at 5m 1/3 right, Hamilton backheel-flicks across mouth past Murphy coming up onto her back, wide left. I bet Debinha has been talking up that shot ever since the WWC, and now everybody on NC looks for it 12'- @khamilton17 came very close.#NCvRFC 0-0 pic.twitter.com/KKK2LuPNDS— NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) August 24, 2019