I think that, when a player has been clobbered in the box and a PK called, the clobbered player should not be the one taking the PK. I don't care who she is, have someone else take it.
10' 1-0 RCB P.Nielsen dribbles to own 25m wide right, with RB Huster 10m ahead of her up right touch. Press lurks in the passing lane, Nielsen waits a half-beat too long, passes inside-out toward Huster, Press stretches and blocks ball behind her. Press collects at box top wide (her) left, cuts inside toward box top left, then drives hard down box left and gets shoulders ahead of Nielsen, leans past her to 6-top left, veers away from a semi-circle of 3 to 11m left post. Two of those defenders came off of LaBonta now unmarked at box top right post. Press toe-pokes back to 16m right post, LaBonta snipes one-touch right instep to right post low, Bledsoe dives and gets a touch, but it bounces in. Press never met a 1-v-4 she didn't like .@ChristenPress: Steal, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, distribute@L0momma: Shoots. Scores. 1-0 #UTAvWAS | @YahooSports | https://t.co/5bC2KUcP8N pic.twitter.com/eT7pHctaNC— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 21, 2019
75' 1-0 Sauerbrunn challenges DiBiasi back-to-back at own box top center, flattens her and does a Fosbury herself. Foul. 76' 1-0 Washington fk at box top center, Pugh on the left (right-foot threat), Lavelle on the right. Lavelle takes, left instep bends not quite enough, nicks the outside of left 90 and glances off the back left support pole. That's an intriguing glimpse into Washington's pre-season prep: those two are Washington's deadball specialists. (Pundits might say: they're allocated, they better be specialists ) .@roselavelle buzzes the tower on this free kick.1-0 #UTAvWAS | @YahooSports | https://t.co/5bC2KUcP8N pic.twitter.com/K0pLeU6mO9— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 21, 2019 79' 1-0 Utah subs in (3 of 3) #7 Mandy Laddish for #9 Lo'eau LaBonta. Laddish's 1st match in almost 3 years!
84' 1-0 Washington kick a simple switch to Lavelle at circle top left -- already Lavelle has lateral separation from Utah's entire midfield, and nobody in front of her. Lavelle dribbles up centerline to 30m, RB Bowen drifts way inside to stop ball, nobody has Pugh unmarked up mid-left. Lavelle passes to Pugh at box top mid-left, Pugh touches to 9m 7-left, shoots left foot toward 1/4 left, Barnhart gets down and blocks with body. Pugh regains ball, backpass gets poked even further back, Washington settles at circle top 6-left. Pugh needs to be showing will-make-contenders-worry sharpness on some of these chances This is a match-saving stop from @nbarnhart on @MalPugh.1-0 #UTAvWAS | @YahooSports | https://t.co/5bC2KUcP8N pic.twitter.com/sXe4UoCud8— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 21, 2019 90+1' (of +3') 1-0 Press dribbles up mid-left lane to 30m, slips a diagonal pass to Boquete at 25m center, dribbling slightly leftward. Stengel lurks between 2 at arc top center, does a classic screen-and-roll backpedal-pivot-cw, Boquete delivers a pinpoint diagonal pass, Stengel executes an even better trap-into-stride, leads 6 defenders to 12m 1/4 right. Bledsoe comes up to 6m, Stengel shoots right instep toward left post low, Bledsoe dives and blocks ball along 6-top, Huster clears. What. A. Save. @AubreyBledsoe1-0 #UTAvWAS | @YahooSports | https://t.co/5bC2KUcP8N pic.twitter.com/Q3VB4EewD5— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 21, 2019 FT 1-0.
I wasn't aware Sheridan was a Canadian WNT member: is she 2nd GK or 3rd? I assume the first choice for them is Stephanie Labbé. Who else they have? D'Angelo? Is McLeod still an active player? Anyway, @MiLLeNNiuM is right that Labbé and Sheridan both look better than US GKs right now (Sheridan looked almost super-human at times, in this game vs Houston, and you have to feel sorry for her that she had to bow to a random deflection in the same action where she had saved so perfectly an 1-on-1 situation vs Daly).
I am not an USWNT supporter, just an outside-viewer, so I have to ask: aren't US fans worried with the level of their DFs? I guess Sonnett and Short are supposed to be USWNT members in France (maybe Short is on the bubble, actually), but their blunders is this game, as described above by @Gilmoy, were quite embarassing for a NT-level player. I wouldn't feel very safe if I'd have Emily Sonnet as one of my Full-Backs at a WWC...
Yeah I’m not sold on our defense for the WWC 2019. I truly believe we won’t get farther than the quarterfinals if this is the best showing we got, however, I always hold out hope that maybe all the cards aren’t being shown on the table and we might suddenly unleash a great defense but I wouldn’t hold my breath. We could very easily have the worst WWC since 2007. We get through the tournament not on football IQ but grit and determination of never giving up though so I can’t ever count us out totally, but I can be concerned and hope if we do crash and burn, we might get a much better coach like a Paul Riley or whomever isn’t afraid to cut long-standing players that aren’t doing their job anymore.
I agree -- and I'll go a big step further. I think a rule change on PKs is in order. The penalty is too severe for minor fouls. I think a PK should be called only if a player is taken down in the box while facing the goal and in a shooting position-- or in the case of a handball if a shot appears on-goal. Neither of those criteria were met in the two PKs in the Chi-Por game. They were fouls, but not PK worthy. The PK in the SB-Hou game didn't even look like a foul in my opinion. It looked like a collision. So, what should the penalty be for a non-shooting foul in the box? Maybe a shot from 18 yards out? 20 yards out? Something less likely to result in a goal, commiserate with the offense.
The worries about the USWNT defense pretty much sums up what has been discussed on the USWNT boards this year. (I will say though that the expectation is Sonnett will not be starting. It will probably be O'Hara; everyone is sending good thoughts and prayers towards O'Hara's ankle.)
2019/04/21 Sun: [REI-ORL] Balcer for Jenkins; Yanez for Spencer (and Groom => RF); Utsugi for Andrews; McNabb for Nielsen (and Jiménez Delgado => RB). Here it is! Your Reign FC Starting XI for our first-ever match at Cheney Stadium against @ORLPride #RFC253 #RFCvORL pic.twitter.com/xNHnHFrRsf— Seattle Reign FC (@reignfc) April 22, 2019 Camila for Ubogagu. The XI going to work in Seattle tonight.📺 https://t.co/YluL4vDBlf#RFCvORL | #BiggerThanSoccer pic.twitter.com/DIpzTP5NPE— Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) April 22, 2019 Orlando: Q none / OUT Pressley Reign: Q Rapinoe Catley / OUT Spencer Smith
Pitch looks pretty narrow. Seems they could've made it a bit wider. Having the wire for the screen behind home plate in the middle of the screen it pretty annoying as well (at least that's what I assume it is).
00'15" 0-0 Reign kick off, quick zigzag passes up centerline, wide right to Groom. Groom drives to 3m wide right, cross to 1m center, Harris punches away to box top (own) mid-left, Marta settles against pressure and clears. 03' 0-0 Both announcers have made the "Sea -- Reign FC" bobble early reflexes are hard to retrain 04' 0-0 Zadorsky(?) longball to 27m mid-right, looking for Hill. McNabb hop-heads back to Betos. Early evening sun is low on the horizon, shining through trees behind near touch, casting long shadows across Orlando's goal. Reign's goal is, of course, in the shade -- it's a Cascadia thing
06' 0-1 van Egmond fk at 35m box left, sailed flat to 9m 6-right. Balcer (headband) fights for position amidst the pile, jumps and heads a bloop to 12m center. Kennedy comes back to ball, dinks a bicycle lob over own right shoulder across mouth, wrong-foots Betos and drops perfectly into back left low. Unfortunate bounce, good finish. 😱😱😱RIDE THAT BIKE @AlannaKennedy!!!!!! 0-1 #SEAvORL | @YahooSports | https://t.co/9UeSmGftxw pic.twitter.com/dx5yloVfQN— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 22, 2019 09' 0-1 Camila backpasses to Zadorsky at own arc top left. Zadorsky delivers a no-look one-touch backpass toward Harris -- who's up at 6-top center, not expecting that angle, and the ball rolls past her! Just wide left all the way -- Zadorsky knows not to backpass on-frame Harris chases but can't save it in, over endline left for a ck.
11' 0-1 Orlando are sometimes high-pressing, making Reign rush longballs out of the back. 12' 0-1 Reign left throw-in near box top, to J.Taylor at 14m mid-left. Taylor turns down mid-left and gets sandwiched by Kennedy and Krieger, sprawls face-first, no call. 14' 0-1 Pickett fk at 25m wide right, high to 8m left post. Betos comes out and jumps amidst the scrum, gets towed into rightward rotation by a current of humans, bobbles ball high and lands on side, grabs the bounce.
Yay, no more football lines! That memorial stadium was always an eye sore to look at even though the fanbase made up for it.
16' 0-1 Camila shoots right instep from arc top left, going just wide left low, Betos dives and catches. 17' 0-1 Utsugi pokes a pass to Taylor at box top center, Taylor sneaks a foot into a defender's leg space and gets a soft touch, ball trickles barely to spot.
21' 1-1 Backpass to Long at circle top, she switches right to RB Jiménez Delgado making an aggressive run up wide right. Cross from box top wide right, blocked out to arc top mid-right. van Egmond turns while collecting but Long overruns her and scuffs ball free, it spins diagonally through box top left post. Yanez dummies over ball (actually shoulder-blocks Krieger aside ), lets it roll to Balcer spotting up at 15m 6-left. One-touch right instep bend beats Harris's dive, drops into back right low. Picture perfect placement from Bethany Balcer for the @ReignFC equalizer. 1-1 #SEAvORL | @YahooSports | https://t.co/9UeSmGftxw pic.twitter.com/gF7Eb7iz6f— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 22, 2019 22' 1-1 Balcer outruns Krieger down wide left to box top, cross on the run to Taylor at 12m right post, perfect ball-stop with zero bounce. Taylor promptly scoops left foot but never faces goal, lifts it way wide left and high. 23' 1-1 Hill crosses to 12m 1/3 right, Morgan swings waist-high right roundhouse but fouls it way over bar.
Jiménez Delgado apparently goes by "Celia" now. 30' 1-1 Long turns at circle back, passes toward Celia at midfield right touch, but underhits this one in the grass, Celia must come back for it. Celia is particularly aggressive in getting forward for width (this must be Vlatko's scheme), and when she's that far up, Long is almost a third CB in a 3-back. 33' 1-1 Orlando underhit a backpass through own arc right, Groom chases alone through box top, Harris races her coming out -- crowd gets het up as they see it's a 40-60 chance. Harris clears -- but Groom blocks the punt with her body, ball bounces behind Harris and rolls toward right post, going just wide. Groom chases and slides through endline, turns ball into right side netting on the outside. 35' 1-1 Morgan chases to spot, Betos wins race and smothers at her foot.
37' 1-1 Utsugi(?) serves high to 8m 6-left, Harris comes out and jumps over Kennedy's back (ducking) to punch away. Yanez chases to box top wide left, gets shoved down. Foul. 38' 1-1 Utsugi fk at box top wide left, across mouth to 2m 3-right. Long measures it very well (and drags Kennedy stumbling with her), jump-heads down into 1/4 right arm-high, off Harris's right arm, Morgan volleys it away. Oyster crosses from way out to 8m left post, Harris comes out again and falls over Long's box-out try, both go down and ball deflects out to 12m 6-left. Yanez shoots one-touch high, but foul called, no shot. Shoulders work, too, @Ashlyn_Harris. 1-1 #SEAvORL | @YahooSports | https://t.co/9UeSmGftxw pic.twitter.com/1qavtaLpYM— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 22, 2019 40' 1-1 Groom chases another backpass up centerline, starting from 25m away! 41' 1-1 Balcer crosses from 11m left touch high to 2m 1/4 left, Groom jumps for a header, Harris reaches ball first but bobbles it. Ball bounces at 1m lef tpost, Kennedy(?) swings at it and -- drills it downward into Groom still lying flat. Harris catches the bounce.
44' 1-1 Marta leads a counter, veers wide to 22m box left. Bending cross on the run to 12m 6-right, Krieger(!) jumps through/past Long's leg on the outside, volleys (with her knee?) wide right. +2'. 45+2' (of +2') 1-1 Orlando left throw-in at arc top, to Morgan 1-v-2 at 8m box left. Ball cleared back to arc top mid-left, van Egmond shoots right instep through traffic, just wide left low and Betos lets it roll out. HT 1-1.