I think Houston has become one of the most entertaining and interesting teams in the league. They have exceeded my expectations. I picked them to finish last, and to be as boring as my aunt Bertha. Against Orlando, they looked like the worst team in the league for the first half, and should have been down 3-0. But they came back strong in the second half and won the game with a little luck Luck happens. If you wear the other team out, sometimes good things happen for you. Houston has a chance, not a very good one, but a chance, to finish in the top 4. Comeau, who I thought of as a marginal player, has been good. Huerta and Ohai are taking some of the pressure off Daly who was a one-woman wrecking crew early in the season. Monthalo is a frail, but quick presence in the midfield. Brooks is finally looking like the destroyer she was expected to be when she came into the league. So, keep up the good work, Houston!
According to sprotsclubstats.com's calculations, it's looking like a team will need 34-35pts to have a 50% shot at a playoff spot this year. With that in mind, Houston need to at least double their point total with slightly less than half of the season left. That sounds bad, but there's a point to remember about how their season has played out thus far. Considering their slow start of just 2pts in 5g, that means they earned 15pts in 9g since, and have 10g left in the season - meaning another 15pts in 9g and one more win would put them right at 35pts. You'd want them to do slightly better than that to really be sure of making the playoffs, but their form over the past 9g certainly gives them a good chance. Plus, they've only played NJ and DC once each so far, but face both opponents twice down the stretch. =-)
If Houston gets into the playoffs then I imagine we'll all be stunned. Not because they're bad or haven't earned it. Just because we all thought they were a wreck to start the season. Assuming they do (or are even close) mad credit to Pauw.
I don't like Pauw, it looks like she is playing favorite. She is quick to sit Hanson and Simon but Motlhalo has not done anything to earn her spot.
Disagree about Motlhalo: She is very quick and active and, like Daley, covers /a lot/ of ground, wins a lot of balls, is a strong defensive presence. Excellent work rate. She young, raw, needs to get stronger, needs to improve her passing and learn to shoot better, but has loads of potential. Simon has talented but is far less active, from what I've seen.
The Houston player I don't envy this week is Taylor Comeau. She is likely going to be given the job of guarding Rapinoe. Well, it's a chance for her to shine. Or not.
We disagree on one thing: she wins a lot of ball, that is not true, she loses a lot of ball, everytime she gets bumped, she loses it. She dribbles into the attacking third, chance is good that she loses it. She can dribble around the middle third. Other things , I think we agree on: she is raw, a negative, needs to get stronger, a negative, needs to learn to shoot better, another negative. The others: quick , active, cover lots of ground. So what if she runs around a lot but not accomplishing anything?
Huerta hijacked this team! Not personally, but it seems like since she's arrived, the Dash have become midfield oriented. instead of the previous higher up placed players. To be sure,plenty of long balls to Daly, but she she's got nobody up alongside her anymore. Daly might not score another like this. Don't understand with Huerta, her main complaint was that she they don't let her be an FB over at Chicago(that's where Ellis wants her to play), but all she's been at Houston is the #10(and not a very good one). only one sub used last nite. Sorry, but I think the Dash season is over as being contneders
As a fan and long time season ticket holders, we were hoping that the Dash may get better and do well but to think with our heads, we know they are just not very good. Two of their wins were helped by luck or they would be lower in the standing right now. Pauw is not much different from Waldrum in using players, they have/ had favorites that they put on the field that don't do much to help. I just get tired of supporting the team and wait and wait for a few more years before we have a coach that turns things around.
Matlhalo has her flaws--but what exactly has Simon done? I think Simon played up top against Seattle but she was mostly invisible. She has not impressed me at all over the last several games. Another player who's been unimpressive, IMO, is Huerta. I thought she was terrible in this Seattle game after the nice shot she took very early in the game. Doesn't work very hard, out of position a lot and was not at all influential. Prince was good--she did some good things in the attacking third--and should have been brought in for Simon at the half. Daly hasn't been very effective at all since Ohai's return and insertion of Huerta; she's not a target forward and isn't very effective against good teams like Seattle. I'd still argue that she and Ohai should switch positions--you might get more out of both. Ohai has been good on the wing but can be good inside, too--she's built like Kerr and plays a very similar style. Dash are struggling to find chemistry in the attacking third.
looks like a nice victory for the Dash, albeit with a little luck! Daly could of had a hat trick if they allowed the deflection & just as importantly, got a red card on Marta! What the bleep was that, hail? Glad it din't come my way. I live 360 miles east of Houston, right off I-10
The Dash looked good last night. They were making passes and creating shots that they didnt do much in earlier games.
I looked at the highlights, and I believe the Orlando player (Weatherholt?) reached her foot out and "deflected" the ball that went to Daly, who was ruled off side. See about 3:06 in the Highligts. I understand that now referees are supposed to re-set offside, if the opposing player plays the ball. IMO by reaching out, the ORL player played the ball and it was not, by current practice, a "deflection." Daly's goal should have been allowed.
It's hard to say, many refs would call this a deflection. I think they only call a deliberate play by the defender when she has a decent control of the ball, she may mis-play the ball but makes good contact. It's my interpretation.
Not sure. To me a "deflection" has to be fully unintentional: in this case, instead, Orlando's player clearly tried to "block" the ball that had been kicked by the player who assisted Daly (I guess it was Huerta): she didn't just happen to be hit by the ball, she actually reached out for it, and doesn't matter to me that she then didn't manage to "play" it properly. A "deflection" is when a player gets randomly in the way of a shot or of a pass: in this case Orlando's player actively tried to intecept the ball, so to me the goal should have stayed.
This is new to me, but I just checked and your description of the rule, as changed a couple of years ago, looks exactly correct. I haven't looked at the particular decision under discussion, so I can't comment on that.
Thanks. Based on what I see, according to the rule it shouldn't be an off-side call. The defender definitely intended to and did strike the ball, wiping out the fact that Daly was in an off-side position when her own teammate last touched the ball. Interestingly, if the defender simply had let the ball go through, Daly would have been off-side and the goal, under the rule, would have been disallowed. This, perhaps, indicates a weakness in the current rule. Is it really reasonable to expect a defender to be able to make that kind of decision?
I can agree. But under the current rule I'd say that Daly's goal should have been allowed. Of course, discussing the merit of the rule itself is perfectly fine with me, but, as long as the rule stands this way, it should be applied with as much accuracy as humanly possible.
Daly was robbed. I don't suppose there's any way to give her a posthumous goal? And hat trick? Well, that's tongue in cheek, but for the statistician trying to evaluate Daly's performance, that disallowed goal should count in his analysis.