Haha that one knocked me backwards, I have officially heard it all! I don't know if I have ever read an article on Ohai where her pace isn't mentioned. Have seen her in college and pros one of the most explosive players I have ever seen..
I think Ohai is slower than Hoy but faster than Henderson; that's fast. Kyle for a change had about 4 great through balls forward in the first half; I couldn't believe it.
Both Hoy and Ohai have that Morgan quality of not only being fast but being able turn without slowing a hair so I guess that's about balance. As to the Houston/Washington game, having Dunn, Ohai and DeVanna patrolling the flanks in the first half might be about as fast as it gets.
Speaking of Kyle, it isnt likely she'll be in Houston next season at least until after Canada 2015. Assuming the Dash dont win the Morgan Brian sweepstakes, I was thinking that Sarah Killion might be the perfect addition to the Houston line-up. She is both a quality defender in the midfield and an excellent passer.
My advise for Houston next year, would be to draft or trade for some Texas A&M players next year. Texas A&M has a large loyal fan base(always one of the top teams in the country in attendance every year) and a lot of them live in the Houston area. They need to tap into that. I know last year wasn't a good year for drafting Aggies, but there will be a good one in next years draft, Shea Groom, who is a popular one with the fans. Also, picking up Mautz or Mathias in a trade would help. Portland has two former players from the University of Portland. There are a lot of University of Portland season ticket holders that are also Thorn season ticket holders.
a&m players?! I don't think they'd be able to handle wearing orange. I know its not burnt orange, but isn't every aggie brainwashed at fish camp to never, ever wear orange? Probably better to get some talented Univ of Texas players.
Then the Dash clearly may have a problem, because in Texas, the longhorns do not draw close to what Texas A&M does in attendance in women's soccer. In fact TCU draws better than Texas. Texas A&M was 3rd in the nation, behind University of Portland and BYU last year. Poor business decision on their part. Should have come up with dark blue, light blue, green, etc., anything except Orange or Maroon. Hey, the league might consider expansion in Salt Lake City, if the MLS franchise there is interested.
It would be nice if they can add Chi Ubogagu. A Texas girl with lots of pace, international experience and big pal of Ohais. The best scenario for Houston is for the league to decide to help them as they did with several teams last season. As there isnt a new class of wayward NT players coming out of Europe, or much International help due to WC, the best option is for the league to allocate Brian to the Dash. While there is no precedent for allocating a college senior there is certainly precedent for the league maneuvering to help weaker teams compete. Last season Chicago got Press, Washington got Dunn and Seattle got to keep all their allocated players instead of sending one to Chicago. If this were to happen, two of the three bottom teams would each get two of the top four players. In addition, two middle of the table teams, Chicago and WNY also have two picks in the first round. If they choose not to take this route, Houston will add one quality player thru the draft and likely be in the bottom half again next season. None of this helps Boston but they seem to make their own mess anyway.
By the way, the color is a big problem for the Dash, as petty as it may seem. The selection of Orange was pretty much a slap in the face. I lived in college station for 4 years. I left a year before they left for the SEC. There is a very big dislike for Texas, from the administration, alumni, and overall fan base. They have always felt like they have been in the shadow of Texas, and when Texas started up the Longhorn Network, that was the last straw. So Goodbye Big-12, Hello SEC. College Station is about one and a half hour drive form Houston, while Austin is much further West. A whole lot of A&M alum in the Houston area. When Texas A&M goes in to play Houston or Rice in a soccer game, there tends to be as many or more A&M supporters in attendance then for the home team. Attendance wise, A&M travels well, Texas doesn't.
As petty as it may seem, it goes beyond your traditional rivalry. Sure there is a genuine dislike for each other, but as mentioned it goes a lot deeper with A&M. It will probably be quite a while before you see them scheduling in any games against Texas in any sport during the regular season. I'm just surprised Houston didn't pick-up on that when they decided on their colors for the Dynamo, and especially the Dash where it will be crucial in developing their fan base. It was a slap in the face when they introduced the Orange colors for the Dash. Portland was smart, they didn't choose University of Portland, Oregon, or Oregon State colors. Petty as it may be, sometimes it's the simply things that can have a big effect.
I just saw on twitter the Ella Masar had sports hernia surgery (whatever that is). I thought she had a concussion. Is this true?
I don't know what it is, but the Timbers' Valeri had it just after the conclusion of the 2013 season and had about a 6 month period to full recovery. It also was pretty disabling towards the end of the 2013 season before he had the surgery.
Yes, she was talking about it in this interview. The quality is very poor though: Rehabilitation from surgery for a sports hernia usually takes about eight weeks according to this: http://orthopedics.about.com/od/sportsinjuries/a/hernia.htm
Nice piece on Ohai back at school pursuing a Journalism/Public Relations. http://lgreensoccer20.wordpress.com/2014/09/03/ohai-uses-soccer-experience-within-unc-major/
More off season moves and players on loan. http://orangeintheoven.com/2014/09/04/houston-dash-roster-news/
"....Early indication from both Waldrum and Dash Managing Director Brian Ching is that of the 24+ players who made up the active roster, reserves and injured players, somewhere in the neighborhood of 16-17 will be brought back to compete for a spot next season. In the coming days we will have more from our interviews this week with Ching and Waldrum."
Hmm.... does that "compete for a spot" phrase mean the 7-8 other players are locks, (which would make sense if you assume allocated players and announced re-signings are kept,) or that the 7-8 other players are essentially off the team and all slots are up for competition?
I would hope the latter. Some good draft picks, a couple trade ups and contract 1-2 reserves that should have played anyway. Maybe it is a partial re-build.
Randy Waldrum & Brian Ching Talk About 2014 Houston Dash Season http://orangeintheoven.com/2014/09/08/randy-waldrum-brian-ching-talk-2014-houston-dash-season/ http://orangeintheoven.com/2014/09/...n-ching-talk-2014-houston-dash-season-part-2/
Obviously it was tough to predict how much impact she would have but certainly now it looks like it was such a bad decision. I don't think Burger will be back next season. This should be much more interesting: "The process of building the team for 2014 starts now. Tomorrow, we’ll have the look forward to this off-season and next season. Where Waldrum and Ching think the team needs to improve and how they plan to accomplish the improvement."
I wonder if they will keep Ella Masar for next season? Ella is who she is. She is a very nice person. She will always be an emotional player that gives you 110% but she has grown to her potential and will probably not grow any more as a player, IMO. Her skill level is what it is right now.
Ella, Erin, Kelia, and to an extent Ari and Steph are the faces of the franchise, I doubt any of them go. Osi, Melissa, and Rafa are probably going to stay as well, I'd guess.