So kind of a funny moment when Mace (21 yo) and McGrady (20 yo), two young college players entered the game, amazingly the average age of the players on the field went up
how so? even with lloyd, dunn, morgan, long, et al? not sure of the mexicans' ages. are u Including them?
there aren't enough nt games. especially since the gk needs repeated international games working with the back line. the coaching staff will always have to pick the #1 based on club games and training and give that person the vast majority of nt games. i'm biased in favor of franch. but I still get nervous when she has to pass the ball out of the back, and that is a huge deal in gk-ing these days. hope she gets another chance, but the coaching staff I'm sure will be looking at that attribute when scouting her.
i think I'm the only one. but as soon as I saw the replay it looked like an excellent gk move. she saw the ball going to an opposing player who was going to head it in unmarked, and she drove to stop that ball from going on,. it just happened that the mexican attacker missed the header.
I don't agree with some of this, but the main point I completely agree with. Among other things, the long-term success of the USWNT is going to depend on the success of professional women's soccer in the US. The USSF and Jill Ellis have recognized this, and if they can recognize it anyone should be able to. To not support your local NWSL team is, in long-term effect, not to support the USWNT.
I used to be nervous about Franch passing out of the back, but I haven't been for about a year after watching every game she's played. Not to speak of which, Naeher's and Campbell's passing out of the back in the Mexico games wasn't exactly stellar -- although a game for one and half a game for the other isn't much of a data sample so I should keep an open mind about them.
There were 4 set piece goals and all but 1 were inexcusable. The Horan goal was a nice goal. When a player comes late and is that far out it's usually tough to mark. Of the other 3, the Palacios goal was well taken but u can't let her get inside position that close to goal. The other 2 were low balls that made it all the way across the face of goal. Hard to see how either got past the post player.
By the way, are there highlights available anywhere? I've seen US goals from USWNT Twitter account, but I still miss Mexican ones (so I can't really judge about Campbell's placement).
Think about who they replaced. I don't get the shot at me or the Portland superiority complex (very early MLS Seattle Sounders of you) in this response. I'm not a Houston fan. I'm also not in Houston. Also, this isn't a new phenomena that is exclusive to the women's game or even the US. It is much greater with the men's team in many cases. The same can be said about local MLS/USL teams. I have season tickets for the team in Boyds. I rarely have any desire to go to Boyds, Maryland.
Im back on my Ellis is a fool campaign Meaningless friendly, against an easy opponent and yet we still have to play Lloyd and other starters for most, if not all of the game? Why? This was the time to play new people 90 minutes. Lloyd is so done... can't you see it Jill? Give her an Abby Even against what is basically a good college level team... we managed to get behind, allowing 2 goals. Defense is weak. Lloyd is too slow... Rapinoe is getting older...(still good, but not getting younger ) and we know what Morgan brings. Ellis needs to start the next generation.. more like Pugh ...than Lloyd. Now that Lloyd has her 100th, hopefully Ellis will start to phase her out. She's just too slow now Also, Mexico is close but theyre a waste of time to play. Play Canada... much more difficult
Options for opponents were extremely limited. You aren't going to get any of the top teams because of WC qualifying, and we recently played both top teams that aren't in qualifying right now. Believe it or not, Mexico was the best team available that we haven't played in the past 6 months.
Just an FYI, MRAD is a Red Stars fan. From what I've seen on line/TV, the MetroPlex is a nice venue, although probably ultimately too small. But one of the things I've wondered is whether it's too far from DC, especially from parts of DC that would be likely soccer beds of support and with DC's traffic issues. You're sort of confirming my worry about using the MetroPlex.
I should of said "previous" postings. Here is what they said in the SheBelieves thread: Poster olelaliga "Gotta say, I don't really understand all the Pugh love. That kid is a poor finisher. A forward who is a poor finisher is of limited value." I am trying to understand where they are coming from.
IMO, Mal Pugh will be a bigger star than Alex Morgan. Here is a teenager who never played a game of college and yet has gone in as a starter on the USWNT and has no fear, no nervousness, has slick moves, which I love, no happy feet, when she gets pressured she doesn't shut down like others on that team. Pugh is a natural baller and if let alone to use her talents will outshine everyone to date that has ever played on the USWNT. You watch.
I agree MRAD12, I have never bashed Pugh, she is a generational talent. I was just wondering why oleleliga was so down on her.
I've always considered Pugh overrated--if one can be overrated as an 18-year-old starter on the national team. Maybe 'privileged' is the better word. She plays wide in a 4-3-3, a position that demands and rewards speed, and that is what she brings to the game--big-time pace. Until recently, speed is pretty much all I've seen from Pugh. But, yea, she is young and starting to get better with hold-up play, crosses, diagonal runs and passes--but then she's been starting steadily for 2 years, so she should be improving. Would the USWNT have done less well with other forwards in her spot? Not at all, IMO--and I'd say that about just about any of our starters. If there is one thing that we have, and other NT's lack, it is depth of talent. All one has to do is look at Pugh's teammate on the left, Rapinoe, to see the difference between a truly skilled, savvy older player who may have lost a bit of pace and a youngster for whom pace is the thing. Pugh will continue to improve and get better and does have a bright future indeed.
I did only mean she was offside on my comment, but indeed I have expressed my confusion over all of the hype leveled to her. I have seen her play in ECNL competitions only a few years ago where she was an excellent player of the same quality of several others at the time. My problem with Pugh is not personal. I think she is an excellent PROSPECT for the national team, but don't think she's a proven entity against tough competition. I do in fact think she is a poor finisher and should be focusing much of her energy on that part of her game. (aside: I do think Alex Morgan has really upped her sophistication, hold up play, passing and finishing of late. I thought of her as an athletic one dimensional player for some time, but now believe otherwise. European exposure really seems to have kicked up her development could possibly do the same for Pugh ) The issue I see is, elevating unproven players to this great height weakens our domestic league and by extension potentially lessens the longevity of (historically tenuous) professional women's soccer in the US. As a youth player, Pugh was an excellent prospect for the WNT, but did not prove herself in any youth competitions, such that that she should immediately be elevated above players who have been successful and should be acknowledged from the NWSL. I am not saying that a true phenom shouldn't be advanced, but only that one must prove her ability clearly above that of her contemporaries to earn the advancement. Did Pugh do that? I think not. What incentive do these professional women have to continue to toil at low wages when the only hope of a WNT contract is withheld whilst looking for the next marketable "phenom"? In fact we do hear of women retiring in their prime because they can't afford to play any longer. That is a shame and will hold women's soccer back in the USA.
The Maryland Soccerplex is a great venue for what it is. All of the fields are great. The sight lines are good. I think the current capacity is right for what is being offered there. I know my way around Boyds/Germantown and the 270 corridor so I have never worried about my arrival (getting out of the parking lots is something I have never been able to properly account for). It's still a chore to get out there though. It's not much longer from Audi Field (DC United's future home) to the Maryland Soccerplex than it is from Audi Field to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. In many traffic conditions, M&T Bank is a shorter trip. Boyds is a chore even for many people in Montgomery County, Maryland. Obviously I was a Washington Freedom fan. The magicJack stuff was tough for me and turned me off some. I supported that team through all of the leagues and when they were barnstorming. The beginnings of the NWSL were a tough sale for me after the leagues that came before it. I knew they had my money (I give most tickets away to a coworker who lives in MD), but I had a hard time getting excited when the allocations were done and it was clear what would be on the field. Then I saw scrimmages against out of season college teams and my fears were realized. The league has gotten better. I've never been impressed by the ownership of the Spirit and we've seen what that has done for players. In my dream world, whatever group buys DC United in a couple years when that team is flipped also brings NWSL to DC. Boyds is far enough away that they don't need me. Montgomery County is a large county (geographically and population over 1 million). That team could be supported entirely by Montgomery County residents if done correctly. In a dream scenario, there could be a team in Boyds, DC and Loudoun (where United intends to build their training facility and USL venue). A somewhat more realistic best-case scenario would be WPSL in Loudoun and Boyds and NWSL in DC. I've made my opinions of some of the women's boards known here before. I watch most Spirit games (if they aren't scheduled at the same time as United matches simply to annoy me) and stream most other league matches. I don't comment on the boards because it simply isn't fun in this form for me anymore. Most of my posts on NWSL boards are an accident (I follow all threads on a few boards). I don't know how any of his is in response to your comment anymore, but I've typed it all out and I'm clicking Post Reply anyway. Blah blah blah something something about putting club and country on the same level and just loving competition in general.
I finally had a chance to see the whole match with Mexico. Hope Solo would have approved. The Mexicans weren't "cowardly." They pressed high and hard. Not the best tactic, but it made for a fast and frantic game. I think Mexico missed Katie Johnson, who would have added size and speed to the Mexican attack. I was a little surprised that Dunn didn't play more of a role in this game. And I'm still not persuaded that Sonnet is the choice at right back. Krieger-light is how she might be described. I'd glad Huerta got a chance to play against Mexico -- but when is she going to be given a start? Is she just a token -- getting a few minutes here and there? Well, that's a better fate than many who never get a cap.... I've opined that Allie Long is going to be phased out when the injured midfielders come back -- but maybe not. She is a useful utility player -- and our midfielders keep going down.
Someday, while you are walking down a street in the fine city of Chicago, you will turn a corner and Michelle Akers is going to kick your ass. You watch.
Interesting, thanks for taking the time to post. (I wasn't the club and country poster.) Something I just was looking at regarding the Soccerplex (I figured that one out) is mass transit access. Driving time doesn't look too bad, but access via transit looks poor, even from Montgomery County much less elsewhere.
Does anybody know if the DC women are moving to the new downtown stadium? That would be a HUGE improvement.