79' 0-2 Hinkle cross from 22m wide left to 6m center, Hamilton lays out and just misses a toe poke, Kopmeyer sprawls and misses with left hand, Hamilton trips over Kopmeyer's feet, ball bounces untouched over endline right. You think @khamilton17 wants that hat trick?0-2 | #ORLvNC pic.twitter.com/EEaXiCoAA8— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 2, 2019 81' 0-2 Hinkle crosses from 12m wide left to 6-center, Pressley hop-heads over endline right. 82' 0-2 Orlando subs in (3 of 3) #26 Caitlin Farrell for #22 Bridget Callahan. 82' 0-2 North Carolina subs in (3 of 3) #17 Heather O'Reilly for RB #20 Ryan Williams. After this match, O'Reilly departs for her (FOX) call-up
I don’t usually criticize refs, but this center for the NC ORL game is bad at game management. I remember him from a previous game - same thing; lets too much stuff go early and the players stop trusting him.
85' 0-3 Speck passes to Hinkle unmarked at box top wide left. Hinkle touches down to 5m wide left, crosses outswinging to 9m left post. Hamilton is somehow alone in a seam (of 7!!), hops and lifts knee-high right instep half-volley past Kopmeyer, into 1/8 left back 2/3 high. Not throwing away her shot (or second.. or third)!That's a 🎩 trick for @khamilton17! pic.twitter.com/ruUjeJX3y2— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 2, 2019 88' 0-3 Pickett shoots to right post low, Leshnak dives and blocks it square right. Elinsky runs on and crosses to 8m 1/4 right, Evans shoots into Weatherholt's legs at 4m, NC clear. +4'. 90+3' (of +4') 0-3 Pickett crosses from arc top wide left to 10m 1/3 right, Hill(?) header blocked, NC clear.
90+5' (of +4') 0-3 All in North Carolina's 1/3, as they're content to defend. NC break across circle left, pass to Hamilton 1-v-2 at 16m mid-left. Hamilton lowers shoulder and digs ball past both, loses it down 6-left. FT 0-3. Too many free crosses by Hinkle, and perhaps Hamilton benefited from being overlooked, as everybody's busy double-teaming Ln.Williams.
An ham trick that costed me a perfect prediction: I had predicted just a 0-1 win, but I had underrated this alternative NC side (or I have overrated Orlando, that's really abysmally bad this season! )
Coincidentally, one of the few rookies I can remember having an immediate impact was ... Rose Lavelle. Did anyone ever get an answer on the Utah second-half kickoff? The ball can go any direction.
[#6.REI-HOU.#5] Westphal for Yanez (and McNabb => LDM, Fishlock => CAM). Here is your Reign FC Starting XI for today's match against the @HoustonDash. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. PT at Cheney Stadium!#RFCvHOU #RFC253 #BeBold pic.twitter.com/Lro9hKeYJP— Seattle Reign FC (@reignfc) June 2, 2019 Kizer for McCoy; Prisock for Polkinghorne. Today's starting XI: Campbell; Romero, Prisock, Brooks, Murray; Mewis, Nairn, Hanson; Huerta, Kizer, Ohai ©️#RFCvHOU #DashOn pic.twitter.com/K198KOOdV6— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) June 2, 2019 Reign FC: Q none / (OK => OUT) Yanez / SEI (=) Betos Spencer T.Smith / INTL (USA) Rapinoe Long (ESP) Jiménez Delgado (AUS) Catley Kellond-Knight Ld.Williams (ENG) J.Taylor (JPN) Utsugi Houston: Q (=) Comeau / OUT (OK =>) Simon (=) Latsko Shim / (AUS) Polkinghorne (ENG) Daly (JAM) McCoy
00'25" 0-0 Jenkins gets down wide left to box top mid-left, shoots right instep bend over right 90. Bright, sunny day, almost no shadows with the sun nearly overhead. 03' 0-0 Teams exchange missed long ground passes to each other.
04' 0-0 Houston chip down mid-right, Barnes gathers and dribbles it toward own corner flag. Kizer applies close harassment, Barnes can't turn and clear, slowly reaches flag and misses a pass up left touch. 05' 0-0 Brooks dribbles through 24m mid-left, pokes ball past Groom, Groom reaches back with left roundhouse and trips Brooks (and self) like a turnstyle. Foul, no card, R1 delivers first lecture. 07' 0-0 Reign fk at ~circle top wide right, high and long to Campbell at near post. Neither GK is looking directly into the sun -- darn 08' 0-0 Houston chip over box top mid-left, Ohai has 1 step on Oyster, tracks the bounce over her shoulder. Ohai spins down to 10m mid-left, shoots left foot to left post 1/2 high, Murphy catches.
10' 0-0 Balcer goes 1-v-1 on Murray at arc top box right, Murray boxes out perfectly and has the heft to keep Balcer off. K.Mewis chips long, Ohai offside. 11' 0-0 Groom dribbles to box top center, goes leftward 1-v-1 on Brooks -- Brooks is faster Brooks finally slide-pokes ball leftward at 13m box left, both sprawl face-first and Brooks lands-upon Groom, who bends something. Momentary pain (right shin?), she resumes. 11' 0-0 Fishlock right ck, it bounces to 8m mid-right. McNabb snaps a header to goal center, Campbell kicks(?) it away. 14' 0-0 Fishlock right ck, way over everybody to Barnes alone at 3m wide left. Barnes scoops a cross back to 5m 5-right, K.Mewis volleys straight up, must look almost straight up to head it away Balcer chest-traps at 16m arc right, instant soft volley off the drop lobs Campbell backpedaling -- and lands on roof. We're talking just inches here, folks. 0-0 | #SEAvHOU pic.twitter.com/JURE8B9ESw— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 2, 2019
21' 0-0 Westphal dribbles to 15m box left, goes 1-v-2, bounces off Romero and loses ball into near touch. 22' 0-0 Nairn serves from 25m wide left to 6-top right post, nobody there, Murphy comes out and catches high. 23' 0-0 Jenkins plays a give-and-go with Groom to get past Murray down box right. Groom crosses toward 15m center, headed away. 24' 0-0 Groom backpass to Fishlock at 17m mid-right, she promptly shoots right foot, Murray steps up and blocks it at close range. Murray is a wall, we must somehow beat her with speed and make her move.
26' 0-0 Fishlock chips from ~30m wide right to Jenkins at 12m left post. Jenkins settles ball rightward, tries right instep bend but mis-hits it, way wide right. 27' 0-0 Kizer sends Hanson through box top mid-right to 11m, right foot shot on the run slices way wide right. 28' 0-0 Groom flicks ball ahead to Balcer at arc top mid-right. Balcer fakes a turn-and-run-alongside down box right (her defender turns with her), instead flicks ball behind both and cuts inside to her left. Left foot shot gets no power, skips to Campbell.
30' 0-0 Nairn plays Ohai into box top left. Ohai faces up, crosses to 6-top 1/3 left, Murphy comes out and punches away, tumbles into Hanson's legs -- no call for that. Huerta settles at 15m center, shoots rising toward center, Andrews jumps and ball deflects downward off her right hand (held against body, but still). Handball, pk. 30' 0-0 Huerta pk, right instep juuust wide of left post low, past Murphy's dive. Murphy dove to the post but left a gap below her hand, so it might have scored if it were on-frame. And Huerta drags it juuuust wide for @HoustonDash. 0-0 | #SEAvHOU pic.twitter.com/Al8nzU1KjG— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 2, 2019
32' 1-0 Houston bad backpass toward circle top, Jenkins steals and sprints north on a 2-v-3 counter through circle top right. Balcer weaves across her into circle left lane, overtakes Houston's high line at 26m center -- Jenkins pokes a through-ball from 30m with perfect timing. Balcer touches alone through arc tangent left to 13m center, chips over Campbell sliding down through 7m, into 1/4 right 1/2 high. .@bethanysoccer13 is having herself a heckuva start to 2019. 1-0 | #SEAvHOU pic.twitter.com/Y6LgVPVGiz— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 2, 2019 33' 1-0 Jenkins has an injury, still upright but walking off with a trainer. 34' 1-0 Reign FC subs in (1 of 3) #25 Ifeoma Onumonu for #11 Darian Jenkins.
I can't express how much I hate the wire through the screen at Reign's new venue. I had already said that? Doesn't matter, I'll say it again.
37' 1-0 Stoppage, McNabb is seated at own 30m center. 38' 1-0 McNabb leaves, Reign play with 10. Ohai shoots from box mid-left, past Murphy but just wide right low. 39' 1-0 Reign FC subs in (2 of 3) #14 Morgan Proffitt for #19 Kristen McNabb. 39' 1-0 Balcer comes back through circle center, one-touch flick square right to Fishlock. Groom starts her front-cut past Murray waaaay up near midfield, Fishlock spins ccw and fires a through-ball past circle top right. Groom collects at 35m, 5m+ ahead of the peloton with Onumonu to her left. Groom dribbles through box top 4-right to 10m, shoots right instep across mouth, Campbell kick-saves at 8m. Houston muff the clearance back to 2m 4-left, Campbell picks it up. This is good goalkeeping @jane_campbell1.#SEAvHOU pic.twitter.com/2RuEvOIBzi— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 2, 2019
How on earth wasn't that an off-side? I am aware that the angle we see isn't optimal, but I've got the feeling that Jenkins' assist was an half second too late anyway...
I thought Balcer was a mile offside -- but it goes down in the books as another goal for the girl from Nowhere, MIchigan. Balcer doesn't seem to very fast, but she seems to always be near the ball, get a lot more touches than most center forwards (I'll try to confirm that later) and to have the confidence to shoot quickly and decisively. Quite a remarkable start for an undrafted rookie.
49' 1-0 Reign chip long from ~35m into box mid-left, Onumonu +1 break Houston's too-high line. Onumonu chases ball down at 3m mid-left, dribbles away to 10m, dinks a soft shot to left post, Campbell dives and blocks it over endline. 52' 1-0 Balcer chases to 5m mid-left, has a 1-v-1 on Prisock. Balcer jukes to endline, loses ball over, shoots into Campbell's hands. 53' 1-0 K.Mewis outruns Andrews for a few steps up wide left, lays off to Ohai at box top left touch. Ohai floats a shross to left 90, Murphy jumps and catches it still half-out of goal. Being tall is very useful You can see the wheels turning in @KealiaOhai's head. 1-0 | #SEAvHOU pic.twitter.com/Eyhv6HicH7— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 2, 2019
56' 1-0 Groom passes from circle back right touch, Houston's backline are way up above circle (their) back. This time they bag three Reign way offside. Wow, that's a high line -- I don't recall Houston doing this at home. Houston were on a bye last week, so maybe this is what they've been practicing in secret for two weeks? 57' 1-0 Ohai cuts inside to box top mid-left, shoots right instep bend to 1/3 left low, Murphy gets down and catches it with only a half-bobble.
62' 1-0 Nairn(?) scoops an innocuous forward pass to arc top mid-right -- but it spins Oyster around and bounces untouched behind her, almost into Huerta's stride. Murphy comes out to 12m mid-right and slides on knees, knee-blocks ball off Huerta's foot. Ball bounces just outside Huerta's seated radius, Oyster rounds her and clears. 65' 1-0 Hanson dribbles to 25m mid-left, passes toward arc left, blocked point-blank by Andrews sliding. Hanson pokes down box left to Huerta down to 5m, hard cross to 7m center hits Ohai and trickles away from her goalward. Murphy dives on ball at 5m, it almost pops loose, Ohai darts in and probes with a foot before pulling back.
66' 1-0 Fishlock chases through arc top mid-right, Prisock entangles feet and Fishlock does a Superman dive-and-slide into box. Foul just outside the box, yellow card on Prisock. 67' 1-0 Fishlock fk at 17m mid-right, right instep bend toward left 90, Campbell flies backward and pushes it over bar. HOW @jane_campbell1???#SEAvHOU pic.twitter.com/fsG7GgCueN— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 2, 2019
71' 1-0 Fishlock passes to Balcer cutting left-to-center at 35m arc left. Balcer tries a cutback to her left, loses ball and trips self down. I think that's her move, that's at least twice she's tried it this game. It probably beat NAIA defenders 73' 1-0 Houston's high press is causing some trouble. Reign congest themselves at own box top right, Theresa must dribble backward to own 6m wide right, hoof up right touch and miss into touch. Then Oyster gets swarmed at left touch, wins a deep throw-in, but Barnes loses it to Huerta on own endline, and then Huerta loses it over. 74' 1-0 Houston subs in (1 of 3) #25 Ariana Catrina Calderón Valdez for #15 Cecelia Kizer. 75' 1-0 Groom turns at 10m mid-left, escapes through 1m 6-left. Lifted cross floats a tad high to 7m center, Fishlock leaps and heads but not goalward.
76' 1-0 Ohai backpass through arc top mid-right, Onumonu lopes after Murray. Ball slows down in the natural grass, Murray doesn't play it and Campbell doesn't come out, Onumonu closes the gap. Finally, Campbell steps up to 16m, 50-50 simultaneous touch with Onumonu spins both of them around, ball sits motionless. Murray takes ball centerward across own box top, almost runs it into another 50-50 with Groom(?). 80' 1-0 Houston subs in (2 of 3) #24 Jamia Fields for #11 Sofia Huerta. 80' 1-0 Reign right throw-in at box top, bounces to Fishlock facing away at spot. Fishlock juggles up, does a twist-right roundhouse but doesn't strike it solidly, scuffs it bouncing toward left post low, Campbell dives right and catches.