OL Reign shoot first. 0 | 0 _ _ _ _ | #28 Cruz, right instep leaning back way over bar 1/4 right 1 | 1 _ _ _ _ | #8 Ertz, right laces (foottop!) rising into upper back right (Murphy correct, but that's unsaveable) What a 🚀 from @julieertz 😳RGN: ❌CHI: ✅Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/aEes3gqAJw— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) July 19, 2020 1 | 0 1 _ _ _ | #21 Momiki, left instep scoop into 1/3 right back high (Naeher correct, but it's above her) 2 | 1 1 _ _ _ | #10 DiBernardo, right instep into back right edge, past Murphy's dive
If we have to see 3 out of 4 quarterfinals end in penalties, I would like to see a keeper take one. Please.
2 | 0 1 1 _ _ | #11 Jenkins, right instep slow scoop off crossbar bottom 1/3 left, bounces down and in 3 | 1 1 1 _ _ | #2 Watt, right instep into 1/4 back left 1/2 high (Murphy dove wrong) Smooth from @KealiaOhai 🔥RGN: ❌✅✅CHI: ✅✅✅Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/9EobpUlOyS— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) July 19, 2020 3 | 0 1 1 1 _ | #24 Balcer, right instep into back left edge 2/5 high (past Naeher's dive) 4 | 1 1 1 1 _ | #15 Hill, opens hip right instep into back left edge 2/3 high (past Murphy's dive) No doubt from @bethanybalcer.RGN: ❌✅✅✅CHI: ✅✅✅Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/8CuHnXmiY9— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) July 19, 2020
Chicago wins after the Reign miss 2. I liked that reaction from Naeher as the team came to celebrate with her; it looked like, "Calm down. I didn't do anything..."
3 | 0 1 1 1 0 | #3 Barnes, left instep bend off left post, bounces across mouth through 2m 6-right 4 | 1 1 1 1 ~ | Chicago advances. Naeher looks almost sheepish. Off the post from Barnes!@chiredstarsPR advance to the semifinals. 🤩#RGNvCHI | #NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/boflQI6xBz— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) July 19, 2020
Welp, no chance for that POR-RGN rivalry final now. POR-CHI could be fun, but I would love to see a HOU-CHI final instead.
Penalties always so bittersweet. Chicago with the best set of penalties by far, so far. Both teams improved over the group stage, so lots of stuff to build on.
More often than not, I think Murphy picks up at least one, if not two, saves from the shootout. Those takes from DiBernardo and Hill were very well placed and examples of why keepers guess on penalties.
So far this "tournament" has been a huge disappointment. It is not just the lack of goals in is the lack of much inspired play. I do not think I ever remember seeing so many game at the pro level with so little play that looks professional. I actually wish I had missed many of the games. At least I am not really invested in any of the teams. I just want to be entertained and this tournament, so far, has missed badly in the entertainment category.
Random observations ... Ertz is just a commander. Stepping up to take that first penalty so authoritatively set the tone so well. Echoing the comments that this was Jenkins' best game by far. Also the most touches from J. Taylor who was surprisingly gritty in her play. Watt shows flashes of brilliance and I always wonder what could have been if her talent was properly nurtured by the USWNT. Is it too late for her in terms of call ups? Neither midfield quite in sync, but when they are, some very pretty stuff. Lauren Barnes makes my heart break. So good for so long, but last year's giving up a penalty and this miss ... she's a player that I wish had a million gold medals.
it looks like every preseason when teams are getting acquainted and havent played together and subbed a lot of players—- which is exactly what it is. The exception was NC who played their best and tired them out on short rest. Several of the other teams saw the round robin phase as scrimmages. to expect championship form after one true game is silly.
KJ and Watt were SOOOOOOOOO close - to ending at 2-0 ; give Reign (and Naeher) credit as Naeher made a couple of nice saves. Both teams were more entertaining tonight (except the 0-0). I am of course so happy CRS are moving on to the semis.
Welcome to my world, @lil_one! I've also had all of the predictions wrong for these quarter-finals! As someone pointed out: just one goal out of four games! The fact that Morgan Weaver forgot about the celebration on Friday now becomes unexcusable! Well, it happened! The curse is true! Seriously, even should we assume that they're now fully invested in the game of actually jinxing teams instead of supporting them, they would me amazing predictors to always correctly pick the team that will lose out of some very close affairs decides by PSO. Almost creepy.
Since you are the worlds biggest CRS fan; where the heck were Gautrat Davidson & Nakasato?MCCaskal couldn’t hold a candle to them at mid, Johnson kept loosing the ball as well. Ertz kept trying to be both CB & DM, which could of been dangerous defensively cept Reign wasn’t interested in countering/their Euro training meant first win the midfield before moving up as a unit. In that respect at least made the game more interesting since ITV was an American vs Euro style thing, which ended up this time undecided until the PK shootout. Hill looked exceptional but then again she wasn’t being guarded at her flank, as the Euro style means the FB’s are attackers, not defenders. I would say CRS is still the team to root for, but if the three usual mids are out, then there down an notch & they should of given Gomalski a start at right FB, St George 1v1 defending was really bad, other teams going to zero in on that
I've said it before. If the average score of a soccer match was 3-2 rather than something like 1.5 to 1.0, soccer would be as big a sport in the US as football, basketball, and baseball. I wish that the goal was two feet wider and one foot higher. More scoring equals more fannies in the seats (in the U.S). Okay, throw bricks at me.
I'm sure that all goalies will hate me. But defending my opinion, the present NWSL tournament has unconventional rules, friendlies have flexible rules, previous U.S. professional women's leagues did not follow FIFA rules, US colleges do not follow FIFA rules. Therefore, why is it mandated that the NWSL follow FIFA rules? Made by men, for men. The women's game needs a boost and one way of trying to make it more popular is to make it more exciting. If you don't think that more scoring means more excitement, listen to the announcers. The word "exciting" is usually applied to close games with a lot of scoring and not to 0-0 matches. So, women and NWSL lead the way! Don't be slaves to FIFA! Making the goal a little bigger in the NWSL won't adversely effect the US national team in international competitions. And I'll bet NWSL soccer will get more attention and support.
Isn’t soccer the #1 female team sport in America?(I mean record tv audience via the World Cup—highest participation number in college isn’t soccer arguably the most popular female team sport in the US already?; biggest crowd ever for an all female sporting event(1999 WC final) biggest TV ratings ever for an all female sporting event(2015 WC final) #1 in female participation in an college team sport(#2 to only track & field) More than holding its own in high school/finally this year passing the 400k participation mark US youth soccer; possibly at the 2 mill mark/hard to know exactly since they don’t add every parks & recreation in the country to the it figures plus considering their over 100K that pay those ridiculous fees to play travel/select soccer makes it an bourgeoisie sport as well ———————————————————— What do you think the Thai/US score would of been if they implanted your rules?
About getting the scoring up, the league just have to tell refs to apply the laws equally. 1) Allow attackers same 50/50 right as keepers. 2) Call fouls on defenders the same way in PK area as they are called elsewhere on the pitch.
Except the non-scoring was not the result of good defending but rather it seems to be the result of poor attacking and finishing.