Announcers on Campbell's PK voodoo: 7/14 saved from regular season PKs 2/5 saved in the Challenge Cup QF PKSO That's INSANE. PK conversion is supposed to be in the 80% range, and Campbell has stopped shooters nearly 50% of the time - and it's not like she's only faced a small number.
Oh, it was a very nice attacking action for Houston, they had so many options and well-placed players... but Groom kicked the ball too hard, giving it away to Chicago's defense!
McCaskill's header on the post! The first 15' of this game already look better than most of the rest of the Challenge Cup!
Chicago not backing down at all! This is a great game so far through the first 15, aside maybe from one rookie lapse in defending.
Poor goalkeeping gives up a fairly easy header that was missed. That goalkeeper may be good on PKs but she just showed that she is real vulnerable during field play.
10' 1-0 Houston try to clear from own box top vs. Chicago's lurking high press. Groom comes back to a a hot outlet pass at own 30m mid-left, it clangs hard off her shins and she must sprint toward own goal and slide-poke a backpass to avoid a catastrophic turnover. Campbell clears that. 11' 1-0 Groom anchors a 3-v-4 attack to arc top right, clangs ball 3 strides ahead and Ertz gratefully collects. 15' 1-0 St. Georges joins the attack at 11m wide left, cuts back to shake Hanson, crosses right instep to 6-center. Campbell dives and double-blocks ball down to 6m 1/4 right, it rebounds off McCaskill's shins and pops straight up to 5m over her head. McCaskill waits for the drop, hop-heads off right post. Ball rebounds to 2m 3-right, Naughton kicks it high onto the roof. 🤯 off the post from @smccaskill_21!1-0 | #HOUvCHI Tune in now on @CBS, @CBSAllAccess, and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/ExgCNdYrUm— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) July 26, 2020
I've got the feeling that Savannah McCaskill knows very well that it's basically up to her taking the team on her shoulders to chase the equalizer: she's doing her best and showing good leadership.
21' 1-0 DiBernardo threads a vertical pass to McCaskill at 35m center. McCaskill does a perfect turn-and-run to receive in stride, passes ahead to Hill through arc tangent left. Hill dribbles at 2 defenders, stumbles and goes down face-first between them. No call, it looked like she did it to herself. 22' 1-0 K.Mewis crosses from box top wide left through 14m mid-right, too high for Visalli(?) in right post lane and nobody else there. 24' 1-0 Hill crosses from wide right, Chicago sustain pressure at Houston's box top, eventually broken up.
The run of play has been a tremendous display of the pro game! Bothe clubs have brought their A game. DASH ON!!! Ze Germans say nine!
Good action by Nichelle Prince on the Right-Side: she enters the box after a shoulder-to-shoulder brawl with St.Georges but it doesn't seem another PK (although a PK just outside the box could have been given if Prince hadn't kept standing on her feet). Meanwhile K. Mewis comes off of the pitch in tears! It had to be a serious injury for her to give up. Kizer at her place at 28'.
28' 1-0 Colaprico short pass to K.Johnson in a pocket of space at 25m center. Johnson looks both ways, shoots from there to 1/3 left low, Campbell smothers it. Chicago's idea today seems to be short-passing through Houston's midfield lines. That could actually be Houston's game-plan, too: let Chicago do that, keep your enemies closer 29' 1-0 Prince drives past St. Georges through 2m box right, takes moderate contact to the shoulder and goes down at 2m mid-right, no call. Rinse and repeat 😅 pic.twitter.com/l4w4S6ZWhU— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) July 26, 2020 29' 1-0 Houston subs in { 1st of 3 } - (1 of 5) #5 Cecelia Kizer for #19 Kristie Mewis, who is in pain-tears. Pulled left hamstring when she got fouled at 4'? 31' 1-0 Groom shoots from arc top, wide left and high. 31' 1-0 1H hydration break.
Early sub for Houston, and it's a significant one-- Mewis out, Kizer in. Replays suggest Mewis tweaked a hamstring (?) on the play she was fouled for the PK. At least it's not a knee... Wonder why Stengel didn't come on instead? A regular starter earlier in the cup, and in my view a better player than Kizer.
She seemed to pull her hamstring on the play where she drew the PK. She was holding the back of her leg after that play.
This time, at least, @FanOfFutbol is not going to say that this is the most exciting moment of the game!
Because in a very rare moment for this this generally poorly played tournament this water break was not the height of action.
36' 1-0 Houston poach ball at circle back, knock it forward to Daly at circle top. Daly comes back, taps one-touch square left for Visalli but underhits it slightly. Ertz closes from the right, Visalli tries to cut behind her run but hooks foot under Ertz's? Visalli goes down with momentary leg pain. Foul on Ertz. 37' 1-0 Houston fk at 30m arc left, trick play: it's a pass down wide left to Chapman all alone, down to 5m. Chapman crosses to 6m center, Groom runs in for her flying header, Ertz blocks it over endline right. 38' 1-0 Houston right ck (who takes them now, with Mewis out?), to 4m 4-left, jumping scrum clears ball to box top mid-left. Visalli chips from there, too high onto right roof.
The match is deteriorating after the water break. Instead of good play we are seeing some attack created by mistakes and then killed by mistakes.
CRS gameplay looks neat, until the moment they have to enter Houston's box: that's when they seem to find it hard and to run out of ideas (and/or Dash place their defense very well).
Printz? fouls in the box by backing into a Chicago player but the referee, giving the advantage to the defense, calls it the wrong way.
42' 1-0 McCaskill right ck, to 4m 3-right, Schmidt back-heads across to the left, Hanson clears up right touch. 43' 1-0 Schmidt outlets from own 1/4 to circle top left for Daly 1-v-1 on Ertz, but a bit too far, Ertz collects. 44' 1-0 K.Johnson quick-tempo pass to McCaskill, perfect receive-and-turn at 30m center. McCaskill passes inside-out to 8m box left for Hill. Hill crosses from 5m to 4m right post, Prince shields ball and Sharples flattens her with a chest-bump to her back. Foul on Sharples. +2'.
HT 1-0. Nice game and I guess Houston is deserving the advantage although it keeps looking like a close game. It doesn't look like Oyster is suffering much for her broken rib (or at least she's not showing signs of exceeding pain).
A tale of two halves of the first half. The part before the water break had a lot of good soccer and one stupid clumsy foul. After the water break it became who was going to make the most mistakes. Whatever the coaches for both teams had to say during that coach's timeout is something they need to remember and never say again.