With the international break ending soon, domestic games are back on the table! This week is pretty big for fan accessibility (maybe by design, right after the int'l break?) with THREE games not behind any subscription service, including TWO directly on CBS. 6/19 NC vs RGN, 4pm (CBS) CHI vs DC, 8pm (Twitch) 6/20 LOU vs HOU, 3pm (P+) POR vs KC, 4pm (CBS) ORL vs NJY, 6pm (P+)
Traveling again……I should wait until I see who plays in Austin tonight, but I have an opportunity to post now. I figure most internationals will be coming in from far away, so they won’t be starters this weekend. I have 4 correct and 18 incorrect predictions so far; just because I play poorly, doesn’t mean I don’t want to play! So this week wins for RGN, WAS, LOU, POR, and a draw for GOT-ORL.
In NWSL's history, there have only be 28 instances of a team scoring 5+ goals, (if I've counted correctly,) and in at least 10 of those, the losing team scored 2+. They're never worth predicting.
so the Reign lost 2-1 yesterday to the Courage as they debuted Marozsan, Bouhaddi & Cook. Their only in 8th place right now despite on paper, having one of the strongest rosters in the league(as well as the world!). So wonder what went? To deep for their own good? No real chemistry especially with Lavelle & Pinoe gone half the time on NT duty as well as the late arrivals? Perhaps too much Euro influenced tactics don’t work that well in the NWSL?
If you expect a team debuting three new players to have their team chemistry click right away, I don't know what to tell you aside from "that's not how any of this works". Give them a few weeks and they'll be fine. 2-1 was a deserved scoring for that match IMO, which is saying something against the Courage, especially the Courage at home.
Given that the Courage, although lacking about one-half their starters, beat OL France a couple of years ago, I'm not surprised that the Courage beat OL Reign with its new players imported from France.
I watched RGN-NC match on replay. I thought the Courage looked better in the first half than I have seen them since the 2020 Challenge Cup; the passing through the lines was crisp and receiving touches were very good. According to Aly Wagner, a lot of that probably was due to the way the Reign set up in the first half. The Reign made second half adjustments and the Courage did not look as sharp after halftime. I also liked that the Courage shots from outside the 18 were pretty much all on frame. Kurtz had as good a game as I remember. Carson Pickett has fit into the team seamlessly and solves all the questons about left back raised when Daniels retired.
Good week for home teams, okay week for table chaos. Pride should've probably had at least one more goal. Portland could have one more as well in their first half, though if you want to give them one of those, you probably have to give KC one back in the second half.
Goal of the year by Salmon? That classic, cut back move can be taught to 4 year olds yet often frowned upon by the higher elites. Salmon would be a grave concern as an future USWNT opposing player. Let’s hope the English/euros screw it up again by being bought into the same rich super club like Man City(where almost the entire English NT plays for) vs rather unbalanced weaker/opponents most of the season Correction, now in 9th place!
Ebony did a simple clever move what I thought would have been a pass to McCaskill. Maybe a goal of the year but the season is still young.