Congrats......I was puzzled at the beginning of the season when NJ picked up Branam after being released by Chicago, with the other keepers they had, but as the season wore on, I got it.....very nice game today! I hope she is OK to continue playing on Wed. Branam and Kai are clearly MVPs for the game. Congrat to Rapone on a big time win, as player coach.
I'll be interested to see what kind of shape Branam's in for Wednesday. She wasn't taking any free kicks or goal kicks because she was hurting so bad at the end of the game. She's a tough cookie, that's for sure. With Bardsley playing for England, that leaves Alexander with no playing time as the backup.
I figured it out today after a season of agony. Jen just insults herself so much by talking that I can't insult her any worse.
If for some reason Branham can't go then St.Louis just got a playoff bonus and the game just may have gotten a little easier.
But Sky Blue was in the Blue kit today..... I'm not a orange shirt fave. Orange trim on Blue works (New York City, The Mets...etc)
I think Sky Blue earned the victory, especially due to the play of the mids and forwards working together and Branam being MVP. Rampone has done a fine job as coach. BTW I really like the orange kits, and it has nothing to do with me going to Syracuse.
Looks pretty orange to me: Meanwhile, congrats to Sky Blue. They were definitely the better team on the day and came more ready to play than the Freedom.
Yea, Sky Blue FC really stepped it up today. I think as much as they outplayed the Freedom, a lot of this all came before the game even began with some great tactical moves by Rampone and Lyons. Dropping White off and inserting Hanks, giving McCallum more of a run and getting Rosana up top - all combined with two big time substitutes - did the trick. http://www.equalizersoccer.com/WebPages/news/newsDetails.aspx?nId=57e426b3-f960-4eea-a928-37eab15feba3
Agree that using Kai and Francielle as supersubs was a great idea - reminiscent (for us old-timers) of how Gabarra used Mia Hamm in 2002 when she was still recovering from knee surgery and wasn't 90 minutes fit. Disagree about the out-coaching. I think it's more about out-rostering because the Freedom simply have no depth at forward and are therefore unable to make similar substitutions. The best the Freedom could have done would have been to save De Vanna for the second half, but then they'd have to put a converted midfielder like Moros or Long up top.
Congratulations to Sky Blue on beating a good Washington team. Bompastor was missed. I have said all season that Sky Blue can play with anyone. I give them allot of credit with all the off field distractions that went on. I watched the weekly predictions and many people always had Sky Blue losing if only by 1. I attended 8 home games and knew what they were capable of. They are a good team with speed and a great defense. They have one of the better midfields with Averbuch and McCallum while Parker,O'Reilly, and White are very versatile. Kai has become a much better all around player since her early days with the WNT. Branam has been a great surprise and I hope she is ok.
Yeah, and the game got easier a few weeks ago when McLeod was playing for Canada and Spisak started and then Nicci Wright came in for the last 30 minutes for Washington. I'm not disagreeing with you necessarily, but it doesn't always work that way. We've seen it from backup keepers all year. They've all stepped up their game when they get in. It might be okay for fans to think that way, but if players think that way, it's the quickest way to end up watching the final on television. That being said, Branam is quick and fearless. Outside from a few mishaps early on (the fumble on the Kelly Smith goal against the Breakers), she has been tough in goal. And to me, she will be facing far easier forwards to deal with against Athletica, than she did today with Wambach and DeVanna. So Hanks scored the game winner against Chicago. Francielle scored the game winner today. Isn't it Walsh's turn now?
agree great tactical moves by coaching staff...using Kai to bring energy in the 2nd half...having collete at attacking mid and rosanna up b/c she likes offense and moving white to the mid where she has played mostly before joining sky blue prove to be huge for sky blue. Good job rampone just read the above article..i not sure he knows positions..rosanna didn't even play midfield today....and I personalyy thought averbuch controled the middle quite well and played one of her better games..now she did take some long shots that she probably shouldn't have and the outside mids played patient and the possession game like the staff wanted. Hanks hustled but nothing out of th ordinalry... diiference in this game was Kai's energy and the 4 mids pretty much outplayed thier midfield. Washingtons main offense is from either the goalie to the forwards or whitehill to the forwards! they still have chnaces with that.
Alexander was their #1 draft pick but had a preseason injury, which I think made Ian go looking for a replacement and get Branam.
"I knew coming off the bench I needed to give my team a spark," Kai said. "I didn't know I was going to score 45 seconds after coming on the field." http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/16/freedoms-season-comes-to-an-end/