PLEASE DO POST-GAME DISCUSSION IN THE POST-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD!!! This thread should only be used for the PBP. T-minus 30 minutes and counting. It has come down to this...the Carolina Courage and Washington Freedom duking it out in Atlanta, Georgia at Herndon Stadium on the campus of Morris Brown College. A good number of BigSoccer folks are down there enjoying the festivities while us blokes have to sit at home and dink around on the computer for the next couple of hours. So who is going to win this one? The Freedom have been the hottest team in the league coming into today's match with a 87 game unbeaten streak. The Carolina Courage have been a dominating force all season long thanks to Roary the Gay Rastafarian Lion. Now it's time for me to move my laptop from in front of my bidet onto the kitchen counter so I can do a PBP in 30 minutes. Good luck to both teams!!! WAR FREEDOM!!!
15 mins. to go. I'm about to go upstairs to watch the game with my family. The Champagne is on ice. Go Freedom!!!! Thanks Fear for filling for all the folks who don't get Pax (like how many folks get that channel :rollingeyes)
I need chocolate and ice cream damnit!!! SOB I'm gonna puke!!! Nice opening music vid thing. Hey...was that the Crusaders I just saw? With a whole bunch of flags sewn together. Looks to be a gorgeous but hot and muggy day in the ATL. "Siri is the Mullinix Factor for the Freedom!" -- Anson Dorrance. RJ from American Idol is singing the US National Anthem. He is probably light in the laofers. TR is talking during to Luckenbill during this. Let's get this mofo going!!!
Prinz and Fotop up front for the Courage. TR, O'Hanley, Lehn and Riise in the mid for the Courage. Abby is the lone forward for this match. Jones, Cook, Mak, Bai Jie and Pu Wei in the middle. Didn't catch the rest. Freedom in their white kits and Courage in their blue kits. Damn. Now I have to go the bathroom. SOB?!!! Moo. Those Courage unis look fuggin' hot. Not like hot hot but hot as in they don't breath well. It's on baby!!! Courage going right to left.
1st minute Grubb takes the freekick and sends it over the end line. 2nd minute..Freedom win a throw in deep...uhhh...Courage ball. Prinz is down in the circle. The Germans hit heads in the air. Ouch. Prinz is up. Starting line ups: Washington Freedom -- Siri Mullinix, Emmy Barr, Jennifer Grubb, Carrie Moore, Skylar Little, Ann Cook, Anne Makinen, Pu Wei, Steffi Jones, Bai Jie, Abby Wambach. Carolina Courage -- Kristin Luckenbill, Staci Burt, Erin Baxter, Nel Fettig, Danielle Slaton, Tiffany Roberts, Brooke O'Hanley, Hege Riise, Unni Lehn, Danielle Fotopoulos, Birgit Prinz.
6th minute...Carrie Moore takes down Prinz in the box. Not a foul. Courage corner. Damn the size descrepancy between those two...Courage corner goes for naught. 7th minute...Slaton on near side sends long pass to a leaping Fotop in the box but sails over her head.
8th minute...Riise sends it way over the goal. Freedom goal kick. 9th minute...Pu Wei's pass to Abby going down the middle goes for naught...missed her target. Such is life. 10th minute...I think it was Unni Lehn that either fired a shot from beyond the far corner of the 18 or it was a pass meant for Prinz...anyhoo Siri makes the save. Whew. 10th minute...Skylar with a throw in deep in Freedom territory...goes out to Mak...then to Bai Jie...offside on Abby I think?
12th minute...Mak wins a corner for the freedom...sent to the top of the six...cleared out... Courage trying to get an attack going....Lehn open...around the endline....fires a shot from just beyond the six..block Mullinix...Courage corner...far post...ping ping...Prinz heads it over. WHEW!!! 15th minute...Skylar with the throw in from 18 yards out...Abby wins another throw in near the corner..into the box....uhh Abby takes a weak shot...smothered by Luckenbill.
17th minute...one of the Chinese fires a long range shot...over the goal. At this point in the match it appears both teams are still trying to feel either other out. Unni Lehn down on the field. Collision with Ann Cook I believe. She is OK.
I'm sucking ass on this PBP. Freedom on the attack. And that was broken up. 19th minute. 20th minute. DAMNIT!!! Riise makes it 1-0 Courage. Nice goal though. Long pass sent to Fotops head at the top of the 18..Fotop heads it to Riise who didn't have a defender on her. ************!!
Riise shows AGAIN why she should have been the MVP. It is NOT the goal it is the field awareness. She has created two chances and scored one already and she is the engine that runs Carolina. She IS the BEST soccer player in the WUSA.
24th minute...nice move by Mak on Lehn I think on the near sideline..goes towards end line and sends a cross that I think was meant for Bai Jie...snatched by Luckenbill.
25th minute...Mak receives a pass from Bai Jie and fires off a shot from about 20 yards out but it sails over the goal. Damnit.
27th minute...Brooke O' Hanley called for handling on top of the box. She fired off a shot and the crowd behind the goal thought it was a goal. But it wasn't. Whew. Giving the nod to the Courage right now.
29th minute. Cross by Emmy Barr goes to Abby in the 18 but nothing comes of it. Damnit. 31st minute...Grubb to take the freekick from I have no clue how far... ABBY SCORES!!!!!!!!!! 1-1 Yeah baby!!!! Uhhhh maybe we thank Fotop for that Freedom goal. Hell I don't care!!!
33rd minute...Jen Grubb with the freekick from the center circle..straight towards the goal...headed out by a Courage player. Carolina on the counter goes for naught.
you beat the matchtracker. i am so friggin mad, at least im taping this game ughhh. i cant kick the two lumps off the tv.
Riise from about 20ish yards out cranks a shot...Mullinix leaps and blocks it but it's a Courage corner...Fettig to take it...Siri punches it out...Freedom on the attack...Bai Jie sends it to the Courage defenders.
Right now Washington's attack looks REAL predictable, don't you think? IT seems that the nothing really hard to defend is being done as a team. No late switches and no real threatening looking attacks. It almost looks like Washington is not wanting to show it's creative side until Mia comes in. This could be dangerous. However… Predictable is just fine if a serve is correct and the Carolina defense falls asleep and kicks the ball into their own goal. Fotop is NOT a defender. It is a mistake for her to be in the box. Size is one thing but defensive skill is another. This is NOT the first goal that a clumsy defensive attempt by Fotop has cost Carolina this year. Every coach is the WUSA seems to think it is necessary to pull forwards back to defend id they are big. The fact is that many of the big forwards are a liability on defense as Fotop just showed.
37th minute...Freedom in their offensive third...passing around..damnit...Freedom player tries to lay off a pass to I believe Barr but it goes over the sideline.
Thank you so much Nick for doing a PBP! I just woke up from a nap, but I'm glad to see all the stuff in the thread. WAR FREEDOM
Goddamnit I had to restart my damn computer. 40th minute...Freedom corner...blah blah blah...Abby's header hits the far post. Earlier Unni Lehn was booked for tackling someone from behind. I think it was Ann cook. ???? 41st minute...Abby booked for something. I guess for running into Fettig. She better be freaking careful that she doesn't get booked again!!! 42nd miute..throw in deep for the Courage...cleared out by the Freedom...Courage on the attack again...Prinz lays off a pass to the PK spot...to O'Hanley I think...nada. WHEW!!!
Abby gets that card, correctly, for being clumsy. She should have avoided the contact after the ball was gone. Good refereeing to allow the play to go on and then come back and issue the card.
44th minute...whew...Brigit racing towards the endline...uhhh Grubb does something I think. Damn I'm bad today.