8/24: POST-MATCH FC2 Courage v Freedom [R]

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3-2 win for the Courage. Prinz gets the POTM, and with good reason - a great performance.

Let the second-guessing about the whole "saving Mia" thing begin.

Overall, just too many weapons for the Courage. When our "offensive" substitutions are Milburn and Gerardo, we're in trouble.

RS

 

Props to the Freedom for fighting to the end, and for a great season.

 

There should be no second-guessing whatsoever concerning the "saving Mia" issue.. It has worked for more than half the season and Mia herself has said that she still couldn't go full out 90 minutes..

No sense in rocking the ship during the most important game of the season.. As it happened, it was level at halftime so there should be no contraversy at all IMHO..

Good game overall.. Bad giveawy by the Grubb leading to the decisive goal.. Bai Jie really needs to put away those opportunities.. Too many missed opportunities for her this season..

A great turnaround season for the Freedom and they were certainly exciting to watch..

Anson Dorrance is an idiot.. His narcassistic attitude towards his Carolina players is pathetic..

 

Amen.


Congrats to Carolina and their fans.

Tough day for Jen. She has some responsibility for both 2nd half goals. I can understand her disgust. However, without her consistent play in the back throughout the year, we'd be back in the cellar. By the way, Jen is my favorite player. I love her heart. Tough day for Jen.

I'll throw the first dart about Mia. I wouldn't start her, but I would have brought her in at the end of the 1st half. I saw her dragging in RFK against Philly when she went 90 mins. 3-4 days after playing a half. I still think that she could go 60 minutes. There is no tomorrow. The "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" thought is crap. It's all about winning.

Sure could have used a fast experienced fwd in the last 5 minutes (i.e., not Milburn). Beard could have been the difference.


The Freedom had an excellent year and played well (excluding a few defensive miscues) today. The turn-around in attitude and determination is good to see.

Champagne is flowing. Celebrating the Freedom players and this season.

 

Can we get an "amen" up in here? Amen!

edited to add: JoeSoccerFan, I actually didn't see your post before I replied to this. You and I must be on the same wavelength! The Anson Dorrance comment stopped me before I read on and I had to post something right away!

I know it was only a small part of the game, but I really thought Washington was going to totally lose their cohesion when Grubb got all bent (at herself??) at shoved Siri. What the heck was that? Grubb has done a heck of a job all season, but as a team captain she just can't be doing that in the Championship game. I know she had a rough game, but I just can't accept that shove as OK.


Overall, great effort by both teams, and a very entertaining game to watch. I was really hoping the Freedom would pull it out.

 

Great minds think alike!

I think Siri and Jen both understood that shove was from Jen's frustration with her play in the 2nd half (both goals) and not indicative of any discontentment with Siri. Jen has been the heart and soul of the defense all year. Her grit and determination are the anchor in the back. She's a fiery competitor.

Just my opinion....

 

i don't know how many of you were watching on tv versus in the stadium but was i the only one who saw salazar blow the whistle after only 3:28 of 4:00 of stoppage time?

i wonder.

 

The stoppage time is only aprox. The ON FIELD referee is the sole keeper of the time and only he or she knows when the time is up.

The stoppage time announced is only for conveyance and has no real use. FIFA allows this but there is nothing that says the referee must follow it. Stoppage time, also, is reported in whole minutes and any fraction is rounded up. So, 2:30 of stoppage would show as 3:00.

IT only says that they believe that the game will end in the minute indicated 3:28 is in the 4th minute so the referee did give the 4 minutes that were reported.

Of course there is usually just a bit of stoppage in stoppage time so we often see mostof the last whole minute used.

[RANT]
My only compliant about the ref was fairly early. There was a foul called, correctly, in the center circle for the trailing foot on a tackle taking a player out even though the lead foot got the ball.

A few minutes later the same move was not called on a tackle in the box. I know that referees say they do not want to influence the outcome of a game by a call BUT by not making a call they influence it just as much. It is just a lack of guts that prevents the big call. If it is a foul in the center then it is a foul in the box or the refs are too afraid to make the call.

The Freedom should have been awarded a PK for that tackle on Bai Jie I think!!
[/RANT]

 

A great effort and a great season for the Freedom. I feel bad for jen to make that mistake in such a big game as she has been key to our defense all year. Bai needed to shoot that one time in front of the net but ... Unbelievable goal by Mia. Lets hope we come back just as strong next season.

 

from someone who was there...

Well, as I'm sure everyone could hear, the ref was booed quite a few times. I'll have to go back and watch it on tape to tell you whether it was warranted, but it certainly seemed warranted at the time.

Mia's goal was spectacular. She's amazing to watch in person. A few mistakes here and there, and goals that should have gone in...we would have won that game, but we didn't. Great season by the Freedom. I'm so proud.

 

Ricardo Salazar was the ref, right? If his performances in MLS are anything, I'm quite sure it was warranted.

And we sure as hell did deserve at least one PK.

 

I agree. I thought one was warranted in stoppage when Abby was mowed down by someone. I'll go look at it later. Extremely late foul calls by the ref. Especially the yellow on Abby. I mean ************, what was he waiting for when the "foul" supposedly happened? I'm a little frustrated at the moment. Upset by some things that have been said by Carolina players (Fotopolous). "Mia Hamm is an awesome player, but we've got Hege, Birgit, a team," Fotopoulos said. "Teams win championships. Individuals don't win championships." I'm sorry...I don't think that was called for. Like Washington doesn't have other players. We don't have the rookie of the year. We don't have one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.

I'll calm down after awhile.

"We didn't come all this way to lose," Hamm said, fighting back tears. "No one is saying, 'Hurrah, we're second.'"

 

Washington played well, it was a great game. Hard to defend against BeerGut and Fotop, but Moore wasn't quite as great as she usually is. No shame in this loss, however.

 

nice things said...

"Jen Grubb has carried us so much this season. And by no means is this team looking at that decision to encapsulate her entire season," star forward Mia Hamm said of the team's captain. "There are games she has singlehandedly saved and won for us. I don't want her to beat herself up about it."

Thank you, Mia.

 

Re: Re: 8/24: POST-MATCH FC2 Courage v Freedom [R]

The ref basically played advantage there because Carolina was on the attack. He did immediately point at Abby and say something to her, to let her know at the next break in play she was getting carded. It was a very professional way for the ref to make that call. It wasn't as though he decided to give the yellow long after the fact--he decided immediately, but then didn't penalize Carolina for Washington's yellow by stopping the Courage's attack with a whistle.

 

Re: Re: Re: 8/24: POST-MATCH FC2 Courage v Freedom [R]

Thank you for explaining this. I could not figure out why the ref waited so long to give Abby the card. I thought it was a bad call because it took so long to be given. However this explanation makes things clearer for me.

 

Re: Re: Re: 8/24: POST-MATCH FC2 Courage v Freedom [R]

And I believe that was the one time he actually played the advantage during the whole game.

 

I actually thought it was a very well-reffed game, but I'm starting to have one problem in general with the league's officiating:

I know, Abby's a big girl. She gets up over other players. But just because another player falls near her doesn't mean she pushed her.

That's not to say she's little Ms. FIFA Fair Play. But she definitely is losing some calls simply because she's big and aggressive.

Anyway, now what?

RS

 

Yes, please.

As I was leaving the match I said, "Abby gets called for fouls she only gets called for because she's so big." And my dad said, "Yeah, but it's been that way all season." I said, "It shouldn't be," and he agreed. I hope they realize they're picking on her in the offseason and let the woman play her game next season. I mean, I don't want her to be able to run wild...but my God, just because they fall down when they run into her isn't her fault!