Have you bought your earplugs, yet? Miiiiiiiiiaaaaaaa, Miiiiiiiiiaaaaaa Well this game has suddenly become important. If we lose, we risk the distinct possibility of having to go to Washington on the 17th. If we win, we can go ahead and start planning our own tailgate for the 17th. More importantly, we need to show that we can play smart and as a team. If we get desperate and selfish, like the end of the game against Atlanta, we risk becoming last year's New York Power, where everyone stood around and hoped that Millie was going to save the day instead of playing as a team. I'm less interested in the result than how the team plays. Bad luck and bounces happen, no team will win every game it deserves to. I'm interested in the team's cohesiveness on the field. I want to see the "non stars" accept the challenge of doing their part, and not get trapped ball-watching, or even worse, ball avoiding. Hege, Birgit, and Unni can't lead this bunch to the Herndon by themselves. They also need to play smart, and make sure the rest of the team is involved. We saw a side of Birgit in Atlanta that we hadn't before. Frustration. I can guarantee you that six teams ordered a copy of that game tape. The NBA has its "Hack-a-Shaq" defense, well WUSA's got "Hack-a-Hun". Come on Courage!
Birgit's been getting hacked down pretty regularly ever since she arrived (or, after the first couple of games, anyway). The big difference in Atlanta was that the Beat defenders could do whatever they wanted to her and not get called for anything and all they had to do was fall down in her general vacinity and "tweet" went the whistle. And, her frustration showed and it shouldn't have regardless of the injustice. That being said, she needs to recognize that, being bigger and stronger, more calls are going to go against her than for her and just deal with it. Actually, especially after the Atlanta debacle, I am wondering how the WUSA's officiating measures up with other leagues around the world. Right now, the WUSA is arguably the most talent rich league in the world, player wise. How many of the foreign gems that are here will be willing to stay if the level of officiating does not catch up, and quickly. And, we have our cheer ready for Wednesday: Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaa Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaa Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaa Mia Who? And, it was just as bad in Atlanta with all the little girls squeeking: "Ciiiiiiiiiiindy" even after she was taken out in the second half.
MIA(pppppbbbllllttt) WHo needs Mia, we've got Birgit and Fotop and Hege and Unni, and well, we've got the Courage. Jon wait until you see my sign tomorrow night. Kara
I have an unopened box of them ... I should sell them tomorrow night. I'd probably make enough for dinner. At any rate, it should be a good game. For Carolina's sake, they need to put Hege in her usual center midfield slot to control play. Not sure if it was just exhaustion catching up to her, but against Saturday she was totally ineffective on the right wing. I'm not so sure that TR's absence will be a big deal. Washington has to have a strong start and scoring first will give them a real boost. They'll need an emotional leader tomorrow night to be effective. I like Jacqui as a second half spark plug ... hopefully Bai Jie will be able to make something happen. I'd love to see Makinen starting again to control our possession in the midfield and Gerardo to be subbed in for physical play. Defensively, hopefully Moore will be man marking Prinz, limiting her touches, shots on goal, and most of all, frustrating the heck out of her. That way Grubb will be free to mark Fotop. Thankfully, set pieces shouldn't be a huge problem with all of our big players in the box. It should be an entertaining game, to say the least.
Re: Re: Courage/Freedom 7/31 Pregame Anytime Hege Riise is sending a free kick into the box, you've got problems. Which makes me ask, why the hell is Birgit Prinz, a huge goal scoring target, now taking most of our corners?
Re: Re: Re: Courage/Freedom 7/31 Pregame I heard/read something from Marcia that Birgit doesn't consider herself good at or is uncomfortable handling or doesn't enjoy the "air battles" on corner kicks and so is taking the kicks instead.
From the Durham Herald Sun: Sales pitch: Hamm, Freedom come to Carolina By Jim Furlong : The Herald-Sun jfurlong@herald-sun.com Jul 30, 2002 : 11:51 pm ET
Re: Re: Re: Courage/Freedom 7/31 Pregame Very true, but when I wrote it, I was mostly thinking about corners, which as you noted, Hege doesn't take any more. You are right though, we can't give up any fouls in Hege's striking range.