Just returned from the game... Really a bad game in the end for the women in orange. The first half looked even with the CyberRays attacking the net as often as they could. The Power won the game with defensive height, and not having to need Tiffeny Milbrett and Christie Welsh to put the ball behind the net. The first goal from Tietjen was a loop and Beene was simply at the wrong spot at the wrong time so not her fault on this one. At least from where I was at, it looked like a perfectly struck free kick. Sissi went off in the first half so had to wonder if she was hurt or was tired--ditto as for Katia coming off the bench for her. To me, the team looked a bit off-kilter without their playmaker on the field. As for Besty Barr, she was dinged but looked fine as the game progressed. Credit to Saskia Webber for having a great game at goal. She simply was in the right spot at the right time. Saturday's game at New York is going to count for a lot, given that both teams (SJ and NY) are closer to the bottom of the table, while Boston and San Diego have made great strides towards the top four spots. It won't get any better on the road since the Rays will have to deal with Washington on June 22. (Couldn't spot anyone post-game at the brewery. I got there early but had to take off (around 6:15 or so) since I had to make a few calls so my apologies. Rain check on the pub until July...) Cheers!
Dog poop. That about sums it up. I thought the first half, well first 20 minutes, we played well. We used the flanks, had some great chances, good passing....but we also gave NY a couple too. Again, I am done with Clemens and now, Bryant. Need I say it again, Clemens is not strong, she hurts us. Bryant kicks the ball out every time. I don't care how fast she is. For all her "experience", she should be able to pass or serve a ball to her own teammate. Brandi - terrible. sorry - after the first 20 - bad. Positives - Keesh had one good save on Tiff's shot. Betsy played well THE FIRST HALF. I thought French was solid the entire game. I wish she would start taking more shots. I watched the game on TV, so it's easier to see the run of the play and what people are doing, or in this game, NOT doing. Ian commented on TV after the goal that "Keesh has been off the entire game and I don't know what her problem is." Wonder if Greathouse will get the nod? I am all for getting Cook in there and whoever else has the ka-ho-nas (sp?) to get the ball into the back of the net, or even get a shot. We are shooting ourselves in the foot. The teams that we need to lose are losing, but we aren't getting the 3 points we need to move. I'm leaving - I am mad. )#($)(#*$)(*# We keep shooting ourselfed
i had the same impressions of the game as Nap did with Tietjen's freekick... the only thing i could really think of was how Boof looked sort of discumbobulated at the right back place, she kept running into the middle of the field and leaving this huge area on the right where the Power people could run right into and it was kind of weird seeing her take throw-ins anywho i have pictures from the game that i'm fixing up right now and they'll be up soon
For you masochists, a match report. http://quakemagic.matchnight.com/qmdefault.cfm?page=ARTICLE&show=224 I'm not as inclined to cut Beene slack on the first goal, but as in all things soccer, reasonable people can disagree on what happened. Regards, Jefe
i have the pictures i took from the game up and you can find them here: Pictures i have to warn you guys though... the pictures are a little Boof-oriented... what can you say though? it's her first start!!
I take it you were in the CyberZone section with a camera. I was the loud guy with the purple jersey (and a Christie Welsh bobblehead that didn't work as voodoo...). I can't really say much about the last few games but for sure, this is a team that has lost out in the last minute (re: San Diego in April and Boston) and has trouble playing consistently. They could beat out Philly (a surprise at the bottom) and Carolina (which isn't doing well and is taking a dive in the table after winning the Cup and the regular season last year), but can't eke it out against the top teams (Washington, which has been doing well from the start). Mr. Foudy (Sawyers) has been juggling the lineup, and he's going to have to do it even more with the callups to the Ireland game in Utah next weekend. If they can't get the points against the teams at the top of the table (Boston, Washington, Atlanta, and San Diego) the Rays are going to be watching the Founder's Cup playoffs from home. Cheers!
were you the guy with that c'rays scarf and was doing this whoop thing whenever anyone was winding up for a freekick/the guy who called welsh "that big fat zero"?
I was at the game....I left more then dissapointed. First goal....was a weird one, to say the least. It looked like it was going high and wide (and judging from Beene's reaction, she thought so too), then it just.....dropped....goal to NY. Beene's save on Milbrett's shot was world class. I still don't know how she got to that one, but it was amazing. Frenchie....had her usual solid game, but she did not get the ball nearly enough. Seen too many times today was Frenchie with nice, wide open space in front of her, and the attack going up the right side, or in the middle into traffic. I want Frenchie to take more shots on goal, too, but she may have been told to serve the ball (she does, after all, have probably the best service going -- "that blade of grass? Sure, no problem"). My solution for defensive issues.....get a healthy Di or clone a right sided Frenchie (someone else's idea first, but I concur). Boof on the back wing was weird. She is a central defender! Barr did play well, but I think the bloody nose affected her the second half. Her first header back post-bloody nose literally stopped her in her tracks for a few seconds. She's fearless, though! NY....um, tall, strong team. They are only going to get more dangerous as they get healthy (and they have Tommy coaching them, so the rest of the league better take notice). Part of the problem with the 'Rays not getting any decent looks at goal was that they simply could not get over or around the Power defenders. Chip shots/passes that have a chance against other smaller teams had absolutely no chance today. I think the adversity of having so many injured players is paying off for NY. Those are my thoughts for now. I may have more if I actually am able to get hold of a copy of game tape, but being that the game was not televised here in the Bay Area, I do not know the liklihood of that. Should anyone have a copy, and is willing to make a copy for me, I would be forever grateful...
Thanks for the reports and the pictures (very, very nice!). What a bummer seeing as how we got lots of help from other teams this weekend and had a shot to be tied for second. The team better get in gear quick. Did Boof look good in her first game back?
My observations: SJ in the 1st half won the vast majority of balls, had the run of play, set up good attacks, but had nothing to show for it. And Sissi was a non-factor, that's why she got yanked. NY regained their composure in the 2nd half. At best, NY won half the balls, but the big difference was that while SJ got their heads on the balls, NY would win possession. NY pushed up the ball efficiently, but Welsh squandered a handful of attacks. NY's 1st goal saw Tietjen impersonate Ronaldinho & Beene impersonate Seaman. Needless to say, the Ronaldinho impersonator won. It was a fluke goal. However, the placement was textbook - dipping ball far post upper 90. It seemed like NY got a lot of tips & tactics from Sermanni on how to defeat Beene. In addition to Tietjen's attempt to lob Beene, Millie twice unleashed from about 25 yards out to put one over Beene. I agree with Chiefs comment about Beene struggling the whole game. Beene's play was not risky, but reckless. Going up for a ball when her defender already had the space, and worse, because nobody's behind her. I sat there watching the NY offense & Beene played off her line the entire game. Coming almost out of the PA against Welsh when she should have played Millie instead. And that "amazing" save Beene made against Millie's shot ignores the fact that she was way off her line to begin with. There were other scary moments when it didn't seem Beene communicated with her defense about what to do with the ball inside the PA. There are about five basic vocal commands a keeper should make, the only one Beene knows to say is "Up!". Beene's athletically gifted, but she needs to be more intelligent in her positioning and in reading the game. Watching the NY offense, I observed how lazy Chastain was on defense. Twice, Janss cut in from the right to the middle of the PA anticipating a ball while chastain stayed put where she was, ball-watching. But NY were not cognizant of what just happened & didn't send a cross in to Janss. The third time Janss cut in from the right to get on ball-side of Chastain, Pearman's cross found Janss's head. SJ 0-2 NY Scoring isn't SJ's only problem. The players you don't expect to fall asleep do.
Can't leave home without a scarf! Yep, that was me calling Welsh a "big fat zero"... with that type of crowd have to be more clever compared to the stuff heard at the Quakes games... http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2003/06/09/SP89355.DTL http://www.cybersoccernews.com/wusa/sanjose/030604sjc-nypadv.shtml Some interesting thoughts from Mr. Foudy himself in the sfgate article... looks like Sermanni had stolen the CyberRays playbook when he left to take the New York job so the Power finally got a win off San Jose... Cheers!
First off - sorry for the extra T on Bryan's name - I was thinking of Kobe'...ha I think that 2nd half all the play was lost through the middle. The field is so narrow anyway, we need to spread it wide and then PASS it to the wide players! I guess I shouldn't rag on Mandy so much when she isn't the only one not scoring. Someone else is going to have to step up to the plate and take shots. Brandi needs to quit coaching and start marking. She is turning into a Mia. If she has a bad game, she starts taking it out on other instead of changing what she is doing wrong. I still can't believe her laziness on Janss goal. I don't think Janss is a good player and to be honest, I was excited when she went in for Davey. Davey is scrappy and fast and can get balls in. Looks like I should have been concerned. NY wanted it more the 2nd half - or at least that's how they played Glad Kelly got in and she will get her touch back - but I don't agree with putting her at a position that she normally doesn't play on her first real game back.
Just thought I would throw this in......Brandi leads the Nat. Team with 11 starts out of 11 games and has played 900 out of a possible 990 minutes. No one else except Fawcett even comes close to those numbers. Brandi isn't lazy-she's worn out. Unfortunately, there's no good time in the near future for her to take a badly needed vacation.
Yes, I saw the game and I agree it was a bad outing for Brandi (the whole team actually). Sawyers looked at a loss as to how to get the team going. He almost looked like he wanted to be somewhere else.
http://www.sjcyberrays.com/news/rel_20030610c.html This could explain why Sissi was taken out during halftime of Sunday's match. Right now, it looks like it's day to day.