Aya Miyama to the Beat. This new Athletica / Beat merger is incredible. The Beat still have 17 games left in the regular season. They have time to put this together, and get to at least 4th place (to earn a playoff spot). They can still do it. 9 former Athletica players are now with the Beat (Aya Miyama, Eniola Aluko, Carolyn Blank, Lori Chalupny, Amanda Cinalli, Tina Ellertson, Angie Kerr, Kia McNeill, and Hope Solo). That inlcudes 8 players from last years Athletica starting lineup (everyone but Blank, who was in college still). Cinalli started a lot of their games last year. Now combine those players with the best Beat players (from opening day 2010), in Ramona Bachman, Mami Yamaguchi, Johanna Rasmussen (the 3 Umea players right there), Tobin Heath (if she ever gets healthy), Katie Larkin, Leigh Ann Robinson, Monica Ocampo, Stacy Bishop, and McCall Zerboni. That's the most "complete" team in the WPS right there. Sure the Gold Pride still have the better "offensive" team. But this is the most complete team (Offense, Midfield, Defense, Goalkeeping). If they can get to the playoffs and are the team playing the best soccer by the end of the year .... they are the favorites, and could give Marta another heartbreaking championship game (which she has experienced many times now in Olympics finals, World Cup final, and WPS final games). Marta will eventually win her major championship (and probably more than one) at some point in her career. But it may be delayed for yet another year. The Beat are scary good now on paper. If they can put it all together, look out.
Holy Crap! I go on vacation for a few days and log back into Big Soccer to this INCREDIBLE NEWS!!! Tell you what, the Beat management certainly was Johnnie-on-the-spot with the Athletica folding. There should be no excuses now for them not to win a lot of games.
Even without: Solo, Bachman, Aluko, McNeill, Rasmussen, Blank (who didn't play), and Heath (hurt for the year probably), this team played their best game of the season by far tonight. You add those players back, and put it all together, and this team has the makings to be unstoppable. Forward: How do you stop Bachman+Aluko? Rasmussen is a solid role-player attacking forward to go with those two stars up top. Ocampo and Cinalli round out the reserves. Midfield: In the midfield, you have Yamaguchi and Miyama. The 2 most exciting Japanese players in the world. You also have the aggressive Zerboni in the midfield. Plus the all-world Chalupny, and the team captain and under-appreciated Angie Kerr. Best midfield gang in the WPS right there with those five. Defense: On defense, you have the world-class defensive triangle reunion of Hope Solo in net, with Ellertson and McNeill sprinkled in front of her. Those three together are unbelievable. Leigh Ann Robinson is a fine defender who is only going to get better. And you have versatility in players like Katie Larkin, Stacy Bishop, and Carolyn Blank, who are capable defenders but can play anywhere on the field. Brett Maron provides a capable backup goalkeeper to fill in for Solo. Tobin Heath rounds out the group by being the #1 cheerleader on the bench. She provides inspiration and a reminder to not take things for granted. This team is going all the way this year. They have 16 matches left. They will get to at least the #4 spot by the end of the regular season, and will win road games like Sky Blue FC did last year to win the coveted WPS championship.