Several CyberSoccerNews pre-game articles: Courage Hopeful that Luckenbill’s Return Will Provide Much-Needed Spark 2002 WUSA Goalkeeper of the Year Likely to Start Saturday by Tim Candon The Haves vs. the Have-Nots Ascending CyberRays Meet Carolina's Decimated Forces by Inge Bond
If San Jose comes out as strong against the Courage as they did against Atlanta (unfortunately sigh) ...then it should be an easy "W" for the Chastainettes!!
Ya'll, I'm scared (for lack of a better word) of Carolina right now. They have good players who haven't won this season. We know they'll come out wanting a win, badly. Hopefully Sissi, Vench, Bryan, Lindsey and Alagich will be healthy and ready to play. Still waiting for Katia to find the back of the net...this would be a great weekend to start!
Here's the lineup as projected by CyberSoccerNews: Beene; Alagich, Chastain, Bryan, Sanchez; Sissi, French, Barr, Venturini-Hoch; Katia, Pretinha And here's the lineup given on the CyberRays website: Beene; Sanchez, Cromwell, Chastain, French; Barr, Sissi, Pretinha, Venturini-Hoch; Katia, Barnes They also list Alagich (virus), Bryan (knee) , and Lindsey (knee) as probable. In either case, it sort of looks like Tisha's return has convinced Sawyers to move away from the dual holding-mid setup used against Philly and DC and revert to the pinched-in diamond shape they used last season, although it's hard to be sure. One thing that concerns me is that, other than Betsy Barr, there such isn't much speed in the midfield. The Rays better hope they can hold most of the possession, because they are unlikely to be very effective chasing the Courage around the midfield. On the other hand, with a cadre of intelligent, experienced players like Sissi, Venturini, and (depending on which lineup you believe) either French or the rejuvinated Pretinha, you have to like their chances of holding onto the ball, at least if they play up to their potential. By the way, assuming the latter lineup is true, how many teams could lose three quality defenders -- 3/4 of a defensive line that held opponents scoreless for nearly 1/3 of an entire season in 2001 -- and still come up with a defensive lineup of Sanchez-Cromwell-Chastain-French? Not too many. I guess that's what comes from having seven capped defenders (six of whom were capped by the US). Talk about defensive depth! Now if they could only score a few goals they might do something this season.
What team has she been watching, because it sure hasn't been us?! "A burgeouning roster of healthy players"?? Earth to Inge! I have a ton of thoughts about this game, but I'm too lazy to type them all out right now. I will say: I heard that Carolina tried out Borgman up top last weekend, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she does up there if that's where she plays against us.
burgeoning = rapidly growing From season start to now: Lindsey: then - out now - probable Venturini-Hoch: then - out now - starter Alagich: then - out (NT duty, then illness) now - starter Greathouse: then - out now - healthy Last two weeks: Barnes: then - out (or subbed late) now - probable to start So three or four starters healthy now who were not at the beginning of the season = burgeoning.
Yay, DS posted!! We miss your posts, Druid! How I wish I could see this game tonight! Vench always plays well against the Courage and on Mother's Day weekend, let's hope she keeps that up. As long as we get another win, it's all good (barring no added injuries). It'll probably be Luckenbill's first start, so she might be shaky, at least for part of the game. Have a great time tonight, ya'll!
Hmmm...Inge Bond...BondOne...I wonder. OK, let me explain, since I called you out. I do know what burgeoning means. I'm just disagreeing with you that our roster has been rapidly growing in terms of healthy players, and that the healthiness of our roster is overall any better than Carolina's. If you look back at the pre-game injury notes for each game this season: vs. Philly, 3 players listed (2 starters): Dawn Greathouse (R elbow strain) out Kelly Lindsey (R knee) questionable Tisha Venturini-Hoch (R knee contusion) probable vs. Washington, 3 players listed (3 starters): Dianne Alagich (bronchitis) out Kelly Lindsey (R knee) questionable Tisha Venturini-Hoch (R knee contusion) probable vs. San Diego, 2 players listed (2 starters) Kelly Lindsey (R knee) probable Tisha Venturini-Hoch (R knee contusion) probable vs. Atlanta, 2 players listed (2 starters): Katie Barnes (R calf strain) questionable Kelly Lindsey (R knee) probable vs. Carolina, 3 players listed (3 starters): Dianne Alagich (virus) probable Thori Bryan (R knee sprain) probable Kelly Lindsey (R knee) probable What I see, from the players who are publically listed as being injured, is that we started the season with 3 players on the injured list, dropped to 2, and then went back up to three players for this game. The 3 players listed are players who are likely to be starters for us if they were healthy (based on last season)--only the 2nd time this season we've had that many starters on our list. Lindsey's been on there all season and has seen only really limited minutes--sure she's getting better, but she's not there yet. Di has been on then off and is now on again--not good. Thori is a scary new addition. Of course I could get all excited about the fact that they're all listed as "probable", as opposed to "questionable" or "out", but that still means we're seeing limited minutes from them. It doesn't mean they're healthy. All season long, for every player that's left our injury list, there's been someone to replace them. FWIW, Carolina's official injury report for this weekend doesn't look much worse than the CyberRays' in terms of number of players: Hege Riise (R ACL tear) out Kristin Luckenbill (thumb surgery) probable Carla Overbeck (maternity leave) probable Of course Hege Riise is a HUGE blow to them, bigger than any of our individual injuries have been to us, and she's out for the season. The lack of Luckenbill has hurt them as well in previous games. Carla Overbeck hasn't been a starter regardless, and was playing limited minutes last season even when healthy. Those two were "out" the first game of the season, and now they've been upgraded to "probable". I suppose it's arguable that the Courage's roster is also now "burgeoning" with healthy players, despite the loss of Riise? Also, we do know that there's a lot that's going on where players aren't listed. Thori was apparently very sick before the San Diego game (but didn't make the injured list), and ultimately took herself out of the game. Barnes wasn't on the injured list for the SD game, either, but she didn't play--is she really 100% now? Who knows what's up with Sissi not starting last week--is she banged up a bit and we don't know about it? Brandi may be playing, but she's not human if she's not suffering from some physical and emotional exhaustion because of the events that have taken place recently. I'm still cautious about being optimistic about our injury situation simply because of the number of players we know have been hurt at some point in time this season. So many players have something small that's nagging, and they're still playing. I expect to hear stuff like that at the end of the season as bodies get worn down, but it's frustrating to know that's going on this early in the season. Any time we're starting reserve players, and playing starters out of position to cover holes, I don't think it's something to feel really optimistic about. Ok, so, that was my long-winded way of saying: despite the injury to Riise--which clearly puts Carolina at a disadvantage until they get used to playing without her (think Philly Charge with Kelly Smith last season)--I don't think our overall injury situation is better than theirs at all. However, I'm not saying the glass is half empty, either. As much as I would like to see Lindsey out there and I think our team suffers without her in particular, we have found ways to work around her not being out there...and Tisha not being out there...and Di not being out there, as Carolina will ultimately have to do without Riise. I'm just saying, I see two glasses that are filled to the exact same levels, and I'm not seeing Carolina's as half-empty but ours as half-full. I'm seeing them both as less-than-full, but with plenty to go for this game. Thanks for your reply to my bratty post. =)
I would be surprised if Luckenbill didn't start this match. Carla is a different story, though I do think she will get into this game at some point. Neither is match fit, but I'm not expecting to read the game report and not see their names in the summary at the end.
There's an article about former CyberRay and Oakland native Venus James in today's Alameda Times-Star. It sounds like she had a hard time leaving the team. Venus is the champion of WUSA Ex-O'Dowd star James is only player to earn titles in league's first two years By Dennis Miller, STAFF WRITER http://www.timesstar.com/Stories/0,1413,125~11080~1382589,00.html I always liked James. Let's give her and Danielle Borgman a nice welcome.
I put my money on BC to have a heck of a game this evening. No one has more passion and since it's Lark and Roger's day at Spartan, expect great things..........
Yeah VJ! I was just beginning to miss her but she's baccckkk! I'm really happy that Borgs will be back in town tonight too.. and DSlaton