Feels like the league is getting to be more and more about well run franchises than west coast teams winning because the star players are all from there.
I think so. The impact of Banda and Chewinga has been immense this year. Also, Kang buying DC has done wonders for them and Gotham has worked the trade market and draft as well as anyone the last few years.
Not one upset But not surprised either. The top 4 teams this year really separated themselves from the others.
THE NWSL SEMIFINALS ARE SET 🗓️Coverage on Sunday will start at 2:30 PM ET!Presented by @madebygoogle pic.twitter.com/lHC9NSKfD5— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) November 10, 2024
3 out of the 4 quarterfinals were really good though. Chicago Red Stars (while I can still call them the Red Stars) was, unsurprisingly, the one uncompetitive team. I understand putting Lianne Sanderson on mute (I keep the sound way down myself for almost every game now) but if you're missing the goals you're using mute wrong. You're hitting the on-off instead of the mute button I think the refereeing was generally very good in the quarterfinals. I think VLATKO is a schmuck for taking cheap shots at the referee and I still don't understand WoSo Journos. Even now, after VLATKO screwed up as coach of the US national team, they're still willing to serve as mouthpieces for him? "If you look at the season, every game, they're overly physical against (Chawinga)... It's not fair for Temwa. They're targeting her. They're going directly at her. And I just hope that as we go forward she gets more protection from the referees." - Vlatko Andonovski #NWSL— Steph Yang | Horrible Soccer Goose (@thrace) November 9, 2024 If your feed says he Tweet ID is an invalid ID, that's a lie. I don't know if it's a BigSoccer thing or an Elon Musk thing "If you look at the season, every game, they're overly physical against (Chawinga)... It's not fair for Temwa. They're targeting her. They're going directly at her. And I just hope that as we go forward she gets more protection from the referees." - Vlatko Andonovski #NWSL— Steph Yang | Horrible Soccer Goose (@thrace) November 9, 2024 There are two players, as I said earlier in the thread, who are simply faster, quicker, stronger than everyone else and it completely alters the equation for how other teams have to play against them and the options their teams have on how to play the game I'm not saying there's a simple right-or-wrong here, but we are sweeping the problem under the rug when we act like one of them didn't fail a gender-eligibility test for a continental tournament or that as few people as possible should know about it from the news or from journalists covering the game. That IS sweeping the problem under the rug
xG Washington 1.34 / Bay FC 1.35 !!! (the own goal doesn't count in xG) from Theo Lloyd-Hughes Albertin Montoya has done a good job as coach of Bay FC. Of course as an expansion side they look unfinished but they also look like they have an idea of what they're trying to do out there and it isn't just sitting back in a bunker against the #2 seed. FT Washington Spirit 2-1 Bay FC AETShots: 21-13onT: 6-2xG: 1.34-1.35Poss: 54-46Fouls: 8-17Interesting match up of quality over quantity, once Bay took the lead they couldn’t reset the pressure imbalance. #NWSL— Theo Lloyd-Hughes (@theolloydhughes) November 10, 2024 The 2 teams with the 2 players who are simply faster/quicker/stronger than everyone else play in one semi-final while the 2 teams with Spanish coaches (I don't have to count Houston, right?) face off in the other. I've enjoyed watching Gotham this season despite their sometimes-frustrating inability to score. I'm sure it's a jinx I've inadvertently put on them. In the quarterfinal against Portland, Coach Amorós made an interesting tactical decision (one which I was rather skeptical of) starting Lynn Williams in Yazmeen Ryan's customary spot and putting Ryan in the midfield in place of Delanie Sheehan who wound up on the bench. In a way it's a quiet change because Sheehan isn't known for doing lots of spectacular things. A lot of casual fans, I'm sure, don't even know who she is. (I didn't know who she was until late last year and she's UCLA so my bad). But she and Nealy Martin have been the quiet, solid heart of the Gotham midfield for the team which won the championship last year and continued to excel this year. I questioned Amorós' decision because Sheehan doesn't do the spectacular things you're looking for in a late game substitute — if you're going to use her, use her as a starter where she will quietly influence the play over a long course of time. So what happens?! She comes in as a late sub and makes a fantastic play in the box for the winning assist to Lavelle. At any rate, it's an interesting question for pundits and fans to ponder — does Amorós repeat last weekend's lineup against Washington or does Sheehan return to the starting lineup? And then does Williams stay in place of Yazmeen Ryan? (I sez he should start Sheehan and Ryan but what do I know?)
My updated list of playoff streaks and droughts through the 2024 QFs (aka semi-final qualifications) is ready! As usual, call me out on any errors, it's a lot of data to keep track of.
Referee assignments for the semifinals (from the PRO Professional Referees Organization website) : Saturday 11/16/2024 Washington Spirit vs NJ/NY Gotham FC Audi Field (12PM ET) REF: Matt Thompson AR1: Katarzyna Wasiak AR2: Zeno Cho 4TH: Ricardo Montero Araya VAR: Greg Dopka AVAR: Rhett Hammil Sunday 11/17/2024 Orlando Pride vs Kansas City Current Inter&Co Stadium (3PM ET) REF: Danielle Chesky AR1: Jennifer Garner AR2: Darren Bandy 4TH: Abdou Ndiaye VAR: Shawn Tehini AVAR: Tom Felice
I really wish the Spirit game was the one on Sunday... My rec club had scheduled its annual Thanksgiving tournament (usually ~100 people) for that Saturday, and when NWSL finally announced when the semifinal was, a ton of people pulled out of the tournament to go to the game. Understandable, of course, as we're all for the Spirit, but now we're scrambling to find a make-up date, and reserving a field that's big enough and open for long enough is the hardest part of the planning! Especially weird since the Spirit are one of the Sunday-est teams in the league, IIRC; Kang loves those Sunday home games.
Not quite playoffs, but over the past few days, NWSL has announced most/all the components of the upcoming fan fest around the final, including a return of the skills competition (this year actually easy to watch! CBSSN and P+, though not live - will be shown the day after the championship when the comp is actually the day before) and a free concert with Tori Kelly headlining. I do like how NWSL has finally gotten around to making the championship a "big event".
I only got around to reading this today, but for people with subscriptions to EQZ, here's a nice breakdown of the four eliminated QF teams and what they need to consider for next seasons: https://equalizersoccer.com/2024/11/13/nwsl-playoffs-offseason-losers-priorities/ TL;DRs NC: reignite the attack; for a team that was one of the most potent in the attack during the org's early years, the non-penalty goals (and expected goals) per season has been slumping ever since POR: figure out how to get an excellent-on-paper midfield actually working together. As has been noted elsewhere on the boards, passing basics have been a big issue all year; I'll personally also add that POR probably needs to genuinely have a youth movement with their stalwarts getting older and/or outright retiring BAY/CHI: add depth! Both teams are top-heavy salary-wise and it shows. CHI needs help in the second half of their starting XI, and Naeher is getting up there in age. If BAY had the end-of-year starting XI for the full year, they'd be stronger, but they don't have much beyond the XI. They also need to figure out how to get Castellanos performing to her ceiling.
Barely 20min in and Gotham have already racked up two (three??) yellow cards Makes sense I guess bc Spirit are clearly outshooting Gotham so far
Gotham are frustratingly efficient at getting back and packing the box quickly when the Spirit is in attack