One comment I'll make about Edwards is that I thought she was very good in the air, in the midfield area such as on goal kicks, etc.
Actually, I was hoping for a little more detail. Thanks for the excellent analysis. I'm wondering whether the problem in the final third was down to the midfield not playing good final balls, or the forwards not knowing how to find space. Or a bit of both, as your comments might suggest. Both Sinclair and Morgan can make their own shots, of course, so that might not be as serious an issue as it looks at first glance. The defensive situation is of concern. The stumptownfooty piece highlighted the vulnerability of Avant and Williamson on the left side of the back four. Not a place you normally want to be weak, that.
Reis is obviously rather short for a GK but she's very athletic and has good vertical height on her leaps. She was a very good GK in college for UCF and she's a credible candidate for playing in this league. I think there are some Brazil fans who think she deserves a shot at her national team. (I think she's from Brazil)
On Williamson- sorry, but I can't really be totally objective here. You will remember Cone could have picked Kendall Johnson instead for her first College Draft pick and didn't. I only hope it's because Kendall didn't want to play for her( doesn't seem to have stopped her from picking players anyway). Based on this game, HUGE mistake. HUGE. I don't know much about the two forwards you asked about, but finding space in the box is not one of Foxhoven's weaknesses( she scored 26 goals when she was exclusively a forward and had Kerr, Enyeart, and Schmidt feeding her), but mids have to find her. Maybe the Thorns mids didn't respect college keepers or something and thought that blasting from distance was all they needed to do, but really, judging from other results against college teams, an NWSL team should be winning games by more than a goal, (and not being lucky to accomplish that.) if the mids can't find Foxhoven, they probably won't find the two we expect will score. I have nice season tickets for this year. I hope not to be drinking my sorrows away in the KeyBank club, but Cindy has to tell these kids what she expects of them, and I hope it's not what we saw.
Danielle Foxhoven is awesome. Angie Kerr was best midfielder for Thorns. Portland Pilots really took it to the Thorns. Why didn't CP draft Kendell Johnson? She was amazing at Portland. -CliveHomer
I'm not sure where I said that, I said they did what you expect players to do from their positions. Radovcic and Shufelt really didn't. In a match where 23 shots were taken, 6 were from forwards. A team that will have Sinclair and Morgan shouldn't be playing like that. And I said the midfield was good at winning balls, which they were. It was the strength of the team. but they just shot from the outside. They didn't work the ball much. And the defence was poor, particularly Williamson. I stand by that she wasn't very good. Stumptown doubts she will start, doesn't he? I think you are perhaps trying to defend Cone in her rostering. That just isn't turning out to be a good one.
http://www.stumptownfooty.com/2013/3/31/4168256/thorns-fc-wins-battle-of-portland Let me know where he and I were significantly different. He seems perhaps more hopeful that the midfield will link up with Sinclair and Morgan. I just didn't see hard evidence of that. I know Sinclair, and probably Morgan, will demand it. And I'll differ that the college team is in midseason form. They lift and run now mostly. The NCAA severely limits other work.
For which team? I have season tickets to both. I am perhaps more critical of the pro team because it's the first time out and the first chance to identify weaknesses. Also, they are proffesionals. They need to get used to a critical eye on them as individuals.
We saw this out of UNC during the spirit game. They kept good pace with Spirit, but lacked that polish to execute.
An article and video of Cone and Long. Enjoy. http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2013/04/love-rivalry-and-rain-long-happily-arrives-portland and more game highlights.
I noticed that Parlow, in the piece combined with the April 1 prank on Allie Long, mentioned Foxhoven and Shufelt as having performed well up front in the game against the Pilots. She did not mention Radovcic. She also said there were some gaps in back that needed attention and also that there was a need for a tactical adjustment. She also said that getting Buehler back would help. In fact, her comments pretty much match the apparently enlightened discussion here about how players performed. By the way, anyone else remember CPs earlier statement that the Thorns would be playing a Spring game against the best college program on the West Coast?
I think I remember someone repeating the statement, but I don't think I ever saw the original. We're talking about my own alma mater, Cal Berkeley, right? I also noticed the glaring absence of Radovcic. If I was her - ouch. But maybe CPC didn't mean to make a point of it . . .
Yep, she was (is?) apart of the Brazilian national team pool system. For what it's worth, Chris Henderson from AWK did tweet something along the lines of him seeing Reis grabbing the backup keeper spot over Barker. I've seen Reis play in person a few times, the one in particular was against UNC in the 2011 College Cup, and she was fantastic and was the reason UCF beat UNC. (Also helped that she stopped two PK's in the shootout - one of them from Dunn).
KGW reports on Thorns day of regognition today at the Portland city council. http://www.kgw.com/sports/Thorns-recognized-at-City-Hall-202419521.html Mayor Charlie Hales in a big soccer fan and a big part of the reason the Timbers got an MLS franchise.
Charlie may be a soccer fan-- it's great news, to me -- but the real fanatic on the Portland City Council is Commissioner Nick Fish. Nick's a Portland Pilots season ticket holder and has been instrumental in the construction of at least one top turf soccer field (and lacrosse field) in inner Portland -- Buckman Field adjacent to Benson High School.
Yeah, Nick too. They both have season tickets to the Timbers, and I've seen them both at UP games. I don't know if Charlie has season tickets for the Pilots, but he wouldn't be the first mayor who did. And last fall both he and his opponent Jeff Smith were at Merlo. It seems politically beneficial to be a soccer fan here. It's all good.
Portland's @NWSL home opener against @SeattleReignFC kicks off a new rivalry: http://t.co/8M8fu7NXQN #BAON #RCTID— Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) April 19, 2013
I can always count on Wipeout to make me laugh— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) April 20, 2013 Check out my new kicks! #rosecity #PortlandThorns #airmax #teamnike Create your own: http://t.co/WWiMjoFGmt pic.twitter.com/FK4sOfBXMB— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) April 19, 2013 Love exploring Portland with the teammates... This city is growing on me real quick!— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) April 18, 2013
An article from North of the border on Sinclair and the Thorns. http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Canada+hero+Portland+girl/8273077/story.html
326127303350444034 is not a valid tweet id326126557934538752 is not a valid tweet id326125279451947008 is not a valid tweet idThoroughly enjoying Portland-Seattle NWSL game. Loud crowd of 16,479 in PDX, bigger than any for WPS. 77' Portland 2:1 Seattle.— Subscribe to GrantWahl.com (@GrantWahl) April 21, 2013 326119049648013312 is not a valid tweet id