Actually, the match was much closer than the final scoreline... a highly questionable PK called settled the match, but this is Mia's league, so her team will always get those questionable calls... right before the call, a foul on Mia had Mia whining to the ref...looked like Hoffmann basically said shutup and play Mia... then the PK call....can we say Wambach committed the foul by backing into mcveigh who had established her space... still the ref was 30 yards away, and was is a poor postion to make a call which settled the match... back to what was important... Wamabach's 1st goal..poor Tietjen was doing her best, but you can't fault her for getting beat... and the 2nd goal too, Mcveigh could have done nothing... you might say Moore should have come out to punch away the 1st goal, but the 2nd goal was NOT defendible...the problem was the free service into the box on the 2nd goal. the field conditions were at best sloppy... and at about the 20 minute mark of the 1st half, the Charge started slinging togther was passes and having some decent possession, playing the game which has been their trademark of past years... Arrington as a lone wolf up top, does have talent but is very green.. having her as the primary forward ios asking quite a bit... Makinen played very well I though, she won quite a few balls and her distribution was nice and she got forward several times..... Those complaining of her past performance should be quiet about yesterday... And melanie Hoffmann played well too settling ther Charge in midfield, so that, for good portions of the match, the Charge were outplaying DC in midfield... I thought having Monroe in a more offensive role, while having Misaki play in the FAir role was odd... I was expecting to see Monroe in the hassasser role from last year, but Misaki was playing more deeply to offer more possession skills... Tullock keeps improving as a winger, and she eventually ran herself into the ground..there were several times when she'd get into a good postion, and then there weren't any options for her... first time seeing Maso do Mayo, and her one back to goal move was brilliant...she has a lot more mobility than I had ever imagined... having Pichon and Maso do Moya as a forward pair is worth investigating.... finally, it does look bleak, but this team has aton of skill, and everything has gone wrong so far this year... everyone makes a run at some point, it's a question of continuing to fight and play your game... And support the team now... it's easy to support your team when it's winning, but they need your support when things are NOT going well
here's my nickel on the game. We looked like we played a bit more like a complete team this game. There was some good possession by the charge who just couldnt finish (Siri made it tough too!) I still think that we need to make a few personel changes. Looking at past history whenever Kelly is out, Coach K reverts to a 4-5-1 to control the midfield, so Im basing my approach on that assumption. DEFENSE- The back 4 arent playing up to snuff yet (obviously) Mitts and Benny are playing OK, and are getting involved with the "O" but maybe they need to stay home a bit more until the D gets settled. The central defenders arent playing well at all. I'd consider benching McVeigh, and putting Makinen or Borisjuk in that spot. McVeigh is just too timid there so far. Id make sure I talked to her and work her back in after a couple of games, but we need a change their. JTP is also playing a little soft. I think that is could be because teams are running at her to pull her away from the central D area to expose McVeigh 1v1. MIDFIELD- Played better this week, Misaki clearly played a defensive midfield role and did it effectively. Makinen in the midfield has been a waste of time. I can see why the Freedom got rid of her. shes just not controlling the mid like she used too. She has a few spurts, but overall isnt cutting the mustard. I think putting her in the central D would be a good place for her. She can utilize her size plus she has enough ball hadling skills to be effective there. Tullock and Hoffman are playing good soccer, Fair and Monroe are incompletes at this point FORWARDS- Tough to critisize them when the team isnt playing well. Although in the few minutes I saw Masa de Moya, Id give her some playing time up top with Pichon. She has some good instincts near the goal. GOALIE- Melissa is obviously frustrated with the poor D so far. Most of the goals have been rockets, and shes facing way to may PKs. I'd let her sit a game soon so she doesnt get herself carded for venting too much frustration. We drafted Solo #1 lets see what she can do for a game COACHING- obviously Im not privvy to the practices and matchup strategies, but too me Coach needs to be quicker to realize when a player isnt cutting it, and utilize his bench more. We havent had a situation yet were the team is clicking, so like a hockey coach tinkering with his lines, Coach needs to tinker to see if a certain group of players starts clicking. My starting lineup this week SOLO MITTS MAKINEN TEITJEN BENSON FAIR/MASAKI SCASNA/ FAIR HOFFMAN TULLOCK ARRINGTON/ PICHON MASA D MOYA KSP
The lack of firepower up top at forward was the main problem against DC I thought. The Charge had some nice possession at times, but you need to create dangerous situations in the box. There just wasn't enough of it with Arrington. And with Smith and Pichon and Scasna out, I don't think it was a big surprise. Maso do Mayo showed well on one play, and she has some nice mobility, so who knows for sure. Pichon is back, and the question is the health of Scasna and Fair. I didn't think Makinen played all that poorly against DC.. Hoffmann and Makinen, I thought were the two best players for the Charge on Saturday. Right now Krikorians primary job is the psyche of the team. Where does it stand?? Who would I start against NY... Pichon Maso do Moya Hoffmann Tullock Fair Makinen Benson Tietjen McVeigh Mitts Solo have Arrington off the bench, and hopefully Scasna can play, but I'd doubt she can go more than 30 minutes... also Misaki showed some nice possession... I was very surprised with Monroe's role on Saturday..