I'm not sure the age/quality of the Interbay surface though. When I searched for it, when the topic came up last time, I didn't see any mention of a new installation since it was first installed 2003. They still could've chosen to practice at Starfire though... so point taken. lol. I probably I am.
The best view of the space needle, IMHO, is from Kerry Park. But that was a 5 minute walk from where I used to live, so I might be biased. Of course, there's no soccer pitch at Kerry Park, though. (My favorite view of Seattle overall, though, is from the Bainbridge Ferry, but it's not quite as nice a view of the space needle)
I'm pretty sure there was a more recent resurfacing. 2009 sticks in my head. But for an artificial field that's still old. I really haven't kept track.
I used to enter robot contests right under the Space needle at the outdoor ampitheater next door. Spectacular venue. That whole area is what cities should be aiming for in their public spaces.
If u havent caught WFPod this week it has a lot of Seattle flavor via a PNW road trip. Includes USWNT/NWSL stuff with with Sarah Gehrke, Rapinoe interviewing Leroux and a hysterical interview with the Brits Abroad (Little, Fishlock & Harvey). Well worth a listen https://audioboo.fm/boos/2181748-episode-22-an-idiot-abroad#t=0m10s
Oh @kernel_thai , how many times must I tell you that no media put out by or relating to the Reign escapes me. I listen to this interniew a few hours ago and my favorite obviously is the fact that Kim Little is afraid of headers to such an extend that she even closes her eyes when heading the ball. I think maybe we should lock she and Wambach in a room together and I'm sure they can teach each other what the other lacks.
Also it seems Joe, the social media guy, will be leaving after the June 7 match to work for the Tennessee Titans. I'm gonna miss him and hopefully whoever replaces him will be just as good.
doubtful...my favorite part of the headers thing was Little said Hope glanced over but didnt bother. Joe Fann goes from the undefeated Reign to the Titans? That's a step down.
(7-0-0) vs (3-4-2) Match Day 8: May 21, 2014 NWSL Regular Season Verizon Wireless Field Durwood Stadium 5:00pm (PST), 8:00pm (EST) Injury Report (5/20) Seattle Reign FC OUT: Amanda Frisbie (adductor strain), Carmelina Moscato (right foot stress reaction), Megan Rapinoe (left foot contusion) FC Kansas City DOUBTFUL: Kassey Kallman (left groin strain), Amy LePeilbet (left knee soreness) PROBABLE: Morgan Marlborough (right ankle sprain) =========================================================================== With Cox clear to go, I think she will return to the starting eleven replacing Dallstream. Hence, I predict the following lineup: Solo; Cox, Barnes, Fletcher, Reed; Winters, Little, Fishlock; Leroux, Foxhoven, Goebel Given our struggles in the last game to maintain possession wish was caused by FCKC being a good possession team as well as our own players inexplicably playing the long ball, I would therefore like to see more bodies in the middle. Quite frankly, with Rapinoe and Kawasumi being out, we are missing some serious width and hopefully the return of Cox will remedy some of that. Therefore, here's the lineup I'm hoping for: Solo; Cox, Barnes, Fletcher, Reed; Winters, Deines/Nogy, Little, Fishlock; Leroux, Goebel. From the match preview, it appears Frisbie is getting closer to returning.
Sorry for my ignorance, but I am a Nadeshiko Japan's fan, following NWSL only casually and occasionally; so, just out of curiosity, what's the exact format of the League? Each team meets the other ones three times, for a total of 24 matchdays? So we're quite at one third of the league? Or am I wrong? Is there any playoff, after regular season (like it was in WUSA and WPS, if I remember correctly), or the winner of the regular season takes it all? More briefly: how high the chances are that Seattle Reign can win the whole League, after 7 wins out of 7 matches?
Correct Yes, we have playoffs, top four qualify, like last year. If you treat each match as a coin flip, Seattle already has a 65% chance of winning the regular season; if you do a weighted method, Seattle already has an 82% chance of winning the league. Being playoff champion is probably similar.
Yes this is correct. Each team meets 3 times over the course of the season, so it's a pretty balanced schedule. By playing their 8th match today, the Reign will be at the 1/3 mark of the season. Yes, at the end of the regular season, the top 4 teams make the play offs. 1-seed vs 4-seed and 2-seed vs 3-seed. This is not a home and away type think so the higher seed have home field advantage. Therefore, it is advantageous to finish 1 or 2 in the regular season. Obviously that is not a gaurantee to win as Portland won the championship last year playing two road matches. At this point, there is a high chance they will make the playoffs. As for finishing as the 1-seed, there's a good chance of that. Once in the play offs, I think that's were things get a bit tricky.
Also, Chicago and Portland will get significant boosts with game-changing players joining the team halfway though the season. Press for Chicago and 5 stars (Morgan, etc) for Portland. At the same time, the Reign anticipate getting Rapinoe and Kawasumi back too. Will be interesting in the 2nd half, could drastically change the table from the way it looks now.
Finally have time to share my unsolicited opinions about the match. Firstly, I thought the team performed better in this match than they did last week so there's that. Last week, there were long stretches in the first but especially the second half where the team was completely being bossed around the pitch and was on a back foot the entire time. The changes Harvey made to basically have Leroux play deeper in the midfield in the first half and replace her with Nogy in the second was a big contributing factor to maintaining possession in this game. Overall, I didn't think there was a particular weak link in the team this game. I'll give Fishlock another A+ this match as she was exceptional again especially on defense. There were several instances when she track back to break up promising counter attacks. Offense At this point, it is has become a serious concern of mine on the lack of offense that is generated from a combined team effort. I'm too lazy to check the stats but it seems most of our goals have come from PKs or set pieces. At some point, I'll luck in that area will run out and we will have to generate our own offense. The only thing holding me back from launching into full on panic mode is the fact that we have 0 width on the pitch with Kawasumi and Rapinoe out. Some teams have figured out that they can basically clog the middle of the pitch and that will effectively stifle our offense. Leroux to her credit have speed to beat most defenders but when that is not an option, she becomes limited on what she can do on the wing. And by that I mean she basically passes the ball back to Fishy or Little in the middle. Same thing for Goebel. Reed the past few games have been venturing further up the pitch but too many times she opts to send in the cross instead off cutting back in. The one time she did cut back in, she got a PK called. So to summarize our offense right now, without Naho and Pinoe who are legitimate threats on the wing, our only strong attacking option is down the middle and when that is stopped, we resort to early crosses from outside the box which sometimes work but not too often. I would like to see the players not settle for the early cross but actually have 2-3 players at a time work the sidelines when it's open. That should pull more defenders from the box and potentially open up the lane for Leroux or Little. The return of Cox should help in this regard. I liked what I saw from her and Leroux on the left in the Spirit match. Cox have deadly cross but also is not afraid to enter the box on combination play from the side line. With she and Leroux attacking from that wing, opposing teams will have to commit more than one defender to stop the attack. Defense On the defensive front, this is the second game where KC have scored from the exact same spot and it is all due to defenders giving the forwards too much room and not pressuring the ball. I'm not too worried about this actually because I thing it is due to the respect we pay to the short passing ability of KC. Not too many teams can do that in this league so I attribute this to being a match up issue. Also, it was great to see Cox back on the pitch. I like what I saw from Barnes on the left. There were many attacks that she stopped dead on that side. The extra-curricular activity at the end of the match was funny . Didn't know she had that in her.
More on the topic of what I perceives as our offensive woes and trying to talk myself down from the cliff. I think most people do not realize the huge effect injuries have had on this team. Now that I think about it, it's amazing that we have only left 2 points on the table so far. Let's start with the absence of Rapinoe on the left and Leroux replacing her. We all know Leroux's strength is her speed so most would think she should not have any issues playing on the wing. That does not same to be true because what is needed from a good winger is speed but more importantly, creativity. Leroux has the formal and lacks the latter. Rapinoe lacks the formal and has the latter. The combination of both of them on that side is what will make Seattle deadly. With her improved ability to maintain possession, Leroux either get by her defender or if that is not possible, give it to Pinoe who can come up with something creative. The two have amazing chemistry on that side. Rapinoe being injured means Leroux is basically isolated on the left. She had started working better with Cox in Rapinoe's absence but than Cox got injured so it's been a tough 3 games on that left hand side. This dynamic is similarly mirrored on the right side with Kawasumi and Reed. Reed provides speed and defense while Kawasumi gives you creativity and pinpoint crosses. Apart from the first match of the season, these two have been combining well together ever since. When Kawasumi left, we really haven't been utilizing that right side. In most games, that side is completely open and at times when Little switches the ball to bring in Reed, she may not even be in the picture frame. That's how open it has been. Goebel has been tasked with playing that side but she's not a natural winger and her tendency is to drift closer to the middle. And finally in the middle, you have the trio of Little, Goebel and Fishlock. Most people noticed early on that Little and Goebel were developing some amazing chemistry. However, that stopped with the departure of Kawasumi which have relegated Goebel to the right side which she's not really good at. The experiment with Foxhoven at target forward haven't exactly worked. Unfortunately, our tough schedule at this moment does not afford Harvey the luxury to let Little and Foxhoven gradually develop chemistry. This means that Little now has to play as center forward which basically negates most of our creativity in the midfield. Fishlock to her credit have stepped up to play that CAM when Little is playing CF, but the problem is she has to track back too much to be effective in that role.
Which I really don't understand. Why not put Leroux in the middle up top?!? Or for the time being try a solid 4-4-2 With Leroux, and Goebel up top, and a diamond mid.
(7-0-1) vs (3-3-1) Match Day 9: May 25, 2014 NWSL Regular Season Moda Health Pitch at Memorial Stadium 4:00pm (PST), 7:00pm (EST) Injury Report (5/23) Seattle Reign FC OUT: Amanda Frisbie (adductor strain), Carmelina Moscato (right foot stress reaction), Megan Rapinoe (left foot contusion) Western New York Flask OUT: Adrianna Franch (right knee surgery) Match Preview