Pierce at full speed for the Revolution By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff Brown cools Fire fans: Key stop highlights Revs' tie in opener By Gus Martins, Boston Herald Fire open season with tie:Beasley puts team ahead, but Chicago fails to put down ten-man Revolution by Bill Quigley, CyberSoccerNews
Not to quibble with Quigley, but that's the first time I've seen Faria's pk attempt described as "weak." It didn't look too damned weak from the camera angle behind the goal. I still don't understand how Adin can get down for those so quickly, with his size. It was a great save. And Quigley mentions nothing about Brown's reflex save on the rebound, which was just as amazing.
Actually, the Chicago papers and the Fire board have been criticizing Faria's shot as being weak. That's BS, it was a decent shot, Brown just has such incredible reach that he can pretty much lay his body out and reach the corner. I agree about the covering the rebound, although I think it's more about alertness and anticipation - it's amazing how few players prepare for a rebound on a p.k. (i.e., the Revs defenders weren't even closing in!). From Cuddy's article: An early-season game on a narrow plastic field, with the ball bouncing wildly, is not going to produce a display of silky soccer, and it is far too soon to draw any conclusions about either team. We can only be grateful that, here in Foxboro, we can enjoy our soccer in a world-class facility with a wonderful grass field. Amen to that!
If weak meant 'with insufficient force' then no, it wasn't weak. However, it was poorly executed and might fit into a more slangy definition of weak. The ball wasn't that close to the post; if it had been Brown wouldn't have reached it.
I couldn't find a link for it, but the game got a .5 rating according to the list that the Globe publishes every Tuesday. It looks as though no sports broadcast were particularly popular Sunday evening.