Here is the write-up: http://carolinacourage.com/374362.html The game will be telecast regionally. Unfortunately I have to work tonight so will not be able to attend or watch. Go Blue Lions!!
Courage 1-San Diego 0, final All right! We looked good tonight in beating a good Spirit team. Lucks gets a lot of credit along with our usual stalwart defenders like Fettig and Roberts and "Gator" Baxter, and, oh yes, Burt and Slaton too. I also want to compliment Fotop who did a very nice job as commentator. I really prefer the group in the pressbox tonight, Dean Linke, Stephen Gates, and the Top, over the "Big Two" who do the 4:00 game every week.
Re: Courage 1-San Diego 0, final You must've left at halftime. We were putrid in the second half. Thanks to Lucks we held on.
We Won!!!! I wish I had heard Danielle as commentator. Others who attended or watched on TV, please add your impressions to poor deprived me -- can't tell much from just the match tracker.
Well the photos are now up. The first half was pretty exciting. Good chances at both ends. The goal was an opportunistic poke by Fettig. A cross had gone across the box (off the crossbar, actually), then someone banged the ball back into the six yard box where it fell to Nel. She made no mistake. The second half was all one-way traffic with the Courage absolutely penned in. We had no possession whatsoever. It's this sort of situation where having Hege would be nice. Birgit did bang a late one off the post one a counter, but that was pretty much it. Good game, good solid win. The second half was ugly. It's fine if you don't depend on bunkering every game, but if we try to keep that up, we're going to get burned eventually. I really don't think Entlich had the team lay back and bunker, I just think that San Diego really came out and took it to us.
Very important win to stay in the playoff hunt. Win pretty or win ugly makes no difference. 3 points both ways. Great job Courage.
Good to get three points. The second half was UGLY and I was sure Fleeting was going to put one in at some point. We've got to keep winning to get in the playoffs. From tv, it looked like Brooke was cramping but tv isn't the best diagnosis tool.
Press Release Here is the Courage press release on the game, which has quite a bit of detail: > Courage 1, San Diego Spirit 0 > > Cary, NC (July 19, 2003) - Nel Fettig scored her second game-winning goal > of the season, as the Carolina Courage kept its playoff hopes alive with a > 1-0 victory over the San Diego Spirit at SAS Stadium on Saturday. > > The Courage looked like a team with its back up against the wall from the > opening whistle. In just the first minute of play, Unni Lehn whipped a > ball in from the left flank that dipped in dangerously at the near post. > Birgit Prinz, arriving late, slid to redirect it, but the ball scooted > just left of the goal. > > Carolina continued to apply the pressure early, winning several corner > kicks. Courage defender Danielle Slaton moved into the penalty area, > wreaking havoc in the box. Twice she got on the end of crosses, nodding > one wide right and another just over the crossbar > > Finally, on Carolina's fifth corner attempt, the Courage broke through. > Brooke O'Hanley drove a corner kick across the face of the goal that > sailed over Spirit goalkeeper Jenni Branam and ricocheted off Julie Foudy. > Courage defender Nel Fettig jumped on the loose ball and slotted it into > the Spirit goal. > > The Courage, despite an 11-2 shot advantage, was only able to take a 1-0 > lead into the locker room at half. > > The second half was a different story, altogether, with the Spirit > dictating the tempo and controlling possession throughout. > > San Diego created numerous scoring opportunities and Scottish forward > Julie Fleeting took five consecutive shots. Unfortunately each of her > attempts either missed the mark or were swallowed up by Courage goalkeeper > Kristin Luckenbill. > > San Diego nearly evened the score in the final minute of regulation. Jen > Nielsen crossed a ball to San Diego teammate Allie Sullivan, who found > herself unmarked in front of the goal, ten yards out. Sullivan struck the > ball high, and the Spirit's best opportunity of the game was squandered. > > Carolina improved to 6-7-3, 21 pts, while San Diego stayed put at 24 > points with a record of 6-5-6. > > MATCH SUMMARY > 1st 2nd Final > San Diego 0 0 0 > Carolina 1 0 1 > > CAR - Nel Fettig 2 (Unassisted) 26th minute. > > SAN DIEGO SPIRIT - Jenni Branam, Joy Fawcett, Kim Pickup, Lisa Krzykowski, > Kerry Connors, Daniela (Jen Nielsen, 30), Julie Foudy, Aly Wagner, Zhang > Ouying (Susan Bush, 65), Allie Sullivan, Julie Fleeting. TOTAL SHOTS: 10 > (Fleeting 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Fleeting 2); FOULS: 13 (Fleeting 4); > OFFSIDE: 1; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: (Branam 4); CAUTIONS: (Pickup, 37); > EJECTIONS: None. > > CAROLINA COURAGE - Kristin Luckenbill, Staci Burt, Nel Fettig, Erin > Baxter, Danielle Slaton (Danielle Borgman, 79), Brooke O'Hanley, Carla > Overbeck (Robin McCullough, 59), Tiffany Roberts, Unni Lehn, Venus James > (Marcia Walls, 72), Birgit Prinz. TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Slaton 5); SHOTS ON > GOAL: 5 (5 tie with 1); FOULS: 12 (Prinz 3, Roberts 3); OFFSIDE: 3; CORNER > KICKS: 6; SAVES: (Luckenbill 4); CAUTIONS: (Overbeck, 53); EJECTIONS: > None. > Referee: Jennifer Bennett; Referee's Assistants: Brenda Wright; Kelly Lee; > 4th Official: Abbas Piran. > Attendance: 5,024; Temperature: Partly Cloudy and 82 degrees. > > Game Quotes > > Spirit midfielder Aly Wagner: > > "Second half we created a lot of opportunities. There were many > opportunities we should have finished and we just didn't put them away." > > Spirit head coach Omid Namazi: > > "We allowed their outside backs to get forward too much and they were > dictating how the game goes. When you give up five corner kicks, you have > to get one in the back of your net." > > "She [Tiffany Roberts] was unbelievable. She not only did an effective > job on Wagner, she was all over the place helping out on defense and > getting forward at times." > > Courage head coach Jay Entlich: > > "We got our goal and then we hung on for dear life. I thought it was the > tale of two halves. I thought we played really well the first half and > had the majority of the possession, but certainly in the second half they > came out and played a little different shape and they definitely had more > possession in the second half." > > "We had a great week in training, we played with a lot of urgency, we > played knowing that this was a playoff game in our minds, because from now > on it's almost a must-win situation." > > Courage midfielder Tiffany Roberts: > > "I wasn't man-marking Aly, but she definitely was always there in my mind. > I always made sure I knew where she was because I know she's a world class > player and she could do a lot of damage, so I knew if I could take her out > of the game, then San Diego would struggle." > > Courage defender Nel Fettig: > > "I think we just came out and put a team effort together. We did what we > could to battle for the first half. We got a goal and then we just rode > it out. We have some things to work on for sure. San Diego came at us in > the second half and they had some wonderful opportunities and that's > something we're going to start focusing on Tuesday, how to put together 90 > minutes." > > "I was just in the right place at the right time. I think the ball had > been mis-cleared and I was just focusing on their player, getting in front > of the keeper and the ball just came right to my foot, and luckily, I was > in the right place at the right time and put the ball in the back of the > net." > > "This was an absolute must-win and every game from here out is a must-win. > I don't think we can just be happy with this victory. We're not in a > position where one game is going to get us into the top or a better > position; this helps us but this is just the beginning." > > Courage goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill: > > "Every game right now is like a playoff game, so even if we're not playing > our best, we have to play with all our heart all the time, so hopefully > we'll be bringing that kind of energy to every game." > > "The first goal is the hardest to get, and we thought that gave us a > momentum boost and hopefully takes a little out of the other team too." > > "Baxter and Nel (Fettig) have been solid all year. You can always count > on them to play with heart and skill and they're both absolutely amazing > players. There are not two other players in the club that I'd rather have > in front of me." > > Courage defender Erin Baxter: > > "She (Kristin Luckenbill) has just come up big time after time all year." > > "It was huge. We were disappointed with our performance last week. We > needed this just going head to head with San Diego. They're ahead of us > in points so you always want to beat one of the teams ahead of you." > > > >