Figured this deserved its own thread! FRI 10PM ET - SD v NC, P+ SAT 6PM ET - NJY v POR, P+ SAT 7PM ET - WAS v HOU, P+ SAT 7:30PM - LOU v KC, Twitch SAT 10PM ET - RGN v ORL, Twitch SUN 6PM ET - CHI v LA, P+ We've discussed in the previous thread the importance of the SDvNC and CHIvLA matches, and each one already has some personnel issues coloring the match: Morgan's status for SD is in question CHI is missing multiple starting defenders due to injury and/or discipline
Angel City FC officially out. I mean technically we could still be in it if we score like 16 goals or something crazy like that against Chicago but yeah.... no chance. Good season for us, not great but we were in the mix all the way until the very end. Hopefully next season, we'll bounce back with some of our starters returning from injury.
Well, you still can decide the play-off for Chicago in the last match. I am sure you're not going to make it easy for them. So, I guess now Houston Dash is safe? It's just between North Carolina Courage and Chicago Red Stars, right now, isn't it? (Apart from the 16 goals win for Angel City hypothesis that @McSkillz was mentioning)? Basically if the Red Stars win they're in, if the Red Stars don't win they're out and the Courage are in.
LA had a great season while missing Christen Press for a sizable portion! They will be more dangerous next season!
Again, even with key pieces missing, CRS has hung in there with a very respectable season. I will go to the game tomorrow and cheer them on to win and make the playoffs! If we get back Davidson, Krueger, Watt, Sharples, Woldmoe next season (of course a big IF, due to potential retirements/trades/injuries), we will be in a much improved state. GO CRS on Sunday!
Correct. Only CHI and NC were able to pass HOU before last night. And now that NC can't pass HOU, CHI is the only team that could, meaning HOU will go no lower than 6th. And the draw for NC also means the door is effectively (thought not literally) closed on LA.
So Uh Don't look now, but NJY have come from 3-1 down to tie POR 3-3 with 15min left! (Also: S. Smith scored two of POR's three, meaning she's just one behind A. Morgan in the Golden Boot race at the moment)
RGN is up over ORL early, putting them on top of the live table! NWSL is lucky that the early games this weekend allowed these last two games to mean something.
Well, quite sensational: Gotham decided to put a stop to their streak of consecutive losses just at the last game, to deny Portland the shield!
Very reminiscent of 2018 - NY and DC as the bottom two teams in that order, with NY breaking a long string of bad results on the final day.
Great Sunday night for CRS and their fans! Announced attendance was about 8400. Nice weather. CRS played well. Yuki had perhaps her best performance of the year! She was the most active player and ran at the defense constantly and scored a sweet goal, to seal the deal! Mal Pugh was withdrawn a bit and played for a time almost as an attacking midfielder but when you least expected it, there she was and scored the first (and game winning) goal for CRS. ACFC has some moments but CRS played like they were on a mission. It was a test of nerves since the Mal Pugh goal did not take place until first half stoppage time. Glad they held on! On to San Diego on OCt 16th.
Another chapter of Nagasato's glorious history with Chicago Red Stars. The game vs San Diego looks quite difficult to win, at least on paper: what do you say, @59Amerinorsk? How many chances you give to the Red Stars to advance?
It's not quite the playoff lineup I hoped for, (I really wish SD would've beaten NC so LA could've easily gotten in over CHI, because getting both expansion teams in would've been amazing,) but it's a nice mix for sure. Also, SD and HOU are on opposite sides of the bracket, so there's still a chance I get to see both of them at Audi at the end of the month. =3 That said, I would find it hilarious if KC wins the championship, because wouldn't it just be NWSL life for the RGN-Shield-KC-Champs setup to happen again? (Sadly, KC can't beat RGN in the championship itself again because that potential match is lined up for a semifinal instead of the final.)
I was very happy to see the Red Stars get their spot in the tournament, especially given what they have been through this year. Plus, I am sure it makes my friend MRAD12 happy, he deserves it.
Well, of course, I want a CRS victory against SD! I think the chances will be good. CRS lost narrowly to SD twice this season so maybe the law of averages kicks in for a CRS victory? Depends a lot on how the game-changers Morgan and Pugh play combined with a player(s) that steps up in a key moment(s) to secure a likely narrow victory. But what do I know?