This is a spotlight article at the Spirit site, by Andrew Monfried... http://sandiegospirit.com/press_room/spotlight_on/351008.html
Cyber Soccer News Preview of Team by Jorge Palacios An indepth article that talks about last years lacks and what has been done about them... http://www.cybersoccernews.com/wusa/sandiego/030403sandiegopre.shtml
The Monfried article was great! I'm not sure Palacios ever saw this team the last two years, if you listen to his description of players and their abilities. Daniela replacing Boxx is OK, perhaps an upgrade after we see Daniela play a while. Wagner will be magic, with Foudy playing a more suppotive role, which suits her style and skills better. The big question is Mac on the right flank. She's your leading scorer the last two seasons, and you put her out wide (yuo are also asking her to defend a lot more)? Latham and Fleeting better produce up top. Zhang isn't in camp yet, so Allie (Kemp) Sullivan should get a go on Opening Night. I'd rather see Allie out wide with Mac up top, but hey, I'm not the coach. Conners is a huge upgrade on the left, although I'm not sure Margaret was ever given a shot there (they tried to make her a left-back). Krzykowski was a great addition, and Fawcett is a rock, so the only questions in the back are Pickup and Pags. I think Pags will return to 2001 form and Branam will push her for minutes. The bench looks good with Neilsen, Sullivan, Fair and Sauer all being capable of starting. I hope Bush turns out to be a lot better than Kester, and I think the jury is still out on Palmer and Alfiler. Saturday should be terrific! I can't wait.
Facing Forward The entire back page of the sports section is dedicated to the Spirit. About two-thirds of that page has pictures of the players who are expected to start: Pags Lisa K - Joy - Kim Julie - Daniela Mac - Aly - Kerry Christine - Fleets The on-line article doesn't the sidebars at the bottom: Bench players and coaching staff; About the Spirit; and 2003 Schedule. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/fri/sports/news_mz1s4facing.html
Re: Facing Forward just curious, but does christine had a spirit "head shot"?? i was at the spirit site, and noticed she didn't have one yet...and i'm in the search for one! thanks! elaine
I lifted this quote from the Freedom forum--thanks to Asfoolasiam. Do you think it applies to us with Foudy and Daniela playing deeper than the other middies? Will they be two holding middies? I realize we'll have 3 defenders, not 4. Please respond, as I don't know much about stategy. "I'm not sure why you think having two holding middies means a defensive, non-attacking team. The reality is quite the contrary. Two holding midfielders allows ball-winning to occur farther up the field, controlling the center of the field and exerting offensive pressure. Moreover, it allows for much more complex attacking patterns (and asymmetrical formations), because the defensive core is so solid. The obvious example here is, of course, Arsenal -- who with their flat-4 and two holding middies nevertheless have the most potent attack in Europe. Since the Freedom have moved to a possession-based offense, ball-winning and positional play (i.e., winning the battle of midfield) is of central importance, and a Stoecker-Steffi pairing in holding middie makes me feel very VERY confident about our offense." Apparently, I've also forgotten how to put a quote in one of these messages so it is bold. Would someone please remind me?
[ quote ] [ b ] Put in the text here [ /quote ] [ /b ] But don't put the spaces in between the brackets.
Thanks to Beast, you can view the back page! http://pub84.ezboard.com/fwusasoccerfrm7.showMessage?topicID=124.topic Some things that I didn't notice before: A number of players aren't wearing their own numbers! Look at Pag's shorts, Lisa's shirt & shorts, and is that actually Fleeting wearing the #25 shirt?
I was at Media Day when these photos were taken and the #'s on the shorts and shirts didn't match for several players. They looked as if they had just handed them out 10 min. earlier.