Mac out. Fleeting back. Hopefully Latham back and in reasonably decent spirits. Courage with first victory of year last week, so they have some confidence. Riise out for year. Game on the road.
"Mac Out." ::And the tears begin:: Once I compose myself and get out of this depression, I will post my strategical thoughts..
Mac out Do you know how sad it's gonna be watchin this game, and of course it's the PAX game of the week?!
"Mac out"....those two words look horrible together... ::And the tears continue:: It is quite ironic that the PAX game of the week would be the first Spirit match Mac can't make because of this tragedy. Tanaka has returned, though, so hopefully we can pull out a win...for Mac, and for the Spirit family!
SD on top Oh no doubt about it...SD WILL win on Saturday cuz well...I say so LOL Do it for Mac ladies!!
Adverse Conditions A CSN article about the last game and looking forward to this weeks game. "San Diego looks to build on its best start despite loss of MacMillan, by Jorge Palacios" http://www.cybersoccernews.com/wusa/sandiego/030521sds-caradv.shtml
Game Preview Info Saturday, May 24, 2003 - San Diego Spirit at Carolina Courage - 4:00 p.m. (ET) - PAX TV (National Broadcast) Key Players to Watch: San Diego's Julie Fleeting (4g, 8 pts. - tied for 6th among WUSA scoring leaders) missed the Spirit's last match (May 18 vs. Boston) due to Scottish national team duty. Fleeting is riding a four-game point scoring streak, dating back to April 19, 2003. Forward Allie Sullivan (1g, 1a, 3 pts.) registered her first goal for San Diego on May, 18. The former Boston player has scored all of her points this season versus her previous club. Goalkeeper Jaime Pagliarulo (2-1-2, 1.00 GAA) is unbeaten in her last four outings (2-0-2). "Pags" is 0-3-1 with a goals against average of 2.69 versus Carolina all-time (five matches). Carolina's Danielle Fotopoulos (3g, 5a, 11 pts. - tied for 3rd among WUSA scoring leaders) tied the WUSA record for points in a game with seven (2 goals, 3 assists) on May 17. "Fotop's" three assists versus Washington tied the WUSA record for assists in a match (done five times). Defender Nel Fettig (1g, 1a, 3 pts.) registered her first goal with the Courage on May 17. Fettig has notched one assist all-time versus San Diego (six meetings). Goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill (1-1-0, 2.50 GAA) tallied her first win of the 2003 season on May 17. Luckenbill holds a 3-0-2 record with a 0.80 goals against average versus the Spirit all-time (five matches). Key Matchup: (San Diego defender Joy Fawcett versus Carolina forward Danielle Fotopoulos) Fawcett will anchor a defense rated second in the WUSA (1.00 goals against) versus the league's third leading scorer. "Fotop" exploded for a career-high seven points on May 17 and will look to carry the momentum of that performance into this weekend's match. Fotopoulos leads the Courage in both goals (3) and assists (5). The "Inside Scoop": San Diego will be looking for its first-ever victory over the Courage (0-4-2). Carolina, at home all-time, holds a 3-0-0 record versus the Spirit, outscoring San Diego 9-3. San Diego will look to extend its five-game unbeaten streak. ***Carolina will be without the services of forward Birgit Prinz (German national team duty). *** Referee: Kari Seitz. Assistant Referees: Karalee Sutton, Kim Oberle. 4th Official: Melanie Johnson.
The Courage site also has an article posted on the game: "Confident, Courage Try to Start Winning Streak, by Fred Dry" http://www.carolinacourage.com/362754.html *** Here is part of what their coach had to say: "Just their midfield is incredible," he said. "Whether it’s Aly Wagner and her distribution and playmaking ability or Julie Foudy and Daniela changing the point of attack. Ali Sullivan on the flank, just flying at you, and even Zhang Ouying just flying at you.” "So we’re preparing to play against a really sophisticated five-midfielder set where we’ve got to defend, defend, defend. They love throwing numbers forward. This week we’ve really focused on the defensive organization of our midfield and making sure we keep them in front of us and don’t let them sneak in behind.”
I couldn't agree more with the Carolina coach. This is a dynamic attacking SD Spirit team that has players besides Mac willing (and able) to take players on and create chances for themselves and others. Look at the changes from the first two years. Arkenberg-Fleeting Kester-Sullivan Mascaro-Wagner Fan-Daniela Which group of players would scare you?
Viewing Party to be at Shakespeares! Apparently, the Spirit viewing party this week will be at a 'new' location! http://www.sandiegospirit.com/362937.html Here is a link to the directions page of the pub's website: http://www.shakespearepub.com/content/flash/holder.html The one thing that I wonder about is parking. I've only been there twice, and some one with me had to park on a back street three blocks away!
Re: Viewing Party to be at Shakespeares! The parking is extremely minimal right around the pub. We usually have to park up the hill in the residential area. But the last time knm1172 and I went, she parked in the parking lot directly off the freeway to the left (Shakespeare's is down the road to the right). The parking lot is like a small strip mall area. There's also another parking lot directly across the street from the front of Shakespeare's, but I'm not sure if that is a paylot or not.
The ad says Shakespeare's is in Little Italy. It is NOT in Little Italy. The British pub in Little Italy is the Princess Pub. Shakespeares is in South Mission Hills, more technically known as Middletown. Just so no one goes to the wrong pub.
Re: Re: Viewing Party to be at Shakespeares! Just be careful, parking is strictly enforced. My friend's car got towed from a nearby lot while she was at Shakespeare's. And parking in Mission Hills at 1 o'clock on a Saturday? Best of luck.
From WUSA website 'SPIRIT, COURAGE ADJUST TO CHANGE' In the 'Notes' section: Carolina’s Breanna Boyd should also return from Canadian national team duty in time for Saturday’s game…Courage defender Danielle Slaton’s availability on Saturday is up in the air. She did not play against Washington and has had limited practice time this week due to a nagging knee injury. “We’re hoping that she can give us some minutes this Saturday,” said Entlich. “We just don’t know how much.”… http://www.wusa.com/press_room/362906.html Also, in the roster reports article it indicates that if Daniela gets a yellow card in this upcoming game she will have to sit out a game.. http://www.wusa.com/press_room/361964.html
Spirit Hope to Respond Quickly to Adversity, by John Philip Wyllie *** On Daniela “It is great to see how far she has come since arriving,” Namazi said. “Now she is fitter and she is going to be a force for us. She’s a complete player. We will see better and better things from her.” http://sandiegospirit.com/press_room/spotlight_on/362537.html
Spirit faces big test without MacMillan, by Mark Zeigler http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/sat/sports/news_1s24spirit.html
i saw latham in ottawa throughout the day, and she was definitely in "good spirits"...she also played a very good game vs. england thursday night. elaine
game OMG, I almost lost it when they showed Mac cryin while bein put in the ambulance! That was awful. And is it just me, or does it feel like Mac's been gone for months now, not ONE WEEK!! These months are gonna feel like forever. At least SD pulled out the win. Congrats to Wags on her first goal; it was a good one too Turf talk with her was funny. Aly to TR "Could your field BE any bigger?!" and then when she was talkin to Daniela in Spanish and was like, yea I've been practicing LOL
Wagner's heroics helps San Diego improve to 3-1-3 Spirit midfielder Aly Wagner on the game: "We really wanted to win today, anything less and we would have been disappointed because we've been pushing, pushing and pushing and we're not happy with ties anymore. It was a good for us and I think we're hopefully going to get on a winning streak." http://www.sandiegospirit.com/363606.html Basically the same writeup (without the quotes, etc.) is available at the WUSA site. http://www.wusa.com/press_room/363583.html *** I had a good time at Shakespeare's, the parking didn't end up being near as bad as I thought it would be! By the end of the game, there must have been about 25 of us watching. The place really rocked when Aly finally scored...
They didn't show instant replays on the offside calls, but I did find it amusing toward the end when Anson said that Fleeting looked like she wanted to go over and tell the linesman that even is on but it was too far of a walk.
I took some notes on the game and here is my objective point of view: Allie Sullivan seemed off for a good part of the first half but slowly worked herself into the game. She is not nearly as refined as Fleeting, but her speed makes her a threat. Krzykowski, in her first 6 times serving the ball from the back, served the ball to the center of Carolina's defense. Carolina didn't clean the balls up well and they squirted out to San Diego frontrunners, and while maybe that was the game plan, it's not pretty soccer. She was successful when she mixed up her service-sending it down the flank to feet and sending a good pass into the middle of the field to maintain possession. San Diego's numbers up front caused problems for the Carolina defense in the first half. If they can come out with that energy often, they will be able to build first half leads and then settle into a 3-5-2 to maintain the lead. The team needs to make an effort to obtain possession after clearing the ball out of the box. Too often did San Diego deflect a Carolina attack only to have Carolina right down San Diego's throats again. The forwards must check back harder, or a player roaming above the box must clean up everything that squirts out and complete a pass to start possession. I have always liked Foudy on the right side (dating back to the '96 Olympics). She is an engine and she sent some quality services into the box. She became less visible when she took Daniela's spot in the second half. When Wagner became more involved in the play, there was more offensive success. The team must make it a point to get her involved in the game right away by sending one of their first passes through her. I'm not saying to always do that, but they need to establish that option early. Just my opinion.
Spirit on the move, ends Courage jinx, special to U-T by Thomas Melville http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/sun/sports/news_1s25spirit.html