We should have no trouble with San Diego. Their defense sucks. New York pushed them, but were unlucky on several tries. Could well have been a close game.
SD's offense was lacking today. It may be because they just wanted to defend the 2-0 lead, but their offense was less than impressive. Wagner wasn't all that good. She had a few passes here and there, but for the most part, she was invisible in front of a very bad NY defense--Serlenga and Miller (...Dieke, whoever)can shut her down. If I were SD and wanted to beat Atlanta, I would put Mac on their left wing so she could take advantage of Bivens's forays upfield. The most effective way they could attack Atlanta would be for Wagner to pass the ball to the wings because Scurry can easily sweep up balls that are passed behind the center of the defense and the two best defenders in the league (Nancy and Nonen) are also in the center. Anyways, about the SD-NY game, neither team was impressive. Both couldn't string at least 5 passes together or receive the ball without bobbling it. Well to be fair, the problem might have been the pitch condition. It would have been more entertaining if Mac didn't save that goal; SD bunkered down to keep the lead and NY couldn't put their act together.
So far this year it looks like only the Beat and, maybe, Washington have any real defensive concept. NY looks so bad that they need to have a talk with San Jose to trade jerseys. If they are going to play defense like cones they might as well look like them. So far no team, except the Beat have looked good either offensively or defensively. Given the quality of the players this cannot continue. There are just too many strong personalities on the other teams for them to accept the mediocre performance that most have shown so far. I expect the rest of the league to settle down fairly soon and the games to improve quite a bit. My only question now is: How many goals will Hooper score when she just has to go 1v1 as the teams double or even triple team "Our little surprise"? (la sorpresa pequeña)
From what I noticed, Atlanta has a talent advantage over both of those teams. Previous comments about using Mac to attack us down the wing are correct. The Beat's 4-2-2-2 formation is suseptible to this. Regardless, I would be surprised if either of these teams troubles Atlanta this year. The new draft picks and internationals appear to have blended in perfectly.
What's up with the orange?? I actually thought the purple was the coolest color out there. I agree with the assessment of the SD/NY game. They were playing like amateurs. It looked like ping-pong soccer out there... hardly any hard core possession from either team. NY should have had several goals by the 15th minute...they just can't catch a break. Both teams just looked pitiful. Can't wait for the BEAT/freedum matchup!! Too bad both teams will be missing starters due to the Nat'l team game. I can't wait to see them both at full strength to play each other!