Midweek Madness begins! I see additional Wednesday matches in weeks 16 and 18, but it can't be symmetric. Injuries, as of yesterday: http://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/injuries
Driving around Orlando this week I heard announcements several times on local radio stations of the upcoming game against the Red Stars this Saturday. They also show highlites of Pride games on local TV after the game and the next day. Unfortunately I don't see or hear that in Chicago for the Red Stars.
[NJ-ORL] 11' 0-1 Edmonds passes down box right for Ubogagu 1-v-1 on Mills(?). Ubogagu does a hard stop at 6m, Mills lashes out to kick ball away and misses, can't chase from just 1 foot -- Ubogagu cuts inside, creeps to 6-top right, shoots high across mouth into left side netting 1/2 high. 11' - #ORL Goal - @chialreadyknow gives @ORLPride an early lead.. #NJvORL 0 - 1 pic.twitter.com/BcOV0smAkE— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 28, 2017
19' 0-1 Kerr passes to Corboz at box top left, she cuts inside past Krieger, who hooks a left arm around her midriff and tugs her until she sprawls down. Foul, penal. 20' 0-1 Killion pk, opens right instep, shoots moderate power to 1/4 right low, Bledsoe sprawls and blocks rather easily. Orlando's backline clear into near touch. I think the league is onto Killion
34' 0-1 Catley spins amidst 2, fires a blind square pass toward own 24m arc right -- directly to Kerr playing that passing lane Kerr touches once to arc top right, chips on the run -- Bledsoe falls backward, palms ball off crossbar and over. It's almost as if Kerr has seen Catley's tendencies before
SKC 1-0 HOU 61' Opara. Both teams were absolutely gassed at the end of the first half - which had zero stoppage time. If this holds, the Dash/Breakers game should start as scheduled.
44' 0-1 Lytle flicks right outstep from ~circle top to Kerr splitting the high CBs, through box top arc right. Kerr pulls up at 15m as Krieger slides across in front of her, cuts centerward -- bumps self into Catley behind her, who pokes ball free but shoves/topples Kerr face-forward. Foul for that, too! 45' 1-1 O'Hara pk, right instep pull into back left high hard, over Bledsoe's dive. Not saveabl, even with the right guess. HT 1-1.
And SkyBlue has already set a league record for penalties awarded in one season with 8. This is only their 12th game of the year.
I feel sorry for the poor Sky Blue fans at the game who left for halftime early and/or got back late.
Helluva hard-fought game between Seattle and Chicago. Stout defenses on both teams. Very few dangerous shots by either team. .One expects Chicago's defense to be top notch, but Seattle's no-name center-backs also did very well. Or at least the results would so indicate. I think Seattle got a break on that second penalty call. I don't think Short should have been called for the foul. But -- maybe the ref had given Chicago a break a few minutes earlier when he didn't call a hand ball in the box against them. Rapinoe's penalty kicks were rockets taken as casually as if she were in practice. I was underwhelmed with Pickett last year, but I've been getting fonder of her this year. Chicago should have put McCaffery in the match earlier. She's a Heather-O'Reilly type who might have given them a wider game. Plus her fresh legs.
I can only imagine how she felt when she gave the second PK of the day to O'Hara, but IMO it was the right move to do or she could have never broken the spell. Not sure about the other ones, but this week's PK looked like it was a psychological fail: weak shot, easily savable, Killion had a shadow looming over her since the moment she took the run-up for the shot. Anyway, apart from the fact that it was most probably the right decision to take, what do you think, guys, was it Killion herself who chose not to take the second PKs or did someone choose for her?
You talking abut Kerr's bycicle kick I assume? And I of course agree. Sky Blue's loss put them out of play-offs at the moment, though. And I am not sure if many remember that they also played a game more than their rivals for play-offs positions.
Having seen both, I'd still give the edge to Kerr. Raso has the advantage of being able to sight the target and can hit it where Barnhart wasn't, whereas Kerr has no idea where Bledsoe is when she made that kick.
It's debatable that blind-shooting is just better than placing a shot, but I can see what you mean, and I anyway agree that Kerr's should be hands down goal of the week.
I'll vote for Kerr, but Raso's shot was excellent. Raso has become this year one of my favorite players to watch. She's fast and aggressive. I'm wondering if Jill Ellis can watch Rapinoe dominate games this year -- and not take her back as a starter on the NT? Pinoe is on a mission.....tough, mean, talented.
Christine scored a goal like that in an NCAA championship game. When asked at the post game press conference whether it was a cross or a shot, she dead panned: "It went in, didn't it?"
I wondered the same thing myself. If it was a cross gone awry, then simply lucky. If it was a shot, it was truly amazing. It's hard to tell on the video, but I was at the game sitting at just the right angle to see the trajectory of the ball. Not only did it lift over Barnhart and then drop a little at exactly the right time to go in, Raso also hit it just slightly with the outside of her foot so that it had a little bend around Barnhart -- at least, that's how it looked to me. When I first saw it, I started laughing, saying, "No way that was a shot." When I watched her on the replays, it looked more like what happened is what she was trying for. She hasn't said one way or the other. As much as I like bicycle kicks, if the ball did what Raso intended, I love her shot more for the tremendous skill and finesse that went into it.
In the pre-game Lifetime feature, Pearce confirms her retirement after this NWSL season, says body still feels good but is looking forward to next chapter and being more present as her girls grow up. Also says she did get divorced (hence the return to maiden surname), and admits going to therapy. Kudos for being open and honest. It should not be shameful to admit needing help, but often we act like it is.