Week II.2: It's hot out there! The ORL-CHI game is up against MNT-Ghana. But that's why we have two monitors New injuries: http://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/injuries Colaprico (right ankle) was upgraded from OUT to PROBABLE. Pugh (left ankle) is also PROBABLE, and is on Washington's bench as a sub. Star party tonight! So I must scamper home to fetch the binosaur (giant binos + parallelogram) before the SEA-POR darby.
[NC-NJ] four letters suffice 84' 0-1 Galton spins past Eddy to arc top mid-left, cuts outside between Eddy and T.Smith, dribbles to 2m wide left as they let her go. Cross to 1m 1-left, Hayes flicks waist-high upward across goal mouth as Rowland and Erceg both dive to near post. Inevitably Kerr is wiiiiiide-open at 4m right post, (half-)volleys into back right high. 84' - #SBFC Goal - Sam Kerr fires it into the open net finishing off cross by Leah Galton and flick from Maya Hayes.#NCvNJ#NWSLonLIFETIME pic.twitter.com/O3gJqemicz— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) July 1, 2017 FT 0-1.
[BOS-WAS] 72' 1-0 K.Mewis left ck, ground backpass to Purce at arc top left touch. Purce touches centerward around 1, dribbles to 18m mid-left, shoots right instep hard low to near post, Labbé dives (late?) and ball somehow tunnels through/under her arms, into 1/5 left back low. 72' - #BOS Goal - @BostonBreakers's Margaret Purce fires a low shot from outside the box into the goal to take a 1-0 lead. #BOSvWAS pic.twitter.com/jMduT6z12X— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) July 1, 2017
Notable subs: [BOS-WAS] 46' 0-0 Washington subs in (1 of 3) #11 Mallory Pugh for #20 Cheyna Williams. [ORL-CHI] 65' 0-0 Orlando subs in (2 of 3) #13 Alexandra Morgan for #15 Rachel Hill.
30' 0-0 Fishlock jump-and-shields Henry at circle back box left, they bump in air, Fishlock lands poorly with Henry impinging on her left sole. Fishlock grabs left knee, cannot sit up. She waves off the stability test: just assume it isn't!! Two trainers seat-carry her off. 32' 0-0 Seattle subs in (1 of 3) #20 Rumi Utsugi for #10 Jess Fishlock 35' 0-0 Raso receives over her left shoulder at 12m mid-right, chest-traps into own stride, chases to 0.01m mid-right and slide-hooks a ground cross through 1m right post -- Kopmeyer dives and misses, ball continues across to Stott's shins at 2m left post facing own goal, reflects goalward slowly. Stott calmly collects and passes up box right. Yanez not taking chances, roundhouse-volleys it clear -- and beans a diner seated at one of the luxury field-level dining tables. One hand on the wine glass, one hand at the level of your eyes!
46+2' (of +2') 1-0 Long turns away from pressure at own 25m mid-left, simple diagonal backpass to Sonnett at own arc top right -- Rapinoe lunges to chase from 24m. Sonnett touches ball back toward Franch, lets it go, feels Rapinoe overtaking on her left and throws a hip/shoulder too late. Rapinoe slides down at 8m center, scissor-hooks under Franch's kick-try into 1/4 left back low. Sonnett double-facepalms -- that's a CB's life, it's rarely a good thing to have your name mentioned in an action sequence. Rapinoe's 8th goal, she vaults Killion et al. for scoring lead. 46+ - #SEA Goal - Against the run of play, Megan Rapinoe scores to give @ReignFC a 1-0 lead. #SEAvPOR pic.twitter.com/6nnJgA5NQ0— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) July 2, 2017 HT 1-0. Rapinoe also took about six left cks in 1H. I have this very old memory of a belated clip from WNT's 1991(!!) WChfWFftM&MC[1] win over Norway in China, where Akers-Stahl[2] overran an equally lax/blind backpass and tapped in. That was before USA was USA -- they returned home and nobody knew they existed. As a goal-ceding pattern, it still happens today ... [1] World Championship for Women's Football for the M&Ms Cup, before FIFA deigned to call it WWC [2] before she went back to Akers
81' 2-0 Nairn receives in circle back, looks upfield, chips over Rapinoe's outside shoulder on a 22m fly route at 32m mid-left, ahead of Sonnett chasing. Rapinoe follows bouncing ball to 13m mid-left, shoots one-touch left foot on the bounce across mouth, catches Menges not ready to block, bounces past Franch diving centerward, into back right low. Flat angle with the window closing, but that's Rapinoe doing Rapinoe things. 81' - #SEA Goal - What a strike by Megan Rapinoe off the half volley. @ReignFC with a two goal advantage. #SEAvPOR pic.twitter.com/pACimtdYBy— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) July 2, 2017
I am too old! Nostalgic of those times when players on the pitch were wearing numbers from #1 to #11...
Back in the WUSA, Kristin Luckenbill wore #2. She was a goalkeeper. I've lost track of how many NCAA women's field players wearing #1 I've seen over the years.
That was Rowland too ... ok, I had to look it up in UCLA's roster archives. Rowland was #0, so her 2014 backup was #00 Arielle Schechtman. Washington State's #00 Ella Dederick ("dee-duh-rik") has been the starter here for ~2 years.
[KC-HOU] 45+1' (of +2') 1-0 Gibbons left throw-in at box top, short to Moros at 12m wide left, tap back to Gibbons. Gibbons lifts a cross over Leroux-vs-Van Wyk at spot, drops to Groom facing away at 8m 3-right, shielding Levin. Groom touches ball away from endline into wheelhouse, step-and-spin cw and shoots left instep bend past Campbell, into back left low. 45+1 "Shea Groom finally getting hers."~ @mattpedersen 5 on @sheabayy2's long-awaited goal. #KCvHOU 1-0 pic.twitter.com/oQdunHvZay— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) July 3, 2017 HT 1-0.
55' 1-1 Lloyd accelerates away from Moros to circle right, hard right outstep diagonal pass perfectly leads Daly past Sauerbrunn to arc top left. Daly pulls Barnhart out to 12m 3-left, shoots from 14m 6-left toward center, Barnhart sprawls and blocks with arms -- but right back to Daly. Daly stumbles but pursues to 9m, bends left instep just inside left post low. 55' @RachelDaly3 gets the rebound and equalizes for the @HoustonDash. #AllBusiness #KCvHOU 1-1 pic.twitter.com/SJ9ypKlu1b— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) July 3, 2017
62' 1-1 LaBonta slides rashly and scythes at ball, Andressinha hops her but LaBonta hooks Andressinha's left foot aloft, tumbling her. Foul, 2nd yellow card (35') = red card. 64' 1-2 Brooks fk at circle back right, sailed long, drops untouched just behind the box-top line, bounces at 15m center. Prince thigh/midriffs ball rightward and tacks across Sauerbrunn's bow to 8m 1/3 right, feels Barnhart coming out low to 6-top, flicks a gentle half-volley right foot mini-lob on the up-bounce over her, drops softly into back left 1/4 high. 64' @FCKansasCity now down a player and a goal, as @nichelleprince7 scores to give the @HoustonDash the 2-1 lead. #KCvHOU pic.twitter.com/VoY2couZja— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) July 3, 2017
Why does Houston keep starting Janine Beckie in the midfield? Heck, why do they keep starting her at all? She is useless.
I'm inclined to keep giving her chances as a forward, especially now that Ohai is out, but yea she needs to stop getting minutes in midfield. The team played so much better in the second with an actual midfielder in midfield, & a little known midfielder to boot.
I don't think Beckie is useless in mid field but I agree that she has not done her best there. Problem is: whom do you take off up front? You want Daly there and Prince is doing fine too, I guess you can drop Prince into wide mid but there is no guarantee that she does not have trouble like Beckie there either.