Full weekend ahead! No matchday tweet yet. New http://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/injuries: (HOU) no new (Lloyd still OUT) (CHI) none at all! (ORL) Danica Evans (illness) QUESTIONABLE; Kristen Edmonds (right calf strain) upgraded from OUT (3 weeks ago) to PROBABLE (POR) no new (WAS) Cheyna Williams (left hamstring strain) DOUBTFUL; Whitney Church (left adductor strain) PROBABLE (Pugh from PROBABLE to not listed) (BOS) Rose Lavelle (left hamstring strain) OUT (King (left ankle), Andrews (excused absence) still OUT) 09/24 Sun: (NJ) (Raquel Rodríguez from QUESTIONABLE to not listed) (NC) Elizabeth Eddy (left hamstring strain) OUT; Jessica McDonald (right hamstring strain) QUESTIONABLE (SEA) no new (KC) Yael Averbuch (illness) PROBABLE Lavelle and McDonald got (re-)dinged during the New Zealand friendlies.
Orlando(-Portland) and (Houston-)Chicago are playing for the last 2 semifinal spots. They're both 5 points up (over Seattle) with 2 matches to go. Any 1 point today clinches for each of them. Or, any lost points on Sunday eliminates Seattle.
Why this? what's the tie-breaker, if multiple teams are tied at 37 points? Seattle can reach 37 with two wins, both Orlando and Chicago could do the same with one point in two matches: why, in this case, Seattle would be eliminated anyway?
If three teams are tied, the tiebreaker is points per game between the three teams in question. Seattle wins that tiebreaker. Then it goes to head-to-head record between the two remaining teams, which Chicago would take. So if there were a 3-way tie, the Reign and the Red Stars are in.
So Dames has Sofia Huerta and/or Nagasato on the bench and is starting Hoy. I hope he has a good game plan and trying to outsmart himself.
[WAS-BOS] 47' 0-1 Salem settles at 27m center, passes down wide right for Leon running past Kleiner, to 5m wide right. Fast cross over mouth to 4m left post, Dowie body-surfs on Dydasco's back, heads up over Haracic still swiveling, off crossbar 1/4 left and down into center back low. 47' @LeonAdriana9 crosses one to @tatsdowie, who heads it in for the first goal of the game. #WASvBOS 0-1 pic.twitter.com/jAnrkqqXmi— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 24, 2017 54' 0-2 White hooks a pass from circle top wide right to Leon facing away at 30m. Leon spins cw to 24m box right, Kallman steps up to poke-challenge, Leon jukes centerward past her to arc top mid-right, then cuts northward again, as RCB Zadorsky slides across to own arc left to cover the void. Leon does an inside-out drop pass to beat Zadorsky -- maybe thinking Dowie was overlapping through box top right?? (she wasn't) Alas, Kallman overtakes on Leon's outside shoulder at exactly the wrong moment, ball bounces off her right foottop and wrong-foots Haracic, just under her right glove and into back left low. 54' The @WashSpirit's own goal gave the @BostonBreakers a 2-0 lead early in the second half. #WASvBOS pic.twitter.com/ub7bCxFA7W— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 24, 2017 55' 0-3 Elby one-touch ping from midfield box left to Salem at circle top, and Elby instantly sprints north on a wheel route. Salem one-touch left square touch to Wiemer, right outstep kick to Leon facing away at 27m arc left -- ironically guarded by Kallman -- meanwhile, Elby has run past Dydasco on the outside. Leon hop-backpass to White at 30m center, quick diagonal chip to Elby 4m past Dydasco through box top mid-left, good hop foot trap at 12m mid-left. Elby chases to 4m 8-left, bounces a cross toward Leon at right post. Kallman intercepts at 3m 1/3 left, one-touch right foot flick rises off crossbar 1/4 right, down into right side netting. Those whom the gods would destroy ... 55' Kassey Kallman with a second own goal for Washington gives the @BostonBreakers the 3-0 lead. #WASvBOS pic.twitter.com/HyqhpC6aJi— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 24, 2017
[HOU-CHI] 12' 0-1 Short crosses from 2m wide left to 6m center, just over Brooks jumping. Hoy lunges from 10m center, heads to center, Campbell jump-and-leans back toward center and blocks ball down to 2m right post, ends up horizontal in own goal. Hoy plays the bounce off her chest, flicks right instep low volley up into 1/5 right high. 12' @Jenhoy2 scores off of her own rebound to give the @chicagoredstars the early 1-0 lead. #HOUvCHI pic.twitter.com/0PY5tQXMG2— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 24, 2017 20' 0-2 DiBernardo right ck, sent to 3m 3-left. Campbell backpedals to it, jumps and leans back, catches it behind her head -- but drops it! Ball bounces to 2m 6-left, Short steps to it, one-touch left foottop shot rises off crossbar 1/4 left, bounces down into back right low, and off two rails like Mizerak just showing off. The hashtag is oddly appropriate: you can't spell #HOUvCHI without OUCH 20' @CaseyShort3 takes advantage of a "spill" by Jane Campbell to put the @chicagoredstars up 2-0. #HOUvCHI pic.twitter.com/4DVBvjokAp— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 24, 2017
23' 0-2 Andressinha left ck, backpass to Brooks at 10m (hashmark) left touch, cross to 6-top 4-left, Mautz clears it away to 35m mid-left. Levin one-touch left foot cross toward 12m right post, K.Mewis spins past Hoy on the outside, Hoy grabs her too much and tackles her down -- then Ertz comes inside from arc right and trips over her. Foul, pk. 24' 1-2 Brooks pk, right instep blast rising into center high, way over Naeher diving left. 24' @abrooks22 "smashes it down the middle" to score off the penalty kick for the @HoustonDash. #HOUvCHI 1-2 pic.twitter.com/8MgOtmiYGm— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 24, 2017
45+1' (of +1') 1-2 Short nutmegs Falknor at 2m wide left, rounds her and dribbles to endline mid-left, Brooks comes across and hip-checks her over endline. Foul, pk. 45+2' (of +1') 1-3 Press pk, right instep into 1/5 left back low, as Campbell dove the other way. 45+2 @ChristenPress earns her 11th goal of the season off of a penalty kick, giving the @chicagoredstars a 3-0 lead at halftime. #HOUvCHI pic.twitter.com/7c6c6yhzgi— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 24, 2017 HT 1-3.
85' 2-3 K.Mewis begins a counter from own box top left, Andressinha pokes through center circle to Hagen at circle top. Square pass left is a 30-70 -- but slide-tackle reflects off K.Mewis's shins upfield, she chases it alone to 30m box left and chips a long inswinging cross that bounces at 15m center. Daly leans past Short on the inside to 12m 1/3 right, heads a lob toward back left edge -- off Naeher's right fingertips diving, up off crossbar and down into left side pipe 1/2 back. Many crossbars were struck this day 86' @RachelDaly3 scores with a "brave header" for the @HoustonDash late to cut the @chicagoredstars lead to one. #HOUvCHI 2-3 pic.twitter.com/QT27Ejkw9F— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 24, 2017 FT 2-3. Chicago clinches a semifinal spot!
Jump to 2:55 in the highlights: Slide tackle on Daly, ruled serious foul play. It looked to be studs into the ankle, but her trailing leg also catches Daly. If you go back and watch it, the Referee was clearly going to give a yellow (he's going for his front shirt pocket), but the Assistant Referee flags the foul and has his hand on his back left pocket (signaling to the referee that he sees a red card). So whether it was the studs or the trailing leg that pushed it to a red card, it clearly was something that the AR, not the R, saw.
After watching the replay the penalty on Brooks is for nocking the crap out of Short into out of bounds without going for the ball not a handball as the announcer said, IMO. Correct call.
But the highlights does actually show the ref pointing to his left hand. So I watched it again, and it looked like after the impact from the hip check spun Brooks around, the ball bounces up close to her right hand. Maybe there were two infractions, and he called the one that prevents players from arguing the other one