What I am responding to is this tweet by DC freedom which said "Scurry goes too far, gets knocked out of play - D there to block goal but PK awarded to Boston" heck if i know what happened until i see it. I was only speculating about her being outside box because it said "too far". Hopefully the peeps who come back from the match can clear it up.
I thought she fouled(brought down) Hucles..thats why a penalty was given.I don't know until we get some clear reports.
The PK call made my jaw drop - Scurry and Hucles were both going for the ball near the top left of the box (from Scurry's perspective), but I didn't see a foul, and I was at that corner of the field. Scurry made some good plays, most notably charging out to corral a ball that an unmarked Schmedes was about to get to behind the defense. She didn't do anything really sensational, but she didn't screw up, either. All of the Boston goals would have been tough to stop - she probably would have gotten to one or two of them in her prime, but in her prime she did stuff you didn't believe was possible. Luckenbill did a better job on the whole but looked a bit shakey herself. She narrowly missed what could have been a humiliating moment when she tried to hurl a ball outwards and instead sent it into the ground about five yards in front of her and about two yards in front of Abby. Fortunately for Boston, one of their defenders was able to clean it up, else it would have been one of the ugliest goals I've ever seen.
That's not all that far from the truth, sad to say. I was at the far end of the field so didn't have a great view, but it looked to me as if Abby came forward, weaved to the right a bit, basically telegraphing that she was going to shoot it to the left, which she did, and Lucks made the save. I'm really thinking that Abby isn't quite as recovered as she thinks she is. On another occasion she was wide left and sent in a centering pass that, rather than soaring into the goalmouth, skidded along the ground and went out about ten yards to the left of the near post.
There was a big penalty kick Abby took for USWNT earlier in the decade and I can't recall if she made that or missed it but I think she missed it. You guys recall?
She may not be DC's best penalty taker, but I expect they had her take it to try and get her off the schneid. If you look at the league website, Abby has taken twice as many shots--16-- as the next player (actually, the next 2 -- Sawa and Smith each have taken 8 shots). She also leads the league in shots on goal, but has nothing to show for it. Think she's pressing a bit? Once she gets that first one, more should come. It's getting that pesky first goal that's got to be driving her crazy.
I just got back in from DC/MD. The PK call was the correct call. There was a scoring opportunity when Scurry (from my vantage point) going for the ball never touched it but rather ran into Hucles. Kind of like a freight train. The Washington Post has a good article on the match. This may give a better perspective on the PK and the rest of the match as well. The current assessment by Tony on the Breakers site is another. There are still a couple of players who I am waiting to see "break out." For me, the key to the match was stopping both Wambach and Bompastor. I felt this was done by the defense. Alex Scott was great. I also think there may be a bit of an England vs. France dynamic working there too. Generally, Washington had a number of opportunities but did not capitalize (except for Lori's goal), and the Breakers did. As far as Lindsey's goal, it was inevitable. She has a great shot (I have watched her often) and we did not close her down in the middle. The midfield needed to step up and not give her that uncontested shot. The goal by Latham was great. The woman has some serious "ups." The Hucles goal was a lasar. And finally, the Dock was in the house! Well at least three or four, but other Breakers fans were in attendance as well.
I think the "going too far" was just that Scurry ended up out near the top left corner of the box when the ball was in Boston's possession in front of goal. The referee initially called advantage, but Boston's shot was blocked by one of the three defenders who converged in front of goal to cover for Scurry. It was only at that point that he called for the penalty kick.
Absolutely correct SCF. In this case the ref allowed the play to continue to see if an advantage actually materialized. It did not (probably because of the poor shot) and he then awarded the PK (which he could have done right away). The question to be asked is, what was/is in the best interest of the team fouled/disadvantaged? The ref did not know until after the shot. I can see where if I were a WF fan I would question this. But being a Breakers fan I see this as the correct decision.
The PK by Abby (in my opinion) was not well-taken. Luck certainly quessed correctly but the strike was not far from her reach.
Boy am I tired, but it was worth it! A couple things: I wasn't crazy about the PK called on Scurry. (yes I was a referee too there Nat You taught the class I took to certify many moons ago!) The call was down the other end of the field but based on my keen eyesight (had my seeing eye dog there with me) and the mechanics of the referee, I'm not sure what he was thinking. Hucles basically had a breakaway and Scurry came out. Scurry took Angela out just after she had released the pass to a teammate from just inside the box. The teammate received the ball as the ref made a clear advantage/play on motion. After the player (don't remember who) took a weak shot easily cleared off the goal line by the D he then blew the whistle and pointed to the "spot". I would have flipped a nutty if I was a Washington supporter. I stopped ref'ing when I got my accounting degree (doesn't work out well with my schedule anymore ). I don't see how he can call advantage, allow a legit goal scoring oppourtunity shot and then since it didn't result in a goal go back and then call the pk. The advantage wasn't lost immediately after the play on motion. It was only lost after a shot. The save by Luckenbill was really fortunate. Abby didn't kick it very hard and damn near kicked it right at her. Lucky dove, as she was guessing, and the ball just happened to hit her in the thigh/leg as she went left. It looked like Abby was trying to do the cheeky play and fake the keeper out and just hit it down the center of the goal. Didn't work obviously! The goal by Lori was a laser of a shot and Lucky really wasn't at fault. The midfield was late getting back and Lori basically ran it all the way up the middle and unleashed an uncontested rocket. Kristen did do a few things that had me pulling my hair out, as is always epected by me, but was solid overall. The Hucles goal probably could win the mls contest for gotw. It was really something to see. Great run up during play and a solid strike that Scurry had no shot at (even in her prime I doubt she gets that one). The Latham goal was also very nice. Excellent run up the right side by Scott (she was definitely my player of the match) who received a nice pass from ? (either Lilly or Smith I believe) and made a perfect cross to about the 8. Latham out jumped 2 Freedom defenders and headed the ball down and past Scurry. Not really Brianna's fault as she was in dedcent position. The play was about as technically sound a play any coach could ask for from all involved on the offensive side. The stadium was very nice, the field was fantastic and the crowd was very quiet! To the Freedom fans credit, not many left before the end. The kids were very annoying; running around trying to hit each other with thundersticks. Probably half the people in the section we were in and around us could really care less that a soccer game was going on most of the time. Unless the action was right in front of them they really didn't care. They were all over the autographs afterwards though! Very nice people at the venue. It was nice meeting StarCityFan and Julia. Angela Hucles and Kelly Schmedes parents were very nice. Also saw Lucky's parents in the crowd. Probably 10-15 Breakers fans in total there. We could have had a 6 point weekend! Damn you Ben Olsen. Oh well, it's time for a nap!
thank you all for your great comments and clearing up the confusion. I seriously think they should hire a few BS members from each city to cover the matches on tweet.
Just got back. It was definitely a worthwhile trip. TheStatsGuy summed it up well. As for the PK, being on the other end of the field I didn't get a good look at it, but the ref called an incredibly tight game. A bit overly strict, but he was consistent. I think the Breakers are finally learning how to have Scott and Mitts attack up the flanks without leaving themselves too exposed, and I like it. Scott was excellent, her assist on Latham's goal was perfect. LePeilbet was solid on defense. Excellent goals for both teams from Lindsey and Hucles. It looked like things were starting to unravel for Boston when Washington scored and then were awarded a PK (and if I recall correctly, during that time frame they also had a shot off the crossbar that Luckenbill didn't have covered), but Lucky's PK save was the turning point. I don't think I've ever seen a smile so big as the one on her face after making that save. I think that gave the team the boost they needed to finish off the game. The play leading up to Latham's goal, and her finish, were very well-executed. Hucles's goal was just a beauty. I hope they put up match highlights soon, because all the run-of-play goals were nice, but Hucles's goal is especially worth seeing. All in all, it was an incredibly pleasant trip. It was great meeting some DC fans, it was a beautiful day, we saw some nice goals, and the right team won. It's going to kill me to have to rely on matchtracker next week...
Likewise. Julia is "jrevs" on here, by the way, and I didn't make her walk home, despite the temptation. (For those of you not in the know, I gave a certain young lady a ride from the Metro station to the game. She was neutrally dressed at the time, but later on I come upon her in the stands, and she's with the visiting Breakers fans wearing a Kristine Lilly jersey and a Riptide scarf. I gave her a ride back, even so.)
Washington Freedom highlights video: http://www.womensprosoccer.com/dc/video/index?pid=7v_Vx7_f7zNWo5ccw1m24DJVA6tAenie The Scurry-Hucles collision is on there, so you armchair (or not-so-armchair) referees can judge for yourself. Good view of Hucles' goal as well.
Seemes pretty clear (given the limitations of the video) that Scurry played Hucles and cleaned her out pretty good, as opposed to colliding with her attempting to play the ball. But then again, NSA was the instructor at my last recertification............
I wasn't too crazy of the pk called against Scurry either, however after seeing the replay (as much as I can see it, it's not exactly perfectly clear...) I think it wasn't too bad of a call. But the ref did screw up the 'advantage' call I think. This was my first game this season at the "new" stadium and I was surprised how much it now feels like a real stadium. Even the traffic leaving wasn't bad. I'm not crazy about the nature of the crowd, maybe next game I'll watch from the beer garden (and bring binoculars!). I hope the Freedom will be able to find a way to make room for both types of fans. It was nice spending a moment before the game talking with you all.
From the video, I think Scurry clearly committed the foul on Hucles inside the PK area. However, since the ref allowed advantage and an advantage did take place: Boston had a clear, uncontested shot at goal, he should not have given the PK as well.
As far as i'm aware ref's can do that. I see that a lot in the mens game. The ref plays the advantage & when there is none he calls the foul back. It happens in the middle of the pitch so if the foul is in the box then it is a PK.
The key words are: "The ref plays the advantage & when there is none he calls the foul". If advantage does not materialize immediately (within a few seconds), i.e. the ball is lost to the other team or the other team challenges for the ball ... then there was no advantage and the foul should be called. In this case, the advantage DID materialize: the ball went to Hucles's teammate, she had complete possession of the ball (this alone satisfied the advantage requirement). She also had a clear shot at goal and took it. It's nobody's fault but her own when she botched the kick. Scurry's team should not be penalized twice for the foul.
They weren't. They were only penalized once. If play had continued with no call, they wouldn't have been penalized at all.