169 Comments

Okay. I have a lot of problems with this game.

1. The refereeing in this league is a complete joke. Absolute garbage. The penalty call is probably fine, if soft. But the referee let Kansas City stop momentum at every dead ball. She was completely inconsistent. Saying that this league is the only women's league with VAR hides the fact that the referees are DIRECTLY affecting the product on the field because they cannot do the basics.

2. This club has known for...months? that they were going to lose Sophia Smith and Crystal Dunn and Hina Sugita among others. And yet what we have is a defender playing as a right winger, then a defender playing as one of the two attacking 10s and a center forward playing right wing. Which brings me to my next point...

3. The head coach's refusal to deviate from the system is completely bonkers. It's a system that barely works with the excellent players, but without them, it just doesn't work. I have all the respect for Sam Coffey in the world. She's a wonderful player. She's not an attacking 8 in the style of Crystal Dunn. She doesn't have the quick feet and speed in behind. So don't play her in that role; emphasize her strengths, and build a team that reacts to what you have, which includes a 6, in Taylor Porter, who cannot pass the way Coffey does (when we lost Sam Coffey last year, we had Hina who mitigated Porter's passing in midfield). Reyna Reyes is an excellent defender. Maybe she can play further upfront - in a team with Sophia Smith. Izzy D'Aquila has not yet been what we thought when drafted, and that's unfortunate. But then, change the system. React to what you have. Maybe that means a double pivot of Porter and Coffey, with two upfront. Our most threatening player was Morgan Weaver, and at a certain point you have to say, that's who we're going to play in behind too. It was all too comfortable for Kansas City because no one was looking to go in behind.

And this is my final thing. I have some sympathy for the head coach because this is, without Sophia and Dunn and Sugita and Sinc, a really bad attack. But not only is it a bad attack: it's an attack with players who don't have the profile that you need - the pace to run in behind, for example. I've seen a lot of average NWSL forwards who were far more threatening than Betfort and D'Aquila because they ran in behind with pace.

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Jul 2, 2023·edited Jul 2, 2023

Yep, nailed pretty much everything. I wish Norris made some changes, but when your only recourse is bringing in Hannah Betfort or playing your rookie left back at RW....it’s tough to blame him fully. This game was very ugly, but it was one that KC barely threatened in. Like I said, a league average backup striker and RW probably wins this game.

And yeah...the refereeing was atrocious. Really smart by Spaanstra to go down easily, but there was a similar play literally MINUTES later on the other end that she ignored. She was also INCREDIBLY out of position- I couldn’t make this game and had to watch on TV but she was miles from the play and called multiple fouls where she was clearly just guessing.

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That's what annoyed me so much about that clown of a ref: inconsistency of a sort that ended up favoring one team. I'm not claiming deliberate bias, just ineptitude.

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Crap refereeing is usually going to benefit the team that’s winning.

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She also had an incredibly delayed whistle every time. There would be like a 2-5 second delay like she was trying to decide what to do. It was awful.

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I look at our front line (+ subs) and I think they’re probably one of the worst in the league in this current WC period honestly. I think this ends our scoring run for like, 17 or 20 league games or something…two games consecutively where we’ve gotten 0 goals.

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Jul 2, 2023·edited Jul 2, 2023

Yeah, maybe he could do 442 or 532/352 and use Reyes and...idk, Kling? as wingbacks and play Weaver upfront, but yeah, the options are limited. No one was seriously warmed up after Betfort came on.

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I’d cede a little possession and play a 4-2-3-1 with Kling and Coffey in holding midfield and Moultrie higher up. Just....no more Porter, please.

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Jul 2, 2023·edited Jul 2, 2023

Kling played midfield in college and has in past int’l windows, and it actually is preferred by her. It’s how I thought they should line up before this period even started. Reyes at LB, Kling at the 8 (or a double pivot with Coffey where they switch off getting forward is good too.) Porter can sub in for her in the 85th minute lol (if we’re winning by 2.)

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We really need another fast attacker who isn’t Morgan Weaver.

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Jul 2, 2023·edited Jul 2, 2023

You can't polish a turd. And in this case, you can't even roll it in sprinkles, stick a sparkler in it, and throw some confetti as distraction. Sometimes a turd is just a turd.

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Jun 30, 2023Liked by Wilder Isom

Big game for the replacement players. After a poor showing against OL Reign, this is a chance to show that they belong and can contribute. I have to believe that there is going to be some fire from the players, and hopefully getting THAT game under the belt helps them to focus on playing a lot better going forward. If Weaver is able to go, that would be a huge boost to the scoring potential on this team. I'm hoping they really pull together and get going! Go Thorns!

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Jul 2, 2023·edited Jul 2, 2023

Still can’t quite understand not getting other NTRP’s over the line for midfield or the forward line. We have literally 3 actual midfielders who just had to play a 3 game week, or at least a two game week…but full 90s. Porter isn’t even 90 mins fit. Sam must be exhausted honestly. Probably Liv as well. There’s been shit preparation by the club in this past offseason leading into this WC (ie or depth issues in multiple spots), and there’s been shit preparation in the short term to even get NTRP’s in time- just, bodies for the stupid CC and a few league games. What happens if Sam or Liv pick up a knock and/or can’t go 90 for the next 4 games? How long have they known the date of the damn WC?! Just, total incompetence by the FO.

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Just got back from doing my first PT apt for my long-ago-but-newly-confirmed-ACL tear (17 yrs to be exact) at Prov Park Sports Med Center, and KC was out there practicing. Nice treat to catch a quick glance of!

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Any chance they looked as bad out there as our Thorns did on Wednesday?

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Lol, low bar but can’t confirm or deny.

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Moultrie needs to be a ~90 minute starter. I will fight anyone who disagrees. Any time she spends on the bench is a crime against soccer and an affront to the soccer gods. That is all.

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You won't find much disagreement here.

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It’s to the point where if Sinclair starts over her after the World Cup, I am on the fire Norris train. I don’t mean to sound so dramatic, but I am totally serious.

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Bixby back in goal. Weird to be doing the keeper swap. Hope she’s not shaken and lacking confidence. The KC front line won’t be a cake walk.

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Especially with this makeshift XI. Bix is going to have to be on her toes all night.

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Jul 2, 2023·edited Jul 2, 2023

Pride (In The Name of Love) v. DC Kang

1-0 Pride early. Brooksie is out there tonight. Also, Barnhart is regular season action between the posts for the first time since the 20th Century.

Now 2-0 Pride, doin' the lord's work. Hope this purple team sees out a 2-0 lead better than Loovull did.

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I got kendo in the morning and this shitshow means someone is gonna get a damn good whacking.

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Jul 2, 2023·edited Jul 2, 2023

Long-time HEMA guy here...and I could really use to do that m'self.

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I swear, D’Aquila looked better in preseason. What happened?

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She's in the way more than helping. She needs to come off.

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Problem is there’s nobody better in reserve. Betfort wouldn’t be an upgrade.

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Then she damn near gets one.

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And off the post three minutes later!

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Keep it up, Loovull. You're doing the lord's work right now. Up 1-0 at Lumen, 73rd.

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Ooh, 2-0!

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Now 2-1 in the 85th. Come on, Loovull. Don't let go of the rope!

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2-2...

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And just like that, Loovull did. 2-2, 87th. I've never seen a team that can come back from down 2-0 and cough up a 2-0 lead like Loovull.

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Up 2-0 on the road after 81 minutes, cough up 2 goals in 5 minutes and walk out with another draw. You be you, Loovull.

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Jeez, haven't seen a collapse that epic for awhile. Nice jerb, Looville.

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Why are Abby Erceg and Wang Shuang still playing for Loovull? Why haven't NZ and China called in their players for the WWC?

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Apparently China hasn't called players in yet. But Erceg wasn't called up.

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Erceg retired from int’l play this year.

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Ah, I missed that! Thanks for the update.

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Did not realize. IMHO she's one of the best to ever play her position. Must be tired of the grind.

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It's almost as if a player can retire gracefully when the time comes...

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Didn't realize that, either. Wow.

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Losing at home to the last place team is definately the lowest point of the season.

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The last place team who LOOKED every bit the last place team, no less. They're not good.

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Jul 2, 2023·edited Jul 2, 2023

That's the thing. A team gets 4 shots on goal (last I looked at the scoreboard, late in the match), none on goal. You take 23 (I think it was). They win 1-0 on a pk. Pathetic...simply pathetic, especially considering only 2 or 3 of those shots actually required anything much in the way of saves.

Shit-tier refereeing probably cost us a point (should have had a pk of our own), but still...

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Woof. KC is garbage, and yet we still lost.

We're gonna tumble down the table until the Nats return.

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There’s only one more game to tumble, fortunately.

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yeah presumably by the time NCC rolls around in late August we should have Rocky back, and likely Hina or Sinclair.

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And we may survive this mess if the others around us underperform too.

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everyone else who lost as many players as the thorns all struggled this week, that's for sure

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Pretty self-evident issues: Izzy is not only not as good as we had all hoped (hopefully with a “yet” qualifier), but she’s actively bad. Porter has been worse than useless, which is realllly disappointing.

It would be mildly less frustrating if it wasn’t all so avoidable. If we have a Kristin Hamilton or an Elyse Bennett instead of Izzy and whatever the hell you can call our RW amalgam tonight, we probably win that easy.

Fortunately every other good team suffered the same fate tonight....which makes it all the more frustrating that the Thorns didn’t capitalize.

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Porter is like a Sinclair in midfield but without the soccer IQ or shooting gravitas lol. Her lack of speed just means she’s hardly able to apply pressure to any midfielders. Sam either drops to help outta habit, or because Porter just isn’t doing her job. She runs slower than my grandma lmao and can’t complete a pass to save her life. Playing Sam outta position to get her on the field isn’t worth it imo. Keep Kling there, or try Reyes…she’s been playing every other damn position, maybe an 8 could be next lol.

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Do we think it's a development issue? We've had a few other incoming, green players that started rough but it seems like we used to have a decent squad to develop players. I wonder how much is on us vs the players.

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Jul 2, 2023·edited Jul 2, 2023

I mean Mark Parsons was a lot better at this than KK and co. There were some misses for sure, but also a lot of discovered talent who became solid NWSL players.

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I think she’s just a relatively limited classic #9 who ate against college defenses who has also barely been in the league. She’ll probably be fine, but her ceiling -- probably Bethany Balcer-- is capped by her lack of ball skills and athleticism.

The problem is that this has been the roster the whole year. It’s not Izzy’s fault, but she’s certainly not playing her best and Norris has not changed his tactics to account for the significant downgrade in talent.

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I've been pretty surprised by two things from D'Aquila - 1. her lack of physicality, given the profile and 2. the lack of presence in the box. The other stuff - the poor first touch, the runs not being in sync - are sort of what you're going to get with a lot of rookies, even ones in the first round.

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Yeah 100%, Liz Ball completely dominated her physically the entire game. There were a ton of near post balls I would expect her to get to that she was just out-muscled and either didn’t get a touch or got weak contact on as a result.

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I thought Liz Ball positioning was really good last night. She’s not a great on ball defender, but if she can get a body on you before you get to the ball she’s pretty tough.

I’m not sure what to think about D’Aquila yet. She should have been playing more prior to this break if we were going to put all our eggs in her basket. You can see the set piece skill. If that one off the post goes in.... She’s not as pacey as I’d like. Or she hasn’t shown it yet anyway

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Oh well. This is the team we have. We have a lot of stars and they are gone. It's just a couple of games.

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We’re damn lucky the league s taking a break. This had a huge “2015” feel. Nowhere near good enough.

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And the fucking Damned go top?

You reeeeally hate me.

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Let’s face it; this group lacks attacking quality, and Norris isn’t clever enough to find a way to work around that. Luckily it’s just this and next week and maybe 8/20.

Plus the Cup, but meh.

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And potentially the money grabbing victory tour 😬

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