After re-watching highlights, I was actually more impressed with Sears's assist to Lynn Williams than with Sears's goal. On the goal, the ball was set up nicely for her and she "just" had to pot it in the far netting. Ok that's difficult, but the assist seemed on another level: with very little time to react, she fished a ball out of the air and touched it exactly hard enough in the right direction toward Williams. It happened really quickly but the more I looked at it, the harder it looked. Well done.
1) What a joy to watch Sophia Smith when there are a couple other forwards and/or attacking midfielders who can take defenders' focus away from her. There was no Smith-taking-on-the world.
2) Until someone below mentioned Moultrie, I'd forgotten that she was in the games. Her stint was totally forgettable. To be blunt, I was actually surprised that Hayes selected her to be in camp at all. Hopefully Hayes gave her a list of things to work on. Hopefully the Thorns get a better coach for next season. Don't professional soccer players hire trainers during the off-season?
yes they do. however 1st person skills is not her weak point. she struggles tactically to fit into a larger scheme. Many people below commented sh didn't appear to know where to be or where to play the ball.
Appreciate the Bluesky shout, Phuoc. STF and soccer related coverage is the main reason I return to that other cesspool. I would be elated coverage picks up on Bluesky and I could leave that other behind for good.
Watching this USWNT game and I really think the player who might benefit from the Thorns potentially changing coaches the most is Liv. She's having the same issues she has for the Thorns: tends to drift in and out of the game, doesn't look like she really knows what position she's supposed to be playing, and loses interest in the game when she's not getting on the ball a lot and just kinda hangs out on the front line. She really just needs someone who'll just sit her down and give her a set role and list of responsibilities.
Not sure I'd say she loses interest, but she often seems unsure about her role. Some good clear instruction might do a lot for her game. She was the one player who looked a bit lost or out of place.
From an evaluation standpoint, it matters quite a bit to me that she hasn't had a real coach since she was 15. 80% of her pro minutes have come under either Norris or Gale, and I think it's hard to say she's peaked until we see her get real minutes under a real manager. I don't think she'll ever be a Jaedyn Shaw level player because of her physical limitations, but she's certainly good enough to be a high level 10 in the right system. Bigger Ashley Sanchez is what I'd like to see and where I think she can get to under the right coach.
That said, even if she doesn't get all that much better, I'd say "starting caliber player in the NWSL and fringe NTer at 19" is a pretty happy ending all things considered. Plenty of kid prodigies don't make it anywhere near as far as she has.
No argument there - everyone needs squad players! But...she needs to be better to be a reliable squad player. I'd like to see that...but there's a lot of "ifs" there. I guess we'll just see.
Yeah I was also thinking the same during the game. She’s just had shit coach after shit coach for the most part while she’s been getting more frequent minutes/starts for club. No overall cohesion with the team, and for her especially, even less positional clarity. She needs some real guidance. It’s especially apparent because she doesn’t have something like speed to fall back on so she just looks lost when she’s out there because she needs to operate in a very specific way to be effective thus far in her career.
In my view I think that it might be better if the Thorns didn't make the playoffs. If they make it the owners can say that all is well. If they don't make it they can't put lipstick on that pig.
Assuming the Bathals are serious about hiring a real GM, that person isn't going to be satisfied with Gale's coaching performance just because the Thorns have been able to cling to a mid-table spot. Making the playoffs is not a high bar in the current NWSL.
I still remember first time Po played against Portland after being traded to SD. Sinc shoved her out of bounds on the sideline. It was great! I think Po probably loved that too.
Balloon l'Or musings on BBC, as finalists ceremony gets underway.
Three of the four winners since the Ballon d'Or expanded to recognise female footballers in 2018 are again in contention - Bonmati (2023), Spain team-mate Alexia Putellas (2021, 2022) and Norway's Ada Hegerberg (2018).
Five of the United States' Olympic gold medal-winning squad are also nominated - Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson, Lindsey Horan, Sophia Smith and Alyssa Naeher.
Spanish football expert Guillem Balague: : "Aitana Bonmati controls the game, has goals, assists, personality. She is growing fantastically well with a team who have taken women's football to a new dimension.
"She has the high standards any midfielder should aspire to, but, because the Ballon d'Or is not just about the football, she also represents the club and national side very well.
"She is a reference for kids on the stands and kids in the game. She is a great representative for football."
Former England midfielder Fara Williams: "I would like to see Lindsey Horan in the top five, but my favourite would be Bonmati. It's her IQ - her game understanding is right up there with the very best.
"She controls the midfield for Barcelona - really gets them going. She doesn't just control it, but she adds goals and assist to her game. When you’re a midfielder and you have those attributes, you’re really key."
Bay FC defender Jen Beattie: "I'm going for Trinity Rodman. She has had an unbelievable season. What she did at the Olympics was incredible.
"She is the perfect combination between pace and technical ability. The speed she gets up to on the field is incredible.
"She really deserves it. What she has done for club and country - that is what puts you in the mix for Ballon d'Or. She has done it on all levels."
Former England forward Ellen White: "Trinity Rodman could win it, or Sophia Smith or Aitana Bonmati.
"But I want to give a shout out to Barbra Banda. She had an amazing Olympics, with successive hat-tricks. She is the second top goalscorer in the NWSL with 13 goals in 20 games."
Nice for Soph to be nominated here AND BBC woman footballer of the year.
Oh! Sorry, I have been on STF on my phone lately and I don't even get notified of messages lol. I can't read them either until I'm on my laptop! I'll go look soon lol.
All I saw was that she was in goal and then Germany scored in the first 5 mins lol. Didn’t watch the game, though. Did she do her traditional butter hands thing?
Seems like a LOT of airtime was spent discussing Orlando and Vancouver as "we had a run of form but then Louisville..." when 1) Orlando is obviously bleeding and that result looks way more like "Orlando loss" rather than "Portland win", and 2) Vancouver? Hello, rec-league?
Bottom line? We saw the same crap KenBall we've been seeing since his takeover; Undercooked, toothless “attack”? Failure to finish? Possession without purpose? Lack of effective, progressive passing? Individual performances that failed to produce collective quality? Fatal defensive errors?
Given how crap BOTH teams were a scoreless draw would have been a fairly reasonable expectation. But our setpiece defending and defending in general is pretty poor, so...
By the way, that Boston Fleet logo? Homage to the NHL's Hartford Whalers and Boston's Fleet Center. Also, before they moved to Hartford, the New England Whalers (WHA) were Boston-based. Now THAT is deep branding to a region!
I'm not hugely attached to this, but given the history of Massachussetts women, and Bostonians in particular, in the Suffrage Movement, how about Suffragette City FC?
I know a lot of y'all are STH's...I didn't realize until my partner just told me right now that renewals are apparently due by midnight. We haven't renewed...for various reasons, many of which we talk about here. We were kicking the can down the road, hopefully with *some* indication that things will be different/better next season.
Anyways, I have a season ticket with my partner and my dad. So, 3 of us. My dad prob went to 2 games this season, and if I do renew, I def don't wanna keep his ST. Do you have the option to easily drop 1 ST in your group? What about after you renew? Like...if I renewed our 3 tonight, can I cancel one of them tomorrow? Or do they make you lose your seats and pick new ones if you want to drop one of them? I believe we're between other STH's, so our space of 3 will always be 2 + 1 seat if we were to keep the seats (and drop my dad's), and I'm not sure they'd be fine with that? Any input would be helpful.
I'm leaning toward just not renewing if they say no, tbh, because I'm not paying an extra $400 for a seat that will never be used just to watch this team as it currently stands. I'd rather just purchase single match tickets for myself and my partner...
ISTM the main reason to renew is to keep your seats. I doubt that you can do a partial renewal online, and I'm pretty sure that once you pay the invoice the tickets aren't returnable. My best advice would be to call first thing tomorrow and see if you have options.
I did not renew mine. It's partially out of protest.....but honestly just as much because we didn't want to make a decision yet, they're not going to sell out, and we'll always be able to decide if we want them back closer to when the season starts. If we don't, I feel fine about getting single gamers in cheaper sections, and the perks aren't really worth renewing when I don't know what kind of confidence level I have in the team anyhow.
If you're not sure if or how many you want, I don't really see the value in renewing unless you're really attached to your particular seats.
I agree that the perks they're offering now aren't as good as they used to be. I miss the annual member parties and open trainings. Those were exceptional opportunities for players and fans to connect.
Also, the "opt-out" process from international competitions left something to be desired. There's no way I would pay again what I paid to watch those matches, and I only did so because I thought they were included in my annual member benefits rather than an add-on.
At one point, I had season tickets for the Blazers that I turned into season tickets for the Thorns/Timbers when the NBA became more expensive.
Then Merritt Paulson decided to hide stuff and I cancelled the Timbers. Two years ago, business travel made me give away more tickets than I went to. Didn’t mind it as much then, but made the tough decision to give up the tickets after years of supporting women’s sports for the sake of supporting the players.
Now, I generally just wait until game day and decide. Haven’t had any trouble this year going to a game and can order 1 to 3 tickets depending on if my family wants to go or not.
I miss my field level tickets and getting to know the people around me, but I’m older and COVID changed my patterns of behavior.
It's sad to contemplate, but I think Peak Thorns might be in our rearview mirror. By that I mean the level of attendance and the vibe we had at Prov Park on a regular basis.
The reality is most teams are a few good moves (or developments) away from competing. Not too long ago, Orlando and KC looked like tire fires.
If you have Sophia Smith, I believe we are close. A competent coach would help considering our last two were t qualified for the job at the local college much less our team.
Yeah it’s where we’re at also. We emailed our rep this evening to ask about dropping the seat and didn’t renew by the deadline, so, we’ll see what she says I guess! We did really like our seats (we had the only cupholders in our section lol), but I can’t imagine not being able to find 2 seats for season tickets in a similar or better spot at any point in the future…
If it’s the same as last year renewal is the first step then making changes like adding/dropping seats happens later. But always good to call and check that the process hasn’t changed.
Before the USWNT v. Iceland match started, I said to myself "Whatever happens, USWNT please don't get injured." Iceland women have a long history of being bruisers and punishers. I forget the name of the woman who played in the NWSL for a short time in the early years; I defender if I recall correctly. She could be counted on to maul an attacking opponent at least a couple times a game.
Ah yes, I miss that Orlando Pride team. Good memories.
(Gunny Jonsdottir, btw, married to former Pride/Canada keeper Erin McLeod, who was previously married to current Chicago not-Red Stars assistant coach Ella Massar, who is currently married to former German international Babett Peter!)
Reminds me: Another totally stupid name change from Chicago Red Stars to Chicago Stars FC starting next season. I don't know who hires these marketing brand consultants, but any team, from anywhere can be the "Stars." On the other hand, Chicago Red Stars is appropriate and more meaningful because the city flag is two bands of light blue with three red stars in the middle.
I hate mktg consultants too, but in this case all they did was come up with the spin on this change, claiming it was for "reasons" when it was really just a diktat from ownership.
After re-watching highlights, I was actually more impressed with Sears's assist to Lynn Williams than with Sears's goal. On the goal, the ball was set up nicely for her and she "just" had to pot it in the far netting. Ok that's difficult, but the assist seemed on another level: with very little time to react, she fished a ball out of the air and touched it exactly hard enough in the right direction toward Williams. It happened really quickly but the more I looked at it, the harder it looked. Well done.
After watching the USWNT game yesterday:
1) What a joy to watch Sophia Smith when there are a couple other forwards and/or attacking midfielders who can take defenders' focus away from her. There was no Smith-taking-on-the world.
2) Until someone below mentioned Moultrie, I'd forgotten that she was in the games. Her stint was totally forgettable. To be blunt, I was actually surprised that Hayes selected her to be in camp at all. Hopefully Hayes gave her a list of things to work on. Hopefully the Thorns get a better coach for next season. Don't professional soccer players hire trainers during the off-season?
yes they do. however 1st person skills is not her weak point. she struggles tactically to fit into a larger scheme. Many people below commented sh didn't appear to know where to be or where to play the ball.
I could be off base but it seems to me she’s often in the way.
Appreciate the Bluesky shout, Phuoc. STF and soccer related coverage is the main reason I return to that other cesspool. I would be elated coverage picks up on Bluesky and I could leave that other behind for good.
I appreciate it :) I've been using Threads, Bluesky, and Reddit for the past month or so.
Yeah, we'll get STF on Bluesky shortly as well.
Watching this USWNT game and I really think the player who might benefit from the Thorns potentially changing coaches the most is Liv. She's having the same issues she has for the Thorns: tends to drift in and out of the game, doesn't look like she really knows what position she's supposed to be playing, and loses interest in the game when she's not getting on the ball a lot and just kinda hangs out on the front line. She really just needs someone who'll just sit her down and give her a set role and list of responsibilities.
Not sure I'd say she loses interest, but she often seems unsure about her role. Some good clear instruction might do a lot for her game. She was the one player who looked a bit lost or out of place.
Agreed, except I thought Albert (in addition to Moultrie) also looked particularly ineffective. Lots of activity, not much product.
Or it's possible that she's peaked. Not every story has a happy ending.
From an evaluation standpoint, it matters quite a bit to me that she hasn't had a real coach since she was 15. 80% of her pro minutes have come under either Norris or Gale, and I think it's hard to say she's peaked until we see her get real minutes under a real manager. I don't think she'll ever be a Jaedyn Shaw level player because of her physical limitations, but she's certainly good enough to be a high level 10 in the right system. Bigger Ashley Sanchez is what I'd like to see and where I think she can get to under the right coach.
That said, even if she doesn't get all that much better, I'd say "starting caliber player in the NWSL and fringe NTer at 19" is a pretty happy ending all things considered. Plenty of kid prodigies don't make it anywhere near as far as she has.
No argument there - everyone needs squad players! But...she needs to be better to be a reliable squad player. I'd like to see that...but there's a lot of "ifs" there. I guess we'll just see.
Yeah I was also thinking the same during the game. She’s just had shit coach after shit coach for the most part while she’s been getting more frequent minutes/starts for club. No overall cohesion with the team, and for her especially, even less positional clarity. She needs some real guidance. It’s especially apparent because she doesn’t have something like speed to fall back on so she just looks lost when she’s out there because she needs to operate in a very specific way to be effective thus far in her career.
In my view I think that it might be better if the Thorns didn't make the playoffs. If they make it the owners can say that all is well. If they don't make it they can't put lipstick on that pig.
Assuming the Bathals are serious about hiring a real GM, that person isn't going to be satisfied with Gale's coaching performance just because the Thorns have been able to cling to a mid-table spot. Making the playoffs is not a high bar in the current NWSL.
If the new GM is ok with gales coaching they are the wrong GM. Likability is a terrible reason to hire a coach.
Sinc's final interview, with Karina:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p-x-SDS__M
Don't know if this was already linked here. It's a league-wide tribute to Sinc.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8RCONQJsIaw
I esp. liked the Laura and Fishlock clips, Marta, the various deeply heartfelt Canadians, and most of all, the very emotional Po!
Yeah, Po was in tears.
I still remember first time Po played against Portland after being traded to SD. Sinc shoved her out of bounds on the sideline. It was great! I think Po probably loved that too.
Sam is 4th in the impact award rankings. Anyone can vote every day that it's open. It takes literally 2 seconds to do here (you don't have to sign up or fill out anything): https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7933070/2024-Nationwide-Impact-Awards-Fan-Vote
Balloon l'Or musings on BBC, as finalists ceremony gets underway.
Three of the four winners since the Ballon d'Or expanded to recognise female footballers in 2018 are again in contention - Bonmati (2023), Spain team-mate Alexia Putellas (2021, 2022) and Norway's Ada Hegerberg (2018).
Five of the United States' Olympic gold medal-winning squad are also nominated - Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson, Lindsey Horan, Sophia Smith and Alyssa Naeher.
Spanish football expert Guillem Balague: : "Aitana Bonmati controls the game, has goals, assists, personality. She is growing fantastically well with a team who have taken women's football to a new dimension.
"She has the high standards any midfielder should aspire to, but, because the Ballon d'Or is not just about the football, she also represents the club and national side very well.
"She is a reference for kids on the stands and kids in the game. She is a great representative for football."
Former England midfielder Fara Williams: "I would like to see Lindsey Horan in the top five, but my favourite would be Bonmati. It's her IQ - her game understanding is right up there with the very best.
"She controls the midfield for Barcelona - really gets them going. She doesn't just control it, but she adds goals and assist to her game. When you’re a midfielder and you have those attributes, you’re really key."
Bay FC defender Jen Beattie: "I'm going for Trinity Rodman. She has had an unbelievable season. What she did at the Olympics was incredible.
"She is the perfect combination between pace and technical ability. The speed she gets up to on the field is incredible.
"She really deserves it. What she has done for club and country - that is what puts you in the mix for Ballon d'Or. She has done it on all levels."
Former England forward Ellen White: "Trinity Rodman could win it, or Sophia Smith or Aitana Bonmati.
"But I want to give a shout out to Barbra Banda. She had an amazing Olympics, with successive hat-tricks. She is the second top goalscorer in the NWSL with 13 goals in 20 games."
Nice for Soph to be nominated here AND BBC woman footballer of the year.
Twasnt ever going to be anyone but Aitana —and rightly so— but it’s v cool to have Rodman and Soph on that list next to her.
I guess ABell doesn’t care about my Soph story…
What did I miss? Sorry I’ve fallen down the ballot wormhole lol…
Oh I DMed you something. It's not thaaaat exciting though.
Oh! Sorry, I have been on STF on my phone lately and I don't even get notified of messages lol. I can't read them either until I'm on my laptop! I'll go look soon lol.
Macca!!! Catch. The. Ball.
All I saw was that she was in goal and then Germany scored in the first 5 mins lol. Didn’t watch the game, though. Did she do her traditional butter hands thing?
Yeah she should have caught it on that first goal, but instead batted it away, and Germany scored on the rebound
Seems like a LOT of airtime was spent discussing Orlando and Vancouver as "we had a run of form but then Louisville..." when 1) Orlando is obviously bleeding and that result looks way more like "Orlando loss" rather than "Portland win", and 2) Vancouver? Hello, rec-league?
Bottom line? We saw the same crap KenBall we've been seeing since his takeover; Undercooked, toothless “attack”? Failure to finish? Possession without purpose? Lack of effective, progressive passing? Individual performances that failed to produce collective quality? Fatal defensive errors?
Given how crap BOTH teams were a scoreless draw would have been a fairly reasonable expectation. But our setpiece defending and defending in general is pretty poor, so...
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/10/28/sports/nwsl-boston-team-names/
By the way, that Boston Fleet logo? Homage to the NHL's Hartford Whalers and Boston's Fleet Center. Also, before they moved to Hartford, the New England Whalers (WHA) were Boston-based. Now THAT is deep branding to a region!
If you get a chance to go to one of those games, they are a lot of fun.
And there's an online petition urging The Boston NWSL Team to change "BOS Nation" to some other name. Sign early, sign often!
https://www.change.org/p/give-the-boston-nwsl-team-a-decent-name-rebel-against-bos-nation
I'm not hugely attached to this, but given the history of Massachussetts women, and Bostonians in particular, in the Suffrage Movement, how about Suffragette City FC?
Ludmilla - 3 games; Kouassi - 2 games
https://youtu.be/fJudgIC2P7U?t=120
Question for the hivemind:
I know a lot of y'all are STH's...I didn't realize until my partner just told me right now that renewals are apparently due by midnight. We haven't renewed...for various reasons, many of which we talk about here. We were kicking the can down the road, hopefully with *some* indication that things will be different/better next season.
Anyways, I have a season ticket with my partner and my dad. So, 3 of us. My dad prob went to 2 games this season, and if I do renew, I def don't wanna keep his ST. Do you have the option to easily drop 1 ST in your group? What about after you renew? Like...if I renewed our 3 tonight, can I cancel one of them tomorrow? Or do they make you lose your seats and pick new ones if you want to drop one of them? I believe we're between other STH's, so our space of 3 will always be 2 + 1 seat if we were to keep the seats (and drop my dad's), and I'm not sure they'd be fine with that? Any input would be helpful.
I'm leaning toward just not renewing if they say no, tbh, because I'm not paying an extra $400 for a seat that will never be used just to watch this team as it currently stands. I'd rather just purchase single match tickets for myself and my partner...
ISTM the main reason to renew is to keep your seats. I doubt that you can do a partial renewal online, and I'm pretty sure that once you pay the invoice the tickets aren't returnable. My best advice would be to call first thing tomorrow and see if you have options.
Yeah we emailed tonight, ty!
I did not renew mine. It's partially out of protest.....but honestly just as much because we didn't want to make a decision yet, they're not going to sell out, and we'll always be able to decide if we want them back closer to when the season starts. If we don't, I feel fine about getting single gamers in cheaper sections, and the perks aren't really worth renewing when I don't know what kind of confidence level I have in the team anyhow.
If you're not sure if or how many you want, I don't really see the value in renewing unless you're really attached to your particular seats.
I agree that the perks they're offering now aren't as good as they used to be. I miss the annual member parties and open trainings. Those were exceptional opportunities for players and fans to connect.
Also, the "opt-out" process from international competitions left something to be desired. There's no way I would pay again what I paid to watch those matches, and I only did so because I thought they were included in my annual member benefits rather than an add-on.
At one point, I had season tickets for the Blazers that I turned into season tickets for the Thorns/Timbers when the NBA became more expensive.
Then Merritt Paulson decided to hide stuff and I cancelled the Timbers. Two years ago, business travel made me give away more tickets than I went to. Didn’t mind it as much then, but made the tough decision to give up the tickets after years of supporting women’s sports for the sake of supporting the players.
Now, I generally just wait until game day and decide. Haven’t had any trouble this year going to a game and can order 1 to 3 tickets depending on if my family wants to go or not.
I miss my field level tickets and getting to know the people around me, but I’m older and COVID changed my patterns of behavior.
It's sad to contemplate, but I think Peak Thorns might be in our rearview mirror. By that I mean the level of attendance and the vibe we had at Prov Park on a regular basis.
The reality is most teams are a few good moves (or developments) away from competing. Not too long ago, Orlando and KC looked like tire fires.
If you have Sophia Smith, I believe we are close. A competent coach would help considering our last two were t qualified for the job at the local college much less our team.
One of the many pandemic after effects plus all the Perigrine shithausery. It is sad.
Yeah it’s where we’re at also. We emailed our rep this evening to ask about dropping the seat and didn’t renew by the deadline, so, we’ll see what she says I guess! We did really like our seats (we had the only cupholders in our section lol), but I can’t imagine not being able to find 2 seats for season tickets in a similar or better spot at any point in the future…
If it’s the same as last year renewal is the first step then making changes like adding/dropping seats happens later. But always good to call and check that the process hasn’t changed.
Before the USWNT v. Iceland match started, I said to myself "Whatever happens, USWNT please don't get injured." Iceland women have a long history of being bruisers and punishers. I forget the name of the woman who played in the NWSL for a short time in the early years; I defender if I recall correctly. She could be counted on to maul an attacking opponent at least a couple times a game.
Gunnhildur Jónsdóttir. Think it was she and Kornieck who sandwiched Morgan Weaver, sidelining her for several games.
Ah yes, I miss that Orlando Pride team. Good memories.
(Gunny Jonsdottir, btw, married to former Pride/Canada keeper Erin McLeod, who was previously married to current Chicago not-Red Stars assistant coach Ella Massar, who is currently married to former German international Babett Peter!)
Reminds me: Another totally stupid name change from Chicago Red Stars to Chicago Stars FC starting next season. I don't know who hires these marketing brand consultants, but any team, from anywhere can be the "Stars." On the other hand, Chicago Red Stars is appropriate and more meaningful because the city flag is two bands of light blue with three red stars in the middle.
Damn marketing consultants!!!!
I hate mktg consultants too, but in this case all they did was come up with the spin on this change, claiming it was for "reasons" when it was really just a diktat from ownership.