Gotham did their part. We're -1 point and +3 GD for 6th. We have @ LOU and AC to go. Chicago have @WAS and KC to go.
There's no obvious advantage to finishing 6th or 7th - no matter what, someone is going to Gotham, Washington, or KC.
But, in this crazy year, pulling it out at the end to finish 6th after looking like we might well miss the playoffs? Take the positives where you can find them!
"Portland Thorns FC midfielder Olivia Wade-Katoa has been placed on the Season Ending Injury list, following an injury sustained during the 2-1 victory over Santa Fe FC in the Concacaf W Champions Cup. Wade-Katoa will undergo arthroscopic surgery of her right knee, and as a result will miss the remainder of the 2024 National Women's Soccer League Season."
Bad fate for the promising rookie. Here's wishing Olivia 2 a full recovery.
Fact: looked at league site to make sure last night's result was not some cruel dream my fever swamp brain cooked up.
Considering who we did not have available vs. who Orlando chose to not start, Pride have zero excuses for laying that beautiful Faberge of an egg. I'll match Soph and Hina against any pair on their squad.
Yes the Thorns started the game without three of their best players Soph, Hina, and Müller. The Pride brought in Banda, Adriana and Marta late and the Thorns brought in Müller late. So it was not exactly the Thorns first string against the Pride second string.
Gotta say, I'd be pretty annoyed with Hines if I was an Orlando fan. Yeah injuries can happen, but you don't get a chance at an invincible season very often. That said, they did play seven starters and their bench has been plenty capable this year so it's not really like it was a full B-team.....but probably would have started one of Banda or Adriana if you were going to bring them off the bench anyway.
Echo what most people have said:
- Seems to be relatively clear the team is still somehow mostly fine inside the locker room, which makes the coaching issues even more stark.
- THRILLED that we have a badge-tapping slightly psycho attacker who just wants to be here forever.
- Felt good watching the release after the whistle blew, especially from Sam.
- I don't *really* think they have a late run in them anyways, but if they do, someone needs to bonk the Bhathals (and whatever GM they hire) into not letting themselves get fooled by Gale's vibe guy schtick again. Could feel it coming out in the post-game and it's kind of an ick at this point tbh.
It’s really funny to see Orlando fans twist themselves into a pretzel to try and explain this one. The latest I just saw “we rested Marta and Banda and Adriana because of their horrible turf field because it’s likely they’d get hurt…just look at all of Portland’s injuries….” Like, really y’all? You were just bad…it’s only one game, it’s ok! They also blamed the hurricane, which maybe affected something with their training(?) but the reaching is funny…from what I heard they’ve been in Portland all week.
If the GM they hire is any good, that person will not be fooled by the variance of a late run in the playoffs. If they aren't good, well, that's a larger concern
What's funny/not-funny is I turned to my kid sister (who was a good sport about attending tho she's not a fan and I'd already dragged her along to the previous Friday's debacle...) at about the 95th minute and said "Y'know...if I was an Orlando player I'd be pretty pissed at my coach and my team right now. We had a chance to write history and we blew it."
Eh. They've already won the Shield and will probably set the league's all-time wins and points marks. Their eyes are on the Championship.
I often think that coaches do things we fans don't understand. Sometimes they do it for good reason, or at least explicable reason.
A few years ago (2018?) Chicago played Portland in preseason out at Merlo. Sam Kerr didn't sub on until the 70th minute. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me. I was like, "Why bring her in now? Why in a preseason match?" Say what you will about Rory, and it's all deserved, but it wasn't like the guy couldn't coach.
I think Seb has earned the benefit of the doubt this year.
Of course he has, and it shouldn't be his priority. I'm sure he and his players feel like they should be winning/not losing with the team he put out anyways given they played so many starters.
Just saying that going invincible is a remarkable achievement that almost never happens in any league and if I was a fan of Orlando, I'd be vaguely annoyed.
On the topic, during post-game celes I notice her knee isn't taped or iced, doesn't look swollen and she's grinning like the Cheshire cat. My naive takeaway is her coming off was precautionary. OTOH do bench her for Vancouver.
I honestly believed Hines was giving this game away until he started bringing in his artillery after the hour. Turns out it WAS a trap game, and he fell right into Ken’s cunning “oh dear we suck so bad a B-side could beat us” trap…
It was fun in all its sloppy glory between Sinc going nuts about her goal and Hogan keeping the sheet…I’m not sure if it means more than that. It doesn’t really have to; just nice to see the squad smiling again.
It means Sinc got a big happy moment at home before she retires, and it made all the players feel great. They truly love her.
It means, as you say, Hogan got some redemption in a year which has had its ups-and-downs, when she's been taken for granted and disrespected.
It also means that despite nearly a half-season of horrible play, we've all-but-assured that we make the playoffs, probably in 7th. So, a November trip to Washington, Gotham, or KC is in our future.
Re: Hogan. Her early season form was so shaky that I wouldn’t call the concerns about her “disrespect”; she earned that skepticism. What was “disrespectful”, if you will, was that after her disastrous start she pulled herself up and sits in the middle of the league statistically. She’s the decent keeper she’s always been. But the fanbase (and the FO, I think…) never acknowledged that.
If anything I think it was the FO overselling Arnold that was really disrespectful, both to Hogan and to us fans. Arnold is decent, too (and better playing out) but the idea that Hogan was still in April-form and Arnold would rescue us was a poor choice by the management.
That's what I mean. Handing Arnold the starting spot, essentially, when by that point Hogan was the keeper the team had come together around, to the extent it had come together. That's a major disruption to make mid-season, at a position that was no longer a problem and for someone who was not really an upgrade. Should have waited until the offseason and had an open competition for the starting spot.
Oh, yeah, it pretty much assures a playoff appearance presuming we don’t utterly crater and BFC runs wild.
That said, as far as the larger concerns we have about KenBall…this was not the droid we were looking for. We sort of muddled through over a heavily rotated Orlando, playing much like we have been - freelancing and struggling to create - but against an opponent who misjudged how good they were without their guns.
It was fun. But I don’t think it means more in the bigger “how good are we?” sense…
Totally agree. Players won this one on an emotional bounce and Orlando giving themselves a break. But I haven't felt this good coming out of a Thorns game in a long, long time. Guessing the players feel that even more strongly.
Leblanc must have reeeeally honked some people off. Nadim didn’t play for or with her, and AFAIK the only correct player who played alongside Nadim is Sinc, and I never got the sense those two were pals. So to generate this kind of ire? Hmmm….
Sinclair's goal and celebration! I will never forget how excited she was. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen her that fired up over one of her own.
Oh my. There are some sad people on this thread. Let's just enjoy the moment folks. That was the best we've seen for a long time. I don't feel the need to find fault with anyone for one week.
Gotham did their part. We're -1 point and +3 GD for 6th. We have @ LOU and AC to go. Chicago have @WAS and KC to go.
There's no obvious advantage to finishing 6th or 7th - no matter what, someone is going to Gotham, Washington, or KC.
But, in this crazy year, pulling it out at the end to finish 6th after looking like we might well miss the playoffs? Take the positives where you can find them!
We would def have a better shot against the Spirit. They have some injuries that really diminish their XI…I’d wanna face KC prob last.
Well crap, did not see this until today.
"Portland Thorns FC midfielder Olivia Wade-Katoa has been placed on the Season Ending Injury list, following an injury sustained during the 2-1 victory over Santa Fe FC in the Concacaf W Champions Cup. Wade-Katoa will undergo arthroscopic surgery of her right knee, and as a result will miss the remainder of the 2024 National Women's Soccer League Season."
Bad fate for the promising rookie. Here's wishing Olivia 2 a full recovery.
P
Fact: looked at league site to make sure last night's result was not some cruel dream my fever swamp brain cooked up.
Considering who we did not have available vs. who Orlando chose to not start, Pride have zero excuses for laying that beautiful Faberge of an egg. I'll match Soph and Hina against any pair on their squad.
Yes the Thorns started the game without three of their best players Soph, Hina, and Müller. The Pride brought in Banda, Adriana and Marta late and the Thorns brought in Müller late. So it was not exactly the Thorns first string against the Pride second string.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eGrVNNMceE
Careful, or Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh will wind up our next coach. Or GM.
Gotta say, I'd be pretty annoyed with Hines if I was an Orlando fan. Yeah injuries can happen, but you don't get a chance at an invincible season very often. That said, they did play seven starters and their bench has been plenty capable this year so it's not really like it was a full B-team.....but probably would have started one of Banda or Adriana if you were going to bring them off the bench anyway.
Echo what most people have said:
- Seems to be relatively clear the team is still somehow mostly fine inside the locker room, which makes the coaching issues even more stark.
- THRILLED that we have a badge-tapping slightly psycho attacker who just wants to be here forever.
- Felt good watching the release after the whistle blew, especially from Sam.
- I don't *really* think they have a late run in them anyways, but if they do, someone needs to bonk the Bhathals (and whatever GM they hire) into not letting themselves get fooled by Gale's vibe guy schtick again. Could feel it coming out in the post-game and it's kind of an ick at this point tbh.
It’s really funny to see Orlando fans twist themselves into a pretzel to try and explain this one. The latest I just saw “we rested Marta and Banda and Adriana because of their horrible turf field because it’s likely they’d get hurt…just look at all of Portland’s injuries….” Like, really y’all? You were just bad…it’s only one game, it’s ok! They also blamed the hurricane, which maybe affected something with their training(?) but the reaching is funny…from what I heard they’ve been in Portland all week.
If the GM they hire is any good, that person will not be fooled by the variance of a late run in the playoffs. If they aren't good, well, that's a larger concern
Gotta second the “THRILLED that we have a badge-tapping slightly psycho attacker who just wants to be here forever.” An upvote just isn’t enough.
What's funny/not-funny is I turned to my kid sister (who was a good sport about attending tho she's not a fan and I'd already dragged her along to the previous Friday's debacle...) at about the 95th minute and said "Y'know...if I was an Orlando player I'd be pretty pissed at my coach and my team right now. We had a chance to write history and we blew it."
Share with your sister this quote from Magic Johnson: "All that matters is the championship."
Eh. They've already won the Shield and will probably set the league's all-time wins and points marks. Their eyes are on the Championship.
I often think that coaches do things we fans don't understand. Sometimes they do it for good reason, or at least explicable reason.
A few years ago (2018?) Chicago played Portland in preseason out at Merlo. Sam Kerr didn't sub on until the 70th minute. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me. I was like, "Why bring her in now? Why in a preseason match?" Say what you will about Rory, and it's all deserved, but it wasn't like the guy couldn't coach.
I think Seb has earned the benefit of the doubt this year.
Of course he has, and it shouldn't be his priority. I'm sure he and his players feel like they should be winning/not losing with the team he put out anyways given they played so many starters.
Just saying that going invincible is a remarkable achievement that almost never happens in any league and if I was a fan of Orlando, I'd be vaguely annoyed.
LLDLWWWWWWLWDLDWLLLLDLLW
WTF?
It almost looks like LOWDON
New chant:
Do the search!
Outside hire!
Do the search!
Outside hire!
Chicago have a brutal schedule down the stretch: Gotham, @ Washington, KC.
We're -1 point but +1 GD. We have @ Racing and AC.
Might we catch Red Stars for 6th?
Beat Loovull and it's doable.
https://x.com/tayvincent6/status/1844977074366448093
Weaver's postgame quotes
On the topic, during post-game celes I notice her knee isn't taped or iced, doesn't look swollen and she's grinning like the Cheshire cat. My naive takeaway is her coming off was precautionary. OTOH do bench her for Vancouver.
Yeah, Weaver said it was precautionary in the postgame presser that she did with Coffey. She said she's fine.
Big whew.
Thorns "Feels Like Old Times" Reunion Show - One Night Only - October 11 2024
https://youtu.be/JYHN6D4crRI?t=49
Ken you feel it, tell me Ken you feel it (Ken you feel it), Ken you feel it
Ken you see what's goin' down
Ken you feel it in your bones
(Ken you feel it, Ken you feel it)
Ken you feel it
Yeah, yeah
I honestly believed Hines was giving this game away until he started bringing in his artillery after the hour. Turns out it WAS a trap game, and he fell right into Ken’s cunning “oh dear we suck so bad a B-side could beat us” trap…
It was fun in all its sloppy glory between Sinc going nuts about her goal and Hogan keeping the sheet…I’m not sure if it means more than that. It doesn’t really have to; just nice to see the squad smiling again.
It means Sinc got a big happy moment at home before she retires, and it made all the players feel great. They truly love her.
It means, as you say, Hogan got some redemption in a year which has had its ups-and-downs, when she's been taken for granted and disrespected.
It also means that despite nearly a half-season of horrible play, we've all-but-assured that we make the playoffs, probably in 7th. So, a November trip to Washington, Gotham, or KC is in our future.
Re: Hogan. Her early season form was so shaky that I wouldn’t call the concerns about her “disrespect”; she earned that skepticism. What was “disrespectful”, if you will, was that after her disastrous start she pulled herself up and sits in the middle of the league statistically. She’s the decent keeper she’s always been. But the fanbase (and the FO, I think…) never acknowledged that.
If anything I think it was the FO overselling Arnold that was really disrespectful, both to Hogan and to us fans. Arnold is decent, too (and better playing out) but the idea that Hogan was still in April-form and Arnold would rescue us was a poor choice by the management.
That's what I mean. Handing Arnold the starting spot, essentially, when by that point Hogan was the keeper the team had come together around, to the extent it had come together. That's a major disruption to make mid-season, at a position that was no longer a problem and for someone who was not really an upgrade. Should have waited until the offseason and had an open competition for the starting spot.
Oh, yeah, it pretty much assures a playoff appearance presuming we don’t utterly crater and BFC runs wild.
That said, as far as the larger concerns we have about KenBall…this was not the droid we were looking for. We sort of muddled through over a heavily rotated Orlando, playing much like we have been - freelancing and struggling to create - but against an opponent who misjudged how good they were without their guns.
It was fun. But I don’t think it means more in the bigger “how good are we?” sense…
What was that saying about a broken clock?
The corollary is predicting this trap game: had a 33% chance of getting it right.
Totally agree. Players won this one on an emotional bounce and Orlando giving themselves a break. But I haven't felt this good coming out of a Thorns game in a long, long time. Guessing the players feel that even more strongly.
I wish we could fire Karina before every game.
"I wish we could fire Karina before every game."
Out of a t-shirt cannon? Going with the classics here.
That made me LOL! (Fire kk before each game)
Yep. Hope they carry this thru the Vancouver midweek into the away game next weekend.
Nadia getting SPICY
https://x.com/nadia_nadim/status/1844980392400425082
Leblanc must have reeeeally honked some people off. Nadim didn’t play for or with her, and AFAIK the only correct player who played alongside Nadim is Sinc, and I never got the sense those two were pals. So to generate this kind of ire? Hmmm….
She's got the standing to say it, and she loves this place.
Soccer is a small room, folks, and WoSo is a corner in that room. People pay attention, and stuff eventually comes to light.
We better listen to her. She's a doctor.
Ohhhh, well if it weren’t any more clear now lol… 🍵 🍵 🍵
I need the tea lmao
9th clean sheet for Hogan in 19 games. That's not nothing. FWIW, Arnold has 0 clean sheets in 5 games.
Would have been 10 if not for that horrid pass against the Panamanian semi-pros.
Sinclair's goal and celebration! I will never forget how excited she was. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen her that fired up over one of her own.
https://youtu.be/X5UGd0TGOZs?t=362
Who'd have known. Winning sure beats losing!
Oh my. There are some sad people on this thread. Let's just enjoy the moment folks. That was the best we've seen for a long time. I don't feel the need to find fault with anyone for one week.