OT: I expected the Nadeshiko B side to struggle in the semifinals against a China team that's mostly their WWC23 squad. And yeah, they gave up a goal (the second one of the tournament). But it's 4-1 Japan going into the locker room for halftime. Wow. Some of the A side players might be sweating their jobs!
Well, China made a game of it! Scored a couple goals pretty early in the second half, but Japan held on to go to the finals. Opponent will be either Uzbekistan (!) or North Korea.
Uzbekistan? Seriously? DPRK, yeah…they’ve been there a while (helps when your dictator likes sportswashing!) but where the heck did the Uzbeks come from..?
The Norks handled them pretty easily, so it's going to be a nice, testy NK v Japan final. There were fireworks between those men's sides, and I expect no different with the women. North Korea women are pretty good, so another tough challenge for the Nadeshiko B team (and coach: it hasn't been Ikeda, who was busy with the main team camp and friendly)_...
Oooh, yeah. No love lost there. AFAIK the North takes the sort of post-colonial resentment that you encounter in the ROK and turns it up to 11, so the priors are there.
All the DPRK sides seem very disciplined and well-organized. Hard to break down. Could be a real nailbiter.
Japan win the Asian Games women's football gold! 4-1 over North Korea...but that scoreline doesn't do the DPRK side justice. I haven't had a look yet at the final stats, but at one point in the second half, the Norks had more possession, corners, shots, etc. That seemed to be to some degree by design (think: tactics v Spain in WWC23), but NK have a good side, and they were forcing good defense out of this Nadeshiko reserve team.
Japan scored fairly early, NK equalized around 35 minutes in. Knotted at the half. Then Japan reeled off _three_ straight goals over a five or six minute period starting around minute 67 or so...and that was that.
Regardless of the current FIFA rankings, I'm pretty convinced the two best sides in international WoSo right now are Spain and Japan (and not necessarily in that order). The depth that Japan showed in pretty much dominating this competition (I think the GD ended up at 35!) with with _zero_ World Cup players and w/o their usual Head Coach is intimidating. The way many of these players performed, the competition for Olympic roster spots is going to be insane.
All interesting comments, I come for wisdom and answers, but this league is crazy. We can be miserable about the Thorns, but it seems like all the other teams are dealing with chaos despite talented rosters. Is it parity; or maybe lack of great coaches; or FIFA breaks; or US being a large country and travel is tough; soccer is a cruel game; I don't know maybe a combination of all those things and others. At the end of the day this team has to win next Saturday and has to know the other team will be angry too because they threw away a win as well.
Just a bad outing for the Thorns. Outplayed, outworked, outcoached, outhustled. Hill was like a mad woman out there, 90 minutes of solid effort. Other than Morgan, no Thorn even close. Stoney concentrated tactics on Thorn weaknesses, poor distribution from the back line and weak defense up the right side. And the Wave were ready to pounce every time the fullbacks pushed high. And based on this outing, and Rocky’s awful game, the double pivot keeping Moultrie from starting is a mistake.
Regarding Moultre, I'm a fan and want to see her get more playing time. But to be honest she hasn't really stepped up and grabbed a role this year. A lot of my expectations are based on giving her more time so she can develop faster than she has. During the WC break, she didn't pop out as a player who deserved more playing time, even though she was a lot more active with the ball. Based on how this team is built, the double pivot seems to be the right formation because it allows the wing backs to attack more with Coffey/Rodriguez out there to play fireman. Leaving Coffey to do it alone doesn't seem like the best approach. If the person keeping Moultre on the bench is Sinclair, then she should be seeing the field a lot more. But if it is Sugita and Dunn, the argument is a lot weaker.
Well, that’s what I saw too regarding wingbacks. Rather than dialing back on the forward push of the fullbacks, Thorns are doubling down on the tactic, but doing it with two mistake prone, ineffective fullbacks. Both want to be offensive threats, but simply are not. Not even close. I’m a Moultrie fan too. She hit the post, drilled a shot just wide of post, volleyed a pass to set up Betfort. All pretty eye popping stuff. To sit Moultrie so Rocky, in a defensive role and out of position, can get beat three times by somebody like Hill streaking up the flank and give two fullbacks even more freedom to do less of what they do best: defend.
Although I think Weaver was ticked about the game, based on her comments from the very end of the post game interview I think she is also upset about some remarks made about her beloved alma mater on college game day
- Play was pretty even, and if anyone had the edge, it was the Thorns. The stats of xG, shots, and corners won agree with this. (IMO the other stats like possession and total passes are pretty meaningless in terms of who was the better team.) The highlight reel agrees too - a majority of the plays shown are Thorns attacks, not Wave ones.
- SD scored on their chances and we didn't. We had several very good looks at goal that we just bricked. Sometimes soccer goes that way.
- Sugita skied her golden chance, and not for the first time. She passes so much better than she shoots. If she can solve this conundrum, she'll be even more awesome.
- Smith cannot return soon enough. Get well soon Sophia!
- Wouldn't it be nice if we had a front office that brings in players who make an impact? Reyes is the only recent arrival who's had any effect at all, and even then it's been a pretty small effect. Meanwhile SD brings in Carusa and she scores the go-ahead goal.
- Rodríguez had a really rough game. She had a couple of successful dribbles, but much more often she tried to get through too many defenders instead of making an easy pass out of pressure. BOTH of SD's goals came directly from plays where Rocky tried to hold onto the ball instead of passing. I've been wondering if she does this more after Costa Rica games, where she's the best player and has to do much of the attacking work herself.
- The commentators totally missed that Morgan's goal happened only because of Bixby's slip. Otherwise it's an easy grab for Bix.
- Why is Bixby slipping? The Thorns practice on that turf, I believe, so Bixby should have tons of experience at not slipping.
- Beat Gotham! If we win, we lock up not only a playoff spot, not only a first-round bye, but a bye and a *home* playoff spot. And next weekend is the exceptionally rare time when I'll be rooting for NC.
Your call on Sugita is spot on. And this is why Sugita as a forward isn't an ideal situation, because the threat from her is fairly low. She seems to do better scoring when she comes in the second wave. Its Another reason I would prefer to see Dunn up top and Sugita in the midfield, Dunn is much more dangerous scoring threat.
If she were regularly at forward some would label her "poacher" while I see someone really observant and usually skilled enough to put the wayward ball on target by any means necessary. By the same token and to your point, she's just more effective playing midfield, including how often she pantses opponents to gain possession.
Yep: that positional change makes SO much sense. Hina is a definite scoring threat, but it's based more on her quick thinking and elite footy IQ allowing her to capitalize on situations. Not that she's a bad forward, but as Rick points out, she's a poacher...and Dunn's better suited to that winger role. Hina, on the other hand, it the best player on the roster to act as a facilitating attacking mid who can also capitalize on rapidly-evolving chances.
Yeah, our two best players in the attack that evening, Sugita and Dunn, both blew great opportunities: Hina skied hers and Crystal headed hers directly into the 'keeper's arms. Both surely would like to have those back.
Re: Bixby...I think her "slip" had more to do with her than the surface.
She's not physically deft. Tall, long limbs, she's got a strong move up and laterally when she sights the shot and has time to set and push off. Unsurprisingly she gets big in the air that way.
But she's not a scrambler, she's not quick on her feet. I'm not sure but my guess is that a big part of that is built into her frame - she's the anti-Franch, tall and gawky instead of compact and muscular.
She completely misjudged the Morgan header, first of all. If you watch tape, she plants when Morgan heads - so far, fine - but shifts her weight to her right. But that's the wrong direction! When she realizes that she tries to pull herself back to her left...but her momentum and her long frame unbalances her, and she does just that - loses her balance and topples over.
She's done stuff like this before - remember her OG, where she toppled back into her own goal? I'm not sure why she's not working harder with a sport physiologist on this...
This team is hard to understand. They played so well against the Reign and then lay a stinker like this one the very next game. Sure, there was an international break but it seems SD came out of it alright. Smith most certainly would have made a difference but perhaps the club should take a look at getting a second striker who isn't a) 100 years old (more or less) or b) isn't a central defender in disguise. The club is a mess. I hope the new owners are up to the task. Lots of work to be done.
SD have 2 players over age 30: Jakobsson (33), Morgan (34)
Reign have 4 players over age 30: Barnes (34), Fishlock (36), Rapinoe (38), Stanton (32)
Portland have 5 players over age 30: Dunn (31), Klingenberg (35), Menges (31), Sauerbruun (38), Sinclair (40)
Besides Reyes, Kuikka is our youngest regular defender -- she's almost 28. The rest of the group is Hubly (29), Kling (35), Menges (31), and Sauerbruun (38). That's an old backline.
and so many of those players will be free agents. Cant help but wonder if we are on the verge of a major youth movement next year. Will Dunn be too expensive to keep with Sophia getting a big contract next year?
Per my understanding of sports physiology 27 is median peak for endurance athletes, meaning that between 25-29 soccer players are in their “prime” period.
Before that physical form peaks in the early twenties but is offset by inexperience; after that physical decline offset’s increased experience.
So based on that standard Reyes is “young”, Sevecke, Kuikka, and Hubly are still in their “prime peak”. Menges would normally be considered “post-prime” except for her now-chronic injury history, and Kling is “old”. Brunn is radiocarbon dead.
And Sevecke is 27. We’ve yet to see her or know much about how (or if) she’ll work out, but she’d at least be younger and (presumably) better than Hubly. Still, could use a few younger high ceiling players…
Speaking of…San Diego keeps chuggin’ on with acquiring more internationals…(I wonder what this means for Po and Westphal (who are FA’s.) Specifically Westphal, though because she’s the starting RB.
“According to our information at Soccerdonna, Swedish player Evelina Duljan is currently on training with San Diego Wave. The 20-year-old could potentially join the team.”
I took the time to look up bipolar syndrome meds because I just don't know which Thorns are going to show on a particular day. Maybe they could help. Home, yuge crowd, meaningful game, division opponent=naptime? Does. Not. Compute.
A better option is rest Kling and only use her as a sub for Natu or Reyes. Purse has both speed and cunning. I have more faith in Kling against Thompson as long as she doesn’t find herself too far upfield. Thompson is even faster than Purse, but not as crafty IMO.
I also hope Norris uses Dunn as forward and Hina in the midfield with Rocky and Coffey. Asking a lot because that hasn’t been tried, but one can hope.
Thompson is scary fast, and would be nightmare against any defender. Going against Kling means a lot of help defense over there. I don't know who else ACFC has on offense, but Thompson by herself is scary good.
But that is also a reason I'm really excited about the offense of the National Team. Imagine Smith, Thompson and Rodman as a front three. Its a matchup nightmare for other teams.
I agree about the National Team, but I think Thompson is not fully ready. I do agree about her speed. At this point though I think she is containable. I hope so anyway.
The Angel front line includes Thompson, Bihan, Emslie, Leroux, Spencer and Endo. Lots of speed there and so yes Weaver will need to support Kling and Natu will need to play more defensively on that side. The Thorns only have Smith, Weaver and possibly Dunn with Thompson-like speed and only Dunn is a designated defender. The Thorns have beat ACFC before and can again, but the game I am worried about is Gotham. That is huuuge!!!
I agree that Thompson isn't at a MVP level, but you can see the quality. I'm thinking about 2-4 years down the line assuming she grows into her potential for the National Team. Its an exciting time because they should have a fleet of offensive players coming into their prime (and thanks Thornado for the Macario reminder).
Fortunately Thompson isn't at that level, because it will be critical for the Thorns to contain her in 2 games. The NY/NJ game needs to be won, but we also have to be prepared for ACFC.
Portland LOSES out combined with a slew of other results? They could drop to fifth and have to win three in a row (something this squad has not done all season) to defend the title.
Winning out not required. "All" we need to do to get a second-place spot, first-round playoff bye, and home-field advantage in the playoff game is to beat Gotham.
Gotham's going to be mad as a nest of hornets after their loss on the weekend, though, so it's going to be a battle.
My only smidgen of confidence is that as unpredictable as the squad's form has been this season, it's swung both directions. So we follow Seattle with this crap...but we might follow this with a Seattle-grade performance. Let's hope so.
I was looking at the absolute-best-case vs the absolute-worst-case scenario. I didn't even look at the "beat Gotham lose to LA" option.
I just looked; the last two matchdays look crazy for the top of the table. Just this coming weetkend SDW plays NCC, we play Gotham, and Washington plays Seattle. So nobody can advance independently of anyone else, - they're all six pointers for the top six. Orlando, tho, has Louisville and is only behind on GD.
So, like, if SDW loses, we win, Washington wins, Orlando wins; we go back top, SDW drops to second, NCC moves up to third, Washington moves up to fourth, Gotham drops to fifth, and if Orlando wins Seattle swaps with them below the red line.
I can't even wrap my head around all the other permutations of this, and there’s an actual Decision Day this season, so it’s even wilder in two weeks…
Saturday will be the end of the 6th week since Sophia's injury. Any word on whether she will return to availability on Saturday?
If not, so much for the so-called "mild" (aka minor) sprain, which is usually a 1-3 week return to play.
I stand by my statements at the time that given her appearance on crutches and in a heavy brace, this was a more significant injury than the Thorns announced. Shocking, I know!
Judging Ryan Clarke's comments about where she was last Thursday, I would imagine we still don't see her at all. Unfortunately. If she had only started on-field/individual work less than a week ago, I can't imagine she's moved into team play and is ready to play any minutes in an undoubtedly rough and extremely meaningful game....
His comments: "Soph has started some on-field, individual work,” Norris told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Thursday. “She hasn’t been in any sort of team or opposed work. She is making good progress and taking steps. One step at a time. She will not be available this weekend, but it’s nice to have her back on the field in some capacity.”
Smith, 23, is recovering from a mild MCL sprain sustained Aug. 28 vs. the Washington Spirit. During the portions of training open to media Thursday, Smith went through warmups and light passing drills with the ball, and at the end of the session, she was running lengths of the field.
That sounds right to me. If the Thorns win Saturday and get the first-round bye I’d be surprised to see her on the 15th (assuming she’s ready) unless North Carolina does us a big favor this weekend.
Orlando finally put an end to LA's madness. Orlando are tied with Reign for 6th but behind on GD. However, Orlando are 4-0-2, behind only SD in run of form over last 6 matches. Meanwhile, Reign are 1-1-4.
Just as importantly, KC's loss over the weekend and Orlando's win last night means that KC is the first team to be voted off the island in 2023.
Maybe KC can get a jump start on their coaching search, perhaps even a new GM? What a dud of a season!
My thoughts watching Gotham and AC this weekend were "goddamn I hope our defense gets it together because these two teams are suffocating their opponents (even though they both lost) and are super high-pressing. The Thorns gotta change shit, quick..." We're gonna have to see Kling against Midge, and then Thompson the next two weeks, so I hope Kling eats some extra spinach or something...
Weaver debuted her now brown hair, and if I'm not mistaken Moultrie's hair looks darker too.
So, those are my two highlights. Except for Hubly's, which are visible from space.
Kel has racing stripes
Match report here: https://rivetingpdx.com/2023/10/02/thorns-fc-sneaker-wave/
OT: I expected the Nadeshiko B side to struggle in the semifinals against a China team that's mostly their WWC23 squad. And yeah, they gave up a goal (the second one of the tournament). But it's 4-1 Japan going into the locker room for halftime. Wow. Some of the A side players might be sweating their jobs!
Well, China made a game of it! Scored a couple goals pretty early in the second half, but Japan held on to go to the finals. Opponent will be either Uzbekistan (!) or North Korea.
Uzbekistan? Seriously? DPRK, yeah…they’ve been there a while (helps when your dictator likes sportswashing!) but where the heck did the Uzbeks come from..?
The Norks handled them pretty easily, so it's going to be a nice, testy NK v Japan final. There were fireworks between those men's sides, and I expect no different with the women. North Korea women are pretty good, so another tough challenge for the Nadeshiko B team (and coach: it hasn't been Ikeda, who was busy with the main team camp and friendly)_...
Oooh, yeah. No love lost there. AFAIK the North takes the sort of post-colonial resentment that you encounter in the ROK and turns it up to 11, so the priors are there.
All the DPRK sides seem very disciplined and well-organized. Hard to break down. Could be a real nailbiter.
Japan win the Asian Games women's football gold! 4-1 over North Korea...but that scoreline doesn't do the DPRK side justice. I haven't had a look yet at the final stats, but at one point in the second half, the Norks had more possession, corners, shots, etc. That seemed to be to some degree by design (think: tactics v Spain in WWC23), but NK have a good side, and they were forcing good defense out of this Nadeshiko reserve team.
Japan scored fairly early, NK equalized around 35 minutes in. Knotted at the half. Then Japan reeled off _three_ straight goals over a five or six minute period starting around minute 67 or so...and that was that.
Regardless of the current FIFA rankings, I'm pretty convinced the two best sides in international WoSo right now are Spain and Japan (and not necessarily in that order). The depth that Japan showed in pretty much dominating this competition (I think the GD ended up at 35!) with with _zero_ World Cup players and w/o their usual Head Coach is intimidating. The way many of these players performed, the competition for Olympic roster spots is going to be insane.
The Uzbek men were also surprisingly good when the USMNT played them not long ago. Who knew?
And here I always thought Uzbek men are "the weak link in the great chain of socialism." Is it possible that SCTV's CCCP1 was satire, not pravda?
https://youtu.be/fOu_t68mjNM?t=424
A couple of other games broke our way this weekend:
* Houston beat Gotham, keeping us in second place. Gotham would have pipped us by a point if they'd won.
* Reign tied NC, keeping both of them down the table and away from us.
It's a crazy year in the NWSL.
All interesting comments, I come for wisdom and answers, but this league is crazy. We can be miserable about the Thorns, but it seems like all the other teams are dealing with chaos despite talented rosters. Is it parity; or maybe lack of great coaches; or FIFA breaks; or US being a large country and travel is tough; soccer is a cruel game; I don't know maybe a combination of all those things and others. At the end of the day this team has to win next Saturday and has to know the other team will be angry too because they threw away a win as well.
Just a bad outing for the Thorns. Outplayed, outworked, outcoached, outhustled. Hill was like a mad woman out there, 90 minutes of solid effort. Other than Morgan, no Thorn even close. Stoney concentrated tactics on Thorn weaknesses, poor distribution from the back line and weak defense up the right side. And the Wave were ready to pounce every time the fullbacks pushed high. And based on this outing, and Rocky’s awful game, the double pivot keeping Moultrie from starting is a mistake.
Regarding Moultre, I'm a fan and want to see her get more playing time. But to be honest she hasn't really stepped up and grabbed a role this year. A lot of my expectations are based on giving her more time so she can develop faster than she has. During the WC break, she didn't pop out as a player who deserved more playing time, even though she was a lot more active with the ball. Based on how this team is built, the double pivot seems to be the right formation because it allows the wing backs to attack more with Coffey/Rodriguez out there to play fireman. Leaving Coffey to do it alone doesn't seem like the best approach. If the person keeping Moultre on the bench is Sinclair, then she should be seeing the field a lot more. But if it is Sugita and Dunn, the argument is a lot weaker.
Well, that’s what I saw too regarding wingbacks. Rather than dialing back on the forward push of the fullbacks, Thorns are doubling down on the tactic, but doing it with two mistake prone, ineffective fullbacks. Both want to be offensive threats, but simply are not. Not even close. I’m a Moultrie fan too. She hit the post, drilled a shot just wide of post, volleyed a pass to set up Betfort. All pretty eye popping stuff. To sit Moultrie so Rocky, in a defensive role and out of position, can get beat three times by somebody like Hill streaking up the flank and give two fullbacks even more freedom to do less of what they do best: defend.
Moultrie just isn’t a midfielder in a double pivot. She doesn’t have the defensive awareness.
I didn’t see a lot of defensive awareness from RR either.
Although I think Weaver was ticked about the game, based on her comments from the very end of the post game interview I think she is also upset about some remarks made about her beloved alma mater on college game day
Thoughts on the game:
- Play was pretty even, and if anyone had the edge, it was the Thorns. The stats of xG, shots, and corners won agree with this. (IMO the other stats like possession and total passes are pretty meaningless in terms of who was the better team.) The highlight reel agrees too - a majority of the plays shown are Thorns attacks, not Wave ones.
- SD scored on their chances and we didn't. We had several very good looks at goal that we just bricked. Sometimes soccer goes that way.
- Sugita skied her golden chance, and not for the first time. She passes so much better than she shoots. If she can solve this conundrum, she'll be even more awesome.
- Smith cannot return soon enough. Get well soon Sophia!
- Wouldn't it be nice if we had a front office that brings in players who make an impact? Reyes is the only recent arrival who's had any effect at all, and even then it's been a pretty small effect. Meanwhile SD brings in Carusa and she scores the go-ahead goal.
- Rodríguez had a really rough game. She had a couple of successful dribbles, but much more often she tried to get through too many defenders instead of making an easy pass out of pressure. BOTH of SD's goals came directly from plays where Rocky tried to hold onto the ball instead of passing. I've been wondering if she does this more after Costa Rica games, where she's the best player and has to do much of the attacking work herself.
- The commentators totally missed that Morgan's goal happened only because of Bixby's slip. Otherwise it's an easy grab for Bix.
- Why is Bixby slipping? The Thorns practice on that turf, I believe, so Bixby should have tons of experience at not slipping.
- Beat Gotham! If we win, we lock up not only a playoff spot, not only a first-round bye, but a bye and a *home* playoff spot. And next weekend is the exceptionally rare time when I'll be rooting for NC.
Go Thorns!
Your call on Sugita is spot on. And this is why Sugita as a forward isn't an ideal situation, because the threat from her is fairly low. She seems to do better scoring when she comes in the second wave. Its Another reason I would prefer to see Dunn up top and Sugita in the midfield, Dunn is much more dangerous scoring threat.
If she were regularly at forward some would label her "poacher" while I see someone really observant and usually skilled enough to put the wayward ball on target by any means necessary. By the same token and to your point, she's just more effective playing midfield, including how often she pantses opponents to gain possession.
Yep: that positional change makes SO much sense. Hina is a definite scoring threat, but it's based more on her quick thinking and elite footy IQ allowing her to capitalize on situations. Not that she's a bad forward, but as Rick points out, she's a poacher...and Dunn's better suited to that winger role. Hina, on the other hand, it the best player on the roster to act as a facilitating attacking mid who can also capitalize on rapidly-evolving chances.
Yeah, our two best players in the attack that evening, Sugita and Dunn, both blew great opportunities: Hina skied hers and Crystal headed hers directly into the 'keeper's arms. Both surely would like to have those back.
Re: Bixby...I think her "slip" had more to do with her than the surface.
She's not physically deft. Tall, long limbs, she's got a strong move up and laterally when she sights the shot and has time to set and push off. Unsurprisingly she gets big in the air that way.
But she's not a scrambler, she's not quick on her feet. I'm not sure but my guess is that a big part of that is built into her frame - she's the anti-Franch, tall and gawky instead of compact and muscular.
She completely misjudged the Morgan header, first of all. If you watch tape, she plants when Morgan heads - so far, fine - but shifts her weight to her right. But that's the wrong direction! When she realizes that she tries to pull herself back to her left...but her momentum and her long frame unbalances her, and she does just that - loses her balance and topples over.
She's done stuff like this before - remember her OG, where she toppled back into her own goal? I'm not sure why she's not working harder with a sport physiologist on this...
This team is hard to understand. They played so well against the Reign and then lay a stinker like this one the very next game. Sure, there was an international break but it seems SD came out of it alright. Smith most certainly would have made a difference but perhaps the club should take a look at getting a second striker who isn't a) 100 years old (more or less) or b) isn't a central defender in disguise. The club is a mess. I hope the new owners are up to the task. Lots of work to be done.
Fun facts:
SD have 2 players over age 30: Jakobsson (33), Morgan (34)
Reign have 4 players over age 30: Barnes (34), Fishlock (36), Rapinoe (38), Stanton (32)
Portland have 5 players over age 30: Dunn (31), Klingenberg (35), Menges (31), Sauerbruun (38), Sinclair (40)
Besides Reyes, Kuikka is our youngest regular defender -- she's almost 28. The rest of the group is Hubly (29), Kling (35), Menges (31), and Sauerbruun (38). That's an old backline.
and so many of those players will be free agents. Cant help but wonder if we are on the verge of a major youth movement next year. Will Dunn be too expensive to keep with Sophia getting a big contract next year?
Per my understanding of sports physiology 27 is median peak for endurance athletes, meaning that between 25-29 soccer players are in their “prime” period.
Before that physical form peaks in the early twenties but is offset by inexperience; after that physical decline offset’s increased experience.
So based on that standard Reyes is “young”, Sevecke, Kuikka, and Hubly are still in their “prime peak”. Menges would normally be considered “post-prime” except for her now-chronic injury history, and Kling is “old”. Brunn is radiocarbon dead.
And Sevecke is 27. We’ve yet to see her or know much about how (or if) she’ll work out, but she’d at least be younger and (presumably) better than Hubly. Still, could use a few younger high ceiling players…
Speaking of…San Diego keeps chuggin’ on with acquiring more internationals…(I wonder what this means for Po and Westphal (who are FA’s.) Specifically Westphal, though because she’s the starting RB.
“According to our information at Soccerdonna, Swedish player Evelina Duljan is currently on training with San Diego Wave. The 20-year-old could potentially join the team.”
I took the time to look up bipolar syndrome meds because I just don't know which Thorns are going to show on a particular day. Maybe they could help. Home, yuge crowd, meaningful game, division opponent=naptime? Does. Not. Compute.
A better option is rest Kling and only use her as a sub for Natu or Reyes. Purse has both speed and cunning. I have more faith in Kling against Thompson as long as she doesn’t find herself too far upfield. Thompson is even faster than Purse, but not as crafty IMO.
I also hope Norris uses Dunn as forward and Hina in the midfield with Rocky and Coffey. Asking a lot because that hasn’t been tried, but one can hope.
Thompson is scary fast, and would be nightmare against any defender. Going against Kling means a lot of help defense over there. I don't know who else ACFC has on offense, but Thompson by herself is scary good.
But that is also a reason I'm really excited about the offense of the National Team. Imagine Smith, Thompson and Rodman as a front three. Its a matchup nightmare for other teams.
And Macario at the 10....
I agree about the National Team, but I think Thompson is not fully ready. I do agree about her speed. At this point though I think she is containable. I hope so anyway.
The Angel front line includes Thompson, Bihan, Emslie, Leroux, Spencer and Endo. Lots of speed there and so yes Weaver will need to support Kling and Natu will need to play more defensively on that side. The Thorns only have Smith, Weaver and possibly Dunn with Thompson-like speed and only Dunn is a designated defender. The Thorns have beat ACFC before and can again, but the game I am worried about is Gotham. That is huuuge!!!
I agree that Thompson isn't at a MVP level, but you can see the quality. I'm thinking about 2-4 years down the line assuming she grows into her potential for the National Team. Its an exciting time because they should have a fleet of offensive players coming into their prime (and thanks Thornado for the Macario reminder).
Fortunately Thompson isn't at that level, because it will be critical for the Thorns to contain her in 2 games. The NY/NJ game needs to be won, but we also have to be prepared for ACFC.
So here’s the weird thing:
Portland wins out, second and a quarterfinal bye.
Portland LOSES out combined with a slew of other results? They could drop to fifth and have to win three in a row (something this squad has not done all season) to defend the title.
So. Let’s not do that…
Winning out not required. "All" we need to do to get a second-place spot, first-round playoff bye, and home-field advantage in the playoff game is to beat Gotham.
Gotham's going to be mad as a nest of hornets after their loss on the weekend, though, so it's going to be a battle.
Hopefully the Thorns will be equally mad at themselves for last weekend’s showing and balance that angle out.
My only smidgen of confidence is that as unpredictable as the squad's form has been this season, it's swung both directions. So we follow Seattle with this crap...but we might follow this with a Seattle-grade performance. Let's hope so.
I was looking at the absolute-best-case vs the absolute-worst-case scenario. I didn't even look at the "beat Gotham lose to LA" option.
Hmmm...
I just looked; the last two matchdays look crazy for the top of the table. Just this coming weetkend SDW plays NCC, we play Gotham, and Washington plays Seattle. So nobody can advance independently of anyone else, - they're all six pointers for the top six. Orlando, tho, has Louisville and is only behind on GD.
So, like, if SDW loses, we win, Washington wins, Orlando wins; we go back top, SDW drops to second, NCC moves up to third, Washington moves up to fourth, Gotham drops to fifth, and if Orlando wins Seattle swaps with them below the red line.
I can't even wrap my head around all the other permutations of this, and there’s an actual Decision Day this season, so it’s even wilder in two weeks…
https://twitter.com/womenstransfer/status/1709869849696997755
Weatherholt looks as dumbstruck by this news as I am.
Saturday will be the end of the 6th week since Sophia's injury. Any word on whether she will return to availability on Saturday?
If not, so much for the so-called "mild" (aka minor) sprain, which is usually a 1-3 week return to play.
I stand by my statements at the time that given her appearance on crutches and in a heavy brace, this was a more significant injury than the Thorns announced. Shocking, I know!
Judging Ryan Clarke's comments about where she was last Thursday, I would imagine we still don't see her at all. Unfortunately. If she had only started on-field/individual work less than a week ago, I can't imagine she's moved into team play and is ready to play any minutes in an undoubtedly rough and extremely meaningful game....
His comments: "Soph has started some on-field, individual work,” Norris told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Thursday. “She hasn’t been in any sort of team or opposed work. She is making good progress and taking steps. One step at a time. She will not be available this weekend, but it’s nice to have her back on the field in some capacity.”
Smith, 23, is recovering from a mild MCL sprain sustained Aug. 28 vs. the Washington Spirit. During the portions of training open to media Thursday, Smith went through warmups and light passing drills with the ball, and at the end of the session, she was running lengths of the field.
To me, that's probably 2 weeks away from matchplay, though I could imagine seeing her for limited minutes on October 15.
Well, if the Thorns happen to finish 1st or 2nd, then they won't play until November 5. If they finish 3rd-6th, then they'll play on October 22.
That sounds right to me. If the Thorns win Saturday and get the first-round bye I’d be surprised to see her on the 15th (assuming she’s ready) unless North Carolina does us a big favor this weekend.
Orlando finally put an end to LA's madness. Orlando are tied with Reign for 6th but behind on GD. However, Orlando are 4-0-2, behind only SD in run of form over last 6 matches. Meanwhile, Reign are 1-1-4.
Just as importantly, KC's loss over the weekend and Orlando's win last night means that KC is the first team to be voted off the island in 2023.
Maybe KC can get a jump start on their coaching search, perhaps even a new GM? What a dud of a season!
My thoughts watching Gotham and AC this weekend were "goddamn I hope our defense gets it together because these two teams are suffocating their opponents (even though they both lost) and are super high-pressing. The Thorns gotta change shit, quick..." We're gonna have to see Kling against Midge, and then Thompson the next two weeks, so I hope Kling eats some extra spinach or something...