Arena Women's Football/Soccer - Official Discussion

good read! as long as their new additions gel without issue, i like portland and their embarrassment of riches. only concern is in net, and their backup keeper had 3 clean sheets last year when franch was at the world cup, and also started a good bit in the w-league.

qualifying schedule is set up to make life very difficult for the top four (especially chicago, who gets portland/washington/nc/utah) by forcing them to play each other. should make for great soccer early, and build some visibility. ordered cbs all-access last night, ready to roll.

 

surprises in the thorns' lineup, esp in net. sophia smith also hurt, morgan weaver on the bench. courage running 4-2-2-2 mostly like they have for the last three yrs, sans mccall zerboni (now w/ sky blue).

ps while looking to boo hinkle, she's now jaelene daniels.

 

yeah, could tell the heat/altitude/layoff really had an impact late. portland too reliant on horan, I don't know why she played a full 90 - injury scare was real on that head clash with mewis. thought they could offset tobin more effectively than they did.

lynn williams botched an early gift, but she and debinha were in great form. thought bixby was heroic in net for portland, under attack for much of the game.

 

the love being shown in this iconic shot is wonderful - the side-eye from watt at the random idiot teammate standing is an added bonus. taken during the pregame national anthem.

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kealia watt's first few touches for chicago nearly led to a goal. sam kerr is irreplaceable, but red stars should still be potent up front.

rose with a big goal off a bad rebound from naeher, wow! great start.

 

gamecock legend savannah mccaskill playing at midfield for chicago today against the thorns. good for a few reasons - saying this only as a compliment, she's built like a tank and does not get knocked off of the ball. second, she's not always quick enough to play up front, which is what led to the meltdown with kerr last year in the final. she's high-energy, and is a good fill-in to allow ertz to rest, as she is today.

sauerbrunn out with a hip injury for portland, which stinks. morgan weaver has been impressive in her first start for the thorns.

 

what a backheel, wonderful interplay

 

i count one possible yellow card for dahlkemper, at least that for abby erceg.

wonderful play from watt. chicago should have gotten a penalty out of it, if not a woman advantage.

 

knockout rounds start today! thorns/courage this afternoon, royals/dash tonight. tomorrow afternoon is spirit/sky blue, and nightcap is reign/red stars.

my pick to win it all is the #8 seed in a field of 8, lol.

 

morgan weaver is dynamite

thorns up 1-0 with about 15 to play, LFG

edit - courage are one-and-done. eeyore lives

 

best game of the tournament that i've seen. britt eckerstrom was exceptional in net.

 

dash into the final. lost their all-time leading scorer in the offseason, didn't replace her, now beating everyone.

although I'll pull for chicago in the other semi, the chaotic awesomeness of a houston dash-sky blue final in this tournament has great appeal. not only two of the bottom three from last year, but neither club has been in the top half of the table since 2015.