It's the playoffs now for the NWSL, with the top four teams from the regular season in action this weekend. Both games featured on Fox Sports 1, and will likely be available on YouTube on the NWSLsoccer channel. First off...
The Washington Spirit host the Chicago Red Stars on Friday. Alyssa Naeher and Kelsey Wys are in goal. Washington's Francisca Ordega nearly caught Chicago's Sam Johnson in trouble in the second minute on the rainy field. Arin Gilliland of the Red Stars then stole the ball from the Spirit's Crystal Dunn. The game started a bit slow, with the weather certainly playing a factor. Julie Johnston of Chicago went long for Christen Press in the sixth minute, but it was too long and ran to Wys. Ordega won a corner kick off of Gilliland in the ninth minute. Washington's Ali Krieger served it toward goal, which Johnston cleared for the Red Stars. In the tenth minute, Press tried to find Taylor Comeau for Chicago, but the play was offside and Wys had it covered anyway. Casey Short of Chicago gave up a fourteenth minute corner kick after Christine Nairn of the Spirit sprang Ordega for a run into the box. Nairn took the corner kick for Krieger, which Naeher palmed back over the line safely. Krieger did this second corner kick for Dunn on a give-and-go, and then Vanessa DiBernardo sent it out for another one. Krieger tried this one far post, which Johnston headed as far as Tori Huster of the Spirit. She flipped it back, but Dunn and Ordega collided and Chicago cleared. In the sixteenth minute, Ordega drew a foul call on Johnson, giving the Spirit a good free kick. Krieger took the set piece for Ordega, whose header went wide left. Dunn had a nineteenth minute cross cleared by Sofia Huerta of the Red Stars. Estefania Banini and Dunn of the Spirit worked into the box, but Naeher blocked it. Krieger sent another ball in that Naeher. In the twentieth minute, Dunn ripped a shot off the post, and Ordega's rebound went wide left. In the twenty-third minute, Johnson put a ball forward that Wys had to catch on a hop with Press pressuring her. Chicago had a chance in the twenty-sixth minute on a Short cross that Washington's Caprice Dydasco took. Then, Nairn passed up for Ordega, who was offside to end the Spirit counterattack. Dunn put a cross through the box in the twenty-eighth minute that Banini couldn't get on the end of. Huerta and Press tried to combined on the end of a thirty-first minute Johnston set piece for Chicago, but Washington cleared. DiBernardo had a cross in that the Spirit's Whitney Church cleared as well. Johnson cleared a cross from Washington's Joanna Lohman in the thirty-fifth minute. Washington earned a corner kick, which Krieger served in, and Johnston again cleared for Chicago. Shelina Zadorsky sent in the return ball for the Spirit, and Krieger headed it home to give the Spirit a 1-0 lead in the thirty-sixth minute. DiBernardo had a cross that Comeau popped over the goal in the thirty-seventh minute. Church and Krieger cleared a ball from Huerta to Press in the thirty-ninth minute. Press and Cara Walls created some chaos in the box as the Spirit had trouble keeping the ball away from the Red Stars attackers. Walls had a shot that Wys finally covered in the fortieth minute. Dunn had a forty-first minute shot curve the wrong way for a Red Stars throw-in. A heavy touch from Johnson in the forty-third minute allowed Nairn to boot it toward Chicago keeper Naeher, who restarted the attack from the box. Dunn's cross in the forty-fourth minute was blocked by Huerta and cleared by Johnston. The Red Stars tried to find Press, but Krieger poked it away for the Spirit. Krieger fired a long shot in the forty-fifth minute, going wide left. The game went into halftime at 1-0. The top Red Stars players have been LB Short, CB Johnston, ACM DiBernardo, and RF Walls. For the Spirit, the top players were GK Wys, RB Krieger, CB Zadorsky, RW Nairn, and RF Dunn. Washington sustained pressure in the forty-eighth minute, with Dydasco crossing in for Nairn, who had a poor shot to end the Spirit attack. Johnston broke up a run by Ordega, but had to recover against Dydasco in the forty-ninth minute. DiBernardo had a cross for Press in the fiftieth minute after Huerta's settle for the Red Stars, but no shot came from the play. DiBernardo had a shot in the fifty-first minute, and Wys made the save. Short tried to find Walls in the box in the fifty-second minute, and it fell out to Danielle Colaprico and then Huerta, who sent it over the bar. Zadorsky blocked a fifty-third minute Huerta shot. Zadorsky blocked a shot from Walls in the fifty-fourth minute as well, after Gilliland and Huerta combined to move it forward. Comeau had an errant cross in the fifty-fifth minute for Chicago. Nairn cranked a shot from distance in the fifty-sixth minute, going high and wide left. Nairn took a fifty-seventh minute yellow card for a foul on Gilliland. DiBernardo put in the fifty-eighth minute free kick, which Huerta found and laid off for Press just a bit too long for her to catch up to. Krieger did a sixty-second minute free kick that Gilliland headed it clear. In the sixty-fourth minute, Banini put a shot on goal after Dunn's flicked header, but Naeher made the save. DiBernardo's sixty-fifth minute free kick went for Walls, but they couldn't connect. In the sixty-ninth minute, Colaprico stepped up and managed a shot after blocking a clearance attempt from the Spirit. Stephanie McCaffrey of the Red Stars won a corner kick off of Zadorsky in the seventy-first minute. DiBernardo went for Johnston, but she was blocked well. Colaprico sent in a second effort that was long and wide left of goal. Church cleared a Colaprico service in the seventy-third minute. Huerta had a long cross on the second effort. Johnston went long for Press in the seventy-fourth minute, and while she did settle it, she sent the shot high over the goal. Dydasco tried to pick out Ordega, who fell down in the seventy-fifth minute and Naeher sent the ball forward for the Red Stars. Washington's Diana Matheson worked a give-and-go for Ordega, and then Matheson shot it over the bar. DiBernardo, Press, and McCaffrey strung passes together, with McCaffrey getting called offside in the middle of the box, and her shot also went wide right. Dunn worked around Johnston in the seventy-ninth minute, putting a cross to Matheson. The Spirit got a corner kick, taken by Nairn in the eightieth minute, and Naeher punched it out. Matheson served it back in, but the Red Stars cleared it. In the eighty-first minute, Short found Press, who rocketed a shot into the top left corner to tie the game at 1. Johnston went for Gilliland on a free kick in the eighty-third minute, who sent it in to McCaffrey. She won the corner kick off of Huster. DiBernardo served it in and Ordega cleared it out for another corner kick. DiBernardo sent this one to the center of the goal, where Wys made the catch. Amanda Da Costa found Press but she couldn't pick out McCaffrey in the eighty-fourth minute. Huerta sent an eighty-fifth minute ball to Press, who poked it wide right. The Red Stars are surging late in regulation. McCaffrey had an eighty-sixth minute cross that Wys picked up. Huster blocked an eighty-sixth minute McCaffrey shot. Gilliland tried a cross in the eighty-seventh minute that Washington covered. Da Costa found DiBernardo in the eighty-eighth minute, and she shot it just wide right. Huerta, McCaffrey, and Press combined on the next Chicago attack that ended with a pick-up by Wys. Colaprico stopped a Dunn run and then blocked Katie Stengel's shot for the Spirit in the eighty-ninth minute. Stengel sent a cross across the face of goal in stoppage time after a give-and-go with Ordega. DiBernardo sprung Press for a big run, and Press got Wys out of position before banging the shot off the bar. Short cleared an Ordega cross in stoppage time, and the game goes into overtime. Adding to the halftime honorable mentions for the Red Stars are RB Gilliland, DCM Colaprico, and CF Press, as well as Spirit CF Ordega. Press had an attack ended when she fouled Church in the ninety-first minute. Ordega saw a shot go way wide in the ninety-second minute. Dydasco followed with a shot wide right for Washington. Church cleared a DiBernardo through ball for Press in the ninety-third minute. Johnston surrendered a corner kick as Dunn pressured her in the ninety-fourth minute. Nairn went for goal, seemingly, with Johnston and Naeher shielding the net and no Spirit players able to get a touch. Ordega won a corner kick off of Short in the ninety-fifth minute. Nairn took this one for Stengel, but went too far with it, and Chicago took over. Washington put up a good ninety-eighth minute attack ending with Ordega's bad pass toward Nairn after Krieger's central ball. Church blocked a 100th minute shot by Colaprico after Press and McCaffrey worked it forward. Dunn put a ball in for Stengel in the 101st minute, but she never got a shot off as Naeher took it away. DiBernardo had a 102nd minute shot saved by Wys.
Ordega made a big block on McCaffrey's drop-back pass to Gilliland. Zadorsky headed out Short's 105th minute cross. The game remained at 1-1 after half of overtime. Gilliland kept Ordega at bay in the 107th minute. Dunn chipped a cross into the box in the 108th minute, which Naeher had to come out to grab. In the 111th minute, Nairn went long for Stengel, who dropped it back to her. Nairn then went give-and-go in the box with Matheson, and then Nairn set up Ordega for the goal to make it 2-1 Spirit with less than 10 minutes left. Ordega had a 113th minute cross to Stengel, who headed it wide right. Short had a shot in the 116th minute that went wide right. In the 117th minute, Dunn sent a shot on goal that Naeher saved. Press got caught offside on the Red Stars counterattack. DiBernardo came out injured in the 120th minute. In stoppage time, Johnson took a yellow card for fouling Dunn. The game ended 2-1, with the Outsider Sports Woman of the Match being Krieger. The Spirit head to Houston, and they'll face the winner of the next match.
On Sunday, the Portland Thorns FC host the Western New York Flash. Sabrina D'Angelo and Michelle Betos are the goalies. Portland had a first minute chance as Christine Sinclair passed up to Nadia Nadim, but Western New York's Samantha Mewis blocked it out for a corner kick. Alanna Kennedy of the Flash blocked the service by the Thorns' Tobin Heath. Heath tried again, and Mewis headed this one out for another corner kick. The third corner kick in less than three minutes came from Heath toward Sinclair, but the Flash defended well again. Nadim, Lindsey Horan, and Sinclair combined for another chance for the Thorns, saved by D'Angelo of Western New York. Sincalir couldn't get around the Flash's Abby Dahlkemper in the fifth minute. Western New York earned a good free kick chance as McCall Zerboni was fouled outside the box. Dahlkemper went for Makenzy Doniak and then Jessica McDonald, who had a weak hit wide. Horan flicked on a free kick from Emily Sonnett, but D'Angelo grabbed it ahead of Sinclair in the seventh minute. Mewis settled a ball for Lynn Williams of the Flash in the tenth minute, but she sent it over the bar. Portland's Katherine Reynolds had a twelfth minute cross blocked out by Kennedy of the Flash. Reynolds tried another for Horan, eventually cleared by Doniak of Western New York. McDonald created havoc in the box with a long throw in flicked by Abby Erceg that the Thorns' Amandine Henry cleared off of a teammate before Betos grabbed it. Heath countered in the fourteenth minute with a cross in front of goal that Nadim couldn't connect with. Mewis cleared a Heath corner kick in the fifteenth minute. The Flash started the scoring in the sixteenth minute with a McDonald throw-in that Zerboni whiffed on and Mewis volleyed into the goal after a bad touch from Henry, putting it past Betos for the 1-0 lead. Erceg bodied Meghan Klingenberg off of the ball in the eighteenth minute to prevent a Portland crossing chance. McDonald had a twentieth minute throw that Williams got a shot for, but it was blocked by Portland's defense. Horan, Sinclair, and Nadim combined for a shot that D'Angelo punched away before saving the second shot from Heath after a bad Zerboni clearance in the twenty-second minute. Erceg headed a twenty-third minute throw-in wide left of Betos' goal. Doniak had a cross that McDonald headed off of Reynolds for a corner kick. Dahlkemper sent it for McDonald, but Horan cleared it. Doniak sent the second effort in, and Betos snagged it. In the twenty-eighth minute, Kennedy took a yellow card for fouling Sinclair late. Heath took the free kick, but Mewis cleared it for Western New York. Jaelene Hinkle cleared the second effort for the Flash after a Reynolds return service. Kennedy headed out a Klingenberg cross in the thirty-first minute, but Allie Long got a shot off straight at D'Angelo. Erceg, Mewis, and Williams strung passes together, with Williams' shot parried aside for a corner kick by Betos in the thirty-second minute. Dahlkemper took the set piece for Kennedy or Erceg, but Betos made the catch. Portland tried to make something in the thirty-fourth minute, but the play broke down and caught Nadim offside after Reynolds' service into the box. Erceg fouled Heath in the thirty-fifth minute as the Thorns winger ran among six Flash defenders. Nadim shot the free kick off the wall. Doniak crossed to Williams on the counterattack, and she shot it off the crossbar in the thirty-sixth minute. Hinkle took a Flash free kick for Kennedy but sent it over her head. In the thirty-eighth minute, a McDonald throw-in bounced off of Horan and Long, and then Zerboni found McDonald, who crossed to Doniak on the far post, and she headed it home for a 2-0 Flash lead. In the thirty-ninth minute, Sinclair put Portland on the board after a long ball from Reynolds, shooting against Kennedy to cut the deficit to 2-1. Flash coach Paul Riley was ejected from the game in the fortieth minute after making contact with the fourth official. Erceg couldn't get on McDonald's forty-third minute throw as the game continues with an intense pace. The game went into halftime at 2-1, with the best Flash players being GK D'Angelo, CB Kennedy, DMs Mewis and Erceg, RW Doniak, and RF McDonald, while the top Thorns players have been CB Sonnett, RB Reynolds, DM Henry, RW Nadim, LW Heath, and striker Sinclair. Zerboni's forty-seventh minute cross for Western New York was caught by Betos. Henry fouled Erceg in the forty-ninth minute, giving the Flash a free kick. Dahlkemper went for goal but shot too high. In the fifty-first minute, Doniak and Williams went give-and-go, with Williams taking the shot after Doniak's cross but hitting weakly, and Betos stopped it. Elizabeth Eddy of the Flash took a yellow card for a foul on Heath, giving Portland a dangerous free kick in the fifty-second minute. Heath served it in on goal, and D'Angelo grabbed it. Mewis had a heavy touch in the fifty-fourth minute, and Henry cleared for the Thorns. Hinkle crossed it back in for Doniak, who headed it at Betos' thigh before the keeper covered it. The Flash had a fifty-sixth minute corner kick from Dahlkemper to Erceg, who headed it straight at the Thorns. They were able to clear. Sinclair put in a cross in the fifty-seventh minute, forcing D'Angelo to come out. Eddy blocked the cross and then cleared Nadim's pass for Horan. Doniak sent a fifty-ninth minute cross out of bounds. Williams and Sonnett got into a race for the ball in the sixty-second minute, allowing Betos to cover the ball. On the counterattack, Heath went against Dahlkemper, Eddy, and D'Angelo, with Western New York's keeper eventually claiming it. Henry had a cross to Nadim in the sixty-third minute that was headed wide right. Heath did a sixty-fifth minute corner kick for Long, whose header was deflected for another corner kick. Heath took this one for the near post but it didn't stay in bounds. Dahlkemper blocked a run by Sinclair after an Henry pass. Dahlkemper then took a ball off of Horan's foot to give the Thorns a corner kick in the sixty-seventh minute. Heath went for Sonnett, who couldn't quite keep it in bounds. Klingenberg blocked a Taylor Smith cross in the sixty-eighth minute, halting a Western New York attack. Zerboni took a sixty-ninth minute shot that Betos had to palm away for a corner kick after a return pass from Smith on the long give-and-go. Dahlkemper served it in for Kennedy, who headed it wide left. Smith won a corner kick off of Emily Menges of the Thorns in the seventy-second minute. Dahlkemper went for Erceg, but Heath managed to guide it to safety. Menges managed to keep Williams from shooting in the seventy-fourth minute. Sonnett cleared a Hinkle cross as the Flash continue to own possession. Williams' seventy-fifth minute shot went right at Betos. Dahlkemper received a yellow card for her foul, and Dagny Brynjarssdottir of Portland also had a yellow card. On the set piece resulting from Dahlkemper fouling Horan, Heath put it in the box and D'Angelo misplayed it. Sinclair's shot was blocked by Zerboni, but Sonnett pounded the rebound in to tie the game at 2. Dagny had a shot saved by D'Angelo, and then Mewis cleared a cross from Henry in the eighty-first minute. Heath's eighty-third minute free kick was grabbed by D'Angelo without a challenge. Eddy stopped Heath's run in the eighty-fourth minute, and then Menges blocked McDonald on the counterattack from Western New York. Williams put a cross in that Betos caught. Portland's eighty-sixth minute attack ended with a Long chip that D'Angelo took after a lot of Thorns passes around the attacking six players. Dahlkemper surrendered a corner kick to the Thorns under pressure of Sinclair. Heath took it for Long on the ground, and Williams got the clearance for the Flash. Dahlkemper stole Klingenberg's pass for Sinclair. Heath had a shot that D'Angelo saved with a deflection off of Dahlkemper in the eighty-ninth minute. Dagny won a corner kick off of Hinkle in the ninetieth minute. Heath served it straight to D'Angelo. Dagny flicked a long throw wide left, and then Klingenberg and Heath got shut down by Eddy and Dahlkemper in stoppage time. D'Angelo had to grab a ball over Horan late in the added time. This game will go to overtime tied at 2. Added to the list of halftime honorable mentions, we have the Flash's CB Dahlkemper and LW Zerboni and the Thorns' DM Long and ACM Horan. Dahlkemper cleared a ninety-second minute through ball from Henry. Williams had a cross for the Flash, but Klingenberg cleared it for the Thorns. Erceg and Heath collided at the ball, and Dagny's shot was saved by D'Angelo in the ninety-third minute. Erceg blocked a shot from Henry. Smith had a ninety-fourth minute cross to McDonald that Betos caught just in time. Horan was caught offside on the next Portland chance on a pass from Long. Reynolds won a corner kick for the Thorns off of Kristen Hamilton of Western New York in the ninety-sixth minute. Heath took it, but D'Angelo made a leaping grab. In the ninety-eighth minute, McDonald had a throw-in that glanced off Erceg and then Reynolds, and Williams trickled the ball in for a 3-2 Flash lead. Sinclair and Dagny went give-and-go in midfield before Dagny's cross to Horan, who rattled her shot off the bar so hard it came back out over her head in the 100th minute. Sonnett had a 103rd minute free kick that fell to Heath, but Smith cleared it. Western New York countered with Mewis hard charging through the midfield before finding Williams, who buried her second goal of overtime to make it 4-2 Flash. Horan had a shot blocked in the 105th minute, and Menges broke up the Flash counterattack on a pass from Hamilton to McDonald. In stoppage time for the first half of overtime, Horan buried a shot after Klingenberg's cross was headed by Dagny, and that cut it to 4-3. Adding on to the honorable mentions once more, we have the RW sub Dagny for the Thorns, and the LF Williams for the Flash. Menges blocked a Hamilton cross in the 106th minute. Sonnett blocked a Williams cross in the 107th minute. Long kept Smith off the ball in the box after Klingenberg got burned. Dahlkemper poked a ball away from Horan in the 109th minute. Eddy took a yellow card in the 109th minute for fouling Heath, giving Portland a set piece chance. Heath took it herself straight at goal. Sinclair flipped a 111th minute shot that D'Angelo grabbed on one hop. Henry put a shot wide left in the 112th minute. Hamilton fouled Hayley Raso in the 113th minute, giving the Thorns another free kick. Heath's free kick was grabbed by D'Angelo without trouble. Heath received a yellow card in the 114th minute for fouling Smith. Kennedy shielded Dagny away from an Henry through ball in the 118th minute as the Flash try to hold on. Long and Dahlkemper collided in a big way in the 119th minute, leaving both players down for an extended time. Horan had a header after Klingenberg's cross, and Erceg cleared it for the Flash. Erceg cleared another one as stoppage time began for the last time in this game. Horan had a shot go high from Sonnett's long ball. D'Angelo took a yellow card for time wasting before the goal kick. Eddy shut down Heath with a minute to go, and then Dahlkemper saved a ball off the line from Horan's shot. Kennedy and Eddy blocked efforts from Heath deep in stoppage time. The Flash took the game 4-3, with Williams the Outsider Sports Woman of the Match for her critical brace in overtime.
Outsider Sports NWSL Best XI - Semifinals
GK Kelsey Wys
RB Ali Krieger
CB Emily Sonnett
CB Abby Dahlkemper
LB Casey Short
DM Samantha Mewis
RW Christine Nairn
LW McCall Zerboni
RF Jessica McDonald
CF Francisca Ordega
LF Lynn Williams
The final is one week from today's posting date, October 9 at 5 EDT/2 PDT.
No comments :
Post a Comment