Saturday, August 5, 2017

NWSL 2017: Week 16

The league is back after an international break, with two games on Friday and three more on Saturday. First up...

The Boston Breakers host FC Kansas City. Nicole Barnhart and Sammy Jo Prudhomme play in goal. Kansas City opened in the twenty-first minute with a Maegan Kelly goal, assisted by Christina Gibbons and Desiree Scott. Boston tied it in the twenty-sixth minute with a long-distance shot from Rosie White, set up by Katie Stengel. The Breakers took the lead in the thirtieth minute with another goal by White, coming off a corner kick executed by Adriana Leon and Morgan Andrews. Kansas City tied it in the eighty-first minute on an Erika Tymrak goal through traffic. The game ended 2-2, with White named woman of the match. The Breakers also got good games out of Julie King, Andrews, and Leon, while Kansas City's best were Kelly, Scott, and Gibbons.

In New Jersey, Sky Blue FC welcomes the Washington Spirit. Stephanie Labbe and Kailen Sheridan are the Canadian goalies. Sky Blue started in the second minute with a Maya Hayes goal, via Daphne Corboz, who touched a cross from McKenzie Meehan. Washington tied it in the fifty-first minute with am Arielle Ship goal, set up by Havana Solaun. The Spirit's Whitney Church took a yellow card for a fifty-seventh minute foul. Washington took the lead on a Cheyna Williams goal in the sixty-first minute, coming off of Ship and the keeper Labbe on a broken defensive play from Sky Blue. The Spirit added on in the seventy-third minute with a Meggie Dougherty Howard goal, passed from Ship. In the eighty-seventh minute, Sky Blue's Sarah Killion fouled Dougherty Howard in the box, and Solaun made the penalty kick to extend the Washington lead. This made it 4-1, the final, with the woman of the match being Ship. Other Spirit stars were Williams, Dougherty Howard, Whitney Church, and Estelle Johnson, while Sky Blue's best were Hayes, Meehan, and Corboz.

On Saturday, the first game sees the Portland Thorns FC host the Houston Dash. Jane Campbell and Adrianna Franch protect the nets. Portland led off in the twelfth minute with an Emily Sonnett goal, set up by Tyler Lussi and Meghan Klingenberg from a free kick. Houston's Caity Heap took a yellow card for a twenty-second minute foul. The Dash tied it in the thirty-third minute on a Carli Lloyd penalty kick, after Heap was taken down by Lindsey Horan in the box. The Thorns retook the lead with a Lussi goal in the thirty-ninth minute after Klingenberg made a run into the offensive third. Lloyd of Houston had a yellow card for her foul in the fortieth minute. The game ended at 2-1, with the woman of the match being Klingenberg. Sonnett, Lussi, and Christine Sinclair also did well for the Thorns, while Cami Levin, Heap, and Lloyd were best for the Dash.

Back east, the North Carolina Courage bring in the Seattle Reign FC. Haley Kopmeyer and Katelyn Rowland are the keepers. Seattle saw a yellow card for a twenty-fourth minute Rebekah Stott foul. North Carolina began in the thirty-second minute with a Lynn Williams goal, via Makenzy Doniak. The Reign's Lauren Barnes took a yellow card for her eighty-sixth minute foul. The game ended 1-0 for the Courage, with Williams the woman of the match, while Abby Erceg and McCall Zerboni also played well for the Courage. Seattle's best were Barnes, Merritt Mathias, and Jess Fishlock.

Finally, the Orlando Pride host the Chicago Red Stars. Alyssa Naeher and Aubrey Bledsoe guard the woodwork. Orlando struck first in the twenty-fourth minute with an Alex Morgan goal, passed from Jasmyne Spencer. Sam Johnson of Chicago had a yellow card for her fifty-first minute foul. The Red Stars tied it in the fifty-third minute with a Sofia Huerta goal, made possible by Jen Hoy. Alanna Kennedy of the Pride took a yellow card for a sixty-ninth minute foul. The final held at 1-1, with the woman of the match being Huerta, while Naeher, Alyssa Mautz, and Hoy did well for Chicago and Morgan, Spencer, Jamia Fields, and Ali Krieger led the way for Orlando.

NWSL Team of the Week
GK Alyssa Naeher
RB Estelle Johnson
CB Emily Sonnett
CB Abby Erceg
LB Meghan Klingenberg
DM Desiree Scott
DM Meggie Dougherty Howard
AM Rosie White
FW Arielle Ship
FW Sofia Huerta
FW Lynn Williams

Sunday, July 30, 2017

MLS 2017: Week 21

All teams are in action after the Gold Cup, with ten games on Saturday and one more on Sunday. We begin in...

Georgia, as Atlanta United FC hosts Orlando City SC. Joe Bendik and Brad Guzan man the nets. Yamil Asad of Atlanta had a yellow card for a foul in the twenty-fourth minute. Orlando City opened in the fortieth minute with a Kaka goal, made possible by Cyle Larin. Cristian Higuita took a yellow card for Orlando City for his fifty-sixth minute foul, as did Atlanta's Hector Villalba. Orlando City's Will Johnson took a yellow card for time wasting in the eighty-sixth minute. Atlanta tied it on a Villalba goal in stoppage time, via Asad and Miguel Almiron. The game ended at 1-1, with the man of the match being Villalba.

Up in New England, the Revolution welcome the Philadelphia Union. John McCarthy and Cody Cropper draw the starts in goal. Philadelphia had a yellow card for a foul by Oguchi Onyewu in the twenty-ninth minute. New England saw a yellow card for Gershon Koffie's foul in the thirty-fourth minute. The Revolution started in the thirty-eighth minute with a Kei Kamara goal, helped along by Kelyn Rowe and Scott Caldwell. Giliano Wijnaldum of the Union took a yellow card for a foul in the seventy-sixth minute. New England added on in the eighty-fifth minute with a Kamara goal, passed from Andrew Farrell and Lee Nguyen. The Revolution extended the lead in the eighty-ninth minute as Juan Agudelo scored, thanks to Caldwell and Nguyen. This produced the 3-0 final, with Kamara named man of the match for his brace.

Over to the New York Red Bulls bringing in the Montreal Impact. Maxime Crepeau and Luis Robles play goal. New York led off in the twenty-third minute with a Daniel Royer penalty kick goal. The Red Bulls had a yellow card for a fifty-seventh minute foul by Aaron Long. New York added on with a fifty-eighth minute goal by Michael Murillo. The Red Bulls extended the lead as Bradley Wright-Phillips scored in the eighty-fifth minute, thanks to Alex Muyl and Sacha Kljestan. New York padded the lead in the eighty-ninth minute with another Royer goal, via Derrick Etienne. Montreal had a yellow card for a Laurent Ciman foul in stoppage time. The game ended 4-0, with Royer's brace making him the man of the match.

In Texas, FC Dallas hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. David Ousted and Jesse Gonzalez are between the posts. Vancouver began in the eighteenth minute with a Bernie Ibini-Isei goal, assisted by Fredy Montero. The Whitecaps added on in the forty-ninth minute with a Montero penalty kick goal. Dallas went down to ten men in the fifty-ninth minute with a straight red card for violent conduct by Carlos Gruezo. Vancouver extended the lead in the sixty-seventh minute with a Montero goal, with the help of Tony Tchani and Matias Laba. In the seventy-ninth minute, Yordy Reyna of the Whitecaps had a yellow card for a foul. Vancouver padded the lead on an eighty-third minute Nicolas Mezquida goal, guided in by Sheanon Williams. Atiba Harris of Dallas had a yellow card for a foul in the eighty-ninth minute. The game stayed at 4-0, with Montero the man of the match for his brace and assist.

In the same state, the Houston Dynamo welcome the Portland Timbers. Jake Gleeson and Tyler Deric are the gloved men. Portland struck first in the thirteenth minute with a Diego Valeri goal, passed from Zarek Valentin and Darlington Nagbe. Houston tied it in the thirty-seventh minute with a Mauro Manotas goal. The Timbers took the lead back in the forty-third minute with a Sebastian Blanco goal, coming off of Valeri. Portland had yellow cards for fouls by Roy Miller in the sixty-fifth minute and Diego Chara in the sixty-eighth minute. The Dynamo tied it on a Juan Cabezas goal in the eighty-first minute, made possible by Memo Rodriguez. In the eighty-fifth minute, Houston's Cabezas took a yellow card for persistent infringement. The result was a 2-2 draw, with the man of the match being Valeri.

Back north, Sporting Kansas City brings in the Chicago Fire. Matt Lampson and Tim Melia are the gloved men. Kansas City was first to score in the twenty-third minute with a Daniel Salloi goal. Chicago tied it in the twenty-eighth minute when Sporting's Matt Besler committed an own goal. Sporting took the lead back with a Benny Feilhaber goal in first half stoppage time. Kansas City added on with a Latif Blessing goal, via Diego Rubio and Salloi in the fifty-first minute. In the seventy-sixth minute, the Fire's Juninho took a yellow card for a foul. Chicago got a goal back with a seventy-eighth minute David Accam goal, assisted by Patrick Doody and Dax McCarty. The Fire's Joao Meira took a yellow card for a ninetieth minute foul. Sporting won 3-2, with Salloi the man of the match.

Further north, Minnesota United FC hosts DC United. Bill Hamid and Bobby Shuttleworth are in the six-yard boxes. Minnesota opened in the seventh minute with a Christian Ramirez goal, via Kevin Molino. DC had a yellow card for a thirty-sixth minute foul by Taylor Kemp. Minnesota added on in the fortieth minute with an Abu Danladi goal, helped along by Molino. In the fifty-eighth minute, DC's Jared Jeffrey committed an own goal to extend the Minnesota lead. Minnesota had yellow cards for time wasting by Shuttleworth in the seventy-ninth minute and Sam Cronin's eighty-sixth minute foul. Minnesota iced it at 4-0 in stoppage time with a Miguel Ibarra goal, created by Johan Venegas. the man of the match was Molino for his two assists.

West to Utah, where Real Salt Lake welcomes the Columbus Crew SC. Zack Steffen and Nick Rimando guard the woodwork. Columbus started in the fifteenth minute with an Ola Kamara goal, guided in by Connor Maloney. Salt Lake tied it on a fiftieth minute Joao Plata penalty kick goal. Real took the lead with a fifty-third minute Jefferson Savarino goal, courtesy of Luis Silva. The Crew retied it on a Kamara goal in the sixtieth minute. Sebastian Saucedo of Salt Lake had a yellow card in the eighty-eighth minute for a dive. The final held at 2-2, with the man of the match being Kamara for his brace.

In California, the San Jose Earthquakes bring in the Colorado Rapids. Zac MacMath and David Bingham are set to start in goal. Mike da Fonte of Colorado had a yellow card for his foul in the thirty-seventh minute. San Jose got going in the fifty-ninth minute with a Nick Lima goal, fueled by Darwin Ceren and Shea Salinas. The Earthquakes had a yellow card for a seventy-seventh minute foul by Andres Imperiale. The final stood at 1-0, with Lima the man of the match.

Saturday ends with the Los Angeles Galaxy hosting the Seattle Sounders FC. Stefan Frei and Brian Rowe protect the nets. Los Angeles saw yellow cards for fouls by Jermaine Jones in the forty-second minute and Jelle Van Damme in first half stoppage time. The Galaxy's Bradley Diallo had a yellow card for a foul in the eightieth minute. Seattle had a yellow card for a Joevin Jones foul in the eighty-third minute. Los Angeles' Romain Alessandrini received a yellow card for a foul in the eighty-fifth minute. The Galaxy went down to ten men in the eighty-sixth minute with a second yellow card to Van Damme for a foul. The score held at a 0-0 draw, with Chad Marshall of the Sounders named man of the match.

On Sunday, Toronto FC hosts New York City FC. Sean Johnson and Alexander Bono are the keepers. Toronto dented the scoreboard in the thirty-second minute with a Sebastian Giovinco goal, assisted by Marco Delgado. Toronto added on in the sixty-seventh minute with a Giovinco goal. Alexander Callens of New York City took a yellow card for a seventy-fourth minute foul. Toronto extended the lead as Jozy Altidore buried the ensuing penalty kick in the seventy-fifth minute. Toronto's Raheem Edwards received a yellow card for his eightieth minute foul. Toronto padded the lead as Edwards made amends with a goal in the eighty-second minute, set up by Giovinco. This made it 4-0, the final, with the man of the match being Giovinco.

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