Thursday, August 10, 2017

NWSL Midweek: August 8 & 10, 2017

Two games in the middle of the week, on Tuesday and Thursday. First up...

The Orlando Pride host the Washington Spirit. Stephanie Labbe and Aubrey Bledsoe protect the nets. In the forty-fifth minute, Maddy Evans of Orlando took a yellow card for her foul on Washington's Cheyna Williams. The Pride got going in the fifty-second minute with a Marta goal, via Alex Morgan on a give-and-go. Orlando added on in the fifty-seventh minute when Labbe rushed against Morgan to send a ball away, and then Camila chipped Labbe for the goal. Chioma Ubogagu of the Pride took a yellow card for dissent in the sixty-second minute. Orlando extended the lead in the sixty-fourth minute as Morgan scored, thanks to a world-class cross by Steph Catley. The final stood at 3-0, with the woman of the match being Morgan. Other stars for the Pride were Marta, Camila, Alanna Kennedy, and Catley. Washington's best were Kassey Kallman, Meggie Dougherty Howard, and Williams.

On Thursday, FC Kansas City hosts the North Carolina Courage. Katelyn Rowland and Nicole Barnhart play in goal. Kansas City had a yellow card in the forty-fifth minute for a Lo'eau Labonta foul. North Carolina dented the scoreboard in the eighty-sixth minute with a Lynn Williams goal, after a deflected cross combination with Jessica McDonald and Taylor Smith. The final held at 1-0, with Williams the woman of the match. Also impressive for the Courage were Rowland (clean sheet), Smith, and Samantha Mewis. Kansas City's best were Becca Moros, Yael Averbuch, Desiree Scott, and Katie Bowen.

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Sunday, August 6, 2017

MLS 2017: Week 22

All teams are in action this weekend, with eight games on Saturday and three more on Sunday. We begin in...

The US capital, as DC United hosts Toronto FC. Alexander Bono and Bill Hamid draw the starts in goal. DC led off in the sixth minute with a Kofi Opare goal, set up by Lloyd Sam. Toronto had yellow cards for fouls by Marco Delgado in the eleventh minute and Michael Bradley in the thirty-sixth minute. Sean Franklin of DC took a yellow card for his thirty-eighth minute foul. DC went down to ten men in the forty-fourth minute with a straight red card to Sam for a foul. Toronto tied it in the fifty-second minute on a Steve Birnbaum own goal. The game ended at 1-1, with the man of the match being Hamid for stopping every shot Toronto directed at him, save for one deflection.

Over in Philadelphia, the Union welcome FC Dallas. Chris Seitz and John McCarthy protect the nets. Philadelphia began in the seventeenth minute with a C.J. Sapong goal, via Haris Medunjanin and Ilsinho. The Union added on in the twenty-second minute with an Ilsinho goal. Carlos Cermeno of Dallas had a yellow card for a foul in first half stoppage time. Dallas saw a yellow card for a fifty-fifth minute Matt Hedges foul. Philadelphia's Ilsinho took a yellow card for his sixty-fourth minute foul. The Union extended the lead as Sapong scored in the sixty-eighth minute, with the help of Ilsinho. Dallas got on the board in second half stoppage time with a Michael Barrios goal, set up by Roland Lamah. This made it 3-1, the final, with the man of the match being Sapong for his brace.

In Canada, the Montreal Impact bring in Orlando City SC. Joe Bendik and Evan Bush are the veterans in goal. Orlando City opened in the twelfth minute with a Cyle Larin goal. Montreal tied it in the forty-eighth minute with an Ignacio Piatti penalty kick goal. The Impact took the lead with an eighty-fourth minute goal by Anthony Jackson-Hamel, set up by Blerim Dzemaili. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the man of the match being Dzemaili.

Back stateside, Minnesota United FC hosts the Seattle Sounders FC. Stefan Frei and Bobby Shuttleworth guard the nets. Seattle started in the ninth minute with a Will Bruin goal, passed from Clint Dempsey. The Sounders added on in the eighteenth minute with a Dempsey goal, via Chad Marshall and Gustav Svensson. Seattle's Joevin Jones took a yellow card for his sixty-eighth minute foul. The Sounders extended the lead in the seventy-first minute as Jordan Morris scored, thanks to Nicolas Lodeiro. Seattle padded the lead with a Dempsey goal in the seventy-third minute, coming off of Jones. Minnesota's Sam Cronin took a yellow card for his eighty-fourth minute foul. The game ended at 4-0, with Dempsey named man of the match.

Down in Chicago, the Fire welcome the New England Revolution. Cody Cropper and Matt Lampson are in the six-yard boxes. Chicago struck first in the eighth minute with a Matt Polster goal, via Joao Meira. New England tied it on a twenty-fourth minute goal by Kei Kamara goal, helped along by Lee Nguyen. The Fire took the lead back with a Juninho goal in the thirty-ninth minute, set up by Patrick Doody. Benjamin Angoua of the Revolution had a yellow card for a forty-fourth minute foul. David Accam of Chicago received a yellow card for a foul in first half stoppage time. The Fire added on in the forty-ninth minute with a Michael de Leeuw goal, helped along by Doody. Chicago saw yellow cards for fouls by de Leeuw in the sixty fourth minute and Jonathan Campbell in the eightieth minute. The Fire extended the lead in second half stoppage time on a Luis Solignac goal, assisted by doody, who earned a sock trick. The final was 4-1, with Doody's distribution making him the man of the match.

West to Colorado, as the Rapids bring in the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. David Ousted and Tim Howard are the gloved men. Vancouver was first to score in the fifth minute with a Tony Tchani goal. Colorado tied it on an Axel Sjoberg goal in the fifteenth minute. The Rapids had a yellow card for a foul by Micheal Azira in first half stoppage time. Colorado took the lead in the fifty-fourth minute with a Kevin Doyle goal, via Marlon Hairston and Mohammed Saeid. The Rapids had yellow cards for fouls by Eric Miller in the sixty-eighth minute and Hairston in the seventy-fifth minute. The Whitecaps tied it in the seventy-sixth minute with a Fredy Montero goal, guided in by Cristian Techera. This made it 2-2, the final, with the man of the match being Doyle.

In Utah, Real Salt Lake hosts the Houston Dynamo. Tyler Deric and Nick Rimando are between the posts. Salt Lake's Justen Glad took a yellow card for a sixtieth minute foul. Houston went down to ten men as Alex took yellow cards in the sixty-fourth and sixty-fifth minutes, both for fouls. Kyle Beckerman of Real had a yellow card for dissent in the seventy-first minute. The Dynamo saw yellow cards for Alberth Elis' eighty-first minute foul and time wasting in stoppage time by A.J. DeLaGarza. The final held at 0-0, with Rimando the man of the match for his one-save clean sheet, the only shot to get on goal.

Finally, the San Jose Earthquakes welcome the Columbus Crew SC. Zack Steffen and David Bingham draw the starts in goal. Jonathan Mensah of Columbus had a yellow card for a twenty-sixth minute foul. San Jose got going in the forty-second minute with a Marco Urena goal, via Shea Salinas. The Earthquakes added on in the fifty-sixth minute with a Chris Wondolowski goal, assisted by Tommy Thompson. The Crew got on the board in the seventy-sixth minute with an Adam Jahn goal, fueled by Mensah and Justin Meram. In stoppage time, San Jose's Salinas took a yellow card for a foul. The final held at 2-1, with Wondolowski the man of the match.

On Sunday, the first of three games is the Portland Timbers bringing in the Los Angeles Galaxy. Brian Rowe and Jake Gleeson are set to start in goal. Portland drew first blood in the fifth minute with a Liam Ridgewell goal, via David Guzman. Los Angeles tied it in the sixth minute with an Emmanuel Boateng goal, assisted by Joao Pedro. The Timbers' Alvas Powell took a yellow card for a tenth minute handball. In the thirteenth minute, the Galaxy's Gyasi Zardes had a yellow card for a handball. Portland took the lead back in the thirty-third minute with a Diego Valeri goal, coming off of Roy Miller. Joao Pedro of Los Angeles had a yellow card for a foul in first half stoppage time. The Timbers added on with a Powell goal in the fifty-third minute, guided in by Fanendo Adi and Sebastian Blanco. Portland's Ridgewell took a yellow card for a fifty-eighth minute foul. The Galaxy saw yellow cards for fouls by Jonathan dos Santos in the seventy-first minute and Jermaine Jones in the seventy-second minute. The Timbers had a yellow card for a Miller foul in the eightieth minute. Guzman of Portland took a yellow card in second half stoppage time for time wasting. The final held at 3-1, with Valeri the man of the match.

Back east, New York City FC hosts the New York Red Bulls. Luis Robles and Sean Johnson are in the six-yard boxes. New York's Daniel Royer took a yellow card for a sixth minute foul. New York City saw a yellow card for a foul in the seventh minute by Maximiliano Moralez. New York City cracked the scoresheet with a David Villa goal in the twenty-eighth minute, courtesy of Alexander Ring. The Red Bulls tied it in the forty-first minute with a Bradley Wright-Phillips goal, coming off of Sean Davis and Sacha Kljestan. New York took the lead in the sixty-fourth minute on a Wright-Phillips goal, via Tyler Adams. New York City retied it on a Villa goal in the seventy-second minute, passed from Frederic Brillant. In the seventy-fifth minute, Sal Zizzo of the Red Bulls had a yellow card for a foul. New York City took the lead on a penalty kick goal by Villa for his hat trick after that foul. Damien Perrinelle of New York had a yellow card for dissent in the seventy-eighth minute. New York City's Villa took a yellow card for an eighty-second minute foul. In the ninetieth minute, the Red Bulls went down to ten men as Zizzo took a second yellow card for a foul. The final held at 3-2, with Villa named man of the match.

Finally, Sporting Kansas City hosts Atlanta United FC. Brad Guzan and Tim Melia tend the nets. Atlanta had yellow cards for fouls in the twenty-first minute by Jeff Larentowicz and in the twenty-fourth minute by Carlos Carmona. Kansas City's Ike Opara took a yellow card for his twenty-seventh minute foul. Atlanta took a yellow card for a fifty-first minute Yamil Asad foul. Sporting dented the scoreboard in the fifty-ninth minute with a Benny Feilhaber penalty kick goal. Atlanta's Leandro Gonzalez Pirez took a yellow card for his dissent in the sixty-first minute. Mikey Ambrose of Atlanta had a yellow card for a seventy-seventh minute foul. Atlanta tied it in stoppage time with a Jacob Peterson goal. The final stood at 1-1, with Peterson named man of the match.

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