u/SeaSpare1271

1. Barcenas looks quite mediocre and then all of a sudden looks like Messi for a few seconds. What a goal. She hit the bar too with her right foot. So close.

2. Leon was so close to her redemption game winner.

3. Ludi took too many touches. That’s a lack of confidence.

4. Why Byars on the wing???

5. Fazer has improved a lot.

6. Godfrey looked great. Then I think she got tired.

7. We looked so good for the first two thirds of the game. Should have won!!

1. Tough loss. We need to stop dropping these matches on those mediocre shots. We need a GK who can stop that.

2. Mimi was great again. A big missing piece being her poor read on high balls. Led to Reiten hitting the post.

3. Barcenas does not have the speed or strength to be a starter. Give us Leon instead. I know I’ll get downvotes for saying this but it’s true.

4. Fusco over Ludi as a sub made no sense.

5. Sad to say but the game is getting too fast for Dali. Too late a touch in front of our own box led to Shaw’s winning goal.

6. Godfrey was great again.

7. Corley had a great game. That pass to Byars was so close. But the pass at 75 min should have been a shot with the GK in the wrong place.

8. Excellent defense throughout.

9. We should sign a superstar at 1.6M a year. That should turn things around.

1. Mimi shut down Rodman who was begging for the ref’s help in the end. Mimi is quickly growing to be elite. She should work on her aerial battle skills, good defense against headers doesn’t necessarily need height.

2. Godfrey looked good like she did before the break. Conditioning? Or a small injury?

3. Great goal. I was screaming at Barcenas not to touch it, she looked oblivious about her blatant offside position.

4. I’ve missed watching Leon’s solid ball control and hockey strength. Start her for Barcenas.

5. Corley was done at the stoppage time limping around. Did the coaches not see that?? We had one sub left.

6. Overloading the MF worked great. Fazer did better with less pressure on her.

7. Praying for Ascanio’s ankle.

8. Can we play like this at home please.

I’m traveling and was only able to watch the highlights. Starting this thread to mostly get everyone’s take.

1. Looks like yet another game with them converting few and us failing to convert many.

2. Corley continues to miss giant opportunities where the only way to not score is to shoot straight at the GK by shooting straight at the GK. I’ve probably seen twelve of these by now.

3. Leon’s season debut. Go prove those haters wrong.

4. Another awful start of the second half of the season. Maybe problems with how the team spends the breaks?

1. That was a hard fought one point. KC played a better game.

2. This is it. Byars in the center. Ludmila in the wing. Ludmila is the best wing on this team. (Minus dudi)

3. Well done Byars. First time I’ve seen her get not so clean goals sliding. Two of them. She’s my Inzaghi.

4. McNabb. What a volley for the second goal. Off of her weaker foot. After Portilho shot a wide open header straight up instead of to the net.

5. Agudelo is improving fast. Is Panos much better to justify benching Agudelo and delaying her development?

6. I can’t wrap my head around Corley. How can she have such great athleticism and ball handling skills but also terrible situational awareness and finishing abilities. The first goal, she had a wide open shot and she let it go. It worked out but still. I mean I understand letting it go if I missed every chance I’ve seen in the last year and a half like she has.

7. Dali has lost a step. We love her but is this her last season at the top level?

8. Godfrey is struggling. She needs to adapt to the new level of challenge now that other teams see her as a threat. The second KC goal was from her turnover.

9. I don’t like this but I suppose we are parting with Leon.

10. I’m still processing how Barcenas and McNabb on Unlaced were talking about how they usually don’t even know who they are playing or at what time. This is in such contrast to more established leagues where athletes at least pretend like they are living their lives around their craft. Not judging. Just trying to understand where we are. Maybe this league is not quite there yet and I shouldn’t be expecting the levels of dedication? Maybe it’s a culture that takes decades to build?

Anyone know if it allows playback? Like if I get home at 6pm, can I start watching from the beginning (game starts at 5pm)?

1. What a frustrating match to watch. We missed so many opportunities and they converted two out of two. We had many of these last year. We have fewer of these this year.

2. The first goal was Agudelo’s error. Hopefully a lesson learned, she’s 19. She was going over the exact play with the coaches after the match. And for those who think she’s too short, Panos is shorter.

3. The second was like Dali forgot she was in a match for a second. Her marker was given a free pass. Dali looked off the whole match.

4. Portilho has not done a thing for us the whole season. Why is she starting.

5. Corley had a decent match. I wish she was more intelligent about when to dribble.

6. The PK. The team didn’t know who was going to take it. That was embarrassing to watch. This is on the coach. There needs to be an established order. We can’t be confused just because Dali is off the pitch. The same thing happened a few matches ago when we wasted the FK on Barcenas’ right foot.

7. Also the PK. The ref taking the extra ten seconds talking after Godfrey was set. That threw her off. Not a good enough excuse but it has an impact. The same way Mbappe missed his PK in the WC.

8. Byars looked good. Start her. Ludmila and Leon on the wings. Or Wynalda to develop her.

9. If we have Leon on the bench, she needs to be brought in in a match like this.

10. I love Armstrong but I’ve never seen this Hail Mary with her at the top paying off.

11. Van Zanten needs to think about mid range shots when there’s nothing between her and the goal. Now she’s only looking for open teammates. Practice and take mid range shots. Her almost goal was lovely. Almost.

1. Picking up 3 at home with this match that could have gone either way is huge.

2. As hard as it is to keep watching Ludmila not able to control the ball, this pattern is working for us. She exhausts the defense and then the subs like Byars and Barcenas (let’s face it she’s better as a sub) take advantage of it.

3. Starting Portilho and Barcenas over Godfrey is crazy work. Maybe Godfrey has fitness issues? I know, great goal by Barcenas (helped by the GK’s terrible positioning).

4. Great to see Wynalda’s hustle paying off. She deserved the contract extension. Godfrey’s pass was beautiful but she should have shot it directly into the open goal.

5. Also great to see Armstrong back in a new position. She’s versatile. Has the potential to become an excellent defensive MF.

6. Should have played Leon over Fazer.

7. Finally got to see Agudelo. She seems to have the athleticism to become excellent with experience. Two bad near-misses.

8. Disappointed by Corley’s lack of growth.

9. The ION commentator calling for a red on Wesley was silly. Otherwise she’s overall a good commentator.

10. This team should practice and take more mid range shots.

1. A lucky break. It was a hand ball on Barcenas.

2. Byars. Solid finish. Do we finally have a FW who can make clinical shots?

3. I like that Dali doesn’t play every minute any more, but Fazer isn’t it. She’s fundamentally lacking as a defensive MF. She loses most 50:50 balls without much fight. Learn from Godfrey. And she doesn’t look around before receiving the ball so the opponents close in on her aggressively. Easy target. Pretty basic stuff. She was a main reason why the defense fell apart near the end.

4. Two excellent saves by Haracic.

5. Dudinha connecting with Godfrey is super fun to watch.

6. Ascanio continues to improve.

7. The way we’ve been playing how are we on top? I’m a huge fan but I don’t feel we deserve it. This league is wild.

1. Excellent defense on Banda. Especially Wesley. Also MVZ. Would be nice to see that intensity in every game.

2. GK really a problem. I don’t think freeman would have stopped that either. Give Luisa a chance. Let’s also remember that Sheridan was not fast or athletic and we lost a number of matches with her bonehead mistakes.

3. Wynalda > Picket.

4. Corley played like she was just woken up from a nap. Unprofessional. Everyone was tired but everyone else at least worked hard.

5. How did we let Barcenas take that FK with her right foot???

6. We need Macario Leon and Armstrong. Too many people unfairly blame the lack of scoring last season on Leon. She would be an asset on this team.

7. These three match weeks are awful. Unfair.

1. Th

ree

1. giant misses cost us a win. Ludmila can’t use her left foot? Her time is quickly running out.

Corley

1. can’t score. She consistently chokes and shoots straight at the GK.

100% mental.

1. Byars’ last minute game winner would have been…
2. The first goal was on Haracic. The two keepers we’ve been playing don’t look good. Is Luisa worse? If so we have a problem. Give Luisa a shot.
3. The second was on Fazer. She got rare playing time and did not show the sense of urgency she should have.

And I thought Pickett was supposed to be good but her fundamentals are not there.

1. In contrast, Wynalda brings it. Start her on Sunday for moroni’s suspension. She’s a future. And her unlaced episode was fire.
2. Godfrey, Ascanio, and

Dudinha are consistently excellent. Barcenas did well on her first start of the season.
6. The yellows on Moroni and MVZ were silly. Not even a foul. All ball.
7. The crash with the GK was an unfortunate accident caused by a trip of Byars by the defender. How did Byars still get a yellow? If anything it should have been a PK (not saying it was. But closer to a PK than a Byars yellow).
8. We can be done with these 3 match weeks. Risking injuries and costing points.
9. Can’t wait for Leon, Armstrong, and Macario. What we need.

1. Congrats to Byars! First start, first goal. Long time coming, definitely worthy of celebration. I would have liked her to take the shot before passing to Ascanio. She also needs to learn to change her pace. Now she’s mostly jogging the whole time.

2. Congrats to Ascanio. She’s showing tremendous growth from last season. A bonehead by the goalie but we’ll take it.

3. It was the second clean header goal from a corner this season. We are not tall but please stop wasting corners on shorts. Kick it in and see what happens. Put more players in the box (now only 5). So many goals happen from a mess in front of the goal.

4. Excellent game by McNabb. One bad mistake in the second half but overall she’s having an excellent season.

5. Love Moroni going up against Rodman. Shutting her down. She’s great except the last 15 minutes when she gets tired and sloppy and reckless in almost every game. There was a close call for a potential penalty.

6. MVZ continues to shine. What a season for her. She should have taken the shot in the second half though!!

7. What a luxury to replace three attackers at half and continue to be equally dangerous. We are stacked. Use subs and keep them fresh.

8. Godfrey is really good. Especially in transition offense.

9. I wonder what Ludmila needs to shine. She’s working hard but not living up to her promises.

10. I love the energy Wynalda brings in. I want to see more of her.

11. #9 is wide open in this team. When is Leon coming back? Little talked about is her clean first touch and ability to be an anchor up high in the offense. That would be invaluable in this team and we haven’t had that yet this season.

12. Still early but Haracic seems to be the level of a starter of a winning team.

13. We had a few good opportunities in transition from a very low and risky buildup from our goal line. But we can skip that altogether. Too risky.

14. Washington was playing dirty. Especially the first half. Every contest involved a little push and shove that often go under the radar. The ref did a decent job calling a few of them to keep it in check. Stay classy Wave.

15. It was one of the highest level matches I’ve seen in this league. Could have gone either way. Well earned 3. Provisional #1!!

1. Freeman got tested for the first time and did not look good. She’s not at the elite level yet. Give Luisa a chance.

2. Fazer and Dali are too slow in MF. They use too many touches and stall with too few forward movements, making them easy targets for the defense. And the way Fazer lost the ball to Wilson and then just watched her score…

3. Ascanio has improved a lot. Her first touches are a thing of beauty. And she seems faster and stronger than last year.

4. I really like Ludmilla and her energy but her first touches need to get better.

5. I hope Godfrey don’t get injured after the last play of the first half. Otherwise it doesn’t make sense to pull her.

6. Byars needs to show more urgency.

7. Dudinha always brings it. She’s becoming my favorite player.

8. Mimi is doing well for a rookie. She needs to stop just watching the ball go above her though.

9. I want to see more of Wynalda.

10. Five in a row was awesome but we are not that good. A long season ahead.