Author: RJ Allen

Off the Bench with Backline Soccer: 2017, Week 8

Posted on by RJ Allen

Image Credits to Leanne Keator. 

Welcome to Week 8 of Off the Bench!

Backline Soccer Recap:

Quick Fire Week 8 Game Previews:

We have arrived at Week 8 of the NWSL season. North Carolina is still holding on to the top of the league, but Chicago has a hit their stride and is creeping up very quickly. This week’s games will be the final matches until June 17th as the USWNT will travel during the FIFA break for two friendlies against Sweden and Norway. 

Game 1: North Carolina Courage  vs. FC Kansas City 

North Carolina Courage record: 5-3-0
Position: 1st
Total Points: 15

FC Kansas City record: 3-2-2
Position: 6th
Total Points: 11

This week the Courage are looking to bounce back from losing two of their last three games. The early signs of the season saw them sitting pretty healthy on top of the standings but that has changed quite a bit in the last 2-3 weeks. North Carolina’s attack continues to be strong but they are having trouble getting past certain defenses they should be getting through. This week, that will be their biggest challenge. The FCKC defense has held their team together, so the Courage will have to continually attack. Lynn Williams works better with a partner up top, so expect the Courage to have that for her this week.

FCKC is coming off a hot game from Player of the Week, Sydney Leroux. She scored twice last week to lead them to victory. I have been talking throughout my Off the Bench pieces of Leroux either needing to find her next level or get some help up top. She was finally able to find her groove last week. FCKC will depend on her a lot this week to continue to find the chances and put the ball in the net. FCKC will also need their defense to stay in-form as they look to stave off the Courage attack.

Game 2: Washington Spirit vs. Houston Dash

Washington Spirit record: 1-5-1
Position: 10th
Total Points: 4

Houston Dash record: 2-5-0
Position: 9th
Total Points: 6

The Spirit are looking for their second win of the season this week and may just get it with the Dash in a bit of limbo. Washington has to find a way to get their complete package to show on the field. Their defense continues to have some problems leaving Steph Labbé out to dry but this may not get highlighted as much this weekend if the Dash continue to play poorly. The Spirit will need to see more production from their attack in counters and capitalize on their chances if they hope to take the three points.

The Dash will be with a new (interim) head coach this week, as previous Head Coach, Randy Waldrum, has been let go. One of the biggest problems Houston has continued to struggle with is what product they are putting on the field at any given moment. It has been hard to tell exactly what they were trying to accomplish with their personnel choices. Many of those were questionable choices from Waldrum, so we will see if Omar Morales, the interim coach, changes anything. The Dash will need to work a lot more on their defense and its formation as the Spirit are hungry for a win and will look to attack early and often. 

Game 3: Sky Blue vs. Portland Thorns

Sky Blue FC record: 4-3-1
Position: 3rd
Total Points: 13

Portland Thorns record: 3-1-3
Position: 5th
Total Points: 12

Sky Blue is coming in after a last-minute win against Orlando last week. Sky Blue will hope to see Kelley O’Hara back and will need her to help create opportunities for them to get ahead of Portland. Sky Blue has seemed to struggle a bit with consistency and the Thorns will make them pay if they are not careful. One of their biggest assets right now is surprisingly their rookie starting keeper, Kailen Sheridan. She has been key for them so far this season and has kept them ahead of level in many games already. The Thorns will attack but she should be up for the challenge. 

Portland will be hoping to see the return of Tobin Heath this week, as she was upgraded from “out” to “doubtful” last week on the injury report, but it is unlikely she will play. With her timeline still uncertain, they will need more production from their forwards. Christine Sinclair has been quiet this season for Portland, and they will need her to start finding her form in order to push for a better spot in the standings. Additionally, they will need every player to step up in order to get past a very in-form rookie in Kailen Sheridan. 

Game 4: Orlando Pride vs. Boston Breakers

Orlando Pride record: 1-3-3
Position: 8th
Total Points: 6

Boston Breakers record: 2-3-2
Position: 7th
Total Points: 8

Orlando seems to know what their issues are but they have yet to fully solve said issues. As we saw last week against Sky Blue, Orlando’s biggest enemy right now seems to be themselves. The pieces are there, the plan seems to be there, but they are struggling to see out games. In order to be successful this week against the Breakers, they must get on the board early but continue to play until the final whistle at full force to see the game through. The Pride were always going to struggle in the midfield this season, but they need more production from individual players like Kristen Edmonds, who may need to be rotated out for someone like Nickolette Driesse, to see if she can help. The surprising defensive struggles most likely stem from the lack of a quality midfield that is continuing to get hammered. The Pride attack has seemed to start leveling off but they still have work to do, particularly finishing their good chances. They are capable of beating the Breakers, but they must curb their small, dumb, mistakes, and see out the game.

The Breakers will be looking for just their third win of the season, after starting out surprisingly good. Boston has a similar struggle to Orlando, in the sense of having trouble finishing out games when they are ahead. Goalkeeper Abby Smith has been a saving grace for their team but one person is not enough to right this ship. Boston needs more and better production from both their attack and defense, to stave off Orlando’s (coming together) attack. 

Game 5: Chicago Red Stars vs. Seattle Reign

Chicago Red Stars record: 4-2-1
Position: 2nd
Total Points: 13

Seattle Reign record: 3-1-3
Position: 4th
Total Points: 12

The red-hot Red Stars will be looking to potentially take over the first spot this week if the results go their way, which is incentive to play steady against an also strong Seattle side. The Red Stars will be looking to do much of the same this week, and may potentially be able to get newly signed Yuki Nagasato some minutes. The variety of Red Stars connecting and producing goals this season will be their key in getting through Seattle’s midfield. The Chicago defense also continues to be a strength. While Seattle will prove an attacking challenge, the Red Stars should be up to the test.

Seattle, coming off a very hard-fought match against the Dash last week will have to get ahead of the Red Stars early in order to be able to compete with a strong Chicago side. Seattle has one of the best midfield and has also seemed to settle on a starting backline as well. The Reign will also see the return of Merritt Mathias this week from suspension, but I am unsure where she fits in the currently starting lineup. Laura Harvey seems to have her starting squad set and gelling in order to be quality competitors. Ultimately, the Seattle attack will need a lot of production to get past the Red Stars defense. And the defense will also have its work cut out with the Chicago attack hitting their stride as well. 

The Scouting Report:

We went live on Monday night with our Week 7 TSR, recapping all of the NWSL games from the weekend. A reminder that you can catch TSR live every Monday night at 8pm EST on our YouTube channel. And make sure to follow the podcast on Twitter @ScoutingPodcast. 

In case you missed this week’s episode, catch up here:

https://www.spreaker.com/user/brewsports/the-scouting-report-season-5-week-7

As always, comments and feedback are appreciated. You can also find me on Twitter. Come back next week for the next edition of Off the Bench!

The Furt and the Fabulous: Episode 2

Posted on by RJ Allen

I am back with my recurring series of The Furt and the Fabulous. A look at the best and worst of the week. Let’s dig in.

The Furt

The Refs Need to be Better

The NWSL had had an issue with consistent officiating since the league started. Lately, it seems that games will either have five yellows and a red card or no cards at all. The inconsistency between games leads to constant questioning of what will and won’t be called between games.

And yellow cards seem to just be out of control so far this season. Boston already has 12 of them. North Carolina has 9 while Sky Blue, Washington, and Seattle each have 8. Chicago, Portland, and Orlando each have 7 while Houston has 6 and FCKC has only 4. That is 76 yellow cards in Week 7. I’m not saying they were all bad calls. Some of those cards were well deserved. But some of them, a good number of them, were due to the refs failing to control the game from the start, and needing to impose order later on. 

We can only hope going forward that the refs start gaining more control in games and are more consistent between games. Though pigs may fly first.

Texas is Too Damn Hot

The clip above is Rachel Daly going down after playing 90+ minutes in the 90 degree+ heat of Texas in the middle of the day.

This game shouldn’t have happened.

There was a backup game for Lifetime to swap to if they wanted to keep their 4 pm ET slot. They could have switched to North Carolina at Chicago, a game that featured some great soccer. It would have been a little annoying I’m sure to swap to that game and move the Dash game against Seattle later in the day. But it should have happened. For the safety of the players and the fans.

It should have happened because we know what happens to the human body when you run for 90 minutes in 90+ heat and nearly 100% humidity. We know what happens when players play in that sort of heat and what the lasting effects on their bodies and the game are. The league, Lifetime, the players themselves all knew this game should have been moved. But the new TV deal superseded player safety. Something that should never, ever happen.

Let’s hope that the league looks at this carefully and it doesn’t take Christen Press passing out after a game in Orlando or Alex Morgan returning back to the league and heading to Orlando just to get heat stroke from a 4 pm kickoff to change things.

The Fabulous

Sauerbrunn Scored, Angels Sung

When Becky Sauerbrunn scores angels get their wings. It’s something that doesn’t happen very often but when it does it’s accompanied by her trademark jumping up and down and the whole team swarming her in celebration.

There are defenders that get in on the scoring action more the others. But Sauerbrunn is usually worried about holding back and cleaning up after other’s mistakes. But now and then on a set-piece, she’s able to rise up and strike gold.

Sauerbrunn is so good even the person marking her had to admit how good she is.

Sheridan is a Beast

Sheridan has been so good I’m giving her two gifs.

Just voted to the Best XI for May, Sheridan is having quite the rookie season. So far she has started all of the games in goal for Sky Blue. The Canadian International has 33 saves, most in the NWSL right now, in 8 games, playing all 720 minutes.

It’s not just the saves she’s making that has Sheridan standing out. She is playing with a confidence that goalkeepers work years on building up. Handling her backline and working on the finer points of professional goalkeeping … well, she might be a rookie, but she knows how to manage and organize her defense, something Sky Blue has needed over the past few seasons. For all the talk of who might or might not be Rookie of the Year, personally, I think as of now Sheridan might be Goalkeeper of the Year.

The Unused Sub: Actually, The Dash Can Figure This Out

Posted on by RJ Allen

How was your Memorial Day weekend? I spent one evening watching two movies, Independence Day: Resurgence and Suicide Squad. Yep, they were bad.

SO ABOUT THE HOUSTON DASH
And so we have our first coaching change in the 2017 NWSL season. Randy Waldrum was relieved of his duties as head coach of the Houston Dash. It’s no surprise to anyone, as he had to get the Dash screaming out of the gate, collecting wins, and failed to do so. No one is going to dispute his soccer acumen at the college level, but for whatever reason, his coaching skills did not translate into results at the professional level. Will the Dash, as they’re currently constructed, respond better to a different voice, whoever that new voice is? One could say well they can’t do any worse than where they are now. It probably is an unenviable task to be the head coach of the Houston Dash for the rest of the season and possibly beyond.

However, it could also be a welcome, if not fun challenge.

You can make the point that the Houston Dash plan never got off the drawing board from the first season. So what is the harm in not only erasing that drawing board, but outright smashing it into oblivion? There is talent on that team in Kealia Ohai, Rachel Daly, and Amber Brooks. Don’t get me wrong, whoever is the next (permanent) head coach will have their work cut out. The turnaround isn’t happening this season, but if the new coach has a vision that is enough of a breath of fresh air to the current players, then whatever the vision of what Houston Dash soccer is supposed to be, will finally materialize.

One last thing related to the Houston Dash, I do hope all is well with Rachel Daly. We all saw the scare at the end of last weekend’s match between the Dash and Seattle Reign FC, where she collapsed due to heat exhaustion. The one thing we knocked on all pieces of wood on, hoping wouldn’t happen with these unwise mid-day kickoffs in places that are simply hot, happened. The league and Lifetime Networks got rightfully lambasted for it and we’ll just have to wait and see if they do plan to move kickoff times earlier or later in places where mid-day temperatures are at a level where the numbers don’t matter – it’s just too hot.

So yeah, again, hope all is well with Rachel Daly. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen to any other player in the league this season.

THESE ROOKIES CAME TO PLAY
So we all went into this season with hype on Boston Breakers midfielder Rose Lavelle as likely an NWSL Rookie of the Year candidate, and so far she is living up to the fanfare of being the 1st overall draft pick. Who else is making noise so far? I think it’s Sky Blue FC goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan and Seattle Reign FC forward Katie Johnson. No one is doubting that Sheridan owns the real estate between the posts for Sky Blue. As for Johnson, it’s simply this – when she enters the game for Seattle, things happen. These three are showing they damn sure can play in this league and this could be a fun race to watch the rest of the season.

3 FOR 5 IN LAST WEEK’S PREDICTIONS
Let’s see how I do with this week’s predictions.

  • North Carolina Courage and FC Kansas City play to a DRAW.
  • Washington Spirit OVER Houston Dash.
  • Sky Blue FC OVER Portland Thorns FC.
  • Orlando Pride and Boston Breakers play to a DRAW.
  • Seattle Reign FC OVER Chicago Red Stars.

And yes I am aware that last prediction is likely going to draw the ire of my Backline Soccer colleague Sandra Herrera, but hey – YOLO!

Here’s this week’s music video break.

Song: Land Of The Free | Artist: Joey Bada$$

Unsung Hero of the Week: Reliable Raso in the Rose City

Posted on by RJ Allen

In this weekly series, I will be highlighting a player from the weekend who was their respective team’s unsung hero, win or lose. A player who does the dirty work, does the little but important things in a game and someone who didn’t exactly fill up the stat sheet but found other ways to contribute.

This week I’ve chosen Portland Thorn FC forward Hayley Raso.

The 22-year-old Australian is with her second NWSL club, playing for the Washington Spirit in 2015 and with the Thorns since 2016. Raso has proven to be a dynamic player, one who can be utilized as both forward and midfield for club and country. She has already made 21 appearances for Portland and in each one, she has been a steady and reliable player.

Portland 2-0 Boston

Having just faced off nine days previously (ending in 2-2 draw), these teams were already somewhat familiar with each other. Portland wasted no time in getting on the board and taking control of the game. An unfortunate own goal in the first minute by Boston’s Julie King gave the Thorns the early and unexpected lead.

Raso’s first major contribution came at the five-minute mark; as the Breakers were attempting to gain possession, she intercepted a pass at midfield and it it landed at the feet of Amandine Henry. The French playmaker looked around to pass but inevitably chose to take it herself and 20 yards out ripped a low shot to the right corner. It reminded me of how my old club coach would say “accuracy over power.” Henry did just that and it was somehow only her first goal as a Portland Thorn in 16 games.

The play started with the hustle and individual effort by Raso to win the ball. Portland quickly reaped the benefits of that kind of play, grabbing a two-goal lead at Providence Park. Anyone who knows anything about the NWSL, knows that when Portland get a comfortable lead at home, well, it’s almost impossible to come back and get any points in that kind of atmosphere. Raso and Henry gave the Thorns all they needed for the win on Saturday afternoon.

Throughout the game, I noticed Raso’s ability to win free kicks for her team, the first coming in the 10th minute. Raso dug her heels in to do a bit of defensive work and it paid off. She and Christine Sinclair doubled-teamed a Breaker on the sideline in Portland’s half and Raso came away with the free kick. It looked like a reminder to the opponent that even though Portland was winning, they wanted more and were working hard to show that.

Just one minute later, Raso would be at it again; this time it was just her and King fighting for the ball in Boston’s end. Raso got on the end of a Nadia Nadim ball and she tussled with Boston’s captain for a few seconds before Raso earned yet another free kick for her club, one in a more dangerous spot. While nothing came out of it, once again, Raso showed why she has earned a starting spot for Portland so far this season. Her energy and constant mobility remind me of a certain FCKC forward who is currently out of commission this season (Amy Rodriguez).

Raso could not be contained, this time making her presence known in the 17th minute. The Aussie made an identical run with Sinclair into the box, somehow getting in behind the backline of Boston for an impressive step-by-step play. Sinclair opted to take the shot, which just went wide, but I thought Sinclair should’ve passed to the open Raso. She made a lovely run to make herself available but the pass never came. Nonetheless, Raso had great movement throughout the whole play to present Portland with a serious opportunity.

Continuing her strong first half, Raso finally found some serious real estate in front of her in the 24th minute. Guided by an outlet pass from Portland’s own 18-yard-box thanks to the pinpoint service from Nadim, Raso was off to the races, competing against Boston’s Emilie Haavi for possession. Raso took it wide, took heavy contact from Haavi and I’m sure you guessed it … earned another free kick.

Once again, the Thorns failed to capitalize on it but it’s a perfect example of how Raso does in 1v1 situations and her vision to take it wide knowing she needed to wait a few more seconds for her teammates. Due to the foul, she never got the chance to get service into the box but getting that set piece was just as important.

One last example of how well Raso played this past weekend was in the 75th minute. The Thorns won a ball 20 yards out and two seconds later Raso sent a perfect pass to Lindsey Horan who had snuck inside the box. Horan would’ve had the shot, but Allie Long was making the same run from across the box so they collided and the play went dead.

Raso was making these small but important plays all game for Portland. She was one of the most active players on both sides of the ball. It didn’t have the outcomes they wanted (like goals or assists), but her liveliness and effort didn’t go unnoticed. The more I watch her play, the more I want to see her on the field for Portland when available. She is young and extremely talented and has proven how useful she can be.

Route Two Soccer – Orlando is Making Progress

Posted on by RJ Allen

When the news came on Monday that Houston and Randy Waldrum had parted ways, it felt like a logical move. The calls for his dismissal had grown louder (including a long Twitter rant from yours truly last week), and it was increasingly hard to see a path forward for the team under Waldrum.

The question now is whether any of the other NWSL stragglers might soon find themselves in the same position. And the name that tends to dominate those conversations is Tom Sermanni. Like Houston, Orlando is an expansion team. And like Waldrum, Sermanni is a highly regarded coach who will probably get some cushion. That said, it’s hard to imagine Orlando giving him the same kind of extended leash that was handed to Waldrum. They did not sign Marta in order to have her languish at the bottom of the league all season.

At the moment, Orlando sit in 8th place with six points from seven games. That is not good, but in a league with this sort of parity, it also means they’re only a couple strong results away from being back in the thick of the playoff race. So while you never want to ignore the table, the question is less about results per se and more: “are they making progress?”

And on that front, my answer is a (tentative) yes. Orlando haven’t fixed their problems, but they do seem to be moving in the right direction.

Orlando’s weaknesses

In order to make that case, I want to first diagnose what I see as Orlando three main weaknesses, in order to clarify how they’re trying to resolve these problems.

  1. The midfield (or lack thereof)

This is, by far, the biggest problem for Orlando – something that was readily apparent before the season started, and which remains just as clear today. The Pride have plenty of useful players in the midfield–who can pass the ball reasonably well, who are somewhat mobile, with some decent defensive skill. But there aren’t really any standouts.

At times, Camila has looked like an exception—willing to take on defenders, and demonstrating some flashes of brilliance. But she is also prone to mistakes and doesn’t really have the cool, calm sort of ball control needed to keep the engine humming. And Kristen Edmonds was excellent in 2016 but was probably playing at her peak then, so it is no surprise to see her drift back into merely being a solid contributor. Combine these with Maddy Evans, Dani Weatherholt, and Monica, and you have a nice set of complementary parts but no one to tie it all together.

This isn’t necessary a death knell. It’s possible to cobble together a workable midfield from less, but it takes some real doing. And it’s a problem Orlando hasn’t solved yet.

  1. Finishing

On the whole, finishing tends to even out. Create enough chances, and the goals will follow. It can be frustrating to watch a team unable to convert, but over the long haul, if you’re giving your strikers opportunities, the results will follow. But Orlando are really putting that maxim to the test this year. We don’t have the sort of advanced statistics necessary to really compare teams, but my gut tells me that Orlando has one of the worst Goals vs. Expected Goals ratios in the league. The chances have been there; the finishing has not.

It’s possible that’s simply bad luck. But it’s also possible that it’s a problem of roster construction. After all, look at the teamsheet and you’ll find a group of forwards with immense skill and physical ability, who nevertheless haven’t been able to really make it stick at this level. Chioma Ubogagu, Jasmyne Spencer, Jamia Fields, Danica Evans … this is a Who’s Who of talented players who haven’t quite been able to put it all together yet.

You can’t help but wonder, therefore, whether Orlando might be in much better position if Alex Morgan hadn’t spent the last two months in France. Turn just a couple of those frustrating misses into goals, and Orlando could easily be sitting on 10 or 11 points and the season would feel a lot different.

  1. The defense

Going into the year, the backline was supposed to be Orlando’s greatest strength. Filled with top level internationals like Steph Catley, Alanna Kennedy, Ali Krieger, and Laura Alleway, this was expected to be the foundation stone upon which the team could build. But so far, it’s looked anything but solid. Orlando has yet to produce a clean sheet and has conceded 11 goals. Only Houston and Washington have let in more.

Stalwart defenders like Krieger and Alleway have looked shaky at times. Kennedy sometimes appears stuck in second gear. And even Catley—one of the world’s best fullbacks—has been below her normal level. In fact, their best defender so far has probably been Toni Pressley—who wasn’t even penciled in as a starter two months ago.

Addressing the weaknesses, or: Why on earth are they playing a 4-3-3?

These problems are real – especially the first two – and they are why I never really bought the idea that Orlando was a playoff challenger going into the season.

Still, every team in the league has weaknesses. The question is how they manage them. And this is where the questions about Sermanni really come to a head. Because he seems to be, somewhat inexplicably, committed to playing an attacking 4-3-3.

The exact composition has shifted a lot, but the preferred midfield trio seems to be Monica, Edmonds, and Camila. In the attack, things have been even more fluid, with the only constant presence being Marta. But their talisman has been shifted all across the frontline, playing everything from inside forward to winger to central striker to a traditional Number 10 role. You get the sense, actually, that Sermanni is just giving everything a try, hoping to figure out which role will give Marta the greatest chance to influence games and to figure out which players serve as the most useful complements to their new star.

But this can feel at times like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. No matter how you set up Marta, there are structural limits to what they can get out of a 4-3-3, with this sort of personnel. Given the intrinsic weakness of the midfield, it feels borderline malpractice to set them up with a numerical deficiency like this. Time after time, Orlando has struggled to keep a grip on the game, while teams with four and five players in the midfield have swarmed them defensively and run right through them in the attack.

And losing the battle in the middle of the pitch has knock-on effects everywhere else. Indeed, if you want an explanation for Orlando’s defensive woes, this is the first place to look. I tweeted a couple examples of the problem last week:

 

Defense is a team effort. The pocket of space between the back four and the midfield is arguably the single most important zone on the pitch. Good attackers make their living by moving in and out of that space. If the defense stays put, you are free to operate at will. If they come out, it creates holes into which your teammates can move. Good defensive teams are good because they manage this space well. And with Orlando’s 4-3-3, they simply haven’t been able to do that this year.

Sky Blue 2 – 1 Orlando: Another frustrating result

We saw all this playing out again this week, as Orlando suffered another frustrating defeat away at Sky Blue. Watch Sky Blue’s first goal, for example, and it’s clear that it stems from a lack of numbers in the midfield. A poor touch sends the ball loose and neither Edmonds nor Camila have the requisite skill or strength to recover it. Then, once the ball is lost, there’s no support behind them, and Sky Blue has numbers in transition. Just a few seconds later, the ball is in the net and Orlando’s lead is gone.

Or: watch from 37:00 to about 38:15, and you’ll see Orlando’s defenders calmly passing the ball back and forth with their keeper while Sky Blue sits and watches. It’s almost a caricature of soccer (as in the classic Simpsons episode). Literally nothing happens because Orlando’s midfielders runners … well … aren’t, and there’s nowhere for the ball to go. It’s a stagnant offense and Sky Blue is justifiably willing to let them pass it horizontally.

So there are still real problems here.

Signs of life, or: Maybe the 4-3-3 can work after all?

However, for all that the 4-3-3 feels like an error, there are ways to compensate.

Your best hope is to develop a support structure that links together the midfield with the attacking trio. For example, as I wrote when discussing Houston a few weeks ago, the 4-3-3 is a very close cousin of the 4-2-3-1, when your wingers drop into the midfield without the ball, the transition can be almost seamless. Alternatively, if your central striker is a good playmaker, she can drop into the midfield and create a de facto 4-4-2 diamond. This is something that you see a lot from Christine Sinclair, who lets her flanking strikers pinch in as she drops back to receive the ball, giving her excellent angles to distribute the ball sideways to the overlapping fullbacks.

The problem for Orlando has been a lack of clarity on how they’re trying to compensate. But increasingly it seems that the most effective setup is to deploy Marta centrally, allowing her the freedom to roam in the empty expanses of the middle of the pitch. Rather than looking to work a bunch of clever midfield triangles, Orlando seems to be moving toward a version of the 4-3-3 that more closely resembles a coiled spring. Hold the ball patiently at the back, work it to the sides, and then pounce when the opportunity arises.

It’s by no means ticking along perfectly yet, but this is a viable model for the Pride. And it represents a somewhat clever inversion of the conventional wisdom. As I said, when I looked at this team in the first month of the season, it seemed crazy to stick with a midfield three when this was already a point of weakness. It was doubling down on a problem.

But in a certain sense, it actually makes a lot of sense. Orlando simply isn’t going to win a pitched midfield battle, no matter how they set themselves up. So rather than tilting at windmills, they’re looking to capitalize on their great comparative advantage: Marta. Yes, she’s not (quite) as good as she was five or six years ago. But she is still one of the best players in the world and is particularly good at holding the ball under pressure, wriggling out from double and triple teams, splitting defenses, and picking out open teammates on the run.

In this iteration of Orlando’s 4-3-3, she’s finally been given the freedom to play that role to the hilt. The goal is now quite simple: get Marta the ball 40-50 yards out, force the defense to converge on her, and let the rest of the attack build out from there. This setup lets the midfield hang further back, and provide a bit more defensive cover while trusting the fullbacks to shoulder more of the burden in linking play going forward.

And if you go back to that section I mentioned above, from the 38th minute, where Orlando shuffled the ball around aimlessly with no outlets, you can see precisely how this is all supposed to work. Because yes, that minute was terrible, but look what happens right after. At 38:19, Krieger plays a long ball forward, which draws Freeman out from the Sky Blue backline. When the ball falls in behind her, Freeman’s step forward creates space for Marta to move into. She takes the ball, evades a tackle, and crashes into the box. A nice recovery from Killion snuffs out the attack before she can shoot, but the movement here is a good sign.

Sermanni has a plan – it’s worth giving him time to see it out

Orlando remains very much a work in progress. And the glimmers of hope I have discussed here are just that: glimmers. Things may very well not work out. Orlando has a lot of talent on their roster, but so does every team in the league. Even if they play reasonably well going forward, they could easily still end up finishing 7th or 8th. But the crucial difference between Orlando and Houston is that the Pride can tell a coherent story about how they are improving and what success will look like.

Ultimately, it wasn’t the results per se that necessitated Waldrum’s dismissal. It was the realization that the team was at best just treading water. For whatever reason, Waldrum wasn’t able to acknowledge and/or address the clear shortcomings of his team. The same does not appear to be true for Sermanni. His approach won’t succeed. But he does have an approach. And in my opinion, he deserves the time to see it through.

The Excused Absence

Posted on by RJ Allen

If you’re even just a casual NWSL fan, you’ll notice that every now and again, a player isn’t on the game-day lineup.  Not for injury, at least not that you’re aware of, and not for a disciplinary reason as far as you can remember (and in my experience, red cards tend to stick out in your memory).

But if you’re a die-hard NWSL fan, the kind who can remember off the top of their head just how many yellows a favorite player is sitting on heading into the upcoming week, you’ll probably notice the “Excused Absence” designation that’s popped up on Weekly Injury Reports this season.

The new addition to the report this year came at the behest of the NWSL’s Media Association, who asked for some sort of clarification on player absences when not out for an injury or illness. But what this additional information has done is highlighted an interesting element of NWSL play and player management this season. And so I’d like to take some time to talk about Excused Absences, the NWSL, and professional sports in general.

Those who have been around the NWSL since at least the end of the third season, after the US players rejoined their teams riding their World Cup glory, might remember a bit of drama in the 2015 post-season, when fan-favorite Ali Krieger decided to attend her father’s wedding instead of playing in Washington’s semi-final against the Seattle Reign. Krieger took a lot of heat from league fans for choosing to put her family above her team, and eventually put out a heartfelt message on her website, where she shared her regret that she couldn’t be in two places at once.

My family has come second to football for many, many years and I feel that in my heart it was time I put them first. I would regret not being there for the rest of my life, and I’m extremely happy to be in my Dad’s wedding. I have full confidence in my teammates and I can’t wait to congratulate them in person when they return to DC.

I honestly hadn’t thought of Krieger’s absence since that day, until I noticed, and kept noticing, the Excused Absence qualifiers on the weekly injury reports this season. Some teams offered additional information, revealing that a player was away to attend an award ceremony in her home country (Sam Kerr, Week 3), or graduate from college (Raquel Rodriguez, Week 4). Others were to take an entrance exam for medical school (Daphne Corboz, Week 4) or to attend a family wedding (Kelley O’Hara, Week 5). Still others offered no other information, just that a player would not be in attendance for the week’s game and that it was not due to any injury, illness, or discipline.

(And then there was Carli Lloyd’s entire 2016 season, which seemed to be one gigantic excused absence, at least as far as the people who love to hate her and those who hate to love her saw it.)

To be fair, I probably wouldn’t have paid attention if not for a few players I enjoy watching week to week appearing on the list as excused. But it got me thinking and it made me wonder, what is the effect of these Excused Absences on the league? Does the Excused Absence policy (is there one?) negatively impact or affect the NWSL? Either the play and performance of teams and players, or the perception of the league by others?

Because here’s what my first and initial thought about Excused Absences was:

Excusing players to attend a wedding, to take an exam, etc, reflects and affirms the opinion of those outside the sport who feel that a women’s soccer league is not something to be taken seriously. 

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not judging individual players for their non-soccer priorities or family commitments. But I do wonder how the NWSL looks in comparison to other sports–women’s and men’s leagues–where this is concerned.

So, after an entirely non-scientific research process, here’s what I found for “Excused Absence” across the American professional sports landscape.

NFL

Players in the NFL have been listed with “Excused Absences,” yes, but how, and for what, and when, reveals a marked difference from the NWSL. In most cases I came across, players had received an excused absence from a training camp, practice, or exhibition game.

In 2016, Tom Brady was excused from a pre-season game in order to attend memorial services for a family member (he was allowed to play in pre-season games before having to serve a multiple game suspension beginning Opening Weekend of the regular season). Doug Martin was given an excused absence from practice the same year, but this was in anticipation of being disciplined for violating the league’s drug policy.

Kayvon Webster was excused from practice in 2014 for a personal family matter, CJ Spiller from a pre-season game in 2013 after his step-grandfather shot four people and killed two, and then himself. That same year, Riley Cooper was given an “excused absence” to seek counseling after making a racial slur, and Brandon Marshall was excused from four days of camp in the pre-season for a previously scheduled follow-up appointment regarding surgery he’d had earlier that year.

In the case of the NFL, an excused absence is sometimes given, but in cases where the stakes are not particularly high. A pre-season game that means little for the outcome of the season, a day or two of practice, or a late arrival to a weeks-long pre-season training camp.

 

NBA

In the NBA, excused absences aren’t infrequent, but there aren’t many either. In 2017 Ricky Rubio has been excused for “personal reasons” no details provided. In 2016, LaMarcus Aldridge was given an excused absence from a pre-season game to receive a Hall of Honor award from his college, while long-time player Udonis Haslem received one so he could see his son play in a state football final. Kemba Walker was given an excused absence from a December game “to tend to a personal matter,” and Lou Williams was excused from a practice late in the year.

2014 saw Tony Parker excused from the start of preseason camp to recover after a long flight home from France and a delayed flight in Chicago. Before that, excused absences included Derrick Rose, excused from an in-season practice for personal reasons (2011);  Delonte West, excused from a pre-season match-up to “handle personal business” that some suggest was related to “mental sickness and legal troubles” (2009); and Shawn Kemp, listed with an excused absence in 2001, just prior to checking into a drug rehabilitation program.

Unlike the NFL, the NBA (and several other sports leagues) has a number of international players who compete for their national teams, as well as some players (domestic or international) who join leagues overseas during the off-season. In some cases, these players are given excused absences to accommodate their time away or even just to help account for recovery time after long and tiring travel. But like the NFL, the NBA’s absences, in the majority of the cases I came across, were for non-competitive events. Players were excused from camps, practices, or pre-season games for the most part, and only rarely from in-season games.

 

NHL

As for the NHL, the excused absences include Kyle Okposo’s 2017 absence from practice the day after the All-Star game, Robin Lehner, who was excused from a Friday practice before starting in his third straight game, and Anders Nilsson, who was excused from a practice in order to travel back from Sweden where he was tending to a personal matter.

In 2016, nine members of the Detroit Red Wings were excused from training camp for national team duties at the World Cup that year, and in 2012, three players on the Capitals were excused from practice sessions in order to “avoid overtaxing them” during one of the busier parts of the season. One of those three, Alex Ovechkin, was “given the day off” in 2009, after suffering a big hit during a game the day before, though reports stressed that the two factors were unrelated.

The situation for the NHL is fairly similar to the NBA, though I saw more instances of players being given excused absences for recovery or rest during the season in this league. Or, at least, an openness to admitting that this is what the excused absences were for. And, like the NBA, the NHL has an 82-game regular season. That’s 82 games per team per season. By comparison, the NFL’s regular season is only 16 games, and missing one means missing a sixteenth (6.25%) of the season. Missing a single game of the NBA or NHL? Less than 1.5% of the total games. So it’s a little easier to see why a player might be granted an excused absence from an in-season game. He’s got 81 others to play.

 

MLB

Probably the most interesting excused absence I’ve seen reported is that of Leonys Martin in 2017, who was allowed to report late to training camp after being called to testify in a federal criminal conspiracy and alien smuggling trial.  This same year, Dellin Betances was designated as having an excused absence from training camp until a contract dispute was successfully arbitrated.

In 2016, Chase Headley was given an unexpected excused absence to attend to his family after complications in his son’s surgery necessitated further medical intervention, and Aroldis Chapman missed two days of spring training for a family matter, which was suspected to be related to an investigation into accusations of domestic violence. Then, in 2007, Barry Bonds was given three days off during spring training to return home and spend time with his family. That same year, Manny Ramirez was allowed to report late to training, possibly to attend to a sick mother. Ramirez was also given an excused absence to miss his first game with the Red Sox in the 2004 season when he returned to Miami to become a citizen of the United States.  As the team’s manager said at the time, “If he didn’t do it today, we’re not talking about (a delay of) weeks or months. It’s like, maybe, a year.”

But remember how many games the NBA and NHL play a season? MLB players have twice that. The MLB season is 162 games long. Missing a day of training camp, a practice, or even a single game for a personal reason? In total it counts for a tiny fraction of their contractual commitments.

Most notably, MLB offers its players a three-day excused paternity leave for the birth of a child. To date, it’s the only men’s professional league in the States to have that built into the players’ CBA; in the NFL, NBA, and NHL, the decision to excuse a player for the birth of a child is made on a team by team, and case by case, basis. (The league also has an official bereavement list as well, for when a player’s spouse or an immediate family member has a serious illness or passes away.) A player on paternity leave can request between one and three consecutive days away when placed on the paternity list, and many have utilized the benefit since its inception. The policy probably came to the notice of the general public when, in 2014, Daniel Murphy (NY Mets) missed the first two games of the season in order to see his first child born. He was widely criticized by sports radio hosts and others, but received the support of his teammates, his front office, and the league for his decision.

 

MLS

Finally, at least for the men’s leagues, there’s the MLS.  Kei Kamara began 2016 with an excused absence from the start of training camp, but while the team cited his family as the reason for the delayed arrival, others suspected a budding contract dispute might be the real reason. In 2015, Kenny Coopers had a similar excused absence from his team, missing the first four weeks of training “with what was described as an ‘excused absence.” He was then waived by the team, however, suggesting that in this case, “excused absence” was code for the contract dispute he was engaged in with the team at the time.

In 2014, Matt Pickens was excused from a portion of preseason to try out for another team, after an injury in 2013 saw his starting spot go to Clint Irwin. Obafemi Martins was excused from practice in 2013 in order to deal with a family matter; this came after he’d been given a longer (and excused) break mid-season in recognition of his play in Europe before the season started and his efforts in recent practices and games. Before that, in 2012, Javier Morales received an excused absence for the birth of his second son. Like most of the American athletic leagues, the MLS does not have a paternity leave policy, and decisions are left up to individual clubs.

2011 saw Real Salt Lake excuse absences for three players to join national teams before international matches. The players missed part of a pre-season trip to Phoenix where the team was scheduled to play a few matches. The February 9th games were official FIFA friendlies, and players were required to be released by their clubs for 48 hours according to the International Match Calendar policy. That same year, David Beckham was excused by his club in Week 10 of the season for Gary Neville’s testimonial match, a decision which saw no small amount of criticism from fans and sportswriters. This absence came after Beckham missed portions of preseason and left the club in order to attend the wedding of Prince William. Steve Davis suggested in a Sports Illustrated article, in fact, that Beckham’s absence, and the team’s acquiescence to Beckham’s requests, was “alerting the world that MLS is just a little plaything, not a competition to be taken seriously.”

But men’s leagues aren’t the only professional sports organizations, and so I looked into the women’s side as well.

Okay, to be honest, I looked, but the NWHL is only in its second year and I didn’t find anything for them. The NWSL is the league that prompted this article, and so I don’t need to list it again, which … thanks to the dearth of professional women’s athletic leagues in the US … leaves me with the WNBA.

 

WNBA

From what I’ve seen, in 2011, Monica Wright was given an excused absence from a game for a family emergency (no additional details were given). Nakia Sanford had an excused absence from a “Bowling with the Mystics” team event in 2007 after taking “an elbow to the mouth during practice earlier in the day.” (Yes, not exactly the kind of excused absence I mean to talk about, but it’s not like there were tons from me to choose from in the WNBA–more on that later.)

Then, in 2006, Tanisha Wright was given an excused absence from a practice in order to attend her graduation ceremony from Penn State, and Janeth Arcain was excused from most of preseason camp each season from 1998-2001. The reason? The Brazilian national team player also plays professionally in her home country, and the seasons overlap each other.

Now, unlike their male counterpart, the WNBA only plays 34 regular season games. (The NWSL, at least this season, plays 22). But you might notice two things from the WNBA list above. First, excused absences seem more limited than the male leagues–and this might be because missing even a single game is a bigger issue in leagues with shorter seasons. And second, most of the links for the WNBA information came not from team releases or sports journalists, but blogs. But don’t get me started on the absence of women’s athletics and performances in sports journalism. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

 

So, you might be wondering why I put you through that summary of excused absences across the professional sports leagues in America.

(And before I explain, I need to point out the obvious flaws in my “research,” such that it was–I didn’t bother to look up how each league or team defined “excused absence.” I literally just did google searches for “[League Abbreviation] and ‘excused absence,'” which doesn’t even pass the lowest test of academic rigor. And when the results appeared, I only looked as far as–maybe–page three. So it’s not a comprehensive survey, sure, but I think I found enough to be able to make some speculative conclusions. Still, if you object to my research process, feel free to report me to the official department of Who Gives a Fuck; I’m sure you have them on speed-dial.)

Let me be the first to assure you that it’s not because I want to shame the players in the NWSL for their absences. I’m also not here to commiserate that you bought a ticket to a game just to see Christine Nairn and she wasn’t with the team that day. I’m not here to entertain complaints about Alex Morgan being your favorite player and travelling all the way to Orlando to see Alex Morgan play and Alex Morgan being away from the team because her grandma broke her hip or something (Alex Morgan’s grandmother is fine, to my knowledge, please don’t ask me about Alex Morgan’s grandmother). And honestly, I don’t care if Daphne Corboz took the MCAT or if Kelley O’Hara went to a cousin’s wedding (okay, I care enough to hope that Corboz did well and that O’Hara danced the funky chicken, obviously) but my interest in talking about this is not about individual players and instead about perception and progress.

My first question is whether absences suggest to the outside world that the NWSL doesn’t have to be taken seriously because it doesn’t take itself seriously. (A question akin to Steve Davis’ worry over Beckham in 2011.)

In the NFL, player absences are so rare because each game counts. When you only have 16 chances to climb to the top of the standings, every game means something. Writing in the aftermath of the Daniel Murphy/Boomer Esiason MLB paternity blow-out in 2014, a columnist at XOJane wrote that

I can’t imagine a single situation in which a starting player would voluntarily miss an NFL game. With only 16 regular season games, there’s too much on the line. One loss can mean a team misses the playoffs. And with pro careers that only last an average of three years, that’s just not a risk I can imagine any of those guys taking.

Even missing practice, for most in the NFL would be verboten. Because practice is where you make your case to be out there under the lights on game day. And there are so few opportunities to make it to the top. In 2016, Ben Roethlisberger took a few days away from practice during the week for the birth of his third child, and Landry Jones got to step into the coveted role of “first-team QB” for a little while, just long enough to get a feel for the position he’s been working toward his entire life. The next week, when Landry’s own wife gave birth, he took a few hours, his wife reportedly telling him not to miss a day of practice. Rookie QB Cardale Jones almost missed the birth of his child in 2016; he was literally on his way to practice when coach Rex Ryan told him to go back, that he’d regret missing the birth for the rest of his life.

By in comparison, in a season only six games longer than the NFL’s, what does it say to miss a practice? To miss a game? If the NWSL and its players want the sport to be taken seriously–as it should be–by fans, by non-fans, by the general public? When you’ve got players in the NFL literally missing the births of children just for the chance to make an impression in a mid-week practice, what does it say about the NWSL’s intensity, it’s drive, to release players from their duties seemingly so easily?

But.

But. But.

On the other hand.

What if it’s not about the number of games at all? What if it’s not about intensity or drive or any of that.

What if it’s about the players? About a change in the culture of American sports franchises?

In 2011, the MLB Players Association negotiated a collective bargaining agreement that included paternity leave.

Paternity leave.

For baseball players.

In a nation known for being one of the worst for paid maternity leave for new mothers.

And I’m not slamming the baseball players or the MLBPA (get it, slamming them). I think it’s great.

Even more than great, maybe it’s a sign of a more progressive sports league, of a more humanitarian, person-centered approach to the management of players and teams. MLB’s policy reminds fans and foes alike that at the end of the day, the players and their well-rounded lives are a priority.

Yes, it may be easier to accomplish with a sport that seems to play more games than there are days in the season (or actually do, I’m tired of Googling at the moment and that seems like it might involve more math than I’m comfortable with) but, also, maybe it’s just worth it?

The NBA renegotiated their CBA in late-2016, and it doesn’t appear that something like paternity leave was on the players’ radar, or at least not an issue with enough support to make it to the negotiating table. The NFL and NHL’s current CBAs are scheduled to expire in 2020/2021, so between now and then, they, too, could see a more person-focused CBA.

In the meantime, as far as the NWSL is concerned, (on a team-by-team, player-by-player basis, anyway), the off-the-pitch development and priorities of its players seem to be recognized as important and essential elements of their talent management protocols.

So, in the end, I’m still left with questions. Is this a good thing for the NWSL? Or does it do more harm to teams and the league than is worth standing for?

Honestly, I don’t know.

What I do know is that I’m afraid it does more harm than good.

And maybe that’s something to think about?

6 Takeaways from NWSL: Week 7

Posted on by RJ Allen

Week 7 of the NWSL regular season has passed us by. It was a rough week for almost all, whether due to a mid-week match, unfavorable weather, or injuries, but it was also a week of some damn good soccer. And, it seems there’s a line beginning to emerge between the top and bottom of the table, as some teams start to rack up points and begin to breakaway from the pack. So, let’s get right down to it, and give you our Week 7 takeaways. 

Marta (or Alex Morgan for that matter) Won’t Fix Orlando’s Problems – Luis Hernandez 

The Orlando Pride increased its on-the-road winless streak to 12. The last time they won away from home was against the Dash on May 20th, 2016. For the second time this season, Tom Sermanni’s side were ahead late, and once again the team shut-off mentally to allow an opponent to score. Against Sky Blue, the Pride did it twice and came away from New Jersey a 2-1 loser.

All the offensive firepower doesn’t help a struggling team like Orlando. The defensive lapses that haunted the Pride last season seem to have creeped back in; however, it’s a different cast of characters. Orlando dominated total passes, passing accuracy and possession in the box score, yet Sky Blue basically matched Orlando in shots and had more shots on goal. Good teams find ways to win, and create a winning culture.

The Start of a Gap in the Standings – Luis Hernandez

One of the talking points for those who cover the league has been the level of parity. What this means is that there is a sense that, on any given day, any of the ten teams can win their game. Eventually, each season, that feeling tends to fall apart as some teams begin to rise while others consistently fail to perform. And this season, Week 7 is where the league’s initial parity seemed to slip away because, as the league got into the second quarter of the season, the point gap between the top of the table and those bottom four teams started to open up. Realistically, nobody is surprised by the top five teams in the standings outside of the order. Certainly, nobody is shocked on the last four teams either.

Week 8 has a few key matchups, but more importantly for those bottom teams, Boston takes on Orlando on the road and the Spirit host the Dash. Those points are going to go a long way to stay with the pack, and a major challenge for those clubs which will have an uphill battle to keep pace with the playoff line.

Syd the Kid Is All Grown Up – Jordan Small

Well y’all, she’s back. After giving birth to a baby boy less than a year ago, Sydney Leroux is getting right back into it. On opening weekend, Leroux showed us that she wasn’t just coming back, but that she would continue to be a goal scoring threat. This past weekend against Washington, Syd the (not such a) kid was back at it again. This time she proved to us that her strength and power are still there and a force to be reckoned with.

With her three goals, Leroux is now tied with Natasha Dowie of Boston for fourth-most goals scored in the league this season. And just this past week, US Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis called Leroux into camp for the USWNT’s two games in Scandinavia. Many questioned whether or not she could make it back after her child. But Leroux is proving to be one of those badass soccer moms ready to tear up the NWSL.

Rookie Who? – Jordan Small

When you look at candidates for rookie of the year in the NWSL, few get any more attention than Boston Breakers midfielder Rose Lavelle. The first overall pick in last year’s draft has proven that she can play at this level and be very successful. But one player that isn’t getting the recognition she deserves in this race is Sky Blue goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan. Currently Sheridan ranks second in saves just behind her Canadian National Team teammate Stephanie Labbé.

There are only 20 goalkeeping spots in this league. So to see a rookie come in and immediately win the starting spot is impressive. But just how impressive has she actually been this season? Just watch the two previous matches for Sky Blue. This girl has no fear and that’s what makes a goalkeeper so great.

In eight games played this year, Sheridan has allowed just 11 goals for a goals against average of 1.4. Those are not the numbers of an average rookie. She may not be on the highlight reel scoring goals, but you can bet she’ll have some saves on there. And she’s just getting started.

These Girls are On Fire – Elizabeth Wawrzyniak

No, but for real. Did you catch that Lifetime match between the Houston Dash and the Seattle Reign?

At 3pm CT, when the match started, the temperature was the 91.1 degrees, with a dew point of 90 degrees, or almost 100% humidity. The NWS’s Heat Index calculator says that the heat index for Saturday’s game would have been 134 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s the kind of heat it’s dangerous to spend too much time just sitting around in, and the NWSL players played a full 90 minutes with only two 3-minute hydration breaks and a 15-minute halftime. Playing in those conditions literally put the NWSL players at-risk, and the league should be ashamed of themselves for letting it happen. We don’t put players on the field during lightning storms, we shouldn’t put them on the field when they could literally put their heart and kidneys at risk of organ-failure.

The fixed time of the NWSL on Lifetime games has been a point of concern for fans of southern teams since the beginning. 3pm games in Houston and Orlando not only put players at risk–I mean, the moment a single player collapses of heat exhaustion on the pitch the league should be working their asses off to make sure it doesn’t happen again–but attendance as well. Because when it’s as warm as it was on Saturday, when taking a breath makes you feel like you’re drowning, fans are far likelier to stay home with their AC than they are to show up. And honestly, who would blame them.

Certainly not the players, who probably each wished they could do the same.

All They Do is Work, Work, Work, Work, Work – Elizabeth Wawrzyniak

In case you weren’t paying attention, Sky Blue FC and the NC Courage each played three games over a seven-day period this past week. And in both cases, it’s likely that the increased travel, the lack of recovery time, and the sheer volume of play took a heavy toll on the players. All in all, I think Sky Blue came out better. They had an extra day between the Week 6 and first Week 7 match-up against the Courage in Cary, NC. And while they lost, they rested some players mid-week, only subbing in Kerr and Rodriguez late in the match. NC, on the other hand, was already coming off a tough loss to Chicago in Week 6, and though they won against Sky Blue, they came into Saturday’s rematch against the home Red Stars in Chicago looking tired, and with Jessica McDonald on the bench. Unfortunately, this exposed them in the end, as Lynn Williams seems a little lost up top on her own, or did on Saturday.

The real question, though, is whether the short turnaround contributed to injuries like Yuri Kawamura’s aborted performance on Saturday, or Kelley O’Hara’s strained gluteus medius (that’s a butt muscle, in case you were wondering). Without the appropriate recovery time, injuries are going to happen more and more frequently.

In Memory of Our Fallen

Posted on by RJ Allen

 

Today is Memorial Day in the United States. A day set aside to remember the fallen soldiers–men and women, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, spouses, friends, mentors–who have met their end while protecting our nation. And across the NWSL, teams and players took a moment to give their thanks.

https://twitter.com/chicagoredstars/status/869204184859631617

https://twitter.com/aarlitt/status/869208007669886977

At Backline Soccer, we bow our heads in thanks to the men and women who have served, who are serving, and who will serve, and in honor of all our fallen citizens.

We remember you.

Breaking News: Houston Dash and Randy Waldrum Part Ways

Posted on by RJ Allen

The Houston Dash has announced that it has parted ways with head coach Randy Waldrum.  Waldrum, who had been the head coach of the Dash since the team joined the NWSL in 2014, sported a 19-39-13 overall record over 71 games in just over three seasons.

Dash president Chris Canetti had this to say about the decision to part ways with Waldrum:

“Randy is an excellent coach and a great man. He has been fully committed to the Dash and the pursuit of our goals over the last three and a half years. Unfortunately, we have fallen short on expectations, and after a tough start this season, we both agreed today that it’s in the best interest of the team to have a new voice leading the group. We believe this team has the talent to be a playoff contender, and we hope this change can help point it in the right direction.”

Waldrum had this comment:

“I spoke with Chris today and we decided that it’s in the best interest of the players and the team to go in a different direction. This is a tough decision to make, but we all want the team to do well. This group has the talent to fight for a playoff spot and there are a lot of games left to reach that goal. I want to thank the organization, the players and the fans for a very memorable tenure here in Houston.”

Waldrum has been offered a technical advisory role with the team. The details of this role have not been released at this time nor if Waldrum will be taking the post. 

Dash assistant coach Omar Morales will manage the team on June 3 against the Washington Spirit.

The club will be evaluating possible options regarding the head coaching position in the coming days.

 

Off the Bench with Backline Soccer: 2017, Week 7

Posted on by RJ Allen

Welcome to Week 7 of Off the Bench!

Backline Soccer Recap:

Quick Fire Week 7 Game Previews:

Week 7 of the NWSL is upon us. We were graced Wednesday with a midweek matchup but we will still see five total games as well, all on Saturday, May 27th. Let’s dive in.

Game 1: North Carolina Courage 2 vs. Sky Blue 0

North Carolina Courage record: 5-2-0
Position: 1st
Total Points: 15

Sky Blue FC record: 3-3-1
Position: 3rd
Total Points: 10

A midweek game saw a showdown between the first place Courage and (before the game) second place Sky Blue. Sky Blue ended up resting some players in preparation for their match this weekend against the Pride. Both teams saw some great opportunities, but in the end, it was a huge shot from Lynn Williams and a goal from Sam Mewis that saw the Courage keep possession of first place. Kailen Sheridan, however, had herself one heck of a game in goal for Sky Blue, and without some of her stellar saves, North Carolina may have very well had more than two goals.

 

Game 2: Houston Dash vs. Seattle Reign

Houston Dash record: 2-4-0
Position: 9th
Total Points: 6

Seattle Reign record: 2-1-3
Position: 4th
Total Points: 9

The Dash are coming off quite an abysmal showing last week and will be looking to start connecting their pieces more. They just really seem to lack cohesion and a well thought out plan, as well as a way to implement it on the field. Many are speculating whether this has to do with coaching techniques or individual players. I believe it is mainly due to coaching techniques. The Dash will need to figure out their defensive woes very quickly as they will be facing a strong attack from the Reign. Lydia Williams, for the most part, has been holding steady but can only do so much with the current backline. The Dash will need to move away from the hope of Kealia Ohai pulling goals out of thin air if they want to get back to winning ways.

The Reign, while drawing with the Pride last week, will look to continue to get back to their dominant ways and pull out three points. The Reign are coming in with a very in-form Megan Rapinoe as well as a strong offensive presence who will look to make the Dash pay early. The Dash will also need to get past Haley Kopmeyer, who, in her first full starting season after backing up Hope Solo, has been strong and consistent, save for the major Marta error last week. 

 

Game 3: Chicago Red Stars vs. North Carolina Courage

Chicago Red Stars record: 3-2-1
Position: 2nd
Total Points: 10

North Carolina Courage record: 5-2-0
Position: 1st
Total Points: 15

Chicago is coming into this game after playing arguably their best game of the season last week against the Courage. Christen Press is off and running and Chicago will benefit greatly from her as long as she remains consistent. Newly signed Japanese International, Yuki Nagasato will not be in Chicago in time for this match. Alyssa Naeher, after a slower-than-usual start, has been getting more consistent in goal for the Red Stars and will look to work with the backline to stop the strong attack the Courage will be putting forth.

Though coming off a solid win, the Courage are also coming in with a bit of a disadvantage, having played the midweek game on Wednesday. The attack will need to get behind the Red Stars early in order to see success. 

 

Game 4: Sky Blue vs. Orlando Pride

Sky Blue FC record: 3-3-1
Position: 3rd
Total Points: 10

Orlando Pride record: 1-2-3
Position: 8th
Total Points: 6

Sky Blue rested key players on Wednesday but will still be coming in with minimal recovery days against the Pride. Sky Blue will want to see a better end product than they had Wednesday, but with Kailen Sheridan having a stellar game, the Pride will need to find creative ways to get passed her as well as the backline of Sky Blue, who will be back at full force. 

The Pride will be without Captain and starting goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris for approximately eight weeks, after staving off the Reign mostly without her last week. This is a huge loss for the Pride, not only on the field but off as well. With backup keeper Aubrey Bledsoe also out with a concussion, Caroline Stanley was signed as an injury replacement. This is a huge opportunity for her, as she will be the one to likely face her former club. The Pride backline, while getting more consistent over the last few weeks, will need to communicate early and often with Stanley to make sure they are together. The Pride also need much more production from their midfield. Marta has been playing quite selflessly, going where she feels she is needed, but the Pride could benefit more from her playing a bit more selfishly sometimes. Alanna Kennedy is also coming off her best game of the season, so if she remains consistent, she will be a threat for Sky Blue.

 

Game 5: FC Kansas City vs. Washington Spirit

FC Kansas City record: 2-2-2
Position: 6th
Total Points: 8

Washington Spirit record: 1-4-1
Position: 10th
Total Points: 4

FC Kansas City has a strong backline led by Becky Sauerbrunn, but since the loss of Amy Rodriguez to a torn ACL at the start of the season, FCKC has not figured out how to match with Sydney Leroux up top to garner more goals. Leroux still has work to do after missing so many matches after the birth of her son, but FCKC needs to find someone that can help her up top. Nicole Barnhart will be a major barrier, as usual, for the somewhat weaker Spirit attack to get through. 

The Washington Spirit, now with Mal Pugh, will look for revenge this week. Pugh will likely see more minutes but cannot be the sole player the Spirit depend on. Kristie Mewis had a few almost goals last week, which the Spirit will need more of from her. The Spirit are struggling offensively, but recently defensively as well, despite Steph Labbé continuing her great season in goal. FCKC, already struggling offensively, will have a hard time getting through her. 

 

Game 6: Portland Thorns vs. Boston Breakers

Portland Thorns record: 2-1-3
Position: 5th
Total Points: 9

Boston Breakers record: 2-2-2
Position: 7th
Total Points: 8

Last week the Breakers, ahead 2-0 seemed to almost have the game in the bag, but the Thorns fought back hard and ended up equalizing late for the draw. The Breakers will focus this week on making sure – while scoring – they hold defensively to stave off the Thorns and not blow any lead that they may build. The Breakers will look to players such as Angela Salem and Adriana Leon, who are having great seasons thus far, to continue to create opportunities. With Abby Smith in goal for the Breakers, the Thorns will need to find creative ways to get past her to score.

The Thorns will again be without Tobin Heath, Katherine Reynolds, Mana Shim, and Dagny Brynjarsdottir. Heath is a continued loss for the Thorns, and her skill is sorely missed. The Thorns, however, still seem to be hanging around each game and will look dangerous when everyone is fully healthy. Their key this week is to continue to create opportunities and goals. Adrianna Franch is having a good season statistically speaking, but she still needs to work on her distribution and overall decision and play making. The Thorns have not really paid for those weaknesses yet but it is only a matter of time. 

The Scouting Report:

We went live on Monday night with our Week 6 TSR, recapping all of the NWSL games from the weekend. A reminder that you can catch TSR live every Monday night at 8pm EST on our YouTube channel. And make sure to follow the podcast on Twitter @ScoutingPodcast. 

In case you missed this week’s episode, catch up here:

https://www.spreaker.com/user/brewsports/the-scouting-report-season-5-week-6

Come back next week for the next edition of Off the Bench!