Tag: Havana Solaun

Unsung Hero of the Week: Solaun Shines Again

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 Washington Spirit midfielder Havana Solaun.

The 24-year-old is in her third year in the league and with her second team after being drafted 15th overall in 2015 to the Seattle Reign out of the University of Florida. She sat out with an injury all of 2015, and in 2016 she appeared in six games for the Reign. Solaun’s player rights were traded to Washington in November of 2016 and in return, Seattle received midfielder Christine Nairn and goalkeeper Madalyn Schiffel. Fast forward to 10 games into the 2017 season; she is finding her place in Washington, appearing in every game thus far, adding three goals and one assist to her name.

Washington 1-0 Portland

Due to veteran Tori Huster making her way back into the starting 11, Solaun was asked to be more of a threat offensively, with Gabarra putting her up top to give her the right opportunities to go toward goal. I was going to discuss all-things-Huster this week but my fellow Backline writer Charles Olney beat me to it and published a fantastic piece for you all to enjoy. Instead, I’ll focus on what Solaun was allowed to do with Huster back in the line-up.

Solaun has been a steady contributor so far this season as I mentioned above, and this game was no different. Washington’s first quality chance came in the ninth minute when Solaun snuck behind her defender for a looping ball that was sent to the left side of the box. She shook the Thorn’s player enough to get a foot of space and lifted a shot on goal but right at Portland’s keeper Adrianna Franch. Franch gave up a rebound right in front of the goal, bouncing to Williams who was lurking around the six-yard box but Emily Menges cleared it just in time.

It was a clever run on the back post by Solaun, getting in over the defense in the blink of an eye and managing a shot even at the tough angle. She created something that was promising and likely, should’ve resulted in a goal. Nonetheless, moving her up top for this game was already paying off for the Spirit.

A few months after Seattle drafted Solaun in 2015, Laura Harvey–head coach of the Reign–said that a player like Solaun is comfortable with possession, a young talent who can play numerous positions and is technically very good. Solaun has shown that now playing for Washington and head coach Jim Gabarra had this to say when he acquired her last year: “Havana will give us a creative element in attack and we believe she has the ability to impact games.”

Both coaches knew what they were getting when Solaun suited up for them, but she has really taken her game to a new level for the Spirit.

Solaun showcased just what they were talking about in the 22nd minute against Portland. She received a pass from Meggie Dougherty Howard about 20 yards out, giving the crowd of 4,319 some twinkle toe action to get rid of Portland’s Celeste Boureille, then rifled a low shot past Franch. I thought it was going in, but the keeper’s best friend came to the rescue as Solaun’s shot hit off the post and was cleared away by the recovering Boureille. It was a stunning effort on goal. It’s a shame it didn’t go in.

That’s the type of play Solaun is capable of, and she was firing on all cylinders to attempt that play. She easily won her one-on-one battle, tested the keeper and almost gave Washington a two-goal lead without any significant buildup. Solaun had a great look and just narrowly missed what would’ve been her fourth goal of the season.

On the other side of halftime in the 50th minute, Solaun was oozing confidence on the ball, with a little shake ‘n bake in Portland’s end to give herself some space. The final pass into Kristie Mewis deflected off a Thorn but Solaun once again created something out of nothing for the Spirit. Instead of kicking it off her defenders’ shins and opting for a simple throw-in, she decided to take on her defender and take a chance on herself.

Later on, in the 75th minute, Solaun and Dougherty Howard, both former Florida Gators, linked up again on a smooth takeover just past midfield. Thanks to the quick thinking of Solaun, that allowed some space for Dougherty Howard to operate going forward while at the same time not slowing the play down. In turn, Doughtery Howard found Williams streaking into the 18, but a tough defensive play by Emily Sonnett shut down that opportunity.

With the 1-0 win over a slumping Portland, Washington are now unbeaten in three. They are currently sitting in eighth place with an improving record of 3-5-2, good for 11 points. Solaun is on track to have a breakout year and if she continues to put in this kind of effort, it might not be too bleak for Washington by the end of the year.

6 Takeaways from NWSL: Week 8

Posted on by RJ Allen

Well, Week 8 is done and gone, and we’re firmly into the season now, folks. 

This week saw some unexpected wins from teams on the lower-half of the table, PKs made and PKs missed, and a lot–A LOT–of rain down Florida way. 

As usual, after a weekend full of great soccer, we have some armchair opinions. So stick around and see what we each took away from Week 8.

Houston Won’t Be Rebuilt in a Day – Jordan Small

The struggles over the past few years in Houston have been apparent and the Dash finally took a step in the right direction this past week when they fired general manager and head coach Randy Waldrum. While Waldrum was a great college coach, it just didn’t translate to the NWSL. So this week against the Washington Spirit, interim head coach Omar Morales was tasked with leading the struggling Houston team. Let’s just say that there is still a lot of work to be done.

This team has a lot of issues that need to be resolved and it’s not surprising to see that they weren’t all fixed in the first week of Morales’ tenure. It’s going to take time and patience. There is a lot of talent on this Houston team, but there is definitely a lack of confidence in this team. Will it all be fixed in a few weeks? Not possible. But by the end of the season, could we see a resurgence in H-Town? Don’t count them out.

Havana Solaun is Washington’s Secret Weapon – Jordan Small

In four of the last five games for the Washington Spirit, Havana Solaun has a goal or an assist. After coming over from Seattle in a trade that sent Christine Nairn back to the west coast, it was unclear how Solaun would fit in or even how she would do in her first full season as a professional. But she was able to put her injured past behind her to get a fresh start with her new team.

Solaun has played a huge role in the midfield so far this season. Whether it has been coming in off the bench or as part of the starting XI, Solaun brings a different edge to the game with her great vision. That vision was clear prior to both Spirit goals on Saturday as she had an assist on the first goal and the pass to set up the assist on the second goal. Solaun’s vision on the first goal allowed Cheyna Williams to get in behind the defense with a well timed through ball waiting for her on the other side. With Tori Huster out, Solaun and Meggie Dougherty Howard have both helped Washington cope with Huster’s absence. This off-season trade has worked out well for the Spirit.

Orlando Home Schedule Could Pay Off in the End – Luis Hernandez

In just about every league, if you get results at home while stealing points on the road, it’s going to be successful season. Looking at the standings, North Carolina and Chicago are the top two teams in the league, but also have each had five home matches this season. Meanwhile, Houston and Orlando, who are in the bottom end of the table, are in the opposite end of the scheduling spectrum and have each only been at home three times this year. Thankfully, Orlando has been more successful than the Dash in those three opportunities by not losing at home.

The Pride, a talented team some would say have played inconsistent and underachieved so far, are looking more together with each passing match. This week Tom Sermanni added Rachel Hill to the starting XI, and the arrival of Alex Morgan will boost the team around the same time Ashlyn Harris is projected to return from injury. As the team looks to be on the rise, the schedule is looking more and more favorable to Orlando after a challenging start. Going into the FIFA break, the Pride will prepare for a home series against the struggling Houston Dash, and getting six points is a realistic possibility which could give this developing team the confidence it needs. Not to mention that in the tail-end of the season, the Pride will have multiple home games to try and make a real push for the post-season.

Breakers’ Growing Pains Planting Seeds to Future Success – Luis Hernandez

It’s been a rough spell of play for the Breakers, who are winless since April with only two points to show for in five matches. However, the team isn’t playing like mediocre reflections of previous seasons. Boston has turned to a balanced blend of young talented players and experienced veterans. The team doesn’t seem down on itself as it has in winless streaks before this year. Matt Beard has been able to change the culture of the team, and they have been strong at home. Abby Smith’s performances for the Breakers have led to her call-up by the senior national team for the June friendlies against Sweden and Norway, while Rose Lavelle has been as good as advertised for Boston.  They’re a couple of pieces from a complete package, but once the team figures how to put everything together for a full 90, the Breakers are going to be a hard out for teams in the league. They aren’t a bottom-dwelling team anymore. This bunch is trending up.

Sky Blue Caught Ball-Watching – Elizabeth Wawrzyniak

Sky Blue’s loss against Portland was not for lack of trying. But it wasn’t their inability to get in the goal that led to Portland taking home all three points on the road. It was some messy and unorganized defending.

First was Kayla Mills’ just ill-advised challenge to Nadia Nadim in the 20’ minute. That mistake led directly to another, when the NJ player trying to mark Horan played her too loose and gave the Portland player too much room to maneuver, leading to Horan’s header past Sheridan.

The third was again a mistake by Mills. Playing to high up along the wing opened up space behind her, and she was too easily turned, caught reacting to Boureille’s drive in instead of defending proactively. That mistake by Mills drew the NJ team toward the left side of the box, so when the ball was sent back to the top of the box for Portland to reset their attack, the right was wide open for Klingenberg’s pass in and all a Thorn had to do was wait to receive it and tap it toward goal. Which is exactly what happened.

The entire NJ team got caught ball-watching, the entire game. They spent almost 90 minutes playing reactionary soccer instead of making organized moves to interrupt the ease that Portland had moving the ball around.

Let’s Talk About Heat – Elizabeth Wawrzyniak

So, I never thought I’d have to talk about hydration breaks so much this season. But a few things happened over the past week, and it seems a little important to bring it up again.

First, there was last week’s game in Houston where Rachel Daly collapsed with heat exhaustion almost exactly as the whistle blew. Next, the US federal government announced that the US would be withdrawing from the Paris Accord meant to help combat climate change.

And then just today, Chicago and Seattle played 90+ minutes in 90+ degree temps (humidity around 45%).  Afterward, Christen Press reportedly looked a little worse for wear, and Dan Lauletta, a well-respected WoSo journalist, tweeted that he didn’t really believe in the necessity of hydration breaks, but if they had to happen, could the clock stop at least?

Here’s the thing.

Climate change leads to rising temperatures.

Rising temperatures leads to the need for hydration breaks. (Because soccer is a game, not a gladiator-style execution. I want to be entertained; I don’t want anyone to die.)

And no matter what we do, the clock isn’t going to stop. We can’t pause the damage we’ve done to the planet, and we can’t turn back time and fix it.  All we can do is try to minimize the damage already done.

We’re here because we love soccer. But it’s time to start talking about how politics and policies affect the game.

Withdrawing from the Paris Accord is going to do generations-worth of harm to the planet. Already the damage we’ve done is affecting our favorite sport.

The question isn’t “should there be hydration breaks” (there should be) but “how did we get here,” followed up with “what can we do to fix the larger–literally, global–problem?”

Sports is always, always political.