Tag: NWSL

We Need to Talk About Richie Burke

Posted on by RJ Allen

We need to talk about Richie Burke.

The Washington Spirit, a team that finished with just 11 points in all of 2018, are sitting at the top of the NWSL standings right now with 16 points.

You’d expect that accomplishment to send a wave of praise toward coach Richie Burke and the Washington players, but what we’ve actually seen is more of a ripple.

This winter, the parent of a former youth player at FC Virginia alleged that Burke had used abusive and homophobic language when he was coaching there. Stephanie Yang wrote about the allegations for Black and Red United back in February.

It’s hard enough to get any accountability when it comes to actual crimes, with even sexual or physical violence sometimes treated like an inconvenience more than anything else. When it comes to something as “harmless” as using abusive and homophobic language people are often willing to treat it as nothing more than a coach being a hard ass.

But the allegations are actually quite simple. A man in a position of power over young men used abusive and homophobic language as a way to degrade and humiliate them. This display of anger and aggression should be as unacceptable as a coach putting their hands on a player. The coach in question should not pass go and should not get put in charge of professional level players after the allegations are swept back under the rug. 

The most striking part of this isn’t that someone in a position of power is alleged to have used abusive and homophobic language. The most striking part is the reaction to those allegations. Since the story came out, the NWSL and the Washington Spirit have done, well, nothing.  

There has been no publicly announced formal investigation that would allow the league and the team look at what was alleged to have happened. There been no comments from Burke about soul-searching, not even a mealy-mouthed apology about ‘misunderstandings,’ no commitment to work on developing a better understanding of the issue. Nor do any of these parties seem all that concerned with severity of the allegations. 

No, there is just this comment given to John D. Halloran after Washington played Chicago.

 

And while we have heard nothing from the team or the league about the allegations, we do hear about Burke in the commentary on NWSL games, where fans and media are subjected to endless positive discussion. No context, no effort to even mention the allegation, just sugary sweet positivity that claws at the back of your throat.

Fans deserve better than this. They deserve consistent, committed announcers who understand the league, the storylines and the on and off the field happenings, and who aren’t afraid to discuss the good and the bad. Something more measured instead of that cloying sweet positivity could keep casual viewers in the loop, and lend some support to those who have serious concerns about these allegations.

On one hand, what Burke is accused to doing is deeply disturbing. But on the other hand . . . you know what? Sometimes there isn’t an other hand.

Richie Burke has apparently made the Washington Spirit play better soccer. But that doesn’t mean anything where it comes to the issue of abuse.

The NWSL and Washington have gotten this all wrong.  They should have taken serious action months ago, done their due diligence, and seriously looked into these issues. If Burke is innocent, there should have been a real effort to figure it out. And if he isn’t innocent, there should be repercussions. A fine and suspension would not be out of line. Maybe more. It doesn’t matter that it was a former job. Sam Johnson had to sit out a game for the Utah Royals because of an Australia W-League red card. Why shouldn’t Burke be held to at least that standard?

The NWSL and Washington want to sweep this under the rug. But it’s not going to go away, and someone has to address the Burke issue. The media isn’t going to stop asking about him, and Washington doesn’t look like they are going to be out of the headlines anytime soon.

The Game Changers: Week Seven

Posted on by RJ Allen

The Game Changers is a weekly series looking at the most important results each week. Each section will look at one team and how its win, loss, or draw impacts the season.

We are nearly two months into the 2019 NWSL season, and things are not taking shape the way many of us expected them to. With six or seven games come and gone for each team, it is the Utah Royals who sit in the No. 1 spot in the standings, tied with the No. 2 Washington Spirit in points but leading on goal differential. The North Carolina Courage, who were unstoppable in 2018, have dropped to the No. 7 spot with just nine points in seven matches. It’s still early enough in the season that most teams are within five points of each other, with only Sky Blue and the Orlando Pride falling far behind the rest of the pack, but the standings are eye-catching for sure. Here is a full breakdown of this week’s results: 

Sky Blue vs. Portland Thorns (0-1)

Utah Royals vs. Orlando Pride (2-0)

Chicago Red Stars vs. Washington Spirit (0-2)

Reign FC vs. North Carolina Courage (2-1)

The Washington Spirit earn another win against a difficult opponent

The Washington Spirit have had a surprisingly strong start to the 2019 campaign. Under new head coach Richie Burke, the Spirit are 4-1-1. They added on another 2-0 win this weekend over the Chicago Red Stars, who had won their last two matches going into this game. Despite being on the road and not having goal-scorer Cheyna Matthews, who joined the Jamaica national team ahead of their first World Cup appearance, the Spirit still managed to knock two back and earn three points. 

The first goal, admittedly, was a scramble at the goal line that ended up counting as a Yuki Nagasato own goal. In the 63rd minute, Ashley Hatch took advantage of a favorable deflection to find the back of the net again for the Spirit, giving them the 2-0 lead. Of course, the Spirit’s defense– led by goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe– put on a stellar performance, facing 20 shots and requiring seven saves. Still, Washington’s offense did their part to earn the points and the Spirit are cruising along in a close second place. Can they keep this momentum going? 

Reign FC earn their second straight victory. 

Two weeks ago, Reign FC hadn’t earned their first win of 2019 and were struggling with just three points in four games. But in the last two weeks, they’ve earned back-to-back wins and breathed some life into their struggling squad. This week, they were able to hand the North Carolina Courage their second defeat of the season. We’ll focus on the Courage’s perspective in a moment, but for now, let’s keep our eyes on Reign FC.

Jess Fishlock returned to the lineup for Reign FC this week, inevitably having a massive impact after she missed the beginning of the season on loan to Olympique Lyon. She had four shots in the game and played a full 90 minutes. But the goals went to Bethany Balcer, who opened up scoring with a powerful header in the first fifteen minutes, and Shea Groom, who capitalized on a mistake from Katelyn Rowland towards the end of the match and solidified the win for the Reign. After a slow start to the season, we might be starting to see Reign FC in the form they’re hoping for.

 North Carolina Courage drop more points.

Perhaps we are all too adjusted to seeing North Carolina dominated painlessly, but there recent string of results is starting to become concerning. After earning their first loss since 2018 two weeks ago against the Chicago Red Stars, the Courage earned another loss on the road this weekend. They have now earned just two points in their last four matches, and sit in the No. 7 spot in the table. 

Surely, losing their national team players is having an impact on this team. But that might not be the only force at work here. The team still had Abby Erceg, who scored the lone goal for the Courage, but were unable to buckle down on the defensive end. Rowland made a careless mistake that may have cost her team points, and Lynn Williams has had even more trouble finishing than usual. Is it time to be worried about this North Carolina team? I think they’re still one of the top teams in the league. But a month ago, I would have said they were untouchable. The inevitable shift seems like it may have begun.

 

Why Everyone Should Go See The Spirit At Audi Field

Posted on by RJ Allen

On Thursday, I received an email from the Washington Spirit announcing that tickets are on sale for the two matches they will play at Audi Field in downtown D.C.—one against the Orlando Pride on August 24th and one against Reign FC on September 14th.

I want to go to these games. And I think everyone else should too.

We should not underestimate what a massive opportunity these matches represent for the Spirit. The team usually plays at Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Maryland. On public transportation, it would take close to two hours to get there from downtown D.C. By car, that time gets cut down to 55 minutes. The reality is that the team isn’t very accessible to a lot of people that live in the D.C. area.

When we look at attendance troubles across the league, accessibility is an issue. Cost is another factor. For tickets to the Spirit’s recent home match against the Portland Thorns, the lowest cost ticket in the stands was $25. That’s not a ridiculous price, but when you factor in the commute, it’s out of reach for most people. They might be willing to pay $25 or $50 bucks to go watch a game at a professional soccer stadium downtown, but not at a recreational field in the suburbs.

I don’t know what kind of conversations are going on between the Washington Spirit and D.C. United with regards to Audi Field. But the Spirit should be pushing to move there full time. The move would lift the profile of D.C. soccer, and would certainly help push the Spirit in the direction of growth that the NWSL is looking for. I can’t guarantee that people will come to Spirit games in the same numbers that they come to D.C. United games. But I do know that playing at the Maryland SoccerPlex is a dead end, with little room for expanding the fan base or the attendance.

If NWSL wants to get casual sports fans, it needs to be accessible. Right now, the Spirit are not. Last year, the Spirit attracted nearly 8,000 fans when they played the Portland Thorns in late August. They will have the opportunity to prove that they can draw those numbers again or maybe even more fans this time around. With good numbers, who knows where talks could lead.

We need to support the Washington Spirit. If we want a women’s soccer franchise in the District, we need to show up for them. I’m going to go to at least one of these games, and I hope everyone else does too. It could be just the spark this organization needs.

The Game Changers: Week Six

Posted on by RJ Allen

The Game Changers is a weekly series looking at the most important results each week. Each section will look at one team and how its win, loss, or draw impacts the season.

Another week has gone by in the NWSL, and things are getting interesting. The Chicago Red Stars currently sit in the No. 1 spot in the table with six games under their belt and an impressive 3-1-2 start to the season. It’s not surprising that the Red Stars are currently No. 1, but the other teams rounding out the top four are a bit more shocking: the Utah Royals, the Houston Dash, and the Washington Spirit, who all have ten points. Two teams– Orlando Pride and Sky Blue FC– have yet to win a game this season, while Reign FC earned their first win over the weekend against New Jersey. Here are the results from this weekend:

Reign FC vs. Sky Blue (2-1)

Washington Spirit vs. Portland Thorns (3-1)

North Carolina Courage vs. Utah Royals (1-1)

Houston Dash vs. Chicago Red Stars (1-2)

The Washington Spirit defeat the Portland Thorns

One of the more surprising results over the weekend was a 3-1 victory for the Washington Spirit over the Portland Thorns at Maryland SoccerPlex. There are many factors to be considered here, including many international players absent and Portland’s never-ending road trip (they haven’t played at home in 2019 and won’t until their stadium renovations are complete). But the win lifts the Spirit to 10 points in five games and a 3-1-1 record. Under a new (questionable) head coach, that’s impressive. 

And the Spirit are finding success without Rose Lavelle and Mallory Pugh, who are both away on international duty. They have plenty of struggles on the field, but they are finding a way to score points and win games not only against teams like Sky Blue, but also against teams like Portland. Things are shaping up under Head Coach Richie Burke, and the Spirit have proven that they could be a dark horse this season.

North Carolina Courage drop more points at home.

After being handed their first loss since June 2018 last week, the Courage dropped more points when they returned home this weekend to face the Utah Royals. North Carolina out shot Utah 18-2, with three shots on goal compared to Utah’s won. But in the end, North Carolina couldn’t finish and they split the points with the Royals at home. 

North Carolina fans should not be too worried. The Courage are still one of, if not the best, team in the league. They’re dangerous with or without their internationals, and I absolutely expect them to be a playoff team. But they’re looking much more vulnerable in 2019 than they did in 2018, with a 2-1-3 record through six games. Is it possible that teams are starting to figure them out? 

The Houston Dash lose to the Chicago Red Stars. 

The Houston Dash have been completely unpredictable this season, and Saturday’s match against the Chicago Red Stars was no exception. There is no shame in losing to the Red Stars, who are playing one of the best games in the league right now. It was the Dash’s first glance at life without Rachel Daly and it was… okay. They got 9 shots to the Red Stars 13 and possession was nearly even. Sam Kerr has proven unstoppable and her brace is what ultimately won the match for her team.

The Dash are 3-2-1 this season. While they sit in the No. 3 spot right now, they still feel like a middle-of-the-pack team. Every time it feels like they’re breaking out– like getting that win last week over the undefeated Utah Royals– they’ll have a game like this and we’ll question again whether they really have what it takes. There is a lot of season left to go, but they’ll be missing these points at the end of the year.

 

Route Two Soccer: Chicago Teach a Course on How to Beat North Carolina

Posted on by RJ Allen

The Chicago Red Stars showed this weekend how North Carolina can be defeated. Other teams may try to emulate them…at their own risk.

The North Carolina Courage lost this weekend, for the first time in almost a year. And that’s not even the strange thing. The strange thing is: it didn’t even end up being all that close. The Chicago Red Stars certainly didn’t dominate the game, but neither did they look especially threatened. And their final margin of 3-1 could just as easily have been bigger—with Chicago having been denied a fairly clear penalty when Sam Kerr was pulled down in the box in the first half.

So what happened? Did Chicago reveal a secret flaw that may now be exploited by others? Is North Carolina taking a bigger hit than expected from the loss of their national team players? Or was this just a one-off game, and everything will return to normal soon?

The answer isn’t completely clear at this point, but likely is a combination of all three. Certainly, the Courage backline has looked far more rickety with the absence of Abby Dahlkemper, and those issues will only magnify now that Abby Erceg is off to join New Zealand. Last week’s replacement center back, Kayleigh Kurtz, struggled badly trying to contain Imani Dorsey of Sky Blue. This week’s fill-in, Cari Roccaro, faced similar issues with the multi-pronged Chicago attack.

With both Roccaro and Kurtz having issues with speed, and neither distinguishing themselves in one-on-one defending either, Carolina was always going to look more exposed. However, it would be unfair to level all (or even most) of the blame on those two players. The hallmark of the Courage’s resilient defense has always rested higher up the pitch, where aggressive pressing disrupts the opponent and kills attacks before they can even begin. And that’s where the team really struggled against Chicago. Time and again, the Red Stars midfield pierced the Carolina press, with smooth passing, clever dribbling, and intelligent runs. Particularly at fault here was Denise O’Sullivan, who was exposed repeatedly in the holding midfield role, and looked much more like the version of O’Sullivan we saw back with the Houston Dash in early 2017, and much less like the more dynamic player we’ve grown accustomed to with North Carolina. McCall Zerboni also had an uncharacteristically quiet game, finding it difficult to disrupt play, and also struggling a bit in possession.

Even further up the pitch, Kristen Hamilton one of her weaker games in recent memory, while Julia Spetsmark looked lively on occasion, but wasn’t able to exploit the wide channels nearly as much as the departed Jess McDonald.

Put it all together, and you’ve got a recipe for trouble. When multiple players have games on the lower side of their ability, and you’re playing a strong team, results will sometimes tip away from you. And Chicago was uniquely well-suited to seize the opportunity that was provided. They possess one of the strongest midfields in the league under any circumstance—and that advantage has only magnified with the removal of the World Cup-bound. Vanessa DiBernardo and Dani Colaprico are two of the best passers in the American player pool. Support those two with Nikki Stanton in behind to clean up any messes, and give them the chance to play off Yuki Nagasato and Sam Kerr dropping in from forward positions, as well as Michele Vasconcelos’s speculative runs down the wing, and you have a recipe for unlocking the oppressive North Carolina press.

The problem for everyone else in the league is: without players who can dictate play in such a cool and measured fashion, the potential to exploit a weakness in the Carolina armor may be more fanciful than realistic. For all that the Red Stars found an opportunity, it’s also important not to overstate the case. Chicago scored three goals from just three shots on goal. And two of those were fairly tame shots, too, which the keeper probably should have saved. Meanwhile, North Carolina amassed seven more shots than Chicago, two more shots on goal, more corners, more crosses, and more passes at a higher accuracy.

On another day, if this game was played out in the same way, you’d expect better performances from a few Courage players, a bit less luck for Chicago, and things could easily turn in the opposite direction. What’s more, a big part of the Chicago performance depended on Sam Kerr, who is sui generis, and has now left for her own World Cup preparations. You certainly can’t count on getting that kind of performance going forward.

So Chicago’s approach certainly could be replicated, but even for them it would hardly be a sure thing. And for everyone else, it would be even more of a risk. Because for all that there’s a potential weakness here, the past two years have shown just how devastating this Courage team can be when given the chance to attack an open opponent. If the lesson teams take from this game is that North Carolina is ripe for the picking, they run the risk of being carved to bits by a revitalized Courage press. It’s a gamble that some might take, but it’s a dangerous one.

As the saying goes, if you come at the devil you better not miss.

The Game Changers: Week Five

Posted on by RJ Allen

The Game Changers is a weekly series looking at the most important results of each week. Each section will look at one team and how its win, loss, or draw impacts the season.

Week Five marked the second week in the NWSL with no U.S. national team players, and the first week without the Canadians. The Utah Royals were dealt their first loss from the Houston Dash on Saturday, as were the North Carolina Courage. After last week, where a total of only two goals were scored, every team scored at least once this week. Here is a full breakdown of the scores:

Sky Blue vs. Washington Spirit (2-3)

Utah Royals vs. Houston Dash (1-2)

Orlando Pride vs. Portland Thorns (1-3)

Chicago Red Stars vs. North Carolina Courage (3-1)

Utah Royals drop points for the first time in 2019

The Utah Royals won their first three games in 2019, but dropped points at home against the Houston Dash. The Utah Royals haven’t dominated any of the games they have won, and this match against the Houston Dash opens the door for similar struggles to 2018. However, you could argue that the two goals from the Houston Dash– both from Rachel Daly– were spectacular. And they were the first two goals Utah conceded this season.

Does this game say more about the Houston Dash or the Utah Royals? It’s hard to say at this point. The Utah Royals may not be dominating their matches, but they have shown that they will be a good team in 2019. But will they be good enough to claim one of the four playoff spots? That’s the question.

Houston Dash defeats Utah Royals on the road

The Houston Dash earned another win this season, becoming the first team in 2019 to defeat the Utah Royals. They now sit in the No. 1 spot in the standings, with 10 points in 5 games. They have three wins this season, with just one loss and one draw. They haven’t always looked dominate and they will be losing a lot more players in the coming weeks, including their top goal-scorer Rachel Daly. But this game they managed to find success without their Canadian players, and against a team that has been unstoppable.

Like Utah, this game was significant for the Houston Dash when it comes to thinking about their chances at the playoffs. Houston is a strong team, possibly stronger than they were last season when they finished in the No. 6 slot, just five points the last playoff team. And while they are losing their national team players, they are also likely to become more settled as they become more familiar with the playing style of their first year head coach. This win for Houston was a good opportunity to show they have what it takes to go far in 2019. They did not disappoint.

North Carolina loses for the first time since mid-2018.

On Sunday, the North Carolina Courage earned their first loss since their 1-0 defeat against the Utah Royals on June 16th, 2018. In that game, Brittany Ratcliffe scored a screamer of a goal in stoppage time to earn the win for the Royals. But on Sunday, North Carolina was handed a 3-1 loss by the Chicago Red Stars at SeatGeek Stadium, their first multi-goal loss since May 2017. They were on the road, and without some key players. But this feels significant in breaking North Carolina’s armor.

Right now, the Courage sit in the No. 4 spot in the standings. They have a 2-1-2 record. The Courage will be one of the best teams in the league, if not the best, and will almost definitely make the playoffs. But this loss, plus their two draws so far this season, sends a message to other teams in the league that North Carolina might be more vulnerable than we thought.