by Chris Henderson on May 10, 2013
(Note: SBFC-CHI isn’t included in full game section and only with the first half in the half-by-half comparisons because of the missing footage.)
Full Match
Possession
55% – FC Kansas City
53% – Boston
53% – Washington
47% – Chicago (vs BOS)
47% – Portland
45% – Seattle
Passes
516 – FC Kansas City
377 – Washington
375 – Boston
374 – Seattle
342 – Portland
317 – Chicago (vs BOS)
Pass Completion
67% – FC Kansas City
62% – Washington
60% – Portland
60% – Seattle
56% – Boston
52% – Chicago (vs BOS)
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by Chris Henderson on May 9, 2013
(Note: Roughly twenty minutes are missing from the archived version of the game on YouTube, so take second half stats with a grain of salt. I’m not including full game or second half stats in summaries this week either.)
| Chicago Red Stars |
Game Total |
Sky Blue FC |
| 0 |
Goals |
1 |
| 3 |
Shots |
9 |
| 25:00 |
Time of Possession |
25:47 |
| 49% |
Time of Possession % |
51% |
| 432 |
First Touches |
418 |
| 239 |
Passes |
226 |
| 55% |
Pass Completion % |
54% |
| 32 |
Number of Pass Strings |
31 |
| 4.4 |
Average Pass String Length |
4.1 |
| 9 |
Longest Pass String |
9 |
[click to continue…]
by Kevin Parker on May 9, 2013
Washington Spirit Reserves players during their second training session of 2013 - DC United Women fans should recognize at least three familiar faces
So what do Lori Lindsey, Ali Krieger, and Tiffany McCarty have in common? Okay, they all play for the Washington Spirit, but what else? The answer: they all played for the W-League Washington Freedom before they became professionals, and in the cases of Lori and Ali, well before they became part of the national team.
I mention that to encourage you to check out the Spirit’s W-League team this year, the Washington Spirit Reserves. Players signed for this season that you may hear more of down the road include U-17 WNT player Andi Sullivan and two-time ESPN Rise Best Player in Maryland Ashley Spivey. And there are a number of familiar faces from last year’s DC United Women, including ones like Hayley Siegel and Diana Weigel who were in training camp with the professional team but didn’t quite make the final cut.
[click to continue…]
by Chris Henderson on May 9, 2013
| Chicago Red Stars |
Game Total |
Boston Breakers |
| 1 |
Goals |
4 |
| 6 |
Shots |
12 |
| 35:03 |
Time of Possession |
39:57 |
| 47% |
Time of Possession % |
53% |
| 612 |
First Touches |
669 |
| 317 |
Passes |
375 |
| 52% |
Pass Completion % |
56% |
| 45 |
Number of Pass Strings |
48 |
| 3.8 |
Average Pass String Length |
4.5 |
| 7 |
Longest Pass String |
9 |
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by Chris Henderson on May 7, 2013
| FC Kansas City |
Game Total |
Seattle Reign FC |
| 1 |
Goals |
0 |
| 15 |
Shots |
8 |
| 41:09 |
Time of Possession |
33:50 |
| 55% |
Time of Possession % |
45% |
| 767 |
First Touches |
626 |
| 516 |
Passes |
374 |
| 67% |
Pass Completion % |
60% |
| 69 |
Number of Pass Strings |
54 |
| 5.8 |
Average Pass String Length |
4.8 |
| 27 |
Longest Pass String |
12 |
[click to continue…]
by Ray Curren on May 7, 2013
The line on a perfect sunny Monday afternoon in southern Connecticut snaked around the block, girls of all ages and jersey colors grasping the same baby blue object in their hands.
Many of them were skipping their youth soccer practice, some had their training cancelled altogether, a few had even come up with mysterious ailments to get home from school early in order to get to the front of the line hours in advance.
All to get about 15 seconds – give or take – with their hero, snap a photo, and get her autograph.
Welcome to Alex Morgan’s world.
[click to continue…]
by Chris Henderson on May 6, 2013
(Note: Full match stats don’t really tell the story. Take a look at the first/second half splits for Portland. Jarring, huh?)
| Portland Thorns FC |
Game Total |
Washington Spirit |
| 2 |
Goals |
1 |
| 10 |
Shots |
9 |
| 33:03 |
Time of Possession |
36:44 |
| 47% |
Time of Possession % |
53% |
| 574 |
First Touches |
610 |
| 342 |
Passes |
377 |
| 60% |
Pass Completion % |
62% |
| 43 |
Number of Pass Strings |
54 |
| 5.8 |
Average Pass String Length |
4.9 |
| 15 |
Longest Pass String |
18 |
[click to continue…]
by Chris Henderson on May 6, 2013
(Note: Much of the second half of WNY-Boston was missing, so the full match stats and second half stats for that match are not included in this list.)
Full Match
Possession
53% – FC Kansas City
53% – Sky Blue FC (vs WNY)
52% – Portland
51% – Sky Blue FC (vs WSH)
49% – Washington
48% – Chicago
47% – Seattle
47% – WNY Flash (vs SBFC)
Passes
445 – Portland
401 – FC Kansas City
389 – Chicago
383 – Washington
359 – Sky Blue FC (vs WSH)
351 – Sky Blue FC (vs WNY)
341 – Seattle
327 – WNY Flash (vs SBFC)
Pass Completion
62% – Portland
62% – Washington
61% – FC Kansas City
60% – Sky Blue FC (vs WSH)
59% – Sky Blue FC (vs WNY)
58% – Chicago
57% – Seattle
57% – WNY Flash (vs SBFC)
[click to continue…]
by Chris Henderson on May 5, 2013
| Sky Blue FC |
Game Total |
WNY Flash |
| 1 |
Goals |
2 |
| 16 |
Shots |
8 |
| 38:09 |
Time of Possession |
33:54 |
| 53% |
Time of Possession % |
47% |
| 596 |
First Touches |
572 |
| 351 |
Passes |
327 |
| 59% |
Pass Completion % |
57% |
| 53 |
Number of Pass Strings |
53 |
| 4.4 |
Average Pass String Length |
4.4 |
| 17 |
Longest Pass String |
10 |
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by Kevin Parker on May 5, 2013
The Spirit were largely able to hold Morgan and Sinclair in check, but it still wasn't enough
So if Portland Thorns head coach Cindy [Parlow] Cone wanted to upgrade her starting lineup, how many players would she take from the Spirit? No more than three, I would think: goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, defender Ali Krieger, and Diana Matheson, who’s down as a midfielder but should probably have a position designation all her own since she’s all over the field.
And it showed in this match, as Portland generally held sway over every part of the field. You mostly hear about their world-class forwards Alex Morgan and Christine Sinclair, but the Thorns midfield control and back line were as dominant if not more so, as the Spirit somehow managed to keep the terrible twosome from scoring in the run of play.
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