The 2013 National Women’s Soccer League season came to a close late on Saturday night as the Portland Thorns defeated the Western New York Flash 2-0 in Rochester, NY. And this championship match had everything that you would want from a final. From the build up where key players trying to get healthy for the final to great flowing action on the field to one moment of magic that separated the sides to one team overcoming a tough obstacle thrown at them.
The interesting thing about one-off final matches is traditionally they are tight tactical affairs. Usually there is a longer process of feeling out how the opponent will play, lots of tactical fouls and the chances would happen sparingly. But this match showcased some great attacking soccer, with both sides taking the opportunities given to them and having the will to push the envelope going forward. Similar to round one between the Thorns and the Flash, there was a lot of good goalkeeping as well, with AD Franch and Karina LeBlanc producing some spectacular saves.
You could also check off the Moment of Magic category from Saturday night as well, coming from the free kick goal by Tobin Heath. It was an absolute thing of beauty to watch, an outside the foot shot that went over the far left side of the wall and slipped just inside the near post, almost comparable to one of those free kick beauties that Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos used to hit (only difference in this goal is Heath went just over the top of the wall whereas Roberto Carlos always went completely around the wall, but still they were very similar set piece approaches). Franch had no chance to stopping it, despite crashing into the post after the ball went just past her outstretched arms, so nobody could blame her for having a go at the shot. But on those occasions, the goalkeeper has to tip their hat and say that they had no chance, the shot was too good.
And after that, the Flash did basically everything right by throwing the kitchen sink at the Thorns. They pushed everyone forward, attacking the flanks as much as possible to get service into the box and tried going straight to goal when the chance was there. Only LeBlanc and the defense were up to every task and sometimes even the ‘keepers best friend, both posts and the crossbar, were there to the rescue as well. And it wasn’t a surprise that Portland got the second in extra time via the counter attack. By that point Western New York’s defenders looked spent and there was space all across the back line, making it too easy for Alex Morgan to find Christine Sinclair on the through ball for the winner.
And you had to hand it to the crowd at Sahlen’s Stadium that night. 9,125 was the official attendance and with less than a week to sell tickets to the match, the Flash organization did quite an impressive job of getting to word out to the people and filling up the stadium. It was the largest non Jeld-Wen Field crowd for a NWSL match this season and Fox Sports put together their usual solid broadcast. Plus a bigger shout to the Portland supporters who traveled cross country and filled up a good section of seats behind one of the goals. And when Sinclair ran right over to them after netting the insurance goal, it was a nice moment for the players celebrating with the fans.
On a night where there wasn’t many negative aspects, there were two things that grabbed my attention. One main talking point was the refereeing, or lack there of. While final matches usually get more tense and exhibit more than a few hard fouls, it is up to the referee to make a stand early on how much they are going to allow. And on the night, head referee Kari Seitz just was not up to par. She let a lot go and only started to issue cards later in the match on fouls that were less malicious than ones before. And when it got to a point where sideline reporter Kate Markgraf stated that the Seitz was even getting baited by flopping, at that point it was pretty clear that she lost control of the match. Though I will say that Kat Williamson probably did enough to warrant an early dismissal, one of the calls that Seitz got right. And yes, referees are human, they make mistakes and have better nights than others, so hopefully it was just one of those nights
The other thing was the absence of the crazy squirrel interrupting the big match as Sahlen’s (a la 2011 WPS Final). However, the squirrels have been wreaking havoc at another major sporting event in the Empire State, so not to worry on that end.
Otherwise, that is the end of the road for this weekly column/recap section in 2013. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I had writing it. For a full recap of the NWSL season and thoughts for 2014, make sure to check the September print issue of OGM. Until then, good bye for now
NWSL Best XI (with a bench)
But before I leave you we still have one Best XI to reveal on this column and it is our Best Overall XI. Now since the league offices decided to have a First and Second Best XI, I didn’t want to steal their thunder but only recognizing 11 players isn’t cool either. So compensating for both sides, here is a Game day roster of 18 players with a starting XI and seven reserve players:
Starting XI
GK: Nicole Barnhart (Kansas City). The veteran USWNT member had a great season between the pipes. Barnhart was in the top-five in every goalkeeping statistics category and led the league regular season clean sheets on the way to picking up the NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year award.
Def: Leigh Ann Robinson (Kansas City). Started in every match for FCKC, was a revelation on the flanks and had five assists for the season. Definitely one of the best, if not the best, outside backs in the NWSL and completely deserved the call-up for the USWNT/Mexico match last night.
Def: Christie Rampone (Sky Blue). It seems with each year the USWNT team captain plays, she gets even better. Started 20 matches for Sky Blue and was a rock in the center of a tough defense to break down, a defense that included a rookie, a second year professional and a teenaged outside back.
Def: Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City). Proving that form can get you places back with the WPS, Sauerbrunn continued to impress in the 1st NWSL season. Named the NWSL Defender of the Year, Sauerbrunn started 19 matches, had an assist and worked well with Lauren Sesselmann in center back.
Def: Brittany Taylor (Western New York). A season to remember for Taylor who started 21 matches for the Flash, scoring three goals and had four assists and showcased lethal free kick service over the top. Another player that could very well break into the USWNT pool sooner rather than later.
Mid: Diana Matheson (Washington). Matheson was the motivational leader for Washington this year and quickly became a fan-favorite with the Spirit crowd. The CanWNT veteran netted eight goals and three assists in 19 matches and will be a big piece for Washington to build around in preparations for the 2014 season.
Mid: Lauren Holiday (Kansas City). Holiday fully deserved the NWSL MVP accolade for her fantastic campaign in 2013. In 18 matches, Holiday scored 12 goals (including a few memorable strikes) and had nine assists en route to the NWSL Golden Boot. Including her two goals and four assists with the national team thus far, 2013 could be a year to remember for Holiday.
Mid: Lianne Sanderson (Boston). The creative midfielder/attacker had a big year in Boston, scoring five goals and had seven assists (third in the NWSL). Like Matheson, Sanderson is another one of those players that Boston will be building around for 2014.
Mid: Carli Lloyd (Western New York). After missing the first few matches with an injury, Lloyd was a key part of the Western New York attack. She hit the net for eight goals in 15 matches in the regular season and had a brace in the semifinal win over Sky Blue and with her work rate in the midfield, she was one of the hardest players to defend in 2013.
Fwd: Sydney Leroux (Boston). In getting an opportunity to be a regular starter, Leroux did not disappoint the Boston fans. She netted 11 goals this season (tied-second in the NWSL), including a few clinical strikes from distance. And with four of those goals coming as game-winners (tops in the NWSL), she had a flair for the dramatic goals as well.
Fwd: Abby Wambach (Western New York). Wambach put up another standard club season performance under her belt in 2013, which her standards qualify as quite another phenomenal season. With 11 goals (tied for second in the NWSL) and eight assists (second in the NWSL), she had a hand in more than half of the Flash’s goals this season.
Reserves
GK: Karina LeBlanc (Portland). LeBlanc had a top year in 2013 en route to leading the Thorns to the league title. She lead the league in goalkeeping wins with 11, second in minutes played and saves (with many of them of the top-notch variety) and third in clean sheets with seven.
Def: Rachel Buehler (Portland). Partnering with rookie Kat Williamson in center back, Buehler had a very consistent season in Portland. Starting 20 matches and had two assists and also had a big hand in developing Williamson’s game as well. The two of them combined to make the center of the field very tough to break down for opponents.
Mid: Lori Chalupny (Chicago). The veteran Chalupny was the key in leading Chicago to an impressive season, despite missing the last few weeks of the season with an injury. She scored five goals and had four assists, plus did a lot of the dirty work for the Red Stars in midfield including suffering 41 fouls (only Seattle’s Jess Fishlock suffered more fouls but played three more matches).
Mid: Megan Rapinoe (Seattle). When Rapinoe arrived in Seattle in June, she had an immediate impact on the field and helped spur on the Reign to an inspiring second half of the season. In 12 matches she had five goals and one assist and combined well with Jess Fishlock and Christine Nairn, making the Reign’s midfield trio one of the more dangerous midfield cores in the NWSL.
Mid: Erika Tymrak (Kansas City). Once the Florida grad got into the starting lineup, she never looked back. In 21 matches (16 starts), she had six goals and four assists en route to the NWSL Rookie of the Year and performed well in her first match with the USWNT last night. Tymrak is definitely posed for a big future in her professional career after this 2013 season.
Fwd: Christine Sinclair (Portland). It was a slow middle of the season for the CanWNT striker. But late on, Sinclair was crucial in Portland’s title triumph. She had eight goals and two assists in 20 matches during the regular season and combined well with the plethora of Thorns attacking players.
Fwd: Alex Morgan (Portland). The other half of the Portland duo up front had a quality season on her own right. In 18 matches played she had eight goals and five assists and while she missed a couple of matches at the end of the season with a MCL injury, she was still a key part of the Thorns offense. Plus with her goal total combined with Sinclair’s, they scored half of the Thorns regular season goals in 2013 and had a hand in seven others.