Great to get another W, especially against teams we should beat. Playoffs locked in, next up lock in the top 4 for a home game. Main takeaways for me:
1.) Scary start. We are getting in the habit of letting the other team get some good chances right out of the gate. We saw it in both Louisville games and now Orlando twice in the first 10’. Luckily they couldn’t finish on us but better teams will make us pay. Here’s to Paños truly giving us more confidence in the back!
2.) Following up. Love to see how the Wave are now attacking as a full group, never giving up on the ball and getting rebounds and making our opponents pay. This was something we struggled with were Cascarino would outrun our attack (not her fault) but leave us 1 on 4 in the box with no chance at rebounds. Now we have multiple ball hawks there to try and add to the goal tally.
3.) GI-A COR-LEY. Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap. Our season has been filled with weeks of different players stepping up for 3-5 games and just looking like game changers. Godfrey to kick off the season, Dudinha going god tier. Bárcenas freezing defenders. Byars back to back braces. Now it is Corley’s turn and I couldn’t be happier. She has always been a personal fav, just a bulldog going after every ball, trying to win every 50-50 and even every 30-70 she faces. She could not get the goals, but would disrupt the opposing team time and time again and give us turnover and counterattack options. Now she has a goal in 4 straight games (I’m sorry, she straight up backed the defender into the own goal) and I need to figure out how to watch the U-23 games next weekend. It also seems like she has put a lock on the left wing position after they had her at midfield for most of the season and I LOVE it!
4.) Depth is building confidence. Even with all of injuries and questions we had after the summer break, our depth is starting to shine. Our 2nd wave of Ludmila, Bononsea (has impressed so far), Fazer, Courtnall (hated not having MVZ for two games but has been for the greater good in giving Courtnall time to lock up a backup Defender we desperately need for playoffs), and Herbert look more and more confident each game. Hats off to our back office making this happen.
5.) Refs. Still. Suck. Just the softest of PKs and no idea what happened to Tweed at the end of the game. It also seemed like they extended to match 2-3 minutes out of spite as it was 30” until time before that spat and immediately extended 5’. And anyone catch the middle finger it looked like Marta gas Jonas scratching the back of her head earlier in the match?
6.) Shield in sight. First, Gotham has their hands full to finish the season. The potential they drop points to ACFC, WAS, or UTAH is definitely not 0 and we will be there to capitalize. Second, I know it doesn’t mean everything but this team deserves the Shield more than our shield win in ‘23 as this team has been so resilient and adapted on the fly to become a powerhouse heading into the playoffs. We can take ownership of any match, have demolished the top teams all season, and play a damn good style of football that outclasses most other teams (if not all). Our losing stretches either followed injuries (get better Dudinha!) or us trying to figure out our GK situation (thank you Paños!) and both now seem to be locked down. Love this team and want to see them rock it all the way.
