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Posted by
Emily Dulhanty,
April 14, 2013 |
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Email Emily Dulhanty
Twitter @emidul |
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This weekend marks the return of women’s professional soccer to the United States, in the form of the National Women’s Soccer League, where 19 Canadian women are set to suit up for their respective teams.
The NWSL will be the third attempt at a professional league in the United States, after the collapse of the WUSA in 2003 and WPS in early 2012. Skepticism about the survival of the NWSL is certainly present. However, there is also a hopeful optimism that this is a league that is here to stay. Fueling this hope are a few significant changes to the business model of the NWSL compared to the two previous failed leagues. This time around it is all about starting small: eight teams, some of them playing in smaller stadiums than previous leagues, and smaller player salaries (confirmed this week by Cheryl Bailey, NWSL Executive Director, of being in the range of $6,000-$30,000 per player). Sustainability is this league’s middle name, and support from the US Soccer Federation, the Mexican Football Federation and our own Canadian Soccer Association paying the salaries of each countries’ national team allocated players will surely help this league get off to a better financial start than in the past.
From a Canadian perspective, the NWSL could not have come at a better time for the CanWNT player pool. Coming off of the 2012 Olympic Bronze medal high, and just over two short years out from the 2015 Women’s World Cup on home turf, the NWSL will give the Canadian women a chance to compete in a fully professional environment day in and day out, something that many of the Canadian women have never experienced or have experienced infrequently.
Match Report: Portland Thorns 1, FC Kansas City 1
Last night’s inagural NWSL game in Kansas City drew a sold out stadium of almost 6,800 fans. Christine Sinclair, returning to Portland where she won two NCAA titles and two Mac Hermann Trophies (NCAA women’s soccer player of the year award) in her college days with the University of Portland Pilots, captained the Thorns. Sinclair was paired up with USWNT superstar Alex Morgan at forward. Canadian goalkeeper Karina Leblanc started for the Thorns, and FC Kansas City featured Canadian defensive midfielder Desiree Scott and left back Lauren Sesselmann, both mainstays on the CanWNT.
The game started off at a very high pace, with both teams taking some time to settle into their new teams and adjust to the playing surface. However, in only the third minute of play, FC Kansas City was able to unlock the Thorn’s defensive line, as a nice through ball found Mexican striker Renae Cuellar, who netted it past Leblanc to open the scoring. After the goal, Kansas was certainly the better team in the first half, and controlled most of the play. Desiree Scott lived up to her nickname the “Destroyer”, as she was invaluable at maintaining control in the centre of the park. Scott managed to intercept many of the Thorn’s passes coming through the middle, which did not allow Sinclair and Morgan to see very many touches on the ball in the first half. The Thorn’s only chance of the first half came in the 20th minute when Sinclair unleashed a hard shot from 20 yards out which forced the Kansas City keeper to make a diving save.
A substitute and slight positional change in the second half saw Sinclair drop into a deeper forward position with Morgan above her, which allowed the Thorns to string together some nice combination play. Sesselmann was great at maintaining Morgan’s runs all game, however in the 66th minute a challenge by Sesselmann on one of Portland’s players in the box drew a questionable penalty kick for the Thorns. Sinclair smoothly netted it home with a perfectly taken PK, leveling the scoring at one all.
Interestingly, another Canadian featured in the match for Kansas City, as defender Katie Kelly was subbed into the match in the 77th minute. Kelly was called into Canadian camp once under CanWNT coach John Herdman in 2011. The NWSL will give Herdman a better chance of identifying if players like Kelly can fit into the CanWNT system.
The game ended in a draw, as no other real scoring chances were registered in the time after the penalty kick. On paper, one could say the Thorn’s are the best team in the league, however the match showed more tactical changes may have to be done to help Sinclair and Morgan get more involved in play. FC Kansas City showed that their well balanced squad, including the strong defensive core of Canadian’s Scott and Sesselmann, will be a team to watch throughout the season.
Remaining Week 1 Schedule:
-Western New York Flash at Sky Blue FC, Sunday April 14, 6:00pm EST
-Seattle Reign FC at Chicago Red Stars, Sunday April 14, 5:00pm EST
-Washington Spirit at Boston Breakers, Sunday April 14, 6:30pm EST
Broadcast Information:
All 8 teams have announced they will be providing live video web streams of every home game, and links for the three remaining games today can be found at http://www.nwslsoccer.com/home/710499.html. (Note: 7 teams will be providing this service for free, with the Boston Breakers being the exception. Boston will charge a $5 pay per view fee for each home game webstream.)
Here is the rest of Red Nation Online’s NWSL preview ahead of today’s games, with a focus on the roles that the Canadian women will play.
Western New York Flash
Canadians: Jodi-Ann Robinson and Bryanna McCarthy
Outlook: The Western New York Flash have a history of success in recent years, winning the 2011 WPS title and 2012 WPSL Elite titles. FIFA World Player of the Year Abby Wambach is sure to lead her team along this same path, and a plethora of proven and experienced talent around the park will help the Flash make another title run. Canadian midfielder Jodi-Ann Robinson has been capped 55 times for the CanWNT, and despite not being in Canada’s 2012 Olympic squad, Robinson has recently been called back into camp by Herdman and will look to prove her goal scoring abilities with the Flash in the hopes of becoming a main stay on the CanWNT once again. Rookie defender Bryanna McCarthy has earned 6 international caps, and Herdman giving McCarthy an allocation spot says a lot about his hopes for McCarthy’s CanWNT future.
Sky Blue FC
Canadians: Sophie Schmidt and Melanie Booth
Outlook: Sky Blue FC, based out of New Jersey/New York City, will have Canadian workhorse Sophie Schmidt patrolling the middle of the park. Schmidt’s willingness to do the dirty work to win the ball, as well as her playmaking and ability at going forward will be invaluable to Sky Blue FC this season. Canadian Melanie Booth is likely to start on the bench for Sky Blue, but she will look to make any impact she can off the bench in a defending or midfield role. Booth was recently left out of the CanWNT European camp and friendlies squad, so she will take any opportunity given to her to make a case to Herdman for future national team selection. USWNT defender Kelley O’Hara is likely to actually play as a forward for Sky Blue this season, a position she excelled at in her college days, and will help out an otherwise unproven forward line.
Seattle Reign FC
Canadians: Emily Zurrer, Kaylyn Kyle and Tiffany Cameron
Outlook: Seattle will start the season missing important USWNT allocations in Hope Solo (wrist injury) and Megan Rapinoe, due to a prior contract at Lyon in France until the end of June. Seattle has three young Canadians on their roster that will look to keep the Reign in the top half of the league before Solo and Rapinoe arrive midseason to continue the playoff push. Midfielder Kaylyn Kyle is a tireless tackler and recent international friendlies have highlighted her potential to become a threat in and around the box and on set pieces, as she netted home the tying goal in Canada’s recent friendly against France in the dying seconds of the game. Centre back Emily Zurrer has been primarily used on the CanWNT as a substitute as of late, but her reliability at the back will pay dividends for Seattle and may help Zurrer reclaim a starting centre back spot on the national team. In addition to Kyle and Zurrer, Canadian international Tiffany Cameron was picked up by the Reign as a free agent signee and is likely to start for the Reign on the front line. Cameron is set to miss the Reign’s opening game as she finishes up her studies at Ohio State University.
Chicago Red Stars
Canadians: Erin McLeod and Carmelina Moscato
Outlook: The Red Stars have a solid midfield line, with former and current USWNT national team members, including veteran Shannon Boxx. Canadians on the breakers include goalkeeper Erin McLeod, who has looked world class as of late for the CanWNT in friendlies, most notably against England and France. Goalkeeping will not be an issue for Chicago, and the starting role should give McLeod the opportunity to solidify Canada’s number one goalkeeping spot. Centre back Carmelina Moscato has been a regular on Canada’s back line for years and the Red Stars will need Moscato to be an anchor at the back line, where experience is lacking.
Washington Spirit
Canadians: Diana Matheson, Robyn Gayle and Candace Chapman
Outlook: The Washington Spirit is a team with veteran experience on the back line and in the midfield, and this is partly due to the Spirit’s Canadian contingent in these areas. Diana Matheson is very technical in the midfield, and Canadian fans certainly know she can create scoring opportunities and put the ball in the back of the net herself. Robyn Gayle will provide veteran leadership most likely at centre back, where she has been a regular substitute as of late for the CanWNT. One interesting Canadian story from the Washington Spirit is the signing of veteran centre back Candace Chapman as a free agent. Much was made of John Herdman’s decision to not give Chapman an allocation spot, however recent news has provided that Chapman is still recovering from her torn calf injury suffered in Canada’s opening game of the 2012 Olympics against Japan, which may have played into Herdman’s decision. If healthy, which still seems to be unknown, Chapman will be solid for the Spirit. Chapman will need to work herself back into international form if a call up to CanWNT camp is to become a reality once again. The biggest challenge the Spirit is likely to face is their lack of experience up front.
Boston Breakers
Canadians: Adriana Leon and Rhian Wilkinson
Outlook: The Boston Breakers have established a dangerous looking team, with many young and proven attacking options as well as a few experienced midfield and defending options. Boston’s biggest problems are at the back however, as they are heading into the first NWSL season without a top flight goalkeeper, and a recent partial ACL tear to would be starting defender Bianca D’Agostino has left the Breakers with fewer favourable defensive options. Veteran Canadian defender Rhian Wilkinson will surely be solid at the back, and her ability to get forward on the right wing and deliver quality crosses will be a positive prospect for the Breakers. Rookie striker Adriana Leon has been noted as a promising strike partner for Christine Sinclair on the national team, so any time she is given at Boston will be valuable to her development as a goal scorer.
Keep checking back at RNO for weekly updates and previews about the Canadian women in the NWSL.
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