May 17 Freedom 1 Breakers 1

This was two very different games. The first game was most of the first half. In this game the Freedom outplayed the Breakers. At times it looked like the Freedom had numbers-up on both ends of the field. I'm not sure how they were achieving this, but I noticed they used the width of the field very well -- the halfback playing wide was very often all the way out to the sideline.

The second game was most of the second half. Suddenly the Freedom couldn't put together a sustained attack and the Breakers were pressing hard. Can someone explain to me what changed? I couldn't figure it out (but I enjoyed it).

Allie Long was impressive. She's surprisingly quick for such a tall woman. Several times she dispossessed Lilly like Lilly wasn't even there. (Of course this made Lilly all the more intense and focused.)

Bompastor constantly looked dangerous.

LePeilbet was a force in the back. She played with strength, skill and such courage. A number of times she charged forward, or came flying out to the side, and ended a Freedom attack. She was a pleasure to watch.

Kelly Smith did not have a good game. It looked like she played parts of the game hurt (she had a nasty-looking burn in the first half and seemed to be limping near the end of the second half.) I think DiCicco should have taken her out -- it doesn't help her or the team to play injured.

We still do not know what to do with A-Rod. We are not taking advantage of her blazing speed. It's frustrating to watch; I'm sure it's frustrating for her, too. I think she could be a little greedier. Sometimes forwards need to be greedy -- to take the ball to the goal themselves, saying, I'M going to score. A-Rod had a potential run in which she had the ball and a step on the last two Freedom defenders, but she cut the ball back to wait for help. Nothing came of it. Take it to goal instead, Amy!

Alex Scott's goal was a beautiful play. Latham's pass surprised me and the defense-- she had a player square to her, but opted to thread the thru pass instead. Lovely.

I noticed Smith and Bompastor appear to be good friends. They had a humorous mock-wrestling match late in the second half, in which they were both laughing. That was fun to see.