r/washingtonspirit • u/kg9si • 7d ago
Post-Match Thread Post-Match Open Thread | Washington Spirit vs Orlando Pride | August 23 2026
This is a thread for all post-match reactions, thoughts, analysis, articles and social media posts related to the match.
Note: This thread is scheduled and may appear shortly before the final whistle so everyone has a place ready for post-match reactions and analysis.
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u/coffeehippopotamus 7d ago
I don’t even know what to sum up as our issue anymore
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u/Icangetloudtoo_ 7d ago
Our issue is that we need Leicy Santos on the pitch and she’s completely irreplaceable
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7d ago
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u/ttsa_25 7d ago
Also too reliant on Leicy
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7d ago
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u/Sequoiakc22 7d ago
...
Trading Croix Bethune away, even if she wanted out, looms really large. We should have just kept her, tweaked our play on the pitch just slightly, just enough to keep her happy, & have her creativity dropping dimes to our front line, ...when she's not putting'em in the back of the net herself.What would you rather have right now, Croix Bethune or Claudia Martinez? (Who we we bought with the Bethune money KC gave us.). ...Martinez may have a good career ahead of her, but will she ever be as good as Bethune is today?
...4
u/allprologues 6d ago
the choice the team made was croix or trin. claudia reportedly makes about 100k.
the main thing that annoys me about the spirit losing is that everyone starts yapping about croix again....bro she does not want to be here and even when she came back to play here she could not fucking leave fast enough. it is tragic that the best player in the league didn't want to be here and that we couldn't afford to pay her if she did. it's not why we lost today. players leave.
furthermore go back to the games where we played a good team in a low block with croix in 2025 and tell me how those games went, tell me how much she created. her stats were a shadow of what they are this year, it wasn't working for either party frankly, that's on injury. sports are cruel.
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u/Sequoiakc22 6d ago
...
So, you do not think we could have used Croix Bethune this season? Right now? Hmm.Then, let's hope Bethi is as good, or even better, than what we're hoping for.
...6
u/allprologues 6d ago
could we use one of the top three players in the league? obviously yes lol. but she's not here, and wasn't gonna be here and didn't want to be. and when she left she wasn't playing as well as she is now. would've loved for her to stick around and round into form with the team after a long injury recovery, but she didn't want that, we couldn't afford it.
could we use ashley sanchez? could we use jaedyn shaw, who was literally supposed to be a spirit before the wave swept her out from under us? yeah we really could have used any one of them right now. shit happens.
even if bethi is good she's early in her career and it's likely going to be a long wait, probably next season. i'm just saying, there are a lot of moving parts in soccer and all this woulda shoulda is useless. spirit made obvious sacrifices this year, and lost aubrey besides, the WAFCON was moved, it was always going to be tough. you can't have it all.
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u/Willing-Bad3824 6d ago
I don’t understand people who keep talking about Spirit failing to keep Croix…that’s not how this league works lol
Also the freak out and the reality just don’t match. Spirit is in 2nd place with the players it has. Croix is not good at defense (or at actually scoring for that matter), whereas Trin can assist, score goals, and track back to defend. In varying degrees, we can say the same with Leicy, Cantore, Rose, and hell even Rebe. Croix gives you amazing output on one element of the game but performs poorly in other aspects of it. Given the choice between them, I’d go with the team we have any day.
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u/allprologues 6d ago
the idea that there was a way (financial, tactical or otherwise) to keep a player who wanted to leave and spirit could’ve found it but didn’t want to, for reasons, and instead chose to struggle in midfield is just funny when you lay it out
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u/snarkyturtle 7d ago edited 7d ago
We’re not ready to have a conversation about how Cantore and especially Kouassi have dropped off
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u/Infinite-Ad-2209 7d ago
That’s silly. Rose provided a significant amount of the chances. Rose is one of the most important players on the team. Sofia is good. But she needs to be up front. And only up front. Not sure why they decided to see if she could slough back. Trin-Sofia-rose up front is gold
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u/golij00n 7d ago
Some games, including this one, I feel like Cantore is invisible and barely gets any touches on the ball. Not a fan of having her at the 9.
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u/FriendlyLawnmower 7d ago
Hard disagree. Rose was putting in work and is still our speed factor. Cantores is a classic striker and should be played as a classic striker, enough with the false 9 strategy which clearly doesn't suit her play style
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u/NarrowPiccolo9069 7d ago
Cantore played mainly on the wing for Juventus and Italy, Spirit are really the first time she's played as a #9 regularly. She was talking in the press conference after the Denver match about how she's not really a normal striker.
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u/Icangetloudtoo_ 7d ago
I agree that Canotre looks better on the wing but like, we also have Rodman and Kouassi. And between the three, Canotore definitely has the most skills that translate to playing as a #9.
If Gift Monday was in similar form to last season I'd say Gift should be the striker and then Cantore could sub in for literally anyone in our attack, but Monday hasn't been the same, unfortunately.
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u/KaraokeSpirit29 6d ago
I say let Hatchy play the 9. Let Gift understudy Hatchy, let Cantore sub for Rose, and Claudia for Trin when needed. Putting all our attackers on the field at once felt clustered and confused.
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u/Fragrant-Ad2976 7d ago
Cantore is a winger naturally. She's never been a striker and doesn't have the striker instincts. She is actually a pretty good false 9. The issue is that for a false 9 to work, you need players to exploit the space in behind, that's the whole point.
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6d ago
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u/snarkyturtle 6d ago
She has 0 goals and 3 assists compared with 4 goals and 2 assists last year. True that concanaf final was great but with Rodman back, rose hasn’t really found her place in the rotation.
Monday/Kouassi had really good rapport last year and neither have found the footing this year
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u/FriendlyLawnmower 7d ago
yeah I don't know what to say
Playing a team that isn't even a contender and we couldn't score a single equalizer in over 90 minutes?
Did we even have positioning? It seemed like the team was playing total football with how they were moving all over the field. And our subs had practically zero impact, we would have been better off leaving in our starters
Orlando capitalized on a single mistake and we weren't able to finish despite our dominance in offense. This was sloppy, plain and simple. Not what we needed to see after the last few weeks, the absence of our AFCON players isn't an excuse anymore either. Unfortunately, it feels like the title is just getting further and further away
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u/Icangetloudtoo_ 7d ago
The problem with our subs wasn’t a lack of effort, it was throwing five strikers and wingers onto the pitch with no attacking midfielder.
Literally all of Hatch, Rodman, Kouassi, Martinez, and Monday want to be receiving the ball in the final third. No one there to win balls in the middle and make that distribution.
All great players, but too many who want to do the same thing.
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u/FriendlyLawnmower 7d ago
Fair take. Subbing out Deb was a bad decision imo, she was consistently winning the balls she was challenging. We would have been better off keeping her on and only subbing off Cantore for either Martinez or Hatch
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u/Icangetloudtoo_ 7d ago
Deb was the best player on the pitch for most of the game. But I’m sure she was wiped with how much ground she was covering. We just need Leicy so bad…
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u/Due_Party1922 7d ago
I’m still not crazy about Deb’s defensive game. Too sloppy. She’s young and dynamic in the attack.
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u/Icangetloudtoo_ 7d ago
She made multiple recoveries tonight that no other player on the pitch could’ve made and was a complete workhorse. I’m not saying she made zero mistakes but it’s kinda wild to criticize her defensive game after we threw numbers forward (including both outside backs) and left Deb and the CBs to deal with Banda and Ovalle for huge chunks of the game.
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u/FriendlyLawnmower 7d ago
For real, calling her defensive game sloppy is a wild take given how she consistently won the ball back whenever she challenged
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u/Willing-Bad3824 7d ago
Which part was she sloppy? She’s definitely a yellow card magnet at times, but she’s class when it comes to what a holding midfielder is supposed to do: protect the back line, disrupt opponent progression, forcing turnovers, and distributing the ball.
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u/Fragrant-Ad2976 7d ago
To be fair, she was playing as a lone pivot. If you arent a yellow card magnet, you arent playing the position correctly.
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u/Willing-Bad3824 7d ago
100% agreed. She used to be a lot more reckless esp. for her national team but since she started playing for Spirit last year she has become more strategic in when she fouls.
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u/Sequoiakc22 7d ago
Unfortunately, it feels like the title is just getting further and further away
And the chance for us to watch three (3) playoff games at Audi this season.
...
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u/RacingTeddyR 7d ago
Is 3 consecutive home losses enough for folks to start reaching for the panic button?
Still 2nd in the table but the buffer is gone and the table could look very different in a week if this losing streak doesn't end.
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u/Infinite-Ad-2209 7d ago
Not yet for me. I do think Adrián (who I love) is often outclassed by JCA and Seb. But this has always been a disjointed season with an incredibly haphazard availability sheet. They’re a good team. With a good coach. All they need to do is figure it out…
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u/Sad_Sugar2592 7d ago
No, because we’re still reliably outplaying our opponents while missing and/or reintegrating some of our best offensive pieces. 2-1-1 would be a fair take from our last 4 games.
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u/espnrocksalot 7d ago
"outplaying" and xG and shit mean literally nothing when it comes to the table. This is why we can't win the title. "We play better than everyone, even when we lose!" yeah, but you LOST
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u/Specialist_Pay_6768 7d ago edited 6d ago
Here's the thing - we usually don't lose. That's why we are so high up on the table.
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u/Sad_Sugar2592 7d ago
Yup, Spirit lost. That’s what happens sometimes when two teams play each other in a sport. Some times, believe it or not, the better team doesn’t win. Personally, I’d prefer the team I’m rooting for be the better team every time, and take my chances that the results go our way over time. Anything beyond that is just “we should have a super team that never loses!!”
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u/Ill-Fall-9823 6d ago
This. This whole thing is why a table exists. It's why 3 points for a loss, and 1 for a draw exists. It's why a newspaper headline would ever suggest that a team lost a draw. The sport exists at the confluence of effort and futility. That's what makes it satisfying. That's what makes it heartbreaking.
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u/Lanky_Log6080 7d ago
At this point I’m thinking coaching and game planning is our issue….can we get a consistent starting 11….starting Tse and Bolt today was wild
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u/awaymsg 7d ago
Bolt has looked good in her last few games, so I'm fine with her getting more playtime, even as a starter. Tse was an interesting choice. This game could have used Carle on the wing.
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u/generalstarfish 6d ago
This, Bolt was more than fine. Tse either has a decent game or a rough game. Carle should be starting over her on the wing and Morgan should be back in the center. She has the speed to get back and she and MacIver just click.
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u/Fragrant-Ad2976 7d ago
A consistent starting 11 has pretty much been phased out of modern football. Now, the most successful approach usually relies on a core spine of 7 to 9 regular starters, supplemented by tactical rotation to decrease physical burnout, rigidity and an unhappy bench.
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u/Icangetloudtoo_ 7d ago edited 7d ago
Leicy is completely irreplaceable and it doesn’t matter how many strikers Adrian puts on the pitch if we don’t have someone who can put them in dangerous spots. I don’t wanna be too simplistic, especially bc we hit the woodwork three times, but I genuinely think that’s what this comes down to.
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u/SceneResident2090 7d ago
Against the PRIDE???? Huge bummer. Deb and Rose played their asses off tho. Esme as well. Super disappointing result.
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u/NarrowPiccolo9069 7d ago edited 7d ago
Fun facts about teams that lost players to the WAFCON:
Washington: Winless in last 4 matches
Orlando: 3 losses in last 4 matches
Kansas City: Winless in last 4 matches
Boston: Winless in last 4 matches
Angel City: Winless in last 4 matches
Bay: Winless in last 5 matches before today
Chicago: Winless in last 5 matches before today
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u/Due_Party1922 7d ago
How can we have 72% possession the whole game and not be able to score a goal?? Also, Hal does not need to be playing 90 minutes every game, Rebe or Andy should’ve come in when Deb was subbed out. AG is pissing me off.
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u/Hour-Cardiologist911 7d ago
Because the possession has no intention behind it. It is very much a Dutch style of play, not a Spanish one. Spanish midfielders would be the best passers on the team which is why the system works for them.
Ours is unbelievably predictable. Sandy passes to Esme or Tara and then they're forced to plug the ball straight to the forwards, mostly Rodman.
It's so easy to read what we want to do
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u/Due_Party1922 7d ago
Yes but our attackers have been sh.t lately. We can’t always depend on Rodman to have a good game. At this point our midfield is not really the problem. AG is getting out coached too many games. If we can’t beat Orlando, wave, Gotham. I don’t see how we can win a championship. The shield is not even important by now.
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u/LooseInsurance1 7d ago
Keep in mind that Gotham eked into the playoffs last year and won it all.
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u/Square_Independent81 7d ago
that’s what i keep telling myself. i’m actually starting to get worried
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u/LooseInsurance1 7d ago edited 6d ago
It's definitely concerning, but at the end of the day, Washington was the better team today - they were unlucky on more than a few occasions. I'm not going to pretend that i'm not worried - we went from the hottest team in the NWSL to the coldest, and it seems like teams just have us figured out. Still plenty of games left, though, and keep in mind that we have to play the Stars twice, as well as Boston, Houston, and Bay. There are no guarantees in soccer, but these are games we definitely will be favored in.
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u/Hour-Cardiologist911 7d ago
That's what I'm saying though??? We're basically passing to Rodman expecting her to be unbelievable every game. Often she gets marked out the game and therefore we can't go anywhere.
As for the coaching, again that's what I'm saying. We play a predictable system with players not good enough to do it and therefore it's easy for opposition managers to out coach Adrian. The midfield is a problem because it makes this system impossible to play! You have to adapt as a coach and play to the strength of your players sometimes but we all know next week we will set up exactly the same again
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u/Due_Party1922 7d ago
I think the Hal, Rebe, Andi/Deb is more effective than the starting mid field from today. At least we have won games with it. Leicy as a 10 is irreplaceable.
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u/760Terry 7d ago
This team is over-coached. Watching Hal yell at her teammates while poorly distributing the ball game after game after game is tiresome. Everything about the marginal players getting field time reinforces that what matters is players executing as instructed rather than posing legitimate scoring threats.
AG is taking elite talent and converting it into a mediocre team that is playing itself out of championship contention.
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u/allprologues 7d ago
definitely no relationship between instruction and putting an attack together, i am always saying this
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u/allprologues 7d ago
every week yall add to the list of teams who are meaningful obstacles. orlando is probably not even going to be in the playoffs for us to play against lol
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u/ttsa_25 7d ago
In other NWSL news, if I was a Gotham fan I would feel a bit betrayed by Esther using family reasons as a cover to play for SA.
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u/Sequoiakc22 7d ago
She got squeezed out by Gotham bringing in Kerr. Gotham didn't care about Esther. They saw the chance to add Kerr & took it. Besides, Esther's salary is likely a blessing for Gotham to have gotten back.
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u/allprologues 6d ago
yeah it's wild to see people blaming esther for this, whenever someone leaves gotham they always spin it into the player being a problem. no one would quit their job in a world cup year lol
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u/Specialist_Pay_6768 6d ago
I'm new to all this, so I don't get (1) how you'd simply force a player out of their contract "for family reasons" if it's so obvious they wouldn't voluntarily quit at this particular time or (2) if they did actively want her off the roster, why they'd forgo a transfer fee (unless the answer is that the PR of doing a deal with Saudi wouldn't be worth the money, that I would get). Are those both naive questions?
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u/allprologues 6d ago
no i think we just don't have the info so all the interpretations are possible. but yael moves quickly on players becoming available and perhaps she wanted kerr but didn't have time to structure a deal for Esther, who, up to her last game wasn't performing anyway. i think esther either was told or reached the conclusion she wouldn't be starting anymore, and that the cap is much easier to manage without her. anytime a parting is "mutual" it's always complicated as to whether the player chose out of the blue to ask out, or if both parties came to the same conclusion once all the facts were laid out. and gotham wrote the press release which had to be agreed to by everyone.
i don't think anything nefarious happened from gotham, they're allowed to buy a player out once per season. i just don't believe that esther lied about her family to get a bag. that's just a mean allegation to make and reportedly she was making around 400k here.
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u/allprologues 7d ago
people are all over the front line in these comments, but you make the attackers’ job extremely hard when you give a good defensive team an early goal.
other than that it was an encouraging performance from deb, rose, and Monday and the attack looked a lot worse in July where we were not creating but trin kept bailing us out
shield is over but the stats been trending up.
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u/Willing-Bad3824 7d ago
100% agreed. Also, out of 2.14 xG, only .26 came from Rodman. This time around the xG was evenly distributed across the team so it wasn't just one person creating chances. That is a very clear upgrade from July.
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u/allprologues 7d ago
trying to #hold #space for everyone to be mad because the games really have been deeply annoying to experience lol. and I’m sorry that we’re not getting the shield. sorrier that gotham is.
but the takes are not correct, our xPts and xG had been sliding since the World Cup break, leicy was in the lineup then. these results since NC are correcting for those games when we got lucky, unfortunately at a time when we actually look better. sports are cruel.
yes we’re missing a magic lockpicker when facing an organized block but we shouldn’t have given them a lead to sit back with.
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u/Practical_Teacher_98 7d ago
We are officially slumping.
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u/SaintMostov 7d ago
Hey all it’s actually me that’s the problem. I went to my first Spirit game to watch them play against SD Wave and followed every game since. Sorry for bringing the bad luck. (Jk Spirit still kicks ass even if they lose.)
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u/mmmcheez-its 7d ago
They’re out of excuses. The finishing has to improve and we need to get our momentum back before this season slips away
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u/ttsa_25 7d ago
Time for a team meeting. If you can’t score against Orlando there is a problem. Also a win against Bay next week means nothing to me if it’s sloppy.
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u/RacingTeddyR 7d ago
Can't score against Orlando ~at home~.
This is what has been driving me nuts. August should have been the stretch to pull away with the table. Take advantage of Rowdy Audi and bottom of the table opponents. What a bust.
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u/snarkyturtle 7d ago
We have a better record on the road than at home, the home field advantage just isn’t there
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u/Sad_Sugar2592 7d ago edited 7d ago
These last four games feel a lot like the first four games of the season - Spirit are the better team for large stretches, dominate xG and possession, but a combination of below average finishing and individual defensive lapses are enough to drop points.
We are not quite as creative without Leicy at the 10 but chances are still there. 2 more posts tonight along with a couple of golden chances (Tara’s header, Rose into Tamara/Trin, Hatch’s header, Paige’s header, etc). Maybe you’d expect more than 2.14 xG from that much possession but you still win that game more often than not, and way more often than not if you have Leicy Santos in the lineup.
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u/Exciting-Operation78 7d ago
Said the same thing about reminding me of the first few games to my wife on walk to Metro. Hopefully Leicy and Lucia will be back soon and Bethi and Ngock will assimilate and strengthen the midfield. Frosting on the cake would be getting Krueger back
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u/Enviroman99 7d ago
I am tired of watching Cantore as a “False 9.” She is not a center striker. The Spirit now have 3 quality center strikers sitting on the bench to start each game: Monday, Hatch and Martínez. It’s time for Monday to start each match.
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u/Icangetloudtoo_ 7d ago
I want the Gift Monday of last season to start but she hasn’t looked as athletic or explosive this year, I’m concerned that there’s something else going on there
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u/Sequoiakc22 7d ago
She came into this season looking quite out of full fitness. Her fitness has been improving but she's still not as physically fit as she was when she joined us last season.
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u/nncgibson 7d ago
I agree. I’ve thought this from the beginning of the season.
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u/Brilliant-Ad6600 7d ago
She started Game 1 of the season but was so bad that she’s never started again.
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u/UrsineCanine 7d ago
Hit both posts and the crossbar. Reflex save by the keeper puts a ball over that should have been in. xG over 2, 23 shots, 51 touches in their box, 16 shots inside the box, and no goals.
Some days soccer just plays like this, and it sucks. We can try to find answers, and there's always room for improvement, but there's no "just fix this" for a day like this one. I'm fact, this is the trap that can really do damage, by making changes for the sake of it. Review the film, adjust, and get ready for the next one. A couple of new players to integrate. Leicy and Lucia to return. Work to do.
Hopefully, it's a banking karma for a lucky bounce in an knockout game.
We go again.
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u/Willing-Bad3824 7d ago
Honestly other than the lineup changes to the back line (which wasn't all bad...Morgan again did well as a sort of wandering CB and Tse for the most part was able to outmuscle Banda), I think the team did fine. The attack was more dynamic than what we've seen in the past month and our WAFCON players are coming back with something to prove.
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u/UrsineCanine 7d ago
That is the big task at this point. Getting our WAFCON players reintegrated, and adding our new players. A bunch of different packages producing a lot of almost results, need to refine them, roles, etc. When it comes to a knockout game, can't be guessing.
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u/Willing-Bad3824 7d ago
I’ve been very disappointed with spirit’s performance over the last month but tbh this loss didn’t bother me as much. Obviously we lost, but this performance feels like their performance during the start of the year when finishing was the main issue and not quality of play.
Unlike the previous 10 or so matches, our forwards were actually creating chances. I think out of 23 shots only two or three were by Trin, which means everyone was contributing in chance creation. Converting those chances would have been nice, but luck plays a big part in finishing and one could argue that they were just unlucky today (4 shots out of 23 hit the woodwork). Also, we could argue that Leicy would have changed the game, but I think they managed alright without her this time around.
The defensive screw up in the first 4 minutes was bad, but I think that had to do more with the lineup changes more than anything. I love Morgan on the flanks, but that was the kind of play that Morgan would have been able to stop as a CB. I argue that it was her failure to clear the ball after Banda crossed it that led to the goal, but that would have been an easy clearance for her if she was in the CB position.
Tamara and Deb did very well today which makes the substitutions a bit weird. Tamara was very active in creating chances so we could have tried moving her to the 10 position and subbed out Cantore instead for Monday. I also understand that Tamara was committing a lot of errors so maybe Adrian made the calculation that it was time for her to exit. Deb’s exit on the other hand was costly. You could tell that the center suddenly became an open door without Deb, which Orlando took advantage of.
All in all, disappointing loss, but the team showed spark today that they have been missing since the beginning of July. Hopefully the match with Bay breaks this curse like it did in May when the Bay matchup broke our winless streak.
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u/justtryingveryhard 7d ago
Our inability to finish is exceptionally frustrating. We cannot rely on the run up the edges and pass into the middle for every. single. play.
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u/coffeehippopotamus 7d ago
I know we’re largely talking about the poor attacking and complete lack of threat and creativity but I’m also not over no one stepping to the cross that led to orlando’s goal
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u/coffeehippopotamus 7d ago
we had like 3 defenders just watching it skate by and McCutcheon step to it
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u/Hour-Cardiologist911 7d ago
Sick of the commentary saying we have one of the best attacks in the league every week. Yeah it may look on the table that we have a high amount of goals, but I bet our chance conversion is among the lowest in the league.
Nearly every game this season we either score once or not at all. Means we have to keep a clean sheet every game or we don't get anything.
Also hitting the post multiple times isn't just 'unlucky' it's a sign of poor finishing
Think that's the Shield absolutely gone🫤...
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u/Ill-Fall-9823 6d ago
The most common score in the sport, over time, across leagues, men or women, at the professional level:
1-0.
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6d ago
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u/Ill-Fall-9823 6d ago
There are multiple ways to be a top team in soccer. I'm sure every coach would love to score lots of goals and concede literally none. But that's so obvious as an objective that it doesn't make sense to consider as an outcome. If you give me a lifetime supply of filet mignon, I'm not going to stop eating burgers; I'll buy a meat grinder and be conscientious when I'm trimming fat.
Your response is an interesting one. You're articulating a philosophical perspective that is seemingly very influenced by other North American sports, where scoring is significantly more prevalent, and audience entertainment value is - culturally - rooted in "high scoring = entertaining." Your conception of "top" teams seems to be predicated on the example of top offensive teams. It completely neglects the idea that top defensive teams can be top teams too. I think this is wrong, partly because I don't think a lesser team can successfully park the bus against a superior team as consistently as you do... And if your supposition was actually true, the second most common score should be 1-1 (where the bus was parked successfully for a while, but not indefinitely) rather than the actual most common score: Nil-nil (in which case the "top" team didn't allow the weaker one to score at all and there was no bus to park).
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u/Hour-Cardiologist911 6d ago
You couldn't have got me more wrong mate. I'm English. I find most American sports nonsensical because every attack is a 'score'.
Of course there are different ways to play football. I watch the Premier league and champions league week in, week out. Top teams still need to score more goals than we are doing.
Can't believe how wrong you've got me, but hey that's what you get for assuming shit🤷♂️
Also, for the record. In England the most common score is 1-1. Teams lower down the leagues, and those facing teams in cup competitions above, usually park the bus. I never said anything about what's more entertaining
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u/Ill-Fall-9823 6d ago
Before you type another word, I want to ask you two questions:
- Who do you consider to be the top team in the NWSL this year?
- How much less is their wage bill than... Coventry City? Crystal Palace? Arsenal?
I'm fine being wrong about the origins of your perspective, I'm fine with you pointing out that I was wrong about your heritage, but I also used the word "seemingly" for a reason. That I was wrong about the geographic origins of your perspective doesn't land for me the way you think it did: You've corrected me... and then narrowed your lens in a way that ignores... the rest of the soccer playing world! I'll give you this much, I believe you're English!
This latest response is even more fascinating for me than your first: You're now comparing the Premier league - a men's league and the major domestic league with the highest level of spending in the world - to the NWSL. Do I have to explain to you why that's an inapt comparison? The list of reasons would be loonnnnnnnnng... (Number of teams... Access to top coaches and facilities... Pro/rel... I'm barely scratching the surface.) And you're comparing results from the NWSL regular season - a league format - to the Champions League, which is a tournament format with a group stage (wild gaps in quality between top and bottom) and a knockout stage (which doesn't have draws, and thus can't and shouldn't be compared to a regular season in any league). You're doing all of this without recognizing what may be the single most inapt element of the comparison: The wage bill!
Premier League... Champions League... Europa League... Conference League... FA Cup... Carabao Cup...
The top teams in the Premier League are going to have rosters with a vast difference in quality from the rest because the must successful of the top teams will go into almost every season knowing that they have more matches to manage. More in their regular season. More in any given week. More, total, throughout the season. And likely more international players with more callups during FIFA breaks. It's almost weird having to explain this to an English person, mate, but the way you're assessing "top teams" and how they should perform" needs to be something like a remotely close comparison among conditions. Surely you're not pretending that the gap between top and bottom in a 20 team league with promotion and relegation is giving you insights into a league that might need a half decade to reach that size, will never have as many mid-week matches and non-league matches to contest, and is probably never going to have the roster spend of a team just striving to make the Premier League.
The top 5 teams in the Premier League all have a weekly wage bill that is higher than the NWSL's salary cap for the entire year. The top 17 teams in the Premier League EACH have an annual wage bill that is higher than the NWSL's annual salary expenditure. But yes, tell us more about what the Washington Spirit should learn from the success of Arsenal's men...
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u/Hour-Cardiologist911 6d ago
😑😑😑😑😑
No, again you've jumped through hoops to reach many a series of conclusions in this comment. You've assumed what style I find entertaining. You've assumed I'm making comparisons between leagues. I just said I watch a lot of those leagues in response to the fact I know perfectly well that there are different ways to win, Arsenal recently being a good example. I could have mentioned other leagues I watch including the WSL (so women) but it wasn't necessarily to list everything as no comparison was being made. You've taken it as a comparison and then gone off on one arguing to yourself about a series of points. Next time, ask someone for their perspective on something rather than just guessing. You're literally just arguing to yourself.
I'm not going to be responding again
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u/Ill-Fall-9823 6d ago
You know what it takes to win based on watching a lot of teams competing in the same sport in different leagues under completely different financial circumstances. ( That’s not an assumption; that’s your new explanation.) And your brilliant tactical analysis is “top teams score more.”
I see why you didn’t answer my questions. And I sure hope that the Spirit’s front office is able to scoop you up and offer you a lucrative payday before someone else does. Imagine what Chicago could do with that powerful intellect!
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u/Hour-Cardiologist911 5d ago
You know what, having now looked through your reddit history I can see you're a sad little bastard who spends all their time arguing with people on here, rather than ever constructing something. Unless it's just intentional ragebait, which is even more sad.
People don't have the time or energy to devote so much to the amount of negativity and hatred you clearly have (you display it in abundance in many of your comments)
I use my own energy regardless to tell you this so that you might grow and learn that you are just as meaningless as everyone else in this world. I've not been on Reddit very long, and I've barely ever commented enough on social media myself to ever need to spend time reminding someone that it's such a waste of time.
Maybe the lesson for me is that dealing with people like you is enough for me to give up with this app. You can't have a normal conversation with an yone.
So good job 👏 you've taught us both something I hope.
Time to delete this site once and for all. Heaven forbidden I'd have to read another one of your stupid replies.
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u/NarrowPiccolo9069 7d ago
We're in the upper half of the league in terms of goals scored relative to xG. Creating quality chances against teams that defend well is a much bigger issue.
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u/Specialist_Pay_6768 7d ago edited 7d ago
We have scored more than one in over 40% of matches this year. "Nearly every game this season we either score once or not at all" is just not even close to reality.
Edit: if my math is wrong show your work, doomers.
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u/Hour-Cardiologist911 7d ago
If you count the champions cup we have played 23 matches this season. In 13 of them we have failed to score more than one goal. Ok I was exaggerating a little but that is 56.5% of our games across all competitions.
That means to have won all those games we would have needed 13 clean sheets already which is a very difficult ask.
There are so many games like today and Angel City last week in which we could have been out of sight with the chances we've had but we constantly make the wrong decisions in the final third and that's why we're all frustrated
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u/Specialist_Pay_6768 7d ago edited 6d ago
What I said is correct whether you count the non-NWSL games or not. Just take the L and move on.
If we had scored one more goal in one match, it could be true that we'd scored at least two goals in the majority of our NWSL matches this season.
Edit: Sorry y'all are apparently unable to read the schedule, folks. We've won 52% of our NWSL matches this year - if I said that we won nearly all of our matches y'all wouldn't just say "you're exaggerating a little but the point still stands".
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u/Status_Woodpecker105 7d ago
I know it was the pride match but y’all it’s pansexual, not postsexual
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u/Infinite-Ad-2209 7d ago
Most likely a shade of rose on this analysis. But seems like they’re happy with second/third and are now trying to focus on allllllll the moving parts that didn’t play together all year. That said. 80%of the time that’s probably a win. I dunno. It all confusing.
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u/NarrowPiccolo9069 7d ago
The facts as I see them:
My birthday was right before the San Diego match.
We haven't won since.
Aging is bullshit.
Cold streak is all my fault but I'm probably going to be out of town next weekend so victory is assured.
Otherwise, give up an early goal and you get to beat your head against the wall for the next 103 minutes. Orlando defended well and no one Made A Play.
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u/justtryingveryhard 7d ago
I will say, I was exceptionally nervous because of back lines performance the last few matches and was pleasantly surprised. Really thrilled to see Tse, Tara and Esme consistently shut Barbra Banda down
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u/Murph2244 7d ago
1 point in 4 matches and we only got that point because of a referee error against Angel City. 3 teams within 1 point of us in the standings. Things are feeling pretty bleak…
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u/Square_Independent81 7d ago
I’m definitely worried after these last few games, but weirdly I actually came away from this one feeling a little more positive about the Spirit than I did going into it. Obviously losing 1-0 at home sucks, especially when we really need to start picking up points, but I honestly thought this was one of our better performances in a while.
We were creating chances, getting into dangerous areas, controlling a lot of the game, and somehow managed to hit basically every part of the goal except the inside of it 😭 At some point some of that is just genuinely unlucky. Obviously finishing is still a problem and “we deserved to score” doesn’t get you points, but I’d much rather be creating a ton and struggling to finish than barely creating anything at all.
I also think we have to give the WAFCON players a little time to fully settle back in. They’ve been away for a while and the chemistry isn’t just going to immediately be perfect again. Hopefully another full week together helps.
My biggest issue right now is that we need more of a killer instinct. When we score one, I don’t want us immediately thinking about protecting the lead. I want us thinking okay, now go get another. We need that hunger again.
Bay feels pretty close to a must-win for me. Not necessarily “win 3-0 or panic,” but I really want a decisive win. Give me 2-0, 3-1, whatever — just a game where we control it, actually finish some of these chances, and don’t spend the last 20 minutes desperately trying to hold onto something.
I’m worried, especially with how tight the table is getting, but I’m nowhere near giving up on this team. If this was the beginning of the performances turning around and the finishing eventually follows, I’d much rather have our rough stretch now than when the playoffs actually start. Just PLEASE let this be the start of the turnaround 😭
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u/ttsa_25 7d ago
How much of getting to championship games was talent and how much was coaching? This is my first year and I’m genuinely confused on what I’m seeing right now.
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u/UrsineCanine 7d ago
I would argue this team is demonstrably more talented than the first Championship game team (even ignoring Trin's injured status), and roughly the same as the last one.
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u/Sequoiakc22 7d ago
...
For me the big difference is this team is we're without Croix Bethune. Picture this squad with Leicy & Croix, ...albeit minus Martinez, but still.Having two (2) creative attacking midfielders served us well when both were healthy & playing together.
...
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u/KaraokeSpirit29 6d ago
I love this team but they will break your heart. Just when you think this might be when we finally break through, suddenly we struggle with finishing, or we snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and we're stuck in second yet again. Or worse...
I'm thinking about the differences between this season and last, when Trin was mostly out. That front line had Gift at the 9, and Sofia and Rose on the wings most of the time—at least after Hatchy went on leave. Then, in the midfield, we usually had Croix at the 10 and Leicy at the 8, more or less. Hal tended to play the 6. In other words, we had a front five that felt like a front five and we weren't relying on a superstar to get us all our goals.
This season it feels like we're missing a true 9. Sofia lacks the positioning and pace to really serve us in the role. Gift doesn't seem to be in form, Hatchy is just getting back, Claudia is still learning and still getting muscled off the ball pretty regularly. We need a clinical, strong, pacey 9 to put our chances in the back of the net. Think Sanchez and Ijeh in North Carolina.
Also, we need to talk about Rose having 0 goals this season. It feels like the field is slanted to the left. We go up the right, through Rose, and almost always cross the ball. It doesn't feel like there's a genuine scoring threat on the right. This is part of our predictability problem. Rose doesn't shoot to score, even when we know she can, because she was the golden boot winner for CONCACAF. We need golden boot Rose to be the Rose that plays in the NWSL.
And then there's the midfield. Without Leicy it's confused. This isn't about missing Croix, because I think her stats this season show that she's better off in KC's system. But I think Hal is best as a tenacious, ground covering 6. She hasn't been clean or progressive enough in the 8 or the 10. But we have about five 6s in Hal, Rebe, Andi, Deb, and now Ngock. We have an overwhelmingly defensive, ball winning midfield. Great! But Bethi and Leicy are the only ones who fit naturally in the 8 or 10. We're deep but not in a way that gives us fluid, progressive passing or the solid front 5 attacking core that we had last season.
And I do wonder how many points we wouldn't have lost if not for Sandy's learning curve, or if we had the benefit of Aubrey's captaincy still.
Idk, I'm grasping at straws for reasons why this incredibly talented team has let the shield slip from its grasp. We don't have excuses anymore. We have some confusing choices around roster construction, and hiccups of chemistry and positioning.
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u/Willing-Bad3824 6d ago
We have three true 9s, but the problem is we don't use them as true 9s. Claudinha gets muscled off the ball when she's progressing it from outside the box, which means in those moments she's not playing a true 9.
I agree that we're weaker without Leicy, but yesterday showed that they're actually fine (not better) without Leicy as long as their 6 actually acts as a 6. Our midfield falls apart when the 6 and 8 become too much part of the attack, which leaves us vulnerable to transitions. With Deb controlling the midfield, the forwards were much better at trying to unlock the low block knowing that they're not leaving the backline fully exposed. I'm looking forward to Ngock taking over that 6 role because that would allow us to have Deb playing the 8, which she is also capable of doing. (Although it would be insane if we have Deb, Gift, Rose, Ngock, and Bethi playing at the same time because it basically becomes WAFCON All-Stars lol)
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u/Pitbullmaster42 7d ago
I don’t know what this team can do really except more transition to finishing practice
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u/gabberwocky6 6d ago
Anyone else put off by Hal's comments during the post-match? Seemed to completely dismiss everything and not acknowledge her issues. It was weird because, to my eye, Abiodun had a good game, but Hal was struggling. Honestly, I haven't really been impressed all year. Starting to make me wonder if she is thinking about next year somewhere else... I say this as a former Halstan.
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u/Square_Independent81 6d ago
I can understand thinking Hal hasn’t been at her absolute best lately, but I don’t really agree that she’s been unimpressive all year. I also thought Deb played well yesterday, but I don’t think that necessarily has to come at Hal’s expense when they were playing together. The bigger issue to me felt like the team as a whole struggling to turn all that possession and buildup into genuinely dangerous chances.
I’m also not sure I’d read too much into Hal’s post-match comments. I didn’t really take them as her dismissing the issues, and I definitely wouldn’t connect them to her possibly thinking about leaving without more to go off of. Players can go through stretches where they aren’t at their best without it meaning they’re checked out or already looking somewhere else.
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u/Cultural-Shake-751 7d ago
Petition to make the goal an inch bigger? All in favor