no penalty, no party
OK let’s make it quick, no need to dwell on this in the middle of a 3 games in 9 days stretch.
In the absence of Emily van Egmond (back), we were treated to a new look from Casey Stoney. The XI lined up in a 4-3-3, a departure from the 4-2-2-2 we saw in the opening two games. Tactically, Danielle Colaprico occupied the central defensive role, Jaeyden Shaw played between Alex Morgan and Amirah Ali up front, slightly behind them as a CAM, and Taylor Kornieck floated in the middle.
Horrible first half. OL Reign dominated possession, and even though per xG none of the chances they had were dangerous shots (Jess Fishlock’s off-target free kick was the highest at 0.10), they sent plenty of threatening balls into the box. The few times Wave had the ball, they looked eager to get rid of it. Reign’s high press was eliminating chances to set up long balls, and having Kornieck playing a deeper role didn’t give them their go-to target up top. Speaking of Kornieck and her new role…
She had a bad first half. And part of it is on Stoney for putting her in a spot she had no business playing in.
Kornieck does many things well: obvious aerial threat, wins tackles with her length and size, reads passes well to intercept, and has sneaky good dribbling skills. But she is not fast. Lumen Field turf is fast. Reign’s midfield is fast, and move the ball even faster. Too many times during the first half it felt like she couldn’t keep up with the pace Reign wanted to play. In possession when balls were played to her, the offense’s momentum seemed to stop. She had the most touches on the team outside of defensive players. Not a good time to have a bad game!
Wavé had come off playing on that criminal Snapdragon pitch so maybe it took them a bit to adjust to the speed of Lumen Field’s turf. Anyway…
After the half, things drastically improved. The offense was more fluid and the biggest scoring chance in the game came in the 49th when Morgan had a 1v1 with the keeper she couldn’t finish. Kornieck had a better half, finding more space and time to get a couple passes across the field to Ali and Christen Westphal and let them cook in open field.
Here’s the thing with forcing Kornieck into that 8 role: there are plenty of dynamic players on this roster who can do more offensively in that role. Stoney could have started Sofia Jakobsson up front and moved Shaw deeper. Yes you want Shaw running at goal but in a game where you have to dominate the midfield maybe give the most touches to one of the most talented players on the ball. Kelsey Turnbow has also been underused and can also fill a central role.
I don’t want this to sound like a drag on Kornieck either. I love the threat she provides in the attacking front, but it might be time to consider her on a game-to-game basis rather than a staple on the XI. Having her on the bench also gives you an elite weapon that can help you chase or defend a 1-0.
[game was so uninspiring I don’t feel like doing cute subheads smh. Here are just some notes]
Colaprico put in an excellent shift: 84% Pass Completion, 40 Touches (2nd most for a Wave MF), and was credited with 4 Shot-Creating Actions (SCA), most on the team. Basically, she did great and we need to see her there again. EvE is great in the sense you don’t notice her in games at times. She isn’t doing anything outstanding, but also isn’t getting caught missing defensive assignments; a solid player but maybe Colaprico can grow into something more at the 6? JUST A SUGGESTION IDK IDK.
Westphal had a solid game and finally received the ball up the field more. All her crosses feel dangerous. Got lucky not to get called for a penalty on a pretty clear (incidental) slap to the face.
Can’t help but think last year’s Morgan finishes one of the two chances she had.
Wavé won the xG 1.1 - 0.8 but it includes the Ali shot in the box that would have probably been ruled offside and tips xG in Reign’s favor.
Stoney is not happy with the current run of games:
NEXT MATCH
We get a rematch of last season’s semifinal against ̶E̶d̶ ̶H̶a̶r̶d̶y̶ ̶F̶C̶ Portland Thorns in the new $1-million-prized Challenge Cup. Even though both teams have little history facing each other, there’s plenty of storylines among the squads. Morgan was part of the Thorns inaugural 2013 roster, Westphal and Ali were traded by Portland for allocation money, Colaprico and Rachel Hill were in the XI that handed the 2021 NWSL Shield and Challenge Cup champion Thorns a 2-0 loss in the semifinals.
Not sure what we see from Stoney after the tough loss in Seattle, but hope it’s not the same game plan. Anyway, come for the Challenge Cup kickoff, stay for the Battle of the Besties between Sophia Smith and Naomi Girma.
