A summer of controversy and disappointment in US women’s soccer is ending with a flourish.
The NWSL play-offs are providing a welcome respite from dissecting the US women’s flameout in the Olympics, the contentious collective bargaining talks, and tell-all memoirs. That’s not to say the Rio postmortem, the memoirs and the so-called equal pay talks aren’t important. But the play-offs have provided a nice reminder that we can derive plenty of drama from the actual games, with great goals and spirited comebacks amid some controversy.
And Sunday’s final between Washington Spirit and Western New York Flash, televised live on Fox Sports 1 at 5pm ET, is a compelling matchup of a team of polished veterans and a bunch of scrappy youngsters.
The Spirit’s presence here is no surprise. After a woeful first season in 2013 with a young roster, coach Mark Parsons brought in experienced players and saw gradual improvement – squeaking into the four-team play-offs in 2014 and getting there more comfortably the next year. Parsons left for Portland, and Jim Gabarra – who had coached Washington’s previous pro team for a decade – took the Spirit job intent on tinkering but not overhauling a strong core of players with a deep bench.
But the Spirit didn’t make it easy on themselves. They led the league through much of the season but dropped their last two games, allowing Parsons’ Portland team to sneak past them to claim the regular-season championship. As the second-placed team, they had earned the right to host their semi-final clash with the Chicago Red Stars at their home fortress, the Maryland SoccerPlex.
Washington had the better of play for the first 60 minutes and held a 1-0 lead. But ever-dangerous US forward Christen Press equalized for Chicago in the 81st minute and hit the crossbar in stoppage time. The Spirit finally put the game away in extra time.
As dramatic as that was, the second semifinal – played in front of 20,086 fans in Portland – had everything. The Flash absorbed early pressure from the host Thorns, then roared to a 2-0 lead. Canadian great Christine Sinclair immediately pulled one back for the Thorns, and Flash coach Paul Riley, formerly of the Thorns, was ejected while arguing a non-call leading up to the goal.
That was just the first half. Portland finally equalized in the 78th minute. But Western New York fought off a Portland onslaught to force extra time, and Golden Boot winner Lynn Williams struck twice. Portland once again responded quickly to cut the lead to 4-3, but the Thorns couldn’t find the second equalizer.
The Flash don’t mind playing tough. They’re a physical team, drawing complaints and pleas to the refs from the Thorns.
“I think the type of physicality of the (semi-final) was a typical play-off game,” Riley said in a media conference call. “I’ve been involved in a lot of play-off games, and I’ve yet to see both teams allowing each other to play. I can’t imagine that in a play-off game when everything’s on the line.”
Western New York needed a quirk of the schedule to make the play-offs in the first place. In the NWSL, each team plays the other twice, but they add two games against a regional rival. The Flash duly took 10 points from four games against the last-place Boston Breakers. The talented Seattle Reign, who finished just two points behind the Flash for the final play-off spot, had to play first-place Portland four times, earning five points.
But the Flash have an intriguing mix of young talents. In 2015, the Flash made several trades to acquire four first-round draft picks, selecting Williams, bruising defender Abby Dahlkemper, attacking midfielder Samantha Mewis and left back Jaelene Hinkle. All four, plus 2016 draft pick Makenzy Doniak, could figure into a US women’s national team player pool that coach Jill Ellis has pledged to throw open in the next couple of years.
“Of all the teams we’ve played so far, they’ve been one of the most dynamic and most dangerous front lines, not just in the run of play and in transition but off set pieces,” Spirit midfielder Tori Huster said.
The Spirit will counter with a hard-working, experienced midfield and a plenty of options off the bench. Leading scorer Estefania Banini only started nine games. In the semi-final, Washington’s substitutes included Diana Matheson, one of the top Canadian players in recent memory, and Katie Stengel, a towering forward who led Bayern Munich to a Bundesliga title in 2014-15.
Crystal Dunn, who missed some of the season to play for the USA at the Olympics one year after a breakout season for the Spirit in 2015, didn’t put up impressive numbers but still occupies the defense’s attention.
On Sunday, she’s likely to be dodging a fierce, talented bunch of defenders.
“We’ll do what we need to do to try and win the game,” Riley said. “If it means we’ll have to be really pretty, then we’ll be pretty. If if it means we have to be physical, then we’ll be physical.”
