EXPECTED OWN GOALS: NWSL Week 2 — Portland Thorns Go Spelunking on the Seattle Reign
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Portland Thorns vs. Seattle Reign analysis
What we have never seen before, at least since 2016 and probably ever in league history, is that a team had a two-player advantage for 40 minutes. And somehow that team is the one that lost.
Seattle Reign performance
Their attack got worse when they were up two players. And I want to put this in context... Seattle were dire, unbelievable down.
USWNT squad selection
We are at an inflection point, both in terms of where we are in the cycle, Hayes's stated intentions and the quality of Tordin's play where Tordin might have to force her hand [for the USWNT].
Player form
Pietra Tordin now has a hand in every Portland goal this year. She's coming off one of the best understated thousand-minute rookie seasons we've seen from an attacker. Every time she touches the ball, she makes something happen.
Boston Legacy performance
Boston is most likely a very bad team. We're two games in and they have not put together a single XG.
Refereeing trends
We have never seen the likes of cards coming out of ref's pockets quite in the way that we have over the last couple of weeks. Course correction, players getting more violent or something in the middle, small sample bias or a trend to keep an eye on for the rest of the season.
I think it's a positive development [the increase in red cards] but I wouldn't hold my breath. We see so many players walking down the tunnel mid-game.
Tactical analysis
Jesse Fleming was everywhere trying to close down gaps. The amount of ground that she covered and the amount of defensive work that she put in, I think, was one of the main reasons that Seattle just kept getting frustrated.
Angel City FC performance
I would love to see [Angel City] play a quality opponent, but we have never seen this kind of free attack from them in the Strauss era. And frankly, really in any era.
Kansas City Current tactics
My concern is so much more about how [Kansas City] are tactically approaching attack at a nil-nil game state and what they are allowing their opposition.
