Boston Legacy at Washington Spirit - Post-Match Notes

I finally got a chance to actually watch the game instead of a highlight video and thought I would take the chance to record some thoughts. I am not going to commit to being able to do this for every game, but will try to do it when I can.

Overall thoughts

Aissata was superb in this game, putting in a player of the match performance for me. She seemed to have more freedom to move around the field and find spaces where she could. Sometimes it was on the wing, sometimes dropping a bit deeper centrally, and other times it was balls played over the top. The Spirit struggled to figure out how to handle Aissata the whole match. With better finishing, then she had the potential to put multiple goals in the net this game.

Boston did a great job choking out the whole middle of the field. The Spirit were never really able to work the ball up the field. Instead, they looked most threatening when they played it long from the back all the way up to the front while bypassing the whole midfield. This was especially true in the second half where the Spirit seemed like they just lost a step after halftime.

Some bright spots:

• Offensively, we were making some great runs, but also holding up play a lot better. Too often in the past we would have a great run into space, but then cross into an empty box as the rest of the team never got a chance to catch up to the play.
• Our press was really effective. The whole team has bought into this system and we were winning plenty of balls high up the field as a result. When we do this effectively, it also has the added benefit of keeping the ball out of our most accident-prone region of the field: our defensive third.
• The formation flexibility of our attacking players kept Washington on the back foot for most of this match. Players rotated a lot during transition and were able to play it up the wing or through the middle effectively.
• Defensively, we were pretty solid, even when dealing with pace-y players that have proven problematic for us in the past. BSG really had a standout performance, and even managed to make some threatening plays in the offensive third.

Some areas for improvement for Boston going forward:

• Still too many bad giveaways by our back line, either through bad touches or bad passes. Things are improving, but to be contending further up the table over the course of a whole season, still lots of room for improvement here.
• As a huge Karich fan, she seemed to have some uncharacteristic bad passes today. She has to be one of the players with the most minutes played for the Legacy; perhaps she just needs a break. Otherwise, she was still excellent defensively, helping shut down passing lanes through the midfield and covering for defenders that stepped out wide.
• Despite the 3-0 scoreline, our finishing could be better. We had some great opportunities that, if our finishing was a bit more clinical, could have been put away.

Timeline of observations

• 8' - good holdup play by Aissata - something that she has struggled with so far. An improvement here would be tremendously helpful to the team as they transition from defense to offense. Hope to see more of this from her going forward. Unfortunately for her it amounted to...
• 8' - bad giveaway by Carabali (one of several by our defense through this game) - pretty indicative of the recent problems we have had with giveaways from our defense being unable to link up with the midfield. Fortunately doesn't amount to anything in this case
• 20' - rough collision with Rodman - that's one way to shut down Trinity Rodman, just take her to ground. BSG had been doing a decent job, but got caught up the field on the quick transition.
• 23' - more great hold up play by Aissata, really impressed with her performance so far
• 25' - we seem to have transitioned to pressing further up the field and it is paying off, leading to a spell of keeping the Spirit trapped in their defensive third
• 27' - Schupansky has been such a key pickup on set pieces. Her delivery is a step change improvement for the team
• 29' - Karich turnover - Karich has had some uncharacteristic giveaways so far including this one. She is usually super impressive in how she can evade pressure and still get a good pass out
• 31' - Murphy catch - this is the kind of ball that Ivory struggled with in the previous game, but the clean catch led to a clean transition up the field and a dangerous chance from BSG...
• 32' - BSG somehow managed to miss this from like 1 yard out in front of an almost open net...somehow...
• 43' - More great Aissata play - drawing a foul/card and holding onto the ball the whole time. She seems to have settled into a floating CAM that can sometimes make runs in behind, rotate with Olivieri, or run out wide to space. It's working out really well this game.
• 45' - Olivieri has been playing higher up the pitch than in the past and been doing really good at it. This time almost catching the keeper out and earning a corner.
• HT - If you do nothing else, make sure to watch the replay on NWSL+ to check out the halftime performance. A remarkable display of skill with the goodest of good dogs! They show it before they cut away for highlights around the league, and a some more after the highlights are over.
• 51' - Great shot on target by Olivieri and a good save. Overall, our offense looks much more threatening than it did during August.
• 57' - Awful turnover by Murphy playing out of goal...we got lucky that the Spirit couldn't convert
• 59' - Great step by BSG - She has been excellent so far this game. Has to be one of the best 1v1 defenders in the league. BSG shut down Trinity so well in the first half that Trinity changed sides of the field for the second half.
• 63' - Great drive and shot by Aissata...she continues to excel by finding a bit of space just behind the lead striker
• 69' - Good intervention by VAR...no way that should be a PK...
• 74' - Another good chance by Aissata. It's these kinds of chances that have been so frastrating to watch. She is a great player, but her finishing can often be found wanting
• 80' - BSG continues to have a great game, this time offensively as she makes a great run and gets off a great cross
• 81' - A well deserved goal by Aissata. She makes a great run, wins it back defensively, and then puts it away with a nutmeg. It wasn't the prettiest goal, but she has fought tooth and nail every minute of this game and has earned it.
• 86' - A horrendous turnover by Davis on defense fortunately doesn't lead anywhere for the Spirit. We need to make fewer of these kinds of turnovers if we expect to make a more convincing run for the playoffs next season.
• 89' - Most threatening moment from Trinity all game, but it ends up just going straight to Murphy
• 94' - Guti putting a lot of curl on that shot. It's not as easy as it looks. Great awareness to keep playing until the whistle when the Spirit had kind of paused, expecting a whistle after a clear hand ball that the ref ended up playing advantage
• 96' - Great drive and cross by Reale. I would love to see her play a winger for us. She is great at coming up the field from the back.