RLFC v San Diego -1

Photo by Elizabeth Shaw

For me, this is the pivotal match of the season. San Diego retooled this year by adding an experienced and accomplished coach and several teenage players. Like all Eidevall teams, they will be quick and have a lot of the ball. I was impressed by what I saw from them in thier loss to Orlando. They then lost to KC, but that is a tough two-match gauntlet. I think San Diego will also use this match as their litmus test.

None of Racing results have surprised me, and I think any result is possible on Saturday. How Racing performs on Saturday will be our best predictor for their future fortunes, so far. This is a match where if Racing is serious about making the playoffs, then they need all three points. There are going to be limited chances to get wins this season and this is one of those rare opportunities.

DeMelo will likely make the bench at least based on Bev's comments. Past that who knows. I don't think Bev is in the place to want to switch up things too much yet, so I expect we could see consistency in the starters. Kanu is healthy, but this match may be too early for her to get back into the Starting XI. I am a little shocked that Pikkujämsä is still sitting on 0 minutes this season, and I think he best shot at getting minutes right now might be in the midfield.

Goals have to come from somewhere and soon. Racing hasn't looked close to “manufacturing” a goal, but is getting plenty of shots. I don't recall many of those shots being both a) at a meaningful point in the match (i.e. when they aren't trailing by multiple goals) and b) the result of stringing together more than a few passes together. Like always they look most likely to score on either a corner, counter, or mistake. The good news is that in this match, that is likely going to be the best route, regardless of how they are playing.

Savannah McCaskill almost always does something against Racing, so be on the lookout for that.

Elizabeth took some pics of practice. Find them here.