The week that was - Week 2
This week has been a special one for Racing. It has seen a first goal, a first win, a first player of the week. Here’s a quick recap by the numbers:
1 - A first goal in league competition. That is always special, but it helps when the goal itself is special. Emina Ekic’s effort was just that. It was also the first win and the first home win.
2- This was the second clean sheet in a row in the league and the third overall. The defensive effort for the game against the Spirit was a collective effort. Michelle Betos as the last line of defense was the official Racing “Woman of the match”, but there were several other blocks inside the 18 yard box that prevented goals. More on this later…
3 - There were exactly 3 on target. Spirit keeper Aubrey Bledsoe didn’t have much to do on the night other than pick the ball out of her on net. Racing was efficient with their shots, but you would like to see more attempts on target.
4 - WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE, SAID WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE…or at least we were until the Pride victory last night. 4 points from 2 games is a decent return especially for an expansion side. I believe the home crowds might be enough to expect some wins at home. The road form will be tested over the next couple of matches. It’s hard to gage this early, but I believe the league looks fairly balanced. It would be overly pessimistic to consider any road victory out of Racing’s reach.
7 - There were seven total shots vs. the Spirit. Racing seemed to get into some good spots during the game, but you would like to see more attempts on goal. Being outshot 4 to 1 is not a recipe for success.
10 - Michelle Betos made 10 saves, which is currently a NWSL season high through Wednesday’s game. A new/young team will quite have to rely on an experienced keeper in goal. It appears that Racing certainly has an excellent one.
29 - If the plan is to concede 29 shots on goal and win, then I would say that plan is flawed. Racing was beaten on the stats sheet in all critical categories except for the most important one. The possession was roughly at 40/60 split, which I am sure a little concerning for Coach Holly. Racing was also out passed by over 150 passes. The Spirit has 10 more corners. At the game I didn’t consider Racing lucky to win, but there was a around the 70th minute when I could sense a goal was eminent. If you have watched enough soccer (football) you know that you can get that feeling that a goal is on its way. I commented to my wife who was with me at the game that if Racing didn’t score very soon, there was very likely to be a Spirit goal in the next few minutes. Of course what needed to happed for a Racing win is exactly what happened next. Racing got a goal against the run of play, and another shortly after on the counter when the Spirit began to chase the game. If you watch enough soccer, you see this happed from time to time as well. It’s a great feeling to win a game you probably should have lost or drawn, but I imagine the long term plan for Racing is to control the possession like their brother club LouCity and to out shoot their opponents. It may be a long season if the stats for the game vs. the Washington Spirit repeat themselves.
100 - After that bummer of a paragraph I want to reiterate that I am 100% behind this club. I was on the phone the first day season tickets went on sale, and I bought the best seats I could get. I didn’t expect many wins this season, so each one will be a delight. You never know, maybe this team is special. Scratch that…I know this team is special no matter where they are in the table.
M
