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Tuesday Throw-Ins: Sky Blue FC Yet To Deliver Goals
Sky Blue FC is still struggling. Can they break their scoring or winless drought this weekend against the Chicago Red Stars? It's possible, but it won't be easy.
May 5, 2009 1:37:19 PM
Sky Blue FC, currently last in the league, is without a win and the team has only scored once this season. Defensively, the New Jersey-based franchise has been up to par, only yielding four goals. With the return of captain and central defender Christie Rampone who is back after rehabbing a hamstring injury, the backline is the strength of the team.
Offensively, pressure is building as the team looks to find the score sheet. “We had some great chances in the first half and obviously again in the second. We felt we had a couple of golden chances that we didn’t take care of,” Sky Blue FC head coach Ian Sawyers said after the game with FC Gold Pride.
Sky Blue FC travels to Chicago this weekend to face the Red Stars. The game will air on national television. Is this the weekend that Sky Blue FC breaks out with three or four goals? Unlikely, as the Red Stars have only conceded one goal on the year.
Quotes from the Weekend
“I’ve always loved Boston but it was road game for us because I’m with LA now. The fans in Boston are always great and it was a great result for them, but not too great for me.”
- - Los Angeles Sol goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, a member of the WUSA Boston Breakers, reflecting on her time in the city with her former franchise
“This is a physical league and there were some tough girls out there tonight but it’s nothing serious.”
- - Boston Breakers forward Kelly Smith when asked why she had an ice pack on her knee after the Sol game
“It was a bummer. It went past me near post, on the ground almost.”
- - Sky Blue FC goalkeeper Jen Branam speaking about the FC Gold Pride game-winning goal
Stat of Interest
6,806 – The difference between the highest (14,837) and second-highest (8,031) attendance numbers this season.
The Back Four
1. Here is hoping that Saint Louis Athletica playmaker and Goal.com Player of the Week, Daniela, returns quickly from the knee injury that she sustained against the Washington Freedom. The Brazilian did return to Saint Louis with the team via plane on Monday.
2. WPS was very wise to schedule the Sol and Breakers games back-to-back. Each club has international stars in the Sol’s Marta (Brazil) and the Breakers’ Kelly Smith (England) and the teams sit in first and second place in the league standings. The only downside is that neither game will be nationally televised.
3. Washington’s Sonia Bompastor has been all over the field this season. Originally slotted in at left back, she has seen action in midfield and forward for the Freedom. Her game awareness and understanding of the flow of the game has been rarely matched this season, plus she scores goals!
4. Kristine Lilly is quietly putting together an excellent season. Although teammate Kelly Smith has scored in every game she has played in, that pace won’t continue and the Boston Breakers will need to find goals somewhere else. Lilly, with two goals on the year, is proving that she still has the goal scorer’s touch.
Sean Grybos, Goal.com
For more on Women's Professional Soccer, go to Goal.com's Women's Soccer page.
Offensively, pressure is building as the team looks to find the score sheet. “We had some great chances in the first half and obviously again in the second. We felt we had a couple of golden chances that we didn’t take care of,” Sky Blue FC head coach Ian Sawyers said after the game with FC Gold Pride.
Sky Blue FC travels to Chicago this weekend to face the Red Stars. The game will air on national television. Is this the weekend that Sky Blue FC breaks out with three or four goals? Unlikely, as the Red Stars have only conceded one goal on the year.
Quotes from the Weekend
“I’ve always loved Boston but it was road game for us because I’m with LA now. The fans in Boston are always great and it was a great result for them, but not too great for me.”
- - Los Angeles Sol goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, a member of the WUSA Boston Breakers, reflecting on her time in the city with her former franchise
“This is a physical league and there were some tough girls out there tonight but it’s nothing serious.”
- - Boston Breakers forward Kelly Smith when asked why she had an ice pack on her knee after the Sol game
“It was a bummer. It went past me near post, on the ground almost.”
- - Sky Blue FC goalkeeper Jen Branam speaking about the FC Gold Pride game-winning goal
Stat of Interest
6,806 – The difference between the highest (14,837) and second-highest (8,031) attendance numbers this season.
The Back Four
1. Here is hoping that Saint Louis Athletica playmaker and Goal.com Player of the Week, Daniela, returns quickly from the knee injury that she sustained against the Washington Freedom. The Brazilian did return to Saint Louis with the team via plane on Monday.
2. WPS was very wise to schedule the Sol and Breakers games back-to-back. Each club has international stars in the Sol’s Marta (Brazil) and the Breakers’ Kelly Smith (England) and the teams sit in first and second place in the league standings. The only downside is that neither game will be nationally televised.
3. Washington’s Sonia Bompastor has been all over the field this season. Originally slotted in at left back, she has seen action in midfield and forward for the Freedom. Her game awareness and understanding of the flow of the game has been rarely matched this season, plus she scores goals!
4. Kristine Lilly is quietly putting together an excellent season. Although teammate Kelly Smith has scored in every game she has played in, that pace won’t continue and the Boston Breakers will need to find goals somewhere else. Lilly, with two goals on the year, is proving that she still has the goal scorer’s touch.
Sean Grybos, Goal.com
For more on Women's Professional Soccer, go to Goal.com's Women's Soccer page.
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