The line on a perfect sunny Monday afternoon in southern Connecticut snaked around the block, girls of all ages and jersey colors grasping the same baby blue object in their hands.
Many of them were skipping their youth soccer practice, some had their training cancelled altogether, a few had even come up with mysterious ailments to get home from school early in order to get to the front of the line hours in advance.
All to get about 15 seconds – give or take – with their hero, snap a photo, and get her autograph.
Welcome to Alex Morgan’s world.
Morgan spent the morning at ESPN in Bristol conducting as many interviews as she possibly could before making the 45-minute drive to her signing, which was scheduled for an hour, but was extended to nearly two to accommodate everyone that was in line. As best as I could tell, Morgan smiled for each and every photo, even though it was the end of a long “off” day.
Grant Wahl reported this week that Morgan has been (or at least had been) training with Mia Hamm in the offseason, which is somewhat fitting as Morgan will surely take on the Hamm role for the U.S. if she hasn’t already.
Things are a bit more complicated for Morgan these days. Hamm and her teammates were groundbreakers, now Morgan and hers are the next generation. Two women’s professional leagues have come and failed miserably. Even Hamm couldn’t save the first, yet there are those that pin the hopes of the NWSL squarely on Morgan’s shoulders.
Morgan showed she had a little Hamm in her on Saturday, not afraid to mix it up or vent some anger when she felt like she was being fouled a little too hard.
Of course, none of that mattered on Monday. One of my high school players, while crawling through the line for her 15 seconds of fame, asked how Morgan ended up near us on a Monday afternoon in-season. I tried to explain that the NWSL, while professional, is trying its best to keep costs down, and while Alex Morgan can’t cry poverty like some of her teammates, her teammates likely wouldn’t have 1,000 people lined up who paid $15 for her book to be signed.
Washington keeper Ashlyn Harris caused a minor stir after Saturday’s game when she Tweeted about fans at the Maryland Soccerplex not cheering for the home team, with a seemingly strong inference that some were there to see Alex Morgan and not the home team.
Although Harris and Morgan are friends and most players involved understand the deal, Morgan will surely feel the brunt of jealousy from places both far and near in the coming years. But more than a couple of people asked me where they could see Alex play around here. I quickly mentioned the two national team games, but also brought up July 21 when Morgan and the Thorns are scheduled to play at Boston, a game that will likely sell out anyway, but in other places?
By the end Monday, the girls were spilling out one by one, comparing photos and staring at the Alex Morgan signature in their books. I still believe that having an older audience will help the NWSL long-term, but it never hurts to have one of the most popular athletes in the country in your league.
On the way out, one of my younger and most studious players was doing something no one else was, she was actually reading the book.
“It’s not bad,” she said.
See, if you give things a chance….
Onto the week that was in the NWSL:
WEDNESDAY
WESTERN NEW YORK 2:1 SKY BLUE
Things we learned:
Even if you’ve shown talent, like Sky Blue had in its first couple of games, you can’t take a day off, especially on the road, and expect to get a result. Sky Blue basically sleepwalked through the first half, and combined with a couple of large defensive lapses, including one by Christie Rampone that left (a now healthy) Abby Wambach with a virtual tap-in for the second goal.
It wasn’t as obvious, but the Flash did a fantastic job of killing the game off in the second half against a team with plenty of offensive weapons. They may not have the firepower of the best teams in NWSL, but they have a solid veteran core, and should be able to pick up their share of points as the spring and summer move on.
Woman of the Match
Samantha Kerr – Kerr was just a menace down the Flash left, leaving her fellow young Australian Caitlin Foord to chase her around all night, mostly unsuccessfully. And it wasn’t the first time Kerr was able to do that this season as well. If Kerr can get some service to Wambach and Adriana (and remember Carli Lloyd should be ready fairly soon), things will look a lot rosier in Rochester.
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Sky Blue officially took 12 shots, but only five of them were on frame, with no Sky Blue player recording more than one, unacceptable with a frontline of Kelley O’Hara, Lisa De Vanna, and Danesha Adams hanging around (Wambach had four shots on goal).
Next up:
WNY – vs. Kansas City (Sat.); Sky Blue – vs. Chicago (Wed.)
SATURDAY
BOSTON 4:1 CHICAGO
Things we learned:
The Breakers’ lineup seems to look more and more formidable as the season starts to shape itself. They did settle for a draw with Washington in their opener, but dominated the majority of it, and as they showed Saturday, will be tough to stop at Dilboy Stadium. And if you’re trying to chase the game with Sydney Leroux running out, good luck. There are still some question marks in their defense, but Kia McNeill and Cat Whitehill certainly have high-level experience, and that means a lot at center back.
Meanwhile, things are bad in Chicago, but probably not quite as bad as this scoreline suggests. As I alluded to, they were forced to change things when they got down and were just exposed repeatedly. Zakiya Bywaters is starting to become accustomed to this level and should be fine, and Lori Chalupny will continue to do her thing. But there are questions for Rory Dames in a lot of other spots.
Woman of the Match:
Sydney Leroux – The league’s first hat trick makes this an easy choice. I still think a Leroux-Kyah Simon combination up front could be lethal in NWSL, but I could be wrong.
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The crowd of 3,113 was the biggest in Dilboy Stadium history for any sporting event. That’s obviously awesome, but with a solid fanbase and games coming up against teams like the aforementioned Alex Morgan and Portland, it might be a very, very tough ticket. Hopefully, it will stay that way.
Next up:
Boston – at Washington (Sat.); Chicago – at Sky Blue (Wed.)
WASHINGTON 1:2 PORTLAND
Things we learned:
It looked like deja vu for the Spirit, who showed periods of playing exceptionally, but fell victim to a couple of defensive lapses against a very good team at home. Does that mean they’re just not good enough, or that better things will be on the way? I think you can make a case for both right now. The defense wasn’t great, but didn’t embarrass themselves, even if they did concede twice (the eventual winning goal came off an Ali Krieger giveaway, of all people). They looked much, much better offensively when Tiffany McCarty was introduced after halftime, so we’ll see if they can build on that.
I thought Christine Sinclair’s play was being a bit overhyped in the Thorns’ first couple of games, which is not to say I thought she played badly, but I don’t think she dominated, either. However, she did control the match Saturday on what appears to be the league’s best playing surface. Alex Morgan had her moments, and was yapping a little more than we’re used to, but I think that’s just part of the maturity process for her. And Portland’s defense continues to be superb for the most part. Interestingly, Portland will go to Chicago for the second time this season already on Sunday.
Woman of the Match:
Nikki Washington – I could have given it to Sinclair and Washington did take advantage of a mistake for her goal, but it was quite the finish from a decent distance out. Washington has also been a key not only in the Thorns’ offense, but the hard work n the midfield helps on the defensive end as well.
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There are three undefeated teams in NWSL (Portland, Kansas City, Boston) and three winless squads (Washington, Seattle, Chicago), but a match like this shows that there is still some parity in the league and the gap is not as large as the early standings may portray.
Next up:
Washington – vs. Boston (Sat.); Portland – at Chicago (Sun.)
SEATTLE 0:1 KANSAS CITY
Things we learned:
I guess we knew this already, but Kansas City is going to be awfully tough to break down this season. Seattle knew this this was going to be a big game for them, its home opener, and played accordingly, making things very difficult for the visitors, even if their pressure was a little odd, keeping a fairly deep line of confrontation and moving Jess Fishlock around (from up front to deeper in the midfield, depending on the time of the match).
Goals of the Week and Year tend to be remarkable individual efforts, but you’ll be hard-pressed to beat the one that won the match here for me, as a coach of young kids. Desiree Scott did what she does best, using her body to win the ball back and immediately finding a teammate behind her to keep possession. Becky Sauerbrunn that converted both a 1-2 and an overlap (from her center back position!!) to advance the ball up the field and eventually set up Renae Cuellar for the goal, 90 yards and a dozen passes after they first gained possession. Simply brilliant.
Woman of the Match:
Becky Sauerbrunn – You’re starting to get the feeling that she may be cementing her starting position on the national team for the next few years with the way she’s playing and the confidence she’s gaining. So score one for the USSF-NWSL partnership already.
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The crowd for the opener at Starfire Stadium was 2,618, just sixth of eight NWSL teams. Now when some players come back that might go up, but there’s not too much more room at Starfire, and with Portland drawing nearly seven times as many people at Jeld-Wen the week before, you have to wonder whether the fact that this Seattle team has no ties to the Sounders may eventually hurt them more than they thought. Either way, hopefully the Seattle market follows the Portland lead in time, Alex Morgan or no Alex Morgan.
Next up:
Seattle – at Sky Blue (Sat.); Kansas City – at Western New York (Sat.)
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