Los Angeles-Sky Blue FC: A Play-By-Play (and Other Miscellany)

(Photo courtesy of Robert Mora | isiphotos.com)

T-120 to kickoff: Oy vey! Just like it's not very often I post play-by-plays of games outside of Lons Angeles Sol home matches, it's rare that I post a play-by-play (with the customary miscellany jibjab) of  Sol road games. But this is the first. Hopefully it won't be the last.

Today, as Women's Professional Soccer fires it's 21-gun salute (without the blasting sounds of the cannon) to the 1999 USA Women's National Team, the Sol take on Sky Blue FC at the Joe Yurcak Field in Piscataway.

They're at Rutgers, where goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc is an assistant coach (and I assume keepers coach at that).

T-96: Sky Blue FC is fighting for air. At the bottom of the league, every point counts, and every defeat puts them on the brink of elimination from postseason play altogether.

Wheareas for the Sol, they continue their march to have the final game of the year held at the same placer where the inaugural was held, the good old Toolbox on Victoria Street we call the Home Depot Center.

Sky Blue FC--led by Natasha Kai--need to come out to play like there is no tomorrow, just like the Orlando Magic will with Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis at the Amway Arena Sunday.

T-78: So I am sitting here, prepared to watch the Universal Sports webcast, wrapping up some academic papers, getting my football and NBA Finals fix.

T-74: My hair is as long as shag right now. I plan to trim it all off if the Lakers finish the job tomorrow. All of it. You heard it here first on b/r and the WPS Fan Corner.

T-73: I found out why Stan van Gundy is compared (in terms of looks) to Ron Jeremy. I looked at his page...and he actually does! With a hair and mustache trim, of course.

T-70: I want to give you loyal readers a heads-up: the WPS Power Rankings for Week 13 will be on b/r Tuesday. That's because I will be off for the weekend due to convention commitments in downtown L.A.

Don't worry, though; I plan to post a recap of the match between the Sol and Washington Freedom at the Maryland SoccerPlex.

T-53: After this game, the Sol have a stretch of three games: a road contest against St. Louis between home ties against FC Gold Pride and the Chicago Red Stars. And this is all within one week.

At this time in the season, the team should be gelling well enough to take the lion's share of the points.

T-44: Matchups.

SKY BLUE FC
Manager: Kelly Lindsey
Colors: Sky blue tops and shorts, white socks
Formation: 4-4-2

23 Branam

17 Dowling ---- 3 Rampone ---- 5 Asante ---- 12 Schnur

7 Parker ---- 10 Averbuch ---- 11 Rosana ---- 9 O'Reilly (C)

6 Kai ---- 20 White

Substitutes:
14 MCCallum
18 Shaner
38 Sitch
4 Buczkowski
19 French
13 Keselica

LOS ANGELES SOL
Manager: Abner Rogers
Colors: Navy blue tops, shorts, socks
Formation 4-2-2-2

23 LeBlanc
2 Sanchez ---- 3 Falk ---- 19 Franko ---- 14 Cox

4 Wager ---- 20 Abily

7 Boxx (C) ---- 8 Miyama

10 Marta ---- 4 Bock

Substitutes:
17 Bogus
21 Frisk
18 Larkin
0 Cameron
12 Sari

Aly Wagner isn't hurt too much after that gash she suffered last week.

Manya Makoski will be unavailable due to family commitments. You can expect the wedding party to be keeping tabs on this one.

T-15: The webcast will start in a few minutes. Regardless, the Sol have this series, but they would love to whitewash the home side.

T-13: Making up for the time by listening to a BBC archived broadcast of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton fight. Geez, two rounds. Some fight that was.

T-12: Congrats, by the way, to the Pittsburgh Penguins. I love the logo. One of the best in the league, along with Detroit, Chicago, Montreal, and Toronto. Those are my top five, by the way.

T-10: Rainy day today here at Yurcak, but the people have come out for this one. 63 degrees Fahrenheit, with light rain.

T-7: The webcam guy, drying out the lens. He'll be doing a lot of that in this weather.

T-6: Heh. Comics on an umbrella? Original. While you're protected, the others get a laugh reading your protection. Hey, let me see that "For Better Or Worse" strip!

T-5: I'm going to go ahead and eat some concessions before heading on back to give my play-by-play. And the teams enter. Hello, and they are ACTUALLY playing the FIFA Anthem! At least these guys know what to play instead of that mainstream pop dubage.

KICKOFF: 4:06 PM

1' - Here we go. Concessions still baking, but I got some Club crackers and Macadamia nuts to hold me back.

1' - Sky Blue taking control of this match on possession. They want to set up the tempo.

2' - Warning shot from Kai, but off.

3' - Here's Marta...and Miyama got marked on that series.

4' - Rosana is trying to get back into form today, but  she could have done better.

5' - Sky Blue FC goalkeeper Jenni Branam resets. Here they come. Allison Falk deflects a Heather O'Reilly shot to LeBlanc.

6' - As you can see, the pitch is waterlogged in one area. Some draining is in order from the people of the Raritan.

7' - Ironically, it is in front of the Sol bench. Heh.

8' - Sky Blue FC's defense...business as usual. Marta couldn't keep that inbounds. Not a good shot from No. 10, either.

9' - Here comes Sky Blue FC...they are pressing on offensively via Kacey White and Natasha Kai.

10' - Good marking by Chelsea's very own Anita Asante.

11' - Dangerous fingertip save by Branam.

12' - Sky Blue FC's fans looking for a penalty on that tackle in the box suffered by Kai.

13' - Uh oh, here come the Sol. But Kelly Parker clears the danger.

14' - Whooooa Nelly! That shot by Natasha Kai nearly snuck past Karina LeBlanc. It hit the woodwork, and LeBlanc had to scoop the up.

The first major bullet dodged for LA.

16' - LeBlanc again, cutting off a cross by Sky Blue. She is gonna be doing a lot of work today, given the conditions.

17' - Another curling ball from Kai...just missing the post. Out of danger.

19' - Possession war on the pitch. Miyama is getting hounded today by Sky Blue FC's backfield.

21' - Players slipping on the pitch. Rosana called for the foul on Captain Shannon. Set piece time. Branam takes the free kick, though.

23' - Branam well off her line to clear that. Asante, a rock on defense.

24' - Here comes Sky Blue FC again.

26' - A shot by Rampone saved by LeBlanc.

27' - Pass for Marta too long, but she would have been offsides anyway.

28' - A shot by Bock grabbed by Branam. Low shots so far this match.

29' - The crowd chants. Corner for LA. Rampone clears. Too high a cross from Miyama. Uff.

30' - Sky Blue FC on the attack, but O'Reilly is dispossessed.

31' - Branam keeps things in order.

32' - Stephanie Cox, a defensive sensation, with that stop.

33' - This is some nice intercepting from Sky Blue FC. Kai seems to have been hurt inside from a tackle by Martina Franko, but she gets up.

34' - Sliding kick from Miyama squandered.

35' - Yael Averbuch with a great stop on Camille Abily.

36' - Marta the goal-scorer...Marta the facilitator. The  others need to pick up the pace. Aside from Karina.

36' - Sol resets. Here's Marta. And a great challenge by Keeley Dowling. Daniel Radford—hailing from my home town, Long Beach—is our official. No card. Marta got the ball before the player.

37' - Mother Nature doing its job aS the rain pours. Slips and slides.

39' - I will not be surprised if this becomes a scoreless draw.

40' - Franko had to stop O'Reilly in the box. Sol parks the bus to reset.

41' - Throw-in to LA, but it will be a goal kick to Sky Blue FC.

42' - Not a good clearance by LeBlanc, but Cox helps her reset. This is going to be a ball movement chess match on the pitch.

43' - Asante again, foiling the Marta cross. Kerri Sanchez, at age 36, is still playing the game. Impressive.

44' - The PA announcer is just flat-out boring.

45' - Rosana should have tapped that home. No stoppage time.

HALFTIME

Los Angeles Sol 0

Sky Blue FC 0

The Sol have been dodging bullets left and right. Let's see what happens in the second.

SECOND HALF START: 5:08 PM

46' - And here we go with the second. Sol go on the attack. Great save by Branam. Too much passing on that phase from Marta to Wagner. Had the idea, but Jenni was there.

47' - Sky Blue FC on the counter. Rampone's shot wide. Corner for Sky Blue FC, and Rampone is getting snakebit early this half.

49' - Throw-in for the home side. Rain is subsiding.

50' - Long passes have not worked for LA. They are passing in a mine. But they hold in the back.

51' - Meghan Schnur sets up the counter for Sky Blue FC, but Natasha Kai is offsides on the breakaway. She is immediately cautioned for dissent.


52' - Los Angeles now on the attack, but Sky Blue FC are there defensively. The 4-2-2-2 hasn't been working well for Abner Rogers's club. They may want to consider going back to the old bread and butter.

54' - Captain Shannon in the muck. Here comes Sky Blue on offense and the Sol on defense.

55' - A header by Kai misses the mark. Boy, a number of the Sky Blue FC shooters want those attempts back, don't they?

56' - Kai crashes headfirst into the boards. She may need to borrow Petr Cech's scrum cap next time. I could hear that a thousands of miles away...thanks to the
webcast.

57' - A diving save by LeBlanc, leaping over Rosana. One for the camera.

58' - Branam saves a wide attempt from Boxx. This is a goalkeeper clinic today.

59' - I think the player of the match will be the one with the most saves. That's just me, though.

60' - Substitution Sky Blue FC

IN 14 Collette McCallum
OUT 21 Rosana

61' - Branam with a good save, but Kacey White was offsides on the counterattack.

62' - Anita Asante, holding off the Sol attack again.

63' - Goal kick for Los Angeles. "Universal Sports: The Athlete's Network." Heh. Is that supposed to be a rival to ESPN360.com? Not gonna be surprised.

64' - I think this is where we miss Han Duan and Manya Makoski.

65' - Here comes Sky Blue FC, turning up the pressure again. And Abily is shaken up after that tackle by Kai.

66' - Not good defense from Sanchez, but LeBlanc bails her out.

67' - O'Reilly needs to amp up her game if they want to get this victory. The announcer getting the little boogers amped up.

68' - Branam pulls in another save.

69' - It's looking like it will be another scoreless draw, with the poor finishing from Sky Blue FC.

70' - Every offensive series by both teams is either stopped by the back line, or stopped by terrible finishing and/or delivery.

71'- The faithful are getting a tad restless at Yurcak, I would assume.

72' - Play on, says Daniel Radford. Sense of urgency from O'Reilly. Shot from Collette McCallum over the bar.

73' - Man, I don't know how many more bullets are we going to dodge. We just dodged a bad shot from McCallum which was well out of range.

74' - Even Marta is losing her footing on this pitch. Kai shaking up again as Sky Blue FC squander a corner opportunity. She's favoring her shoulder a bit.

75' - Too short a pass from Miyama. Here comes Sky Blue FC...

76' - And another great save from LeBlanc.

77' - This 4-2-2-2 system is showing its holes. Sky Blue FC gets another corner. And it's wasted.

79' - Blistering from Averbuch from 40 yards away misses wide. They have been wide like Miami, Sky Blue FC's shots.

80' - Oh, and if Bock had that one, yikes.

81' - Poor offensive series from LA. Sky Blue FC on the attack. Kelly Parker with that foul.

83' - Bock is cautioned for that tackle. I think Abily's streak of scoring will end today.

84' - Kelly Parker dispossesses Marta. Kai's shot blocked on the counter, and LeBlanc with the save.

85' - I told you this was going to be another keeper clinic.

86' - LeBlanc getting another easy roller.

87' - A few more minutes to go in regulation. The last thing these fans want at Yurcak is a scoreless draw, a result which not be good their chances.

88' - Boy, Dowling, Asante, Parker...these Sky Blue players did their homework today on Marta.

88' - Branam grabs that one.

89' - Same old story...header by Kai...wide Miami, wide Miami, wide Miami, wide, wide, wide!

90' - One minute of stoppage time. Header attempt went south for the summer. Great stop by Franko, and LeBlanc once again!

91' - The Sol is a bit winded. And Kelly Lindsey had to be beside herself while Branam gets another save.

All hat on defense, no cattle on offense. So the story goes.

FINAL

Los Angeles Sol 0

Sky Blue FC 0

A little side note: So Phil Jackson is fined $25,000 for  honest remarks about the officiating? What's next, the Lakers fined $1,000,000 minimum for hosting a parade down Figueroa or $5,000,000 for the players celebrating in the middle of the court?

They might as well fine Gina Marie Incandela two bits for singing the National Anthem. Or fine Stan van Gundy $10,000,000 of XXX for looking like Ron Jeremy.

Ludicrous policies by the NBA. Hey David Stern, how about you fine me for calling you out?

Ahhh, but remember, if you decide to, you got an automatic appeal coming your way...So I'd be careful on who you decide to slap parking tickets on. Because my litigators are ready to kick your ass, pal.