Hello everyone and welcome to our three DMV Soccer-Related thoughts here on Honeyball Soccer! I hope everyone is having a safe and fun start to your 2021 and hopefully getting ready for what could be a very exciting soccer year.
There will be plenty of time to pontificate later. In the meantime, let’s get into the soccer!
DMV Soccer Related Thought #1: The Spirit Add Quality, Depth In NWSL Draft
Last Wednesday night, the National Women’s Soccer League held the 2021 College Draft and, as one would expect, the Washington Spirit were quite busy. The side continued their roster tinkering picking up forwards Trinity Rodman and Tara McKeown in the first round, midfielder/forward Anna Heilferty in the second round, goalkeeper Sydney Schneider in the third round, and forward Mariana Speckmaier in the third round.
Given that three of their four picks were used on forwards it is clear that the Spirit were looking to significantly upgrade their attack. The club waived Jenna Hellstrom, Meg McCool, Jessie Scarpa, and Crystal Thomas opening up significant space up top. Their only addition this offseason up top prior to the draft was Saori Takarada, the 21 year old Japanese international who scored 44 goals for her former club Cerezo Osaka Sakai.
Of the four Rodman is perhaps the player with the highest upside. At 18, she is the youngest player ever to be drafted in the NWSL College Draft having never played a minute for Washington State. She was however a regular for the United States Women’s under-20 National Team, helping them win the 2020 CONCACAF Championship.
(Quick sidebar: The ‘Trinity Rodman is Dennis Rodman’s daughter’ pieces are already boring. Yes, this is true. However, do we really need 85 stories about this especially when none of them actually include a quote from Dennis or his daughter other than the one she posted on draft night?)
McKeown also comes to Washington with some serious credentials. As a junior, she scored 15 goals for USC and was the Pac-12 Forward of the Year as well as a member of the United Soccer Coaches All-America First Team. The Spirit traded to get back into the first round to select McKeown so it would be fair to say that management is high on her potential to start this season and contribute.
Heiferty scored 13 goals for Boston University in 2019 and was named to the Patriot League First Team. Speckmaier comes to the Spirit after having played four years at Clemson where she scored 25 goals.
One thing to keep in mind for this year is that players whose college season was moved to the spring have until January 22nd to decide whether they will join their college team for the spring or play with their pro side. Of the four forwards selected, only Speckmaier played this fall meaning that Rodman, McKeown, and Heiferty could opt to play with their college soccer side then link up with the Spirit in the summer.
Outside of the forward picks, keep an eye on is Schneider. The UNC Wilmington goalkeeper has significant international experience, having earned 15 caps for Jamaica’s National Team. She was the starter for all three of the Reggae Girlz matches at the 2018 World Cup and made a key penalty kick stop in their first match. That level of experience will come in handy for the Spirit and Burke, who are likely to lose starter Aubrey Bledsoe due to USWNT duty.
Overall, the Spirit left Wednesday having plugged two major needs at forward and at back-up goalkeeper. These moves, coupled with the additions of Emily Sonnett and Kelley O’Hara in the defense,
DMV Soccer-Related Thought #2: D.C. United Have A Head Coach! Now Do They Have A Philosophy?
It’s over! D.C. United finally have a head coach! Yes, D.C. United’s courtship of every eligible coach in the world finally ended on Monday when the club announced that Hernan Losada had been named to the post. The former Beerschot gaffer will be joining the club just ahead of the MLS SuperDraft (United have the number four overall pick) and we assume the start of training camp at the end of January.
Obviously, Losada is a little bit out of left field the pick does seem to make sense in terms of what the club is looking to do. Under former head coach Ben Olsen United played a very conservative style, focusing more on counter-attacking and less on breaking scoring records. Losada is a much-more attack-minded coach which will certainly make many United supporters happy who grew tired of the Bennyball era.
The big question though is: Does United actually have the players and does management have the capital necessary to make a big change in style? While Olsen certainly deserves some of the blame for United’s attacking woes club management and in particular General Manager Dave Kasper made the roster decisions. The roster that Losada inherits at training camp will by and large be the same roster that Olsen had last season (albeit much healthier). It is certainly possible that Kasper and United management may have a change of heart after a tough 2020 season but their lack of moves is a bit telling.
There is also the possibility that United may finally be willing to hand the keys over to the kids: Griffin Yow, Kevin Paredes, and Moses Nyeman. Losada is known for developing young players and with D.C. standing pat in the offseason more opportunities should be coming to the three Homegrown Players. The same could also be said for midfielder Edison Flores, who spent most of the season on the injured list.
BTW if you haven’t had the chance check out this fantastic video that United put out with Flores where he found that he would be a father. Incredible stuff.
DMV Soccer Related Thought #3: Rowland Cup Action Kicks Off
On Sunday, yours truly had the opportunity to catch the afternoon Rowland Cup matches in Howard County. The Rowland Cup, for those who do not know, is Maryland’s oldest cup competition dating back to 1914. The winner of the tournament goes on to play in the USASA Region I qualifiers, which feeds into the Werner Fricker Cup.
Watching the likes of Motorik Alexandria, Columbia FC, Colombia FC, DC Flames, and the Baltimore Kickers play on Sunday was a real treat for yours truly. First, like many, I haven’t had as many opportunities to watch live soccer. While it is certainly great to have so many channels showing soccer here in the United States nothing beats the live experience. Nothing. There is something to seeing and hearing a live game and the passion and enjoyment of the players that you cannot get behind a screen.
What was also fun to watch was the high level of play. You could tell that these are not recreation league sides, that there is a level of organization both in terms of how they play and in their uniforms, their social media accounts, and all of the other little things that makes a club a club. These felt like big matches, both in terms of the presentation and in terms of the incredible effort put in by the players.
If you are looking for a game to watch this weekend here is the schedule for both the Rowland Cup as well as the Morton Cup.
Rowland Cup (January 24th)
Steel Pulse FC versus Colombia FC (11am, Blandair Park)
Christos FC versus Maryland International Athletics (11am, Blandair Park)
Baltimore Kickers versus Columbia FC (1pm, Blandair Park)
All Stars United versus Yinz United (1pm, Blandair Park)
Morton Cup (January 24th)
Columbia FC 2 versus JA Raiders (11am, Blandair Park)
Dream Team FC versus Frederick Spires FC (11am, Long Reach HS)
Deportivo Club de Districtonia versus DC Flames (1pm, Blandair Park)
Motorik FC Alexandria versus Trendsetters FC (1pm, Long Reach HS)
In the meantime you can check out photos from last weekend here and here!
Honeyball Soccer 