Happy Monday folks. I was in Detroit this weekend for a remembrance walk in honor of one of my heroes, and am on the way back right now. Thus, the shortened and late Freedom Kicks. Unfortunately, it was the worst weekend for DC soccer, as not a goal was scored by any team.
Washington Spirit lose big to Kansas City Current, 3-0 (DP)
The Washington Spirit lose badly in Kansas City in a match that saw Trinity Rodman exit with a back injury. Hopefully everything is fine there.
Philadelphia Union 4-0 DC United (MLS)
The Black-and-Red get throttled up in Philly, and they have dropped to 13th in the table with 4 matches to play.
Post-match Recap: Spokane Zephyr FC vs. Power FC (Power FC)
DC Power went on the road to Spokane and lost 1-0. They get another chance at Zephyr FC this weekend here at Audi Field.
New Mexico United 1-0 Loudoun United (USL Championship)
Loudoun United was on the road over the weekend and lost to New Mexico United. Still, Loudoun is clinging to the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Even the Maryland Bobcats were shut out this weekend, but they at least got the win….by forfeit.
That’s it for today as I hit the skies, so post some cheerful news in the comments.
The USA Eagles fell 18-13 to Samoa in the 3rd place game for the 2024 Pacific Nations Cup. They need the same placement or better at next year’s edition to qualify for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia. There were Old Glory DC players on both teams.
Samoa:
Danny Tusitala
USA:
Jack Iscaro (not in the gameday 23 for the 3rd place match)
Cory Daniel (started)
Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz (started)
Tommaso Boni (started)
Ethan McVeigh (on the bench, but not subbed in)
All I’ll say about yesterday is:
1) it’s always Philly that throttles us
2) why does Lesesne still seem unsure about the lineups/formation with 4 games left?
3) Enow has already shown he can’t be trusted to cover the back line by himself. Same for Peltola. Midfield needed better structure yesterday.
Lesesne really does need to nail down a preferred formation/lineup. I think his thought process yesterday was to come out aggressive with the wingbacks but it just didn’t work. Once again an opposing team heavily targeted the left side of our defense and we had no answer. Enow has definitely not impressed me yet. Maybe he’ll play better in a double pivot, but he’s not passing the eye test for me.
When I saw the lineup I thought, “Here we go again.” This type of aggressive lineup has been torched many times this year. Again, Lesesne got this one wrong. Philly also know their central defender would be out and were prepared for this aggressive lineup. Curtain also saw that there would be defensive liabilities on the left side.
Also, having Enow in midfield makes matters worse. He seems always out of position. In fact, the central midfield seemed entirely missing in this game in the defensive half. The coach seems to like him, but I have to disagree with that assessment. So far in a small sample, he has not performed well and players seem to get around him easily.
Peltola does a much better job at defensive midfield because he is always in the right spot and is a very competent tackler. What can one player do when there are waves of players coming at you.
This is another coaching loss. He gambled and went for the win and paid the price. I am starting to have some questions on Lesesne’s high press, high yellow card, high red card approach to the game.
Part of me wonders if Lesesne is giving Enow starts to see if he can be a major building block next season. I think he should have been integrated much more slowly and would love to see what a double pivot of Peltola/Rodriguez could do.
Hate to say it, I think we’re stuck with Enow no matter what till 2027 unless we use a precious resource to buy him out
It’s funny to me how the single lone number 6 has really been a go-to for a lot of modern teams. As if guys like Rodri etc. grow on trees. Even teams like Real Madrid and Arsenal have either a straight double pivot or a 6 and an 8 that sits next to the 6 out of possession. Expecting Enow to cover all of that ground is almost cruel especially in a team that is so unorganized out of possession.
What do you mean no team scored a goal this weekend? Loudoun scored one (for New Mexico)! 😩
Oof 😔
Mostly agree, a bad day for DC soccer — unless you’re a former mayor of Albuquerque NM (New Mexico United 1 Loudoun United 0).
I knew you couldn’t lay off that curveball ;^)
Re: The DC United game I was unsure when I saw the lineup what exactly we were doing and ended up turning the game off at half. That was an embarrassing performance by the individuals, the team, and most of all the coach who really seemed to set them up for failure. Santos is not a LB (he might be a traffic cone), Peltola is not a center back, Enow does not seem like a great DM and the rest of the team was just out of sync and bad