Women's Wrap
July 21, 2008 4:15 PM
I don't know if enough has been made about the achievements of the Whitecaps women's team this season. As you are well aware, many of this country's best players have been missing from the team for the last two seasons, as they have been committed to the Women's World Cup of last year and the Summer Olympics this year. With that in mind, our focus for the women's team has been more about developing tomorrow's stars. Still, even with the shift in focus, we had numerous players off on national team commitments at various points this season. All in all, we saw a record 39 different players don the blue and white, so developing any kind of chemistry and continuity was a challenge for this squad.
As part of the USLLive.com commentary team with Whitecaps Correspondent Simon Fudge, the team I watched at the early part of the season were prone to missed passes, defensive lapses and spacing issues. Fortunately, if team cohesion was still being developed, it didn't show up on the scoresheet. Despite a couple of defensive slip-ups in the first match, Emily Zurrer found the back of net in the 90th minute to earn a hard-fought draw. It's hard to call a first game of the season a turning point, but there was an inkling of resiliency on that field that gave a glimpse of what may lie ahead.
By the time we saw them in their final two games, the team had made major strides, and now demonstrate much more poise and confidence. Whether it's a Katrin Schmidt unafraid to deke around a player or two and join the attack, or a Chelsea Stewart unleashing a shot from 30 yards out; there is clearly a swagger in their step. And I believe that swagger will give them the edge on Saturday when they host Seattle for the Western Conference Championship Final.
I expect Saturday's contest between Seattle and Vancouver to be a spirited affair. Many of the players know each other, and there is much on the line, as the winner moves on to the W-League Final Four to join conference-mates Pali Blues. Seattle started the season a little slow, but have been fantastic of late. Highlights include a 6-1 victory over Fort Collins and holding Pali Blues to a pair of narrow 1-0 victories, priving to be Pali's most difficult opponent of the season.
But Seattle are still the underdog and are in tough against a Vancouver team playing with a lot of confidence and in front of a home crowd that is accustomed to women's excellence. So with a tremendous regular season under their belt and a playoff run in the offing, this is a perfect time to congratulate the 2008 Whitecaps Women. All 39 of them!
Posted By: Ryan Mckee on July 21, 2008 4:15 PM
