Originally published on July 11, 2014
The Western New York Flash host the Washington Spirit on Saturday July 12th at 7 PM in what could be a season defining match for both clubs. The Flash and Spirit are both level with 23 points and are in position to fight for the third or fourth playoff spot along with the Chicago Red Stars and Portland Thorns FC who are just a point behind at 22.
This is the third and final meeting between the two clubs this season. The Flash notched an impressive 3-1 victory of the Spirit in the opening match of the season without star forward Abby Wambach. However, the Spirit won the next meeting 3-2 at home on May 17th against a Flash team that included Wambach.
The Spirit will have to travel to Rochester to attempt to win the series and earn crucial points toward their playoff run. The Flash will look to take advantage of playing on their home turf (literally), despite missing Wambach who is out with a knee injury.
The Spirit have been fully focused on the Flash matchup and head coach Mark Parsons even called it a mid-season championship game for the Spirit. “It’s a good chance for us to put in a really big performance,” he explained.
One of the major elements to Parsons’ game plan will be newly acquired forward Lisa DeVanna. DeVanna has fit into the Washington setup well and seems to have a budding striker partnership with Jodie Taylor. When asked about trading defender Bianca Sierra to the Breakers Parsons responded “right now, I think it is the best bit of business I have done since I have been here.” He continued “It starts with Bianca. She is getting things in Boston that she couldn’t get here. She is playing center back and she is playing 90 minutes in Boston. Lisa has given us a completely new dimension to our attack. When she isn’t scoring, she is creating for others.”
Parsons emphasized the importance of midfield and back line communication and shape when discussing how the Spirit hoped to stymie the Flash attack. Parsons explained “we can’t just rely on great individual defending to get us out of trouble. We should be better as a team.”
The team has spent the week training on turf to prepare for the playing surface in Rochester. The other key bit of preparation for the Spirit is shoring up their shaky defense. “Three of the four training days this week will be focused on defensive stuff,” said Parsons. “We don’t want to be conceding the goals we are conceding. Everybody is responsible when we defend. It’s not just the back four. That responsibility also goes up to me. I’ve got a responsibility to improve us defensively.”
Parsons mentioned a couple key areas of focus for the Spirit will include denying space to Flash forwards Samantha Kerr and Jasmyne Spencer. Additionally, Parsons lauded the Flash’s defensive shape and said it will difficult to break them down. He will look to movement on the ball from key players like Matheson, DeVanna, and others to draw out and disorganize the Flash.
Parsons guarantees that the game will be a massive one to watch. “For these two clubs, it is a huge game,” he noted. “I think it is one we can all be excited about and I am looking forward to it.”