Soccer Fan Blog

The long await finally came to an end tonight at John A Farrell Stadium at West Chester University. The Philadelphia Independence hosted the Atlanta Beat in what
was the Inaugural game for both teams.  Luckily for the players and the 6,000+ fans in attendance the weather was perfect for a competitive game of soccer.

From my first glances at the players during their warm-ups I could see a chemistry especially amongst the offensive players. Both Lianne Sanderson and Caroline
Segar stood out in the warm-ups with their long range shooting hitting from 25+ yards out.

Both teams walked into the stadium accompanied by young soccer girls from around the area. After the singing of the national anthem the foreign born Independence
players were given a bouquet of flowers. Nice way of welcoming the ladies not only to Philly, but the United States. Usually to start a game both teams will take a team photo along the
sideline. These two teams decided to things a little differently and take the picture together. Something you would definitely never see in the men’s game.

Lianne Sanderson got the honor of the first touch in Philadelphia Independence history as she rolled the ball over to Lori Lindsay who quickly booted the ball down
the right line for Amy Rodriquez (A-Rod) to retrieve and they were on their way. It wasn’t too long before Philly put on the offense pressure. In the 4^th minute Sanderson flicked a
ball on to A-Rod who took a low shot on goal that was saved and went out for a corner kick. Shortly after in the 7^th minute A-Rod from 15 yards out had another scoring opportunity
off a setup from Lori Lindsay which required a diving save from goalkeeper Allison Whitworth.

The Beat’s first quality scoring chance came in the 8^th minute when Stacy Bishop set up Angie Kerr who had plenty of net to shoot out missed just wide.
The Beat continued putting on the pressure in the Independence’s defensive zone. A few minutes later Johanna Rasmussen crossed the ball into the penalty area for Mami Yamaguchi who headed the
ball right over the bar. The crossing ability and runs from Yamaguchi kept the Philadelphia defense on their toes all night.

From the get go the pace of the game was phenomenal. Both teams came out with the physical play and tried to stretch the field early. Caroline Segar was built to
play in Philadelphia. She was running through players and throwing her weight around from start to finish. There was also a lot of chemistry for Philadelphia which is really saying something
considering they have only played one game as a full squad. Sanderson, Lindsay, A-Rod, and Segar can really move the ball around.

The back and forth play continued when both Sanderson sent a ball just over the bar for the Independence and  Johanna Rasmussen, of the Beat,
crossed a ball to Amanda Cinalli which she headed off the crossbar in the 25^th and 26^th minute respectively. Rasmussen would be injured shortly after following a collision
with Philadelphia’s Estelle Johnson. After about a minute she was back on her feet and into the mix. The Independence continued to attack late into the end of the first half. In the
42^nd minute A-Rod set up Jen Buczkowksi who sent the ball wide across the open goal. A-Rod picked up the missed shot and followed up with a shot of her own.

The first half ended with a 0-0 tie. It was a very fast paced start. The Independence put together a very good half considering how little time the team has spent
together. Both teams had their scoring chances and the physicality level was high. Rasmussen proved to be a thorn for the Independence, but they kept her off the score sheet. Tobin Heath was
virtually obsolete in the first half. She had a few touches on the ball and a few good defensive steps, but definitely not what I expected to see from her.

After the short break the Independence once again came out firing on offensive. A-Rod had yet another great scoring chance in the 50^th minute when Segar
gave her a long ball down the left side of the field which she booted from just outside the penalty area, but was denied by Whitworth. The first sub of the came in the 57^th minute
when Lyndsey Patterson was replaced by Karina Maruyama. Immediately following the resumption of play following the substitution Caroline Segar was put in a dangerous situation when she took a
boot to the head from Amanda Cinalli. She quickly fell to the ground and stayed down for a few minutes before walking off under her own will.

Angie Kerr kept the offense going for the Atlanta Beat had a wonderful scoring opportunity in the 61^st minute, but was denied by an even more
spectacular diving save by Karina LeBlanc. LeBlanc (KK) once again had to come up huge a few minutes later on a nice set up by Mami Yamaguchi to Rasmussen resulting in a corner kick. A couple
of substitutions were made in the 67^th minute. Lauren Sesselman was taken out for Sophia Mundy and Estelle Johnson was replaced for Katherine Reynolds. During the little break a
group of fans broke out a little rendition of “Sweet Caroline” for Philly’s Caroline Segar. The Fans were great all game cheering for both Heather Mitts who is still recovering from an injury
and unable to play and for Iceland’s Holmfridur Magnusdottir. She played a hell of a game at left fullback even though she primarily plays the midfield position. She made a lot of great runs
down the left sidelines all game long and beat many players 1v1 with some fancy footwork.

In the 74^th minute the Independence ran into a hiccup when Tobin Heath found a wide open Amanda Cinalli who could have made a run to goal, but instead
settled on a shot from the top of the 18 sending it over the bar. Magnussdottir got everyone on the feet in the 82^nd minute when she took a right footed blast from 35 yards out which
just grazed the crossbar and went out of play. The Beat gave her room to play and she took advantage. In the 84^th minute Lori Lindsay came out for Philly and was replaced by Joanna
Lohman who played great during the preseason scoring in three of the four games.

Perhaps the best chance of the game came in the 86^th minute when Maruyama sent in a pretty ball into the penalty area for Segar, but she had stopped
running thinking she was offside. She would have been all alone for a chance to score. The last couple of minutes Philly was throwing everything they could at Whitworth and the Beat defense.
They were rewarded a couple of corner kicks and a free kick following a yellow card to Atlanta’s Kia McNeill after she tripped Maruyama trying to split the defense.

Three minutes of stoppage time was added to the game. In the 93^rd minute Tobin Heath came out of the game for Katie Larkin. Philly had one final
opportunity to score with only seconds remaining. Lianne Sanderson set up A-Rod once again and was denied by Whitworth one more time. A-Rod was visibly disgusted with her shot decision.

Following the game I got to catch up with A-Rod who was still upset about her missed opportunity admitted that she “should have made that shot,” and that
“Whitworth to her credit made a great save.” She was pleased with the strong play and good chemistry especially between her and Sanderson. She also added that it was a great experience for the
two expansion teams.

Lori Lindsay also thought the team played very well together for only having one preseason game under their belts. A long time member of the Washington Freedom
Lindsay said she was excited to have the pro game back in the states and that she was looking forward to her stay here in Philadelphia.

Coach Riley was very thrilled with his team’s performance. Atlanta has played much more preseason games together and obviously had more chemistry and a connection
between players. He applauded his defense on holding the Beat’s offensive in check as he said it “easily could have been 2-0 early.” Not only was he pleased with the team, but with the fans as
well. He loved the fact that he could smell hamburgers and sausages out in the parking lot prior to the game with all the tail gaiters. He loved that the fans broke into song and chants and
laughingly acknowledged that “we need a song sheet.” What did he love most about the crowd? The fact that they get on the refs. People are going to like Coach Riley if only for that little
quote. He was pleased with the chemistry between A-Rod and Sanderson, the through balls from Lindsay and Segar and the performance by Magnussdottir who he admitted may play both the left and
right full back position along with some midfield because “when she gets running you can’t stop her.”