D.C. United Women News Release - www.dcunitedwomen.com
Saturday, May 19, 2012
GERMANTOWN, MD - England native Mikaela Howell netted two goals in her debut with D.C. United Women on Saturday night, vaulting the Black-and-Red to a 2-0 victory in their regular season opener against the Virginia Beach Piranhas.
Howell's two-goal performance allowed United Women to remain undefeated all-time in league action at their home stadium, the Maryland SoccerPlex. The 23-year-old striker from England first struck in the 36th minute in spectacular fashion, corralling a pass from Katie Menzie and doing a full spin move to shake a defender at the top of the penalty area before launching the ball into the top left corner of the net with her left foot.
"Before my first goal, I felt like we had done well and controlled a lot of the possession, but we hadn't really gotten any shots off," said Howell after the match. "So I thought if I just turned around and hit it, it would at least test the keeper."
Test the keeper it did, as the laser found the upper corner much to the delight of the fans who had witnessed good play by the home team, but not many goal threats up to that point.
Howell struck again in the 60th minute, this time from close range in the left side of the box on an assist from United Women veteran Hayley Siegel.
"She had a great game, she's got a nose for the goal and she works extremely hard," said Head Coach Mike Jorden on Howell's performance. "She was at the right place at the right time tonight, and did a great job of creating for us."
D.C. United Women controlled possession for the majority of the match and outshot the Piranhas 11-8, with four coming on target. Virginia Beach finished the night with three shots on target. Jorden said he was pleased with his team's performance, but also sees a lot of room for improvement.
"It feels good, first game of the year, we were missing some key players but there are no excuses on this team," said Jorden. "Honestly we didn't know what to expect out of this game, so to come out and play relatively well and earn three points was a good feeling."
Jorden emptied the entire bench against Virginia Beach, using all 17 players on the active roster, including backup goalkeeper Danielle DeLisle. The University of Virginia product came in for Didi Haracic at the start of the second half despite Jorden having no other goalkeepers in reserve after Penn State's Britt Eckerstrom was a late scratch. Haracic made two saves on two shots faced in the first half, and DeLisle stopped the only on-target shot she saw in the second half, as the two combined for the team's first shutout of the summer.
Eckerstrom was not in uniform but will also be challenging for time in net as the season goes on, leaving a highly competitive summer ahead for the three shot-stoppers. Haracic, who started seven games for United Women last season, said she sees the team's depth in net as a motivating tool for her own performance.
"I love it," she said. "Competing with the other two keepers is the biggest thing. Off the field, I love them, but we push each other to the limits and obviously only one keeper can play, but I'll back them up and they'll back me up."
Jorden enjoys the competition between keepers as well, and said he doesn't see managing the three keepers as a challenge, but more of an opportunity.
"It isn't going to be a challenge because we have so much talent there," said Jorden on his triad of keepers. "Part of our job is to develop players, so we want to get all of them time in net. I'm confident in all three of them, and the two that were here tonight both did exceptionally well. If tonight's any indication, they're all three going to play a lot."
United Women will have a full week of training before they take the field again next Sunday when they host the Northern Virginia Majestics at the SoccerPlex, with kickoff set for 7:45 p.m. ET.