D.C. United Women News Release - www.dcunitedwomen.com
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Germantown, MD - The Virginia Beach Piranhas ended D.C. United Women's league-high 11-game winning streak on Saturday night, earning a 1-1 draw in what was perhaps the most physical defensive struggle of the season for the Black-and-Red.
Jamie Clarke broke the game open in just the sixth minute for Virginia Beach, beating the United Women back line in transition to launch an unassisted go-ahead goal. Clarke, a veteran of the Piranhas, split team captain defender Marisa Abegg and Becky Sauerbrunn down the middle to score the first goal by a visiting W-League opponent at the Maryland SoccerPlex this season.
"Marisa and I got a little bit too stretched out in the middle because I was covering a girl wide on a run, and the girl just got a toe on it and split the space between us," said Sauerbrunn on the early strike by Clarke. "She got a touch around Deeds [GK Didi Haracic] and actually put it in from a really bad angle, so it was a really nice goal."
"They just caught us," added Head Coach Mike Jorden. "Our defender got in just a step late and their player did a good job of finishing the goal; kept her composure, kept her nerve, got around Didi and knocked it in."
Just 14 minutes later, D.C. United Women worked hard to find an equalizer and shifted the momentum to a point where it seemed the entire complexion of the game would change. Reigning W-League Player of the Week Mikaela Howell charged into the Virginia Beach penalty area drawing multiple defenders as well as goalkeeper Marbel Egwuenu, and made a gutsy pass to a wide-open Ashley Herndon while taking a hard hit to her lower body. Herndon finished the play with ease, knocking the ball into a wide open net for her third goal of the season.
"The ball came through to Mikaela and she did an amazing job getting to it," said Herndon. "She followed the goalie and still managed to get through and I just finished it right there."
For Herndon, it marked a fourth straight game with at least one point and for Howell it extended her team-record points streak to eight. The 23-year-old forward extended her league-high assist total to seven on the play and also put her tied with Long Island's Grace Hawkins for the points lead with 21.
The story of the match, however, was not Howell's or Herndon's individual feats but the speed and athleticism of Virginia Beach, which kept D.C. United Women out of their comfort zone for most of the match. The Piranhas put on the best defensive display the Black-and-Red have faced all season, holding United Women to a season-low one goal and only four shots on target the entire night.
Virginia Beach played a tough brand of soccer which resulted in 12 fouls and two yellow cards and eventually a well-earned tie against the Eastern Conference's only remaining team with a perfect record. The Piranhas held D.C. United Women scoreless for the final 70 minutes of the contest and forced them into offensive frustrations which they simply have not had all season long.
"They're a very physical team as we found out," said Jorden on Virginia Beach, which continued a streak of seven straight matches without a loss. "They're very athletic, they put a lot of pressure on us and I give them a lot of credit. We didn't play terrible, we could have done a lot better - we were a little impatient at times and may have missed that last pass, but they did a good job of shutting us down on a lot of places on the field."
D.C. United Women saw its double-digit league win streak come to an end on Saturday night but would not lose much ground in the Eastern Conference playoff chase. The Atlanta Silverbacks of the Southeast Division tied Central SC Cobras 2-2 and fell to 7-0-2 on the season, missing a valuable chance to put the odds of hosting the Conference Playoffs in their favor. D.C. United Women left points on the table for the first time all season, falling to 7-0-1 but Jorden and the players are not willing to let frustration from Saturday carry over into the final four games of the regular season.
"I just think we keep our heads up. We found out last year, on paper you think you can go in and win every game and that's not going to be the case this year. For us we've just got to get better. We've got to get better in the final third, get better off the ball with our frontrunners and just keep our heads up. We've got another game Tuesday, right around the corner so we've got to get the job done."
D.C. United Women still have a stranglehold on first place in the Atlantic Division with 22 points, seven more than second place Virginia Beach, who have just three games left to overcome the deficit. United Women still control their own fate in regards to hosting the Eastern Conference Playoffs as well, meaning if they win the rest of their matches the right to host is theirs.
As Jorden noted, the Black-and-Red play again in just three days when they face the Northern Virginia Majestics for the third and final time this season on Tuesday night at Hellwig Memorial Stadium. United Women won the last meeting 5-1 on June 16 and will look to make it a clean sweep of the Atlantic division neighbors. After the Majestics, United Women are back at the SoccerPlex on Sunday, July 1 for a 5 p.m. ET tilt against FASA Impact. Tickets available at tickets.dcunitedwomen.com.