Sky Blue FC was competitive until the very end, but lost in devastating fashion when Francisca Ordega of the Washington Spirit scored a goal in the 92nd minute to give Washington the 1 – 0 victory over Sky Blue.
The final score is not indicative of the quality of Sky Blue’s play. They were the more aggressive team for most of the game, taking 21 shots compared to Washington’s nine. In the end, the ball just didn’t happen to roll their way.
“That was the best we have played all year, and the most chances that we have created all year,” Sky Blue FC Technical Director and Head Coach Jim Gabarra said. “I could not be any more proud of the way we played tonight. I am just disappointed for the players that they did not get what they truly deserved, and that is three points.”
The game was delayed a half an hour due to poor weather conditions but it did nothing to effect Sky Blue’s pace of play. The 21 shots is the most they’ve had all season, and only the second time they had more than ten shot attempts in a game; they took 12 shots the last time they played Washington.
Credit has to be given to Washington goalie Kelsey Wys, who was a brick wall and managed to shut Sky Blue out in spite of the constant pressure they were putting on goal. Goalkeeper Brittany Cameron of Sky Blue also had a fantastic game right down to the wire.
Sky Blue tried something a little different, playing forward Maya Hayes at defensive back. The extra pace on the defensive back line allowed them to get back on offense faster and create quicker counter attacks.
“We had Maya Hayes, who had never played right back before in her life, probably put in the best job at that position of any player in the league so far this season,” Gabarra said. “We had Kim DeCesare step in up front at the last minute, and she did a tremendous job of winning everything in the air and really putting their defense under pressure.”
Sky Blue can’t seem to figure out how to get the ball in the net. Even after they managed to get as many shots off as they did today, they’ve still only scored one goal or less in every one of their six games this season.
The loss moves Sky Blue down to eighth place on the table with a record of 1-3-2, while Washington moves up to second with a record of 3-2-1.
Sky Blue will look to start building up some momentum next week on the road against the Boston Breakers before returning home to Yurcak Field on Sunday, May 31 to face off with the Houston Dash.
