Matchday Information: 5/27 LA Strikers

SOUNDERS WOMEN vs LA STRIKERS

Monday, May 27th, 2013

GAMETIME: 3:00PM, Starfire Sports Complex (@starfiresports) 

PREGAME: MAD Pizza is the official pre- & post- game party spot! Arrive early and pick up your 2013 membership card to enjoy 20% off all purchases at MAD Pizza on match day, ALL SEASON LONG!  In short, join JCA & every 5^th beer is on us!  ...or that 5^th slice of pizza ….or that 5^th salad …  5 salads? Really? #SMH

POSTGAME: Join the SSW & JCA at Rookies Seattle in Columbia City after the match! Get to know the SSW off the pitch!  Great times, great food, great fun. #jointhefun

IMPORTANT REMINDER: Parking at Starfire will cost you $5.  Carpool!

TIFO PARTY: Want to get  your Tifo on?  Saturday evening there will be a Tifo Party/SoundersFC Men’s Viewing at the Tirolhaus in Kent.  BYOB & something to cook up on the grill.  RSVP on the Facebook Event Page for details & directions. #justcantgetenough

SCARVES: We will have a limited supply of JCA scarves available for purchase at the match, they are $20 and when we sell out, they will be gone forever.  Grab your slice of Sounders Women Supporter history at the match!

MARCH TO THE MATCH: Start making your way toward the Stadium a half-hour before kickoff (2:30).  Find the Jet City End (new location!), grab a song card, a two-pole, and get ready to have an awesome time!

REMINDER: All tickets are valid in the Jet City End, if you want to join in the fun, COME ON OVER!!! We’ll teach you the songs & may even let you bang on the drum.  Seriously, there has to be a better drummer than Bonnell out there somewhere!

WE LOST A FRIEND.  Tragedy hit the Sounders Faithful last week.  Long-time Sounders supporter Richard Swanson was hit by a car and passed away along the 101 in Oregon.  Richard, known in the Sounders Community for taking random long walks, was just two weeks into an epic walk.  He was walking to Brazil, from Seattle ...all the while kicking a One World Futbol. To honor his life and journey that were so abruptly cut short last week, donate a One World Futbol in his memory here:  www.oneworldfutbol.com.  Don’t have the funds to donate a ball? No matter! Take part in the 2013 JCA One World Futbol Juggle-Off in his honor.  Find the blue ball in the JCA End pre-game, during half, or at Alki Beach after the match and juggle your face off in Richard’s honor.

Requiescat in pace, Amicus.

BLUE HAIR? If you missed the video, here is the explanation for Sara Campbell’s Blue Hair: Sara's Hair.

THE SSW ROSTER HAS BEEN SET:

W-LEAGUE WESTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW: Check out the SoundersMom Blog for a great Preseason Western-Conference Preview written by SoundersMom: W-League Western Conference Preview.

UPSTART LA STRIKERS: The LA Strikers opened their W-League campaign across town at Pali High against another strong Blues side that has only conceded one game in 6 seasons at home. Undeterred, the revamped Strikers went all Vini, Vidi, Vici on the perennial league favorites with goals each half in a 2:0 Western Conference shocker.  Monday will be a good chance to test our merit and see where we stand amongst the top of the West.

THEIR COACH: The LA Strikers are coached by Tracey Kevins (@traceykevins) who is better known as the former English Women’s National Team Skipper.  She also spent several years coaching the @barnetfcladies in the Women’s Premier League.  Barnet FC are moving their training ground & stadium to a neighboring villa after 100+ years centrally located within the northern London burrough. One has to wonder Tracey's departure coincides with all that drama?  Barnet’s historic rivalry is with the recently imploded Enfield FC, but both clubs are overshadowed by nearby Arsenal & Tottenham.  I wonder if Coach Hubert & AC @Nfathy, both diehard Gunners, have any thoughts about Barnet FC?

PLAYER TO WATCH: Though both Leandra Walker and Jaime Bell found the back netting in Pali, the player to watch is veteran Winger/Forward Kristy Moore (@kristy_moore23), whose outstanding playing career is now on its 3^rd continent. The former English & Australian National has played in England, Norway, Australia, & now the US. Like her new coach, Moore has ties to Barnet FC, though she departed the club 3 years before Kevins began coaching there.  Moore won championships with Fulham & scoring titles in Norway before returning to her home town to guest play for the Lady Reds of Adelaide United.  In Australia's W-League play, our very own Hannah Brewer tallied an assist against Moore in November. Moore got her revenge a month later, scoring in a sloppy late-season affair against Brewer's Jets.  Half a year & half a world away, the battle continues this Memorial Day.

THEIR KEEPER: Former Pali Blue backup Ryann Torrero (@ryanntorrero) now tends the net for the LA Strikers.  The 5'9" Burbank longboarder is an LA Galaxy supporter and daughter of LA Radio Personality Jesse The Brown Beauty on Duty Torrero. She spent a year on the bench at Wyoming before transferring to Campbell College in search of playing time.  Yes, she literally converted from Cowgirl to Camel Girl…you can't make this stuff up. Ryann had a successful stint with the Camels and graduated this Spring. Though, I’m willing to bet she missed big school life in small town Laramie compared to small time school in small town Buies Creek, North Carolina, a town who’s biggest contribution to the world has been Rhett & Link. Ryann is currently dating a Fighting Camel defender, Chirag Shah, a transfer from VCU.  I wonder how that long-distance relationship is going considering each seems to have such a fear of commitment…

The 2013 campaign gets underway on Monday!  W-League 'SHIP or bust! GO SOUNDERS!!!

NEVER SURRENDER OUR SPIRIT!