Broken Streams: Red Stars 1, Boston 1, recap

I wish I could give you a more complete recap of the game. Alas, I only managed to catch maybe 20 minutes of the match in total. For the most part I got my updates via Twitter. (Ruben, thankfully, had a better connection than I did and was able to livetweet the game.)

Mostly the stream issues are overriding whatever feelings and analysis I have about the game. Say what you will about the production values and overall quality of the old YouTube streams from seasons past, they at least worked most of the time. The defining image of the 2017 NWSL season so far is go90’s “this event has not yet started” error message. It’s getting to the point where it’s hard to not presume malice with the league’s streaming situation, rather than simple incompetence.

Anyway, most of us made due with the impromptu NWSLSoccer.com stream, which for me kept rendering the players as amorphous blobs for the 10-second stretches when it actually worked. Mostly I just stared at a spinning yellow wheel. As such, I didn’t see enough of it to give you a meaningful reaction to the match.

Here’s what I can tell you: the Red Stars had an awful game, only barely managing to fend Boston off with a stick until late in the second half, and then had to scramble to get back into the game. Which they did, in the dying minutes of the game, and managed to escape with a 1-1 draw.

Also, Rose Lavelle is The Real Deal.

Also also, this game can be exceptionally cruel.

Also ALSO also, sometimes the clouds part and the soccer gods grant mercy.

This was, by all accounts, not the Red Stars’ best work. This squad still has some questions to answer. It’s unclear what the problem is at present— players not performing at the level they’re capable of, Rory Dames’ training regimen or tactics, or some other factor. What is clear is that if Chicago wants to maintain their status as playoff contenders, they’re going to have to figure out what’s happening. And fast.

The Red Stars are back in action next Sunday when they travel to the East Coast to take on North Carolina. Hopefully we’ll have a functional stream for it.