Sounders Women Look to Rebound Against LA Strikers

The LA Strikers will be looking to climb up the W-League standings against the Sounders Women. They are bringing their two Aussie players, Amy Chapman and Caitlin Munoz. With the addition of these two strikers (no pun intended), they have changed the look of their team completely. Chapman is a 25 year old, fast, relentless midfielder. She has played on the Australian National team, and is returning to the Striker’s for a second go ‘round. Munoz is a left footed forward with a nose for goal. At 28, she brings experience and focus to their front line. These two players are game changers for the Strikers.

The Sounders will be without the services of Alex Morgan, Sydney Leroux, Megan Rapinoe and Hope Solo for the next two games. They are supposed to be available for the final two home games of the regular season. Instead, we will rely on the depth of the team to continue our winning ways. Look for Kara Kuttler to be a factor in this game. She is fast, and loves to get into the mix of things up front. Our back line should be a little less frantic in this game. Kate Deines should be there before game time and ready to start the game. Stephanie Cox and Keelin Winters are also available for this game, and we will rely heavily on their defensive abilities.

Katie Hultin will once again be the fearless keeper for the Sounders. She will be tested by the two Aussie’s, and might want to stay home a little more than she did in the last game. They have the speed to punish for a miscue at the top of the box. But hey, she knows what she’s doing.

We will need goals from the ladies in Rave Green. Veronica Perez and Megan Manthey need to get their shootin’ boots on for the next couple of games. We will need our set pieces to result in goals. We can’t score if we don’t take shots, so the younger players need to pull the trigger when they are in the 18, not from beyond. I am hopeful that the last game was our one ugly one. Perhaps they will have their game day focus back from here on out.

The LA Strikers will be facing the Victoria Highlanders on Friday night. They beat the Highlanders for their only victory of the regular season (so far), on June 8th. They have been on a long road trip, facing the Canadian teams, so their legs could be tired by the time they face us.

This will be a great game to bring the Dad’s to for a Father’s Day outing. Game time is at 4:00 on Sunday. Bring a picnic lunch, and have some family time cheering the Sounders Women on to victory. Tickets for this game can be purchased through the Sounders Women website, here. The game will be streamed live on the Sounders Women site as well, or you can follow along on our game day thread at Sounderatheart.com or on my twitter feed.

The W-League named Alex Morgan and Stephanie Cox to the Team of the Week for week 5 of the 2012 season. Keelin Winters got an honorable mention. Alex had a goal and an assist that week, and logged eight shots on goal. Cox had a goal and was dominant on defense. Over at The Equalizer the Sounders Women are still ranked 6th. Their rankings show the power of the W-League West with 3 in the top 10 and 2 others considered.

The US Women’s National Team will be facing Sweden Saturday morning. It will be broadcast live on Universal Sports Network. Game time is 10:00 a.m. ET, and will also be broadcast online for free at UniversalSports.com. They face Japan on Monday, June 18, at 7:00 a.m. ET which will be streamed live but tape delayed on TV (that will show at 10 a.m.). Then the Sounders girls will be able to rejoin the team for the game on the 24^th.