A few random thoughts on the soccer weekend that was:

On Racing:

I’m not going to write a full-fledged recap of the Racing-KC match, but I will offer some thoughts. Racing more or less dominated the game, but really sputtered out in the final third. Katie McClure (who had a really good game), Yuki, and Savannah McCaskill consistently beat their defenders to the end line and cut in to cross to what should have been a late-arriving run out of the middle or back post, only to almost never find a target to pass to. That led to Racing having just one shot on goal the whole match against a team that they really should have beaten. Kizer had one golden look that she unfortunately volleyed over the crossbar, but otherwise, that was all that came from the wingers’ hard work the entire match.

What this team might need, if they’re going to play 4-3-3, is a creative central midfielder that can follow up on those kinds of dribbles and crosses. Racing likes to create offense up the wings, which is fine, but you’ve got to have players available for the one-time shot or tap-in from the chances you’re creating in wide areas. Ostensibly the center forward and opposite-side winger are those two, but a trailing option is what seems to be missing. That should have arguably been Savannah McCaskill, but often she was the one beating her defender on the right wing, cutting in, and crossing to…no one.

That someone, I think, should either be a trailing central playmaker, or a No. 9 that can beat her central defender to a lofted ball. Is that Ebony Salmon? We’ll find out!

On Lynn Family Stadium:

This is solely my opinion. I’m fully vaccinated. I went to Lynn on Saturday and, because Dr. Fauci and the CDC said I could, I chose not to wear a mask. Many others did the same, and many chose to continue wearing a mask because either they aren’t vaccinated yet or they’re just being careful. Good, good, good for those people. I am glad that there are so many responsible individuals in our fan base. I was admittedly a little conflicted about my choice to forgo a mask, but because we were outdoors and where I sit for Racing games wasn’t overly packed, I felt okay about it.

It looks like it won’t be long before Lynn is finally opened up to 100% available capacity. This is something we’ve all been waiting for, and it will be a special occasion when it happens. There was a palpable energy around LFS and Waterfront Park before the game Saturday night, as if a great release valve had been eased open and everyone was just excited to be alive and outside and behave the way we all did before anyone had ever heard of Wuhan before.

But we aren’t all the way there yet. If you’re vaccinated, awesome. If you aren’t, and you aren’t at some kind of unacceptable health risk, please go do it. There’s vaccine everywhere now; just go get it. You’re making yourself, your family, and everyone else in this community safer by doing so. The sooner we all get stuck, the sooner we can go back to fearing whatever else it was we were afraid of in 2019. Get. Them. Shots.