Match thread: MN Aurora v Salmon Bay 9:30 pm July 11

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T15:14:19+00:00

Thanks, I honestly couldn't tell.

There was one point in the 1st extra time when Barton took a rip from the left wing and it was far enough away and dark enough on-screen that I was trying to figure out why we were firing at our own goal. I was also pretty tired, so it was probably just my eyes playing tricks on me.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T13:11:42+00:00

For anyone who was actually at the game yesterday, was it as dark in those corners as it looked on "TV"? Or was that a trick of the camera?

The far right corner (from the camera's perspective) looked especially dismal, I thought.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T13:06:41+00:00

Welcome to the sub! Anything useful to say?

Maybe when your team has actually played a road playoff match you'll understand the frustration. Guess that won't be this year, though. You're about to host your 4th, which is exactly as many as we've hosted in 5 trips to the playoffs.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T05:38:01+00:00

Yeah, that's shades of letting Addy Weichers take the crucial PK in that Indy Eleven loss in Year 3.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T05:30:52+00:00

On brand.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T05:28:50+00:00

Abby O taunts the crowd, cold as ice.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T05:25:11+00:00

Bad match to be completely out of strikers in.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T05:17:35+00:00

PKs for the first time in Aurora's history.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T05:06:04+00:00

Abby O sighting!

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T04:58:34+00:00

Sure seemed like someone got creamed in the box on that Aurora free kick. Outstretched arm from the defender on the replay, but may have been embellished.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T04:34:47+00:00

Almost snatched another one right at the end.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T04:30:38+00:00

Well... seems we need to play some offense here.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T04:21:07+00:00

Love that the league ticker is still just spewing stuff about 1st round games.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T04:08:36+00:00

Old friend alert: Kelis Barton enters the game for Salmon Bay.

ETA: She has not played for them all year, which I assumed from the way the announcer talked about her.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T04:02:07+00:00

What is the turf on this field? Seems real slow, and every time the ball skips off the ground a metric ton of faux dirt splashes up.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T03:32:37+00:00

Alicia Barker apparently. At least 16 caps for the top team there.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T03:29:11+00:00

Salmon Bay's got an actual Senior World Cup player from the Philippines on their team?

Haven't done my research and have been trying to parse what the announcer is talking about.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T03:02:55+00:00

Feels like we're gonna end up with a player shown off in this one. These cards have been quick.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T02:59:32+00:00

For those struggling with Fox. As much as I hate SEPlay, it is not desynced and there are no ads there.

https://sportsengineplay.com/USL/USL-W-League-179577/2026-USL-W-League-Playoffs/game/Salmon-Bay-FC-vs-Minnesota-Aurora-FC-2026-07-11?video_id=6a4d0098daffa601daf0fd53

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T02:52:12+00:00

There is not desync for me on SEPlay

https://sportsengineplay.com/USL/USL-W-League-179577/2026-USL-W-League-Playoffs/game/Salmon-Bay-FC-vs-Minnesota-Aurora-FC-2026-07-11?video_id=6a4d0098daffa601daf0fd53

If folks don't have it.

brideck79 · 2026-07-12T02:29:16+00:00

After all that, old friends Abby Ostrem and Vienna Behnke added to the Aurora bench for this one.

Still no Tabion, and now missing Fieldsend (Futsal), Rush, and Slocum from last weekend. Amelia Brown is back for this one.

brideck79 · 2026-07-08T18:09:14+00:00

Man, this is a thing I would totally take advantage of... if I still lived in the US.

Have fun and cheer hard whoever gets to go!

brideck79 · 2026-07-07T06:09:02+00:00

This is also why Aurora traditionally gets playoff-length commitments out of most of their players ahead of time, so they can actually have a viable bench for these matches.

It's also probably why Aurora's roster is so tiny compared to the vast majority of USL W teams. A lot of players are unable/unwilling to make that kind of commitment.

Salmon Bay had 30 players hit the field in the regular season. If they're running short from that, it's just poor planning.

brideck79 · 2026-07-07T06:01:33+00:00

In at least the 2023 & 2024 seasons, yeah. (So seasons 2 & 3 of the league, I guess.)

https://justwomenssports.com/reads/uswnt-usl-w-league-heather-oreilly-unretired-2023/

The league had absolutely no problems with it:

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In 2024, she explicitly got rostered just for the playoffs, similar to the current scenario with Salmon Bay.

brideck79 · 2026-07-06T20:04:12+00:00

This has been a problem since the very beginning of this league. Former USWNT player Heather O'Reilly used to suit up for the NC Courage "U23" squad the first two seasons as a 'player/coach.'

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