Freedom vs Queens Analysis: Queens Win South Division
Philadelphia’s Crucial Tactical Error
Analyzing this match has to start with Philadelphia’s tactics in the first period. Headed into this match, the stakes were clear for the Philadelphia Freedom: win 4-0, or be eliminated from the playoffs. Knowing that, the Freedom’s tactics to start the match were certainly head-scratching.
As a reminder, the lineups for the match were as follows:
NY: Fayrouz Aboelkheir, Nardine Garas, Maddie Hylland
PHI: Olivia Weaver, Melissa Alves, Nicole Bunyan
On paper, Philadelphia’s lineup featured two blue-chip talents to New York’s one. Nardine Garas played up to that level, but there was no way of knowing that would happen headed into the match. To me, this put Philly at an enormous advantage (and was part of why I predicted a 4-0 victory for the Freedom). Philly had to plan around the Fayrouz Aboelkheir matchup, and they had two players in their lineup who could combat her. Neither of them started the match.
Nicole Bunyan started the match off against Fayrouz, and Fayrouz predictably dominated. The match started 9-4, and Philly quickly pivoted to Melissa Alves. The problem was, Fayrouz was already warmed up, and Alves came on court cold. Fayrouz built the lead to 15-6, and that was effectively the period done and dusted. Philly called a power play to stop the bleeding, but New York maintained their lead brilliantly. Nardine Garas was a revelation for New York, as she had a period-high 2.1 points per minute, including an 8 point power play against Melissa Alves. By the time Olivia Weaver subbed in, Philly didn’t have much of a chance. Weaver scored 16 points in eight minutes, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a comfortable 40-30 victory for New York in the first period.
The only reason I can think of for Bunyan starting the match for the Freedom is that they wanted to match up Weaver and Alves with Garas and Hylland. They took the “offense is the best defense” approach. There are two problems with that. One, rankings go out the window in the NSL. Lower ranked players can, and often do, play above their ranking when fulfilling a role for their team. As it turned out, Nardine Garas was tailor-made for the NSL, and looked like the best player on court at times. Second, Philly took on an unnecessary deficit. Whether Fayrouz started the match or not, the Freedom had to start either Weaver or Alves to realize their advantage. With Fayrouz off the court, the Freedom would still have a blue chip talent to go against Garas or Bunyan, and they’d likely be in the driver’s seat. Instead, Philly took on a deficit they didn’t need to, and it likely cost them a shot at defending their title in the NSL playoffs.
The rest of the match played out in the Freedom’s favor. Olivia Weaver, despite some hiccups, was the standout with 66 points in 33 minutes played. She essentially led the Freedom to victory. But, it unfortunately didn’t yield a playoff berth because of that costly first period. The Queens, despite the loss, ended up winning the South Division on point differential, edging out the DC Inferno by just one point! Every point matters in this league.
Nardine Garas
I want to conclude with a brief homage to Nardine Garas, who was without question the standout player for the New York Queens. I projected her as the attacking specialist for this match, and boy did she deliver on that. Garas led her team with 1.93 points per minute for the match. She also took on all four of the Queens’ power plays and scored 24 points total. Incredibly, Garas also defended two of the Freedom’s power plays and only gave up 7 total points. Garas was the Queens’ fourth round pick, and she provided the impact of a top ten player in her debut match. The entire Queens organization has to feel great about the draft pick, as Garas firmly established herself as a core asset for the Queens moving forward.
