PBP: CONCACAF U-17 WCQ: 05/03 Bahamas, 05/05 T&T, 05/07 Mexico

A single-stadium WCQ, at Estadio Cementos Progreso, Guatemala City.
Every ticket a double-header They waive the usual requirement of simultaneity for the final round group matches. A (c)overt work-around is to "seed" the pool favorites into the later match.

2 groups of 4, for 3 qualifying spots. In 2010, T&T took a slot as host, and Canada beat USA 0(5)-0(3) to end a certain "every FIFA finals" streak.

USA's Group B matches: (all times EDT)
05/03 16:00 Thu | The Bahamas - USA
05/05 16:00 Sat | Trinidad & Tobago - USA
05/07 18:30 Mon | USA - Mexico

Playoffs:
05/10 15:30/18:30 Thu | semis
05/12 15:30/18:30 Sat | 3, C

US Soccer's WNT Blog has already traveled thereto, as the senior WNT is in a fairly boring stretch. Look for an Estadio 90 from Guatemala, hehe.

 

Gah, I'm rasterized!
Live feed on now. Stands utterly empty. Players file out.

The anthem of The Bahamas sounds like an overture. None of them are singing. A couple are wiggling in youthful exuberance. Okay, two are moving their lips.

USA anthem!

 

New BigSoccer can't do lineup-4-3-3 diagrams?
No markup help link in the sidebar?

Bahamas are ridiculously young, much of their team are 13-14. One of their midfielders is 12

0'39" 0-1 USA ping around the Bahamian bunker. #6 Miranda collects at 40m left touch, crosses high to box top right, unintentional dummy rolls through to box top arc right. #15 Margaret "Midge" Purce back-cuts her defender, touches into box, chases it alone to the penalty spot as #1 Strachan steps up, chips left instep to the right corner low.

 

05' 0-1 #9 Bruder outpaces the RB, chases a long roller to the endline 6-left foot. Right-outstep flick just saves it, sharp diagonal backpass to 12m right post, somebody flies in and shoots low center, right into #1 Strachan. Rebounds to 6-top center, just out of her sprawl, 2 USA players joust with a defender, corner.

06' 0-2 USA right corner, high to 3m right post. #1 Strachan jumps high with two hands and backsets it high. #9 Bruder poaches just inside left post, tries to shoot on the bounce and gets no power, blocked on the line and cleared weakly to 8m. #8 Summer Green runs on and blasts it waist-high through traffic, into 1/3 left mid-high.

 

14' 0-2 #9 Bruder has flipped to RF, intercepts a goal kick, drives up box right. Cuts back to her left foot to box to left, shoots hard left post, #1 Strachan saves. She's made ~4 saves already.

 

17' 0-2 USA with rare possession just behind midfield. LCM chips over the top, hits #9 Bruder toasting the high back line by 5m. She's alone through box top right, clangs her last touch too hard to the 6-top, #1 Strachan stuff-blocks it off her foot, sends her sprawling. USA right corner, fizzle.

Allegedly, USA GK #1 Jane Campbell is really good (for W-17). So far she's really bored.

 

22' 0-2 Bahamas dump long into USA's box for #8 Saunders in a 1-v-2. #1 Campbell comes way out to 10m 6-right, jumps high to catch, and #8 Saunders undercuts her a bit, causing a drop and a foul.

24' 0-2 USA right corner, #14 Kaskie curls it to high right post. #1 Strachan again gets lost, jumps high and whiffs clean. Ball sails untouched to #9 Bruder and her marker at left post, uncontrolled chest-bump goes just wide left.

 

25' 0-2 Unique sequence: Bahamas short clearance or throw, misses blue shirts through box top. #15 Purce charges in as #1 Strachan charges out, Purce at box top tries to pass around her as #1 Strachan sit-slides at 14m and kick-saves it. Ball rebounds just past box top. #1 Strachan is first to recover, foot-dribbles it back into her own box, bends down to pick it up as a 2nd USA player tries to poke it loose.

27' 0-2 #9 Bruder has cyclone-rotated to center forward, receives at box top center facing left. Does a ball trick equivalent of a cross-over dribble to paralyze two line defenders, walks between them and wide-open. Shoots hard low center, #1 Strachan saves well.

 

The field is AstroTurfy, with wakes and splashes of black rubber pellets on any ball-bounce or divot. USA is being a bit individualistic in attack, with a great deal of athletic running and shoot-it-myself from distance, but not much quick passing. Bahamas are packing 11 in their own half. USA's crosses are kind of blah. We've seen this before -- to me, it feels a little bit deliberate by USA to not run the score up.

Or maybe we're just lousy

 

34' 0-2 #10 Morgan Andrews gathers at ~30m arc right. Notes #1 Strachan standing at about 2/3 right, blasts a hard shot curling toward the left post. #1 Strachan stops and waits for it to sail wide. Off the left post and back into the field!

39' 0-3 #8 Summer Green drives down 6-box right to endline, turns corner on her defender, spins goalward and squeezes a placement shot between #1 Strachan and the right post low.

40' 0-4 #10 Andrews dribbles up the centerline, right outstep flick hits #8 Summer Green through box top 6-right, just outside LCB #4 (ironically) Green. Green dribbles to 8m 6-right, shoots angle just past left post into the side netting.

43' 0-5 USA again flicks right-outstep from midfield, Bahamas LB tries to volley it away, but shanks it across her own box top. #8 Summer Green, with back to goal at box arc top right, lifts right instep waist-high and settles ball to herself. Spins and touches into box, chases it to 12m spot, right-outstep flicks it just over #1 Strachan's sprawl.

HT. Matchtracker still says 4:0 Their text credits Green's 4th goal, but their scoreboard is still, um, importing 250k threads

 

46' 0-5 USA subs in (1 of 3) #11 Morgan Stanton for #14 Lauren Kaskie.
47' 0-5 USA subs in (2 of 3) #7 Andi Sullivan for #9 Emily Bruder.

50' 0-5 Bahamas sub in (1 of 3) #9 Akwah Thompson for #15 Dawn Dean.
53' 0-5 Bahamas sub in (2 of 3) #17 Keisha McCartney for #10(c) Lauren Haven.

 

54' 0-6 #7 Andi Sullivan at 30m arc right, passes short forward to box arc top right. #17 Sarah Robinson has back to goal, gets swarmed, backpasses. Sullivan has had time to look, settles ball and chips a high shot over #1 Strachan's head. Strachan has shown breakdowns on judging high balls, jumps and tips this one with fingertips, foul ball pops over her, does not reach the crossbar, drops into the right back corner.

56' #3 Brittany Basinger overlaps up to box top right, chips a shot to the left side netting. #1 Strachan palms it onto the left post, else it was in. Rebound settles to 2 USA forwards at 8m left post, they rush each other and shoot over.

60' 0-7 #15 Purce lurks at box top right. #8 Green at arc right in a 1-v-1, drifts backwards and separates from her defender. Purce taps square, Green settles to herself, drag-spins ball into box. Steps rightward away from 3 defenders to 14m 6-right, shoots right foot and pulls it into 1/4 left head-high.

64' 0-7 #10 Andrews settles at 24m arc right, shoots high across her body, hard crossbar near left post.

 

68' 0-7 Bahamas are starting to dump USA players into the rubber dots on side-by-side challenges. #7 Kennadi Green gets loose down USA's box left, beats our RB to 4m, crosses low and #1 Campbell smothers it. Something to do!

71' 0-7 USA subs in (3 of 3) #19 Toni Payne for #8 Summer Green: 5 gols

 

75' 0-8 USA left corner, played short to #19 Payne. She faces up 1-v-1 at 7m mid-left, dumps to endline and steps past the gassed defender. Payne saves it just half-over the endline, square to 5m center, #15 Midge Purce is planted there like a tree, turns an instep and the ball roofs itself.

76' 0-9 #15 Purce chases a bouncer down box right to endline, another just-in-time cross. Ball outswings away from #1 Strachan to 6-top, her dive is insufficient by inches, ball squirts out and sits at 8m center. #17 Robinson arrives instantly and taps it toward 6-top left post, #19 Payne is right upon it, passes it in before Robinson can even chase it. Strachan slumps: one of those days.

84' 0-10 #15 Margaret Purce collects at 35m arc left, dribbles past two depleted defenders. Cuts rightward through box top arc left, rounds two more exhausted defenders, emerges clear at 13m right post. Simple right instep behind the weight of #1 Strachan's lean, rolls into 1/3 left low. Looked like she was running through cones in a fitness test.

 

90+2' (of 1') 0-10 On the stroke of FT, #19 Payne intercepts at box top left, jukes a defender and gets endline box left. Ref allows the continuation, Payne crosses low through 3m, misses everybody, #17 Robinson(?) is alone at 2/3 right -- and "whiffs" a simple instep turn. Ball rolls under her foot and toward the corner, ref blows FT. She missed, uh huh

USA coach Albertin Montoya needs the translator? hehe

 

USA (Albertin Montoya): All 11 either started or subbed vs. Bahamas.

9 Emily Bruder, 8 Summer Green, 11 Morgan Stanton
11 Morgan Stanton, 10(c) Morgan Andrews, 17 Sarah Robinson
6 Gabbi Miranda, 5 Maddie Bauer, 16 Mandy Freeman, 3 Brittany Basinger
1 Jane Campbell

USA clearly plans to Morgan T&T to death.

 

11' 0-0 Much disjointed USA possession.

12' 0-0 T&T hoof a long ball into a troublesome 1-v-1 from 35m centerline to just past box top, USA recovery speed barely adequate, results in a closely encroached soft backpass to #1 Campbell, and a smooth 3-sided triangular ping-ping-ping out of trouble. T&T somehow win a right corner, fizzle. Slumber not, for they have some pace.

 

14' 0-0 #8 Green touches and plays herself into box 15m 6-right, swarmed, circles back. Backpass to #11 Stanton at 22m arc right, high shot sails just over.

16' 0-0 USA left corner, short to box top left. Cross high to 6-top right post, #5 Madeline "Mad Dog" Bauer (http://www.ussoccer.com/News/U-17-WNT/2012/05/Mad-Dog-Feature.aspx) sneaks behind the crowd and emerges wide open, stoop header driven just wide right.

19' 1-0 USA hoof long to #9 Emily Bruder alone up top, in a tight 1-v-1, and 1-v-4 overall. Bruder backshields at box top right, spins centerward and dribbles to arc top right, chips on the run without lifting her head -- sails over #1 Phillip, crossbar ~1m from left post, bounces down into the goal.

 

Hot field conditions. The PBP guys explain: Estadio Cementos Progreso is in a natural bowl amidst a rock quarry. (That must be the "Cementos" ) It's a hot day to begin with. Heat sits in the bowl, gets reflected by the rocky sides, and sinks into the rubber pellets.

The green isn't grass, it's painted plastic!

 

36' 1-0 USA surge up the center, T&T block a shot toward the left corner. USA chase it down, backpass to 20m box left. Curling cross toward 6-top center, bounces cleanly through 2 shirts of each color, nobody touches it. #5 Mad Dog lurks unmarked at 6-top right, stabs ball to a stop at 4m right post. Half-windmills arms to settle herself, tries to squeeze a pass between #1 Phillips and right post, Phillips blocks it over.

38' 1-0 USA right corner, played short. #9 Bruder eventually crosses to wide-open #8 Green at 7m 1/3 left. She gets an instep but no power, ball trickles to #1 Phillips.

40' 1-0 T&T press to 6-top right, cross/shot high to left post. #1 Campbell comes out and jumps, doesn't catch, leaping header pops over her to 2m right post, too flat. USA clears poorly, T&T control. #17 Jonelle Warrick settles it at 30m box top right, chips high center, off the crossbar and over. Campbell's hand was right under it anyways.

 

43' 1-0 USA cross from 25m arc left, over a 1-v-1 at arc right, bounces untouched. Unmarked #9 Bruder runs on past T&T's ragged flank, settles at 6-top wide of 6-right, cuts back and dribbles along 6-top almost to the right post, beats the corner defender. Just before she can shoot, T&T #7 Diarra Simmons(?) bravely slide-tackles towards her own goal, pokes ball off Bruder's foot and into the right side netting on the outside.

HT.