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

That's a life jacket under there!

Wait until you are standing on the bottom bus step before yanking the CO2 cords. You can adjust the pressure by blowing into the two large soda straws. Twist your headband to activate its rescue light/AM/FM antenna mode. In case of emergency or flight delay, plug your cell phone into the socket end for satellite texting.

 

[USA-PAN]
USA starts the same back 4. USA has 4 forwards in a 4-3-3, so one of them (#9 Bruder?) is positionally a MF. #13 Darian Jenkins gets her first(?) tourney action, currently at LF.

09' 1-0 Long ball to #8 Green, settles to #19 Payne, tap-in.

27' 1-0 USA sustains pressure, Panama defends resolutely.
33' 1-0 Panama has everybody behind midfield, rarely pass beyond it.

34' 1-0 #10(c) Morgan Andrews dribbles right-to-center just past midfield, flicks ball away, hops over a late slide-swing tackle, doesn't dodge it. She belatedly goes down, stays on one knee. Slight wound oozing droplets, she trots to the bench for some gauzework. USA plays with 10.

 

35' 1-0 Panama free kick from midfield left touch. #10 Marta Cox booms it high to box top center, #1 Campbell sees confusion there, stays back, ball bounces high. #9 Karla Riley tries to flick-head square to #20 Franco, 50-50 and USA clears. Andrews returns?

36' 1-0 #9 Bruder gets loose in deep right corner, crosses hard at 4m. #1 Chavarria sprawls and doesn't catch, ball deflects out to 8m 6-left. #13 Jenkins sails in alone, one-touch right instep off the crossbar, down hard and pops up. #6(c) Batista comes back and hacky-sacks it over.

37' 1-0 USA right corner, played short. #6 Miranda(? -- overlapping way up from LB) crosses high to 6-top 1/3 left, #13 Jenkins leaps and heads down, #1 Chavarria dives and palms it wide. #9 Bruder volleys off the crossbar, to 6-top right post, #10(c) Andrews lunges but pokes it just wide right.

 

43' 1-0 #19 Payne dribbles toward arc top left, fouled at 22m by #9 Riley.
43' 1-0 #10(c) Andrews shoots high center off the crossbar , ball reflects to #11 Stanton at 6-top center, she stabs it back and #1 Chavarria smothers it.

44' 2-0 #11 Stanton passes inside-out to #8 Summer Green at 25m wide right. She touches ball to box top just wide of box right, lifts head as pocket encircles her, chips on the run, lobs #1 Chavarria into the left-side netting. Been watching Dempsey, saying I could do that --

45+1' (of 2') 3-0 #9 Bruder dribbles through 13m box left, crosses square to #19 Payne at 9m center with back to goal. Payne settles, dribbles away from pressure, as #8 Green, unmarked at 11m just-right of center, drifts backwards to create space. Payne taps square to Green, who has her feet perfectly worked out: Green steps into ball and opens hips, one-touch right instep across goal mouth, off the left post 1/4 high and ricochets hard into the right back corner low. All this woodwork

 

46' 3-0 Panama subs in (1 of 3) #18 Katherine Gonzalez for #4 Astrid Diaz at LB.

49' 3-0 USA LB (#6 Miranda?) switches deep most excellently, from her deep box left to center circle back right, hits #13 Jenkins in-stride for a half-court breakaway. #18 Gonzalez slides from behind and clips Jenkins' foot at 20m arc right, sending her sprawling through box top.

50' 4-0 Free kick at 20m arc right, #10(c) Morgan Andrews blasts a hard rising line drive to center high, bends #1 Chavarria's weak wrists back and hits the back netting high. Topspin drive!

 

53' 4-0 USA free kick from 30m box left, #19 Payne(?) rolls it square to #5 Maddie Bauer. Bauer touches once to 24m center, no pressure within 5m of her, she blasts it high -- off the crossbar and over. Everybody's doing it!

55' 5-0 #13 Jenkins drives down box right, outpaces her defender and turns corner, crosses low at 4m. #8 Green and #9 Bruder are utterly alone, crashing at center and mid-left, Green extends right foot and toe-pokes in low center. Somebody missing a hat?

55' 5-0 Panama subs in (2 of 3) #14 Schiandra Gonzalez for #11 Kenia Rangel. Saving players for the 3rd place match?

58' 5-0 USA subs in (1 of 3) #7 Andi Sullivan for #8 Summer Green: 12 gols in 4 matches!

 

61' 5-0 Panama goal kick high, #20 Yassiel Franco gets foot-jammed from behind. She crumples, takes the stretcher.

62' 5-0 Panama subs (3 of 3) in #15 Genesis Samuels for #20 Yassiel Franco.
65' 5-0 USA subs in (2 of 3) #12 Joanna Boyles for #10(<=c) Morgan Andrews. Andrews seems to have already given the yellow armband to somebody else before coming to the sideline.

66' 6-0 #5 Bauer dribbles up to 30m, flicks right outstep and hits #13 Darian Jenkins in-stride down box right. She slants inward, cuts back once between two defenders. To 8m 6-right as she runs around to get ball into her wheelhouse, blasts left foot to center high, #1 Chavarria gets right fingertips on it but can't slow it down.

 

77' 7-0 USA (#7 Sullivan?) chips from 25m box left through arc right, #9 Emily Bruder has a step on #18 Gonzalez, but ball rolls too far for her. Bruder chases it wide to 4m almost box right, cuts back as #18 Gonzalez tackles poorly and sits herself down. Bruder dribbles centerward across 6m as #3 Sanford has no gas left to even toe-poke. To 1/3 right, simple left instep to low left corner. Panama is running on fumes.

77' 7-0 USA subs in (3 of 3) #2 Elisabeth Raben (first action) for #6 Gabrielle Miranda (LB).

 

78' 7-0 USA surges up box right to 20m, #6(c) Laurie Batista hip-checks somebody down. Yellow card on Batista. She gets back to her wall position in the box, slowly crumbles, stays down. Stretcher, looks heat-prostrated. Panama has used all 3 subs, continues with 10.

86' 7-0 Batista is now strapped to the stretcher, with an aircast on her lower left leg, being rolled down the running track toward the tunnel. USA dominating possession, trying various long-range high-difficulty shots.

 

88' 7-0 USA intercept at box top center. #7 Sullivan and #19 Payne pussyfoot and try to freelance through 4, lose it. Panama get past midfield, USA's defensive "clearance" is a pinpoint 30m pass to foot at 35m arc left. One-touch pass springs #7 Andi Sullivan through arc right. She outpaces the exhausted flank, to 14m 6-right, shoots hard on the run to 1/3 right waist-high, and #1 Chavarria saves well, palming it out.

FT. USA qualifies without drama, awaits a final. Panama LCB #3 Sanford is hobbled, limping moderately. USA gathers for a team photo on the field. Huge group of USA family members start a raucous "U-S-A" chant.

CONCACAF TF interviews Panama #2 Yerenis De Leon.

 

USA's fitness gulf lets us body up to the opponent for disruption and non-separation, so they can't even find passing lanes, while they can't do the same to us. Our quick-decision passing tempo further defeats any pressure, before it even has a chance to arrive. Panama spent all their effort worrying about holding their own shape to prevent through-balls, and had no excess capacity to apply to crowding us in the back or midfield. Plus, we just win 1-v-1 sprints.

Our passing accuracy and receiving skills were spot-on today, which allowed us to reliably play out of the back and advance the ball up to Panama's line in the (black rubber) sand. We did pretty well at breaking down Panama's bunker.

Every time we sub, the girl coming off does a flying hug with her replacement. Kids these days!

 

25' already 1-0: I'm late, for reasons utterly baffling. Make salad, pour dressing, knock on door: somebody not welcome, in violation of a prior warning by police. Handbags into hallway, door latches behind us, I walk away. Summon police, still there, unresponsive, WA law mandatory arrest for 4th degree assault . They ask me to wait: I say "in my office?" them: "sure". Salad is warm --

30' Firemen (paramedics) can't find us from the front door. They sub me in as tour guide!

34' Written statement time.

36' 1-o USA left corner, through box. I'm 1/2 done with my salad!

Even a continental final kind of pales into normalcy ...

 

61' 1-0 Back to the game?! Canada surging up centerline to arc top, attempted through-ball deflects off #6 Miranda and skitters over. Canada right corner to 10m center, headed out. Canada try to chip it back in, #1 Campbell comes out to 10m center and catches high, with chest bump. Canada offside.

More fun than writing a report!

64' 1-0 USA subs in (2 of 3) #9 Emily Bruder for #15 Margaret Purce.
64' 1-0 Canada right corner or deep cross, trouble at 6-top. USA clears frantically: hint of armball?

66' 1-0 Canada to #4 Clarke at box top right, closed down 1-v-2 as she cuts inside. She centers, diagonal ball sends #7 Lawrence through box top left, outmuscling #11 Stanton. Pressed to 10m midleft, shoots wide toward left side netting, #1 Campbell dives and catches it anyways.

67' 1-0 Canada subs in (2 of 3) #20 Larisa Staub for #19 Nicole Loncar.

 

69' 1-0 #4 Clarke turns corner through box right foot, cross frantically cleared. Header ping duel behind box top right: Canada is not giving USA any time to settle and pass (and vice versa). Ugly/beautiful: looks like a great game plan to muck up the machines.

 

75' 1-0 #14 Kaskie turns and touches to 25m arc left, hoofs a long shot. Bounces at 5m center, #1 Sheridan sprawls and smothers with no rebound. USA thinks they can't create better?

77' 1-0 #8 Green holds at 25m arc right, oddly spins toward centerline pressure, threads square pass. Flick pass through arc right springs #4 Munerlyn, #12 Buchanan stabs it away.

78' 1-0 Canada passes to #4 Clarke with back to goal at box top arc right. #5 Bauer goes over her shoulder a bit for a clearance header, contact and foul.

79' 1-0 Canada free kick. #4 Clarke dummies over toward right post, #3 Iozzi curls left instep to left upper 90 -- hard into #5 Bauer's head, pops up high over.

79' 1-0 Canada subs in (3 of 3) #8 Jasmin Dhanda (AM) for #2 Lindsey Agnew (RB). 3-4-3!!

 

82' 1-0 Canada right corner(?), trouble, USA clears it to midfield center. All-red perimeter at midfield: USA has nobody even as far as center circle back! Bunkering

82' 1-0 #3 Iozzi chips to 14m right post, #10 Sanderson chests it down to center, left-foot shot quick but not powerful, up centerline and #1 Campbell catches.

84' 1-0 Canada ridiculous sequence at top and in box, 4-6 almost-chances, every one blocked point-blank. Through-ball springs #4 Clarke through box top arc right, #3 Basinger(?) perfect just-in-time slide-tackle.

85' 1-0 USA subs in (3 of 3) #2 Elisabeth Raben (RB) for #6 Gabrielle Miranda (LB). USA shifts.

 

86' 1-0 Canada more pressure in box, USA semi-frantic: but still calmly looking for short passes out of pressure. We connect 5 under duress, suddenly have advantage, advance from own box top through midfield ...

87' 1-0 Canada returns the favor: USA into box, Canada just-in-time clear. Ball trickles back to #9 Bruder at 14m left post, she touches, Canada just-in-time blocks her.

89' 1-0 Canada down box left, cross to #4 Clarke(?) at 13m 1/3 left, open for a shot -- USA jumps in front, another thigh-block.

90' 1-0 USA right throwin, flicked up centerline and rolls to Canada's backline. +3'.

 

90+1' (of 3') 1-0 Canada dump it in through box top left, too far, #1 Campbell collects.
90+2' (of 3') 1-0 Another long ball rolls to Campbell. Off the free kick, USA flick it into Canada's box top right, #4 Munerlyn harrasses, wins a throw-in. Quickly taken into right corner, Canada wins the foot duel.

90+3' (of 3') 1-0 Canada throw-in deep (their) left, they lose it around midfield. USA switch to 25m left, lose it. Canada's last surge up box right to 35m, crosses outswinging slightly behind the LW to 22m, long low shot takes tiny deflection, rolls harmlessly to Campbell. USA restarts, ping at midfield, and ...

FT 1-0. USA showed more composure at passing out of the back than USA's senior WNT!