July 21 - USA v Australia, rosters/pre/during/postgame {R}

I think we're the only country in the world that take a friendly very seriously

 

I would agree about Bivens early in her career about the fouling but during her play in the World Cup, she caused no set pieces. I think she has matured as a player but what I really like about her is her agressive play up and down the right side. An unlike Mitts, Bivens does get back to the defensive end and that is a result of pure hustle. It is a shame that she was replaced by Mitts. Doesn't seem right to me

 

Bivens will have her time. And it won't be long either.

 

Yeah, a friendly that's only 21 days (just three weeks) before the opening game of the Olympics. Call me crazy, but I kinda thought it was important to be ready for the games and the friendly was supposed to be used as preparation. I mean, if you and the team want to view it as a "let's try out some different things, put people in their 'secondary positions,' hide our cards, and use it as a learning experience" then I didn't get the memo.

 

You know, I think you are right. She will have many days with the US National Team as one of the next generation players. Good point!

 

i was just wondering if there are any photos from the game online?
i cant seem to find any , not even YCJ...

any help will be great.
thanks

 

i think it's a fine strategy myself. especially against a team that you will be playing in your first round group in the olympics.

and to those of you who don't think mitts should be blamed - a goal was let in down the right side in her defensive area, and she wasn't there even to challenge the attacking player so as to alter or block the shot. that's her fault! even if you argue she was trying to help out markgraf (sp) you can only help out when you do not have any body to defend in your area of responsibility. so she still made a mistake, and in soccer, forward and midfielder mistakes may avoid it, but a defender's mistake often gets the punisment it deserves. it results in a goal for the opposing side. that's what happened here.

anyway, like i've said before.
1) it was a friendly, and
2) barring injury or tiredness (don't know the schedule), mitts won't be smelling the field in that position in the olympics against any good team. she does not play it well enough. that's rampone's spot.

 

She gets even, she scored against Canada and than gave up that goal against Aus, so do not bash her, it's even now.

 

give her props for the one she scored against canada (which i did), and critique her for the goal she let in. but don't congratulate her for scoring and then refuse to blame her for her mistake. that's the cult of "i like her she should be on the team", which has no place in international soccer.

it must only be "she plays that position better than anyone else, she should be on the team".

btw, shouldn't it be against the same team to be even?

 

For you "MITTSHATERS", from now on I want to see you criticize and bash everyone who allows her apponent to score, in the same fashion, with the same zeal as you do with Heather Mitts. If Rampone, Kate or Reddick let's up on her man and allows her to score, I want to see the same dispise for her as shown Mitts on these boards. And I want it to go on and on and on... Ridiculous!

 

i am not a mitts hater. i love heather. i just don't think she is our best right back.

i love parlow. she does things with the ball that no other woman her size does. but the speed of the game is increasing while she seems to be slowing down. she looks like molasses out there.

i love wagner. she is a more precise midfield passer than anyone else on the uswnt. but she does not have the quickness and the defensive ability required at the international level.

i love lilly. but in this last game i said i don't know if she still has the speed to contend with the younger, faster, improving teams.

all of these things i have posted on these boards. it's the kind of discussion/criticism that bs is uniquely fit for!

any player who makes mistakes or who (in ones humble opinion) does not measure up needs to be critiqued. one must be willing to criticise the players one likes. if not, it becomes only a discussion of personalities rather than a discussion of the playing abilities of soccer players.

it only seems to go on and on about heather because she is one of those on the edge of the team who has really strong supporters on this board who brook no criticism of her.

it has gone on and on about mac too. and on and on and on and on and on and ... about april (who i think is a better coach than a lot of people give her credit for). but that's fine. again, that's what bs is for.

 

I understand. I just feel that with Heather Mitts, the criticism is more passionate. When people criticize other players they don't add stuff like "she won't smell the field" or "I hope she get's hurt so a more deserving alternate can make the team because she doesn't belong", "she's going to cost us"
When other players make the same mistakes those things aren't said about them or it's glossed over.

I still feel that there are those out who think that her looks, not her talent is what's getting her far in the women's soccer world, including the National Olympic Team. That's why I feel I have to defend her sometimes. I have seen her play many times and compared her to others that play her position and IMO it is her talent that has gotten her this far not the other way around.

She's young and still new to the team, others were making the same mistakes as she is when they were new like Mcgraff and Rampone.

 

If Rampone or Mcgraff get burned for a goal, you will hear it. If Foudy runs out of gas and cannot keep up with the speed of play, you will hear it. It Parlow is too lazy/slow and doesn't contribute, you will hear it. My guess is you will hear more about Mitts because she is a defender. And there is NO DOUBT, she is going to cost the US, not because she is pretty, not because she kissed some @#$% to get on this team but because she is not ready for even the low level teams. It is going to be quite entertaining to see if she can even stay on the field with those fast Swedes or tough Germans. In a couple of weeks, we will know. And, any person who wants a US player to become injured, should not call themselves an American let alone a soccer fan. If that happens, they should be run off these boards.

 

My point exactly. Those players will get criticized but noone will suggest that they do not belong on the team and the thaught that it's preordained that Mitts will screw up and cost us and thus is not good enough to start or for that matter be on the team. It's that phylosophy that I don't agree on. And how did she kiss ass? By working hard and being the fittest player out there, thus impressing the coaches with her work ethic? How are you not sure that Fawcett will not screw up or Mcgraff make a bad pass like she tends to do once in a while or Rampone get beaten to the ball near the box?
Why are we not willing to give Mitts the same chance that a young Kate Sobrero got coming out of Notre Dame who was a sticky defender but not a great ball handler and did make mistakes?

 

Don't get me started on Sobrero because I am not one of her fans either. I think she needs to stay in the middle of the defense ONLY. Do not put her outside because she has a hard time recovering when she attempts to run the whole field. She is better to play on a flat back line. Defense only. Mitts will screw up. Just wait and see. Every player on this team knows she kisses ass. She was not the most fit players on this team. And Fawcett could become a liablility too if her back doesn't stop bothering her.

That my friend, is TheWholeTruth.

 

heather is getting the same breaks. that's why she is getting so many chances and is still on the team. don't know about her social climbing, and she looks fit to me. but i don't think that it takes any reading of tea leaves to see that she is not our best right back and will not start in that position against good teams - all things being equal.

a right back must deliver great balls from the right flank while defending the right side in the defensive third. rampone just does a better job of doing both. mitts is still struggling with doing one part of that equation. i do not think she should be kicked off the team, she may be a good sub. but i'm reasonaby sure that she is not better than rampone in that position. just my opinion. i've been wrong before.

of course i'm not the person that she has to convnce that she is better than rampone. she has to convince the person who evaluates them evey day in practice. april.

 

Here we go again I sure wish someone will start a bashing tread we got three different tread going and it all come down to bashing Mitts.She has made no more misake then everybody else on that back line.It seems every goal that is given up is her fault.She deserves to be on this team and when did this kissass stuff come in if you watch any of her work in the booth doring the last word cup she was not April biggest fan.She worked hard and yes she is in better shape then alot of the player on this team but i am sure the bashing will go on.

AND THAT THE WHOLE TRUTH

 

Heather took great delight in talking about the injured players during the WWC, She was fully recovered when she told the bull about her injury keeping her off the team.

Geez, what a kiss ass she is.... After watching that, I thought Heather would not be playing for April.

 

On the last game against Australia, Boxx gave away so many balls, she did not play the way she used to play & was certainly her worst performance so far but, why none of us to even think about criticizing her ?

 

the game is soccer. it is more forgiving of midfielder giveaways than defender giveaways. did box's giveaways result in a goal for the opposing side? look at the game played by the best teams in the world and you will see more midfielder giveaways than defender giveaways. it is the nature of the game.

 

Boxx came in at halftime, scored the tying goal and provided a dynamic presence in the middle of the field (after replacing Chastain, who's peformance was roundly - and maybe not entirely fairly - criticized). It's true that Boxx benefitted from more committed midfield partners than Brandi had (Foudy and then O'Reily vs. Wagner & Hucles), but she also looked like she's become more polished after a year with the nats.

 

I never suggested that heather has won the starting job. In fact I like a starting 4 of Fawcett, Rampone, Mcgraff, and Reddick. However, I have no problem starting Mitts or putting her in when the need arises. IMO she has earned it and I think will get better and better. Mitts is tough and doesn't shy from duals, challanges or 50/50 balls. As April said, she has a bite on her tackle. And I don't know how she kissed ass when she criticised April several times during the world cup on TV. She just worked her butt off to get back on the NT and I think she impressed the coaching staff.

 

From some paper in MN:

Scurry makes triumphant return
By Bob San
Sun Newspapers

 

She said April is a genius right after the US-Sweden game. Mitts had never criticized AH during the WC

 

She wasn't critical of anyone. And you cannot blame her for that. Imagine how hard it would be for her now if she had said harsh things about her teammates. Does that make her a bad analyst too?