33' 2-0 O'Hara passes to S.Mewis near circle back left, weak one-touch back-ping -- directly into Wilkinson's stride. New Zealand don't have the gas to punish us for that. We're so mesmerized by our own fast play that we're a tad sloppy -- Rapinoe had an awful backpass like that earlier. 34' 2-0 Long flat cross from ~25m mid-right-ish to 4m 4-left, Horan sprints unmarked and lays out horizontal for a dive-header -- glanced (or untouched) over endline left. Nayler dives, too, almost lands on Horan. We've got a bit of the old turbo speed back again. Six subs should be fun tonight
I'm going to pray for an Ertz hat trick. US showing a lot of patience in possession today, enjoyable to watch.
The speed of thought between O'Hara and Rapinoe is fun to watch. Both have sufficient ball control that they choose to dink the ball back and forth, looking for each other while both also look for vicious whipped crosses. On the other side, Pugh is the speed threat (her decision-making is a tad slow while dribbling), which frees Morgan to be ... the passer New Zealand are doing pretty well, keeping compact shape to blunt USA's insane speed edge. O'Hara and T.Smith were up at arc top a lot, and Horan makes deep far-post runs. Is this a productive use of our possession? We seem to be advancing the ball and sniping for crosses at a high tempo, not just patty-caking around the large perimeter. So we do give the ball back a lot. Are we generating enough quality shot attempts to expect that this style will outscore a top team when it counts? We'll see. I do like the attempt to score on crossing mayhem, which seems better than waiting around for the perfect long-range shot.
US is looking good. No surprises in the starting lineup. This looks to me like the lineup Ellis has penciled in provisionally for the 2019 WC, except maybe Kelly O'Hara at fullback. I think Ellis is still looking for a starting fullback, but O'Hara is looking pretty good. And, of course, Carli Lloyd still intends to be a factor. Ertz seems to me to have that defensive midfield spot nailed down. Speaking of the WC, I wish Rapinoe was not so reckless.. But of course that's why she is Rapinoe.....I'd like to see her around in 2019 -- but I wouldn't bet money she'll last that long. .
46' 2-0 T.Smith cuts inside to 25m box right, Longo has inside position but slides recklessly -- and raises her right cleat knee-high, way over and past ball, stretches past Smith's torso and clips her far-side calf/knee. Smith tumbles and rolls, stays down with ... hip pain? Resumes with a wince. Yellow card on Longo, she's lucky that extended cleat didn't make full contact. 47' 2-0 Rapinoe fk at 25m box right, inswings low and fast to 4m 2/5 left. Horan slide-lunges just ahead of the scrum, pokes ball point-blank into Nayler's legs. Ball bounces out into heavy traffic, New Zealand do just enough to block and clear. This must be USA's game plan for free kicks around the large perimeter: bend them into traffic and look for a poke-in, instead of having Rapinoe shoot on goal. I like it; we'll need that skill later. 49' 2-0 New Zealand fk at arc tangent right, wicked right instep swerve over wall toward right post -- but it inswings too far to 1/4 right, makes it easier for Naeher to sidestep, block, and collect. 50' 2-0 Behind that play, T.Smith is sitting down at midfield right touch, holding her left hip in pain. Trainer attends to her -- she's surely done, as a precaution. Six subs is a luxury, no point risking some soft tissue. 51' 2-0 USA subs in (1 of 6) #11 Sofia Huerta for RB #22 Taylor Smith. What a whirlwind!
57' 2-0 Huerta jukes past Longo down right touch to 6m, cross over 6m headed away from goal by -- Horan leaning back? O'Hara runs on at arc top mid-left, one-touch blast sizzles just over bar. Three subs up! 58' 2-0 USA pass down box left for Rapinoe sprinting to endline, cross blocked over. 59' 2-0 Rapinoe left ck, dives untouched to 3m right post (with Nayler stranded in the scrum), S.Mewis stabs right instep out and just misses a block-dunk. --' 2-0 USA subs in: 59' (2 of 6) #23 Christen Press for #15 Megan Rapinoe 60' (3 of 6) #20 Allie Long for #3 Samantha Mewis 60' (4 of 6) #19 Crystal Dunn for #2 Mallory Pugh.
Took them long enough to tweet these! 16' 1-0 Horan to Ertz 1️⃣0️⃣s are wild! @julieertz's 10th career goal + @Lindseyhoran11's 10th career assist. pic.twitter.com/aQ8A5lmUbc— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) September 16, 2017 25' 2-0 Rapinoe to post to Ertz 🗣 So good it Ertz! @julieertz in the right place at the right time. Again. pic.twitter.com/pgwYRgHJ2x— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) September 16, 2017
74' 2-0 USA subs in (5 of 6) #6 Morgan Brian for #9 Lindsey Horan. 74' 2-1 Riley backpass at 24m left touch, receives instant return pass facing away. Crossbody right instep cross to 5m 1/3 left -- White distracts Sauerbrunn, Wilkinson has inside position on O'Hara, lunge-heads just past Naeher coming out late, into 1/3 left back 1/2 high. Welp, that's exactly why we learn to send crosses into swimlanes and win the sprint/positioning duel. On the follow-through, O'Hara gets twisted around avoiding (or not) Naeher's ribs -- stays down on back, trainers come out to check her. 77' 2-1 USA subs in (6 of 6) #14 Casey Short for LB #5 Kelley O'Hara. Both wingbacks subbed for injury (precaution). That's fine -- we probably wanted to look at both Short and Huerta anyways. 78' 3-1 Huerta dribbles to 24m box right, scoops a cross to Morgan at 12m mid-left. Morgan jukes down to 9m 7-left, chips left foottop rising across mouth, off crossbar center, bounces down into goal. 1st cap, 1st assist Consider us SHOOK. 😵@alexmorgan13 puts an exclamation point on the #USWNT's win. pic.twitter.com/AylYss0AJ3— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) September 16, 2017
90+3' (of +3') 3-1 Riley does another facing-away crossbody cross from ~box top left touch to 6-top 2/5 right, Wilkinson splits Dahlkemper and Sauerbrunn again, heads down-and-up to 1/4 right -- Naeher steps across and collects. They pulled that combo off again, better than we've been doing it. FT 3-1.
I wasn't impressed with Huerta's defense -- but she's good at getting forward and crossing. Ellis now has 4 competent fullbacks: Short, Smith, O'Hara, and Huerta. Who wins out? After a good first half, a strange lassitude by the US in much of the second half -- despite all the subs and their fresh legs. .
Well, not going to be popular but I saw a semi weak New Zealand team lose to an uninspiring US team. Yes we won but I still saw little to get excited about. Seems to be too much reliance on lobs into the goal area and praying. Wont work against better teams and I just dont see us doing anything different under Ellis. I dont like how we play anymore and think its a direct result of our coaching.
Huerta normally doesn't play defender with the Red Stars. She is either a forward or right midfielder. However, I am sure she will do whatever it takes to make the team. Huerta has skills. She can cross the ball from that right side on a dime. She is also one of the best shielders of the ball I have ever seen. IMO, she looked good in that uniform.
Then Ellis should let her compete for a spot at her natural position. This crap of pushing people into situations they can't succeed at just because a no-talent coach wants it is just plain dumb. Klinsmann failed at it and Ellis is failing too. I saw nothing in this game that resembled any kind of improvement. We still have little ground attack in the offensive 1/3 and everything is about cross n pray attack. This may work against the weaker teams like New Zealand but will not work against top tier teams. Im shocked that Ellis still hasn't figured it out after resent losses and this is why she should be replaced.
I've not been following the team closely this year (saw some of the tourney of nations but not the She Believes cup) but was at the game last night. Who's out hurt now and who's been hurt? I gather from above Heath's been hurt. I assume Lloyd's hurt? How about Brian--has she been a regular in central midfield or has she been hurt or ineffective? How about Klingenberg at fullback--is she still in the mix? I also gather the Julie Ertz in midfield thing has been going on for a while? How has it been going? I thought it was nice her mobility at centerback, esp. as that's Sauerbrun's weakness. I don't know Dahlkemper...New Zealand didn't have seem to have the speedy forwards in to test them, Wilkinson was in there the whole time.
I thought it was among the best they have played in years; in particular the quickness with which they switched fields would have warmed di Cicco's heart, But I also liked the sharpness with which they rotated to cover for each other when somebody was up or back, the accuracy of the one touch passing-- you don't have to complete 'em all, you know, you just have to threaten with them all, The extent to which the air game has improved-- people were winning contested balls from disadvantaged positions all over the field-- and the extent to which people have been learning each others moves-- I saw several folks pull off the little hesitation-in-a-straight-line move that Dunn has brought. O'Hara is playing terrific soccer right now, or at least was until she got whacked. Hope she's all right. Mewis played well, Horan looked a lot better, Dahlkamper finally looked like she belonged, The Ertz household can now both feel like stars again, Pinoe looks too be in top shape finally, Morgan looked extremely dangerous, and also much more feisty. Brunn was terrific as usual, and I think the story of Pugh is that there's film on her now and other teams are realizing that you have to stop her and planning for her-- giving up other stuff in the process. Smith did have the one bad moment punctuating a so-so game. I thought the ground attack looked fine. Good enough to make the other team respect it to the detriment of their ability to stop us from switching sides in the final third in the air. In tackle football if there's seven in the box you run, if there's eight you pass. In soccer if they clog the middle you go over the top, if they spread out you go between them. The style of offense is dictated by the style of defense. Once again--we're past the point where there are only five good teams in the world. It has gone to ten, than fifteen, then twenty, maybe more, and some US fans are still seeing it as though beating New Zealand 3-1 with only a few minutes of uncertainty as to the outcome is the same as almost losing. It isn't. That's a good team and well coached. The days when we could count on beating everyone but Norway and Germany by at least five goals are gone-- and there are teams not among the top twenty now from whom we can reasonably expect a resurgence, and others not among the top twenty who will someday soon surge for the first time... We're doing fine, we're just not shooting fish in a barrel anymore.
Heath-- back-- extended. There are people here who think it will more or less finish her, I have more faith in sports medicine than that. Lloyd- ankle, not thought to be serious. But she is at an age where players who get a not serious injury that keeps them out of a game seem apt to get another, and then another, and then another... Bryan-- second game back, I think? And with Ellis the first couple of games back are likely to be foot-wetters. She seems to be even more convinced than most that rehab conditioning is not the same as team conditioning. Klingenberg-- who knows? But I certainly have the impression that Ellis wants more muscle at those spots than Kling and Ali bring. Even though she also wants more speed. Ertz has been playing mid for her club for a while. I also have the impression that Ellis likes to get people established in the program at a more defensive position than they are ultimately aimed at; and this is looking like the kind of move that makes it look like a good idea.
better performance from most everyone, but we did play a non top ten team. still, I'm comfortable with the experimentation towards a 2019 end date. between now and then, we need to add to our quiver the ability to wambach other teams liked was done to us (almost twice) last night.
Any update on ticket sales??? Didn't they sell 22,000 in the first 36 hours? or something like that...
Most was already answered above, but I'll add that Brian has caught the injury bug. It seems like she's been perpetually injured for months now. She did play for about 10 minutes against Australia, I believe, during the Tournament of Nations. But that's been about it since SheBelieves (and she wasn't fully healthy at either tournament, it seems). Kling still seems to be in the mix, but not a regular call-up. She was called up in April and June, but I don't think she's been called up since. IMO, she's in the mix, and Ellis knows what she can do, but she's no longer a mainstay. Personally I like Ertz in the midfield. As for Dahlkemper, she definitely has speed; that's not her weakness by a long shot. From previous games though, I'd say she needs to work on her decision making, but who better to learn from than Sauerbrunn?
Cincy Beachhead established - 3 blocks from the Stadium.....can see the scoreboard from my hotel.. 8 hours and 37 minutes to Heaven on Earth.