I was surprised Chalupny didn't make the cut for the Olys. Up until the last few games, I didn't think she was quite at that level yet, but then in her last few games, she's been looking better and better. Heck, she even had some strikes that were very Lilly-like. After that, I was sold on her being at the level now. Frenchie....she doesn't want to play for April. LOL No, seriously, think about it -- she's part of that Milbrett-Mac-Frenchie trio from Portland.
Also from cybersoccernews: "The one choice which really did catch me off guard was the selection of Kristen Luckenbill to serve as the backup to Briana Scurry at goalkeeper instead of Siri Mullinix. Oh sure, Luckenbill rather than Mullinix had been on the squad for the previous three games but I discounted that. Surely it would be Mullinix when the time came. It wasn’t. I can’t see why the choice was made either in terms of experience or in terms of skill. Mullinix was elevated to the starting keeper spot by Heinrichs for the 2000 Olympics when Scurry was desperately out of form. Both then and through the WUSA years she has performed very well. Choosing a young, internationally inexperienced, keeper ahead of her when, ability-wise, there also appears no advantage to Luckenbill, strikes me as very odd. "http://www.cybersoccernews.com/uswomen/040708olympic_rosterMR.shtml I would hope Ring would have a clue if this so-called shoulder thing is the reason siri's not on the team, or listed as an alternate. No mention of that means she's fine, or he is terribly uninformed. Also, a few friendlies ago when Luckenbill first made the team, Wendy made a statement to the effect that "word from camp is that Luckenbill deserves to be here." Though Wendy is April's butt monkey, if in fact Siri was hurt, that would be a very misleading statement. Siri is pretty classy, but I would love to hear what she has to say, now that she's totally scratched. If she's capable and not hampered by that shoulder, once again, we have evidence that April cannot make good decisions.
Mullinix is not meant to be playing in the olympic nor be anywhere near the olympic area, God did not create her to be an olympian, but it doesn't mean that she is not a good goalie...., she is a silver lady not a gold lady, i guess...
Not to jump in randomly but... WHAT THE #*!! are you talkin' about?!?!? How would you like it if I said, "God did not create you to be a poster on this board," without any logical basis?
Like you said in an earlier post, she was "way hyped by US Soccer" but never amounted to anything with the full National Team. I was just surprised that it took April so long to stop experimenting and finally realize that Jena Kluegel's international career was going nowhere fast.
Well, Kluegel was on the NT track before April was at the helm, but April did keep inviting her to NT camps. I'm not really surprised that it took April so long to figure it out about Kluegel -- Kluegel's fast, and April likes fast regardless of ability. She talks about speed as if it's the only thing there is. I just wonder how long it's going to take April to figure out that a few who are there now should be in the same boat as Kluegel.
the question is, is luckenbill our 2nd best gk? i'll leave that to others, but let's keep god, whatever you imagine her to be, off the boards.
Well, Siri was an Olympian, so I guess you're wrong. Winning a Sliver does not translate to one not being an Olympian. The real issue is should Luckenbill have been picked as the #2 keeper over Siri (or a host of other GKs who have played on the NT in the past couple of years). It's quite possible that Luckenbill just had a better training camp then the others, and that's why she's there. It's also just as possible that GKs who should be ahead of Lucks are injured (I know this to be true in the case of Jen Branham, and have heard similar about Siri). It's also possible that April is making one of her head scratcher (to most of us at least) NT picks, a la Mitts, et al. Assuming Siri is healthy, I seriosly have to question the omission of her from the Olympic team. She has international experience that Luckenbill doesn't, she's in better physical shape then Luckenbill (and Bri being unceremoniously tossed from NT favor for being out of shape is still fresh in my mind), and she's more famliar with the defense then Luckenbill is. But...we have Luckenbill as the #2 keeper in Athens, so if she gets any PT I do hope all those factors mean nada when the time comes.
Actually, I know from someone who is in direct contact with Jen [was her host family last year for the spirit] who says that her knee is 100%. So either she didn't do well in camp to get a call-up to a game or April really needs to learn how to evaluate goalkeepers.
does anybody know if there's some changes to the roster & MacMillan has finally made it to the team ?
As someone who has watched Luckenbill at Dartmouth and followed her career at Carolina let me tell you a secret - there is no-one on the team who is in better shape. She is a big girl so she doesn't look like Heather Mitts but she spends her winters in Vail as both a ski racer and as a ski coach and she is in the weightroom each and every day. Odds are real good she won't play, but don't worry yourself to death if she does - she is a gamer and is used to pressure games - so relax - GO USA
Who's worried? Not I. I watched Lucks in the WUSA, and I know she's good. My main concern with her is her lack of international experience vs. someone like Siri, and her familiarity with the defense again vs. someone like Siri.
I thought that April said she would not take any injured players to the Olympics after taking four to the World Cup! If that is true then why is she taking Brandy Chastain who has a stress fracture. If she plays hard, it will probably re-injure it and if she plays to protect it then what kind of player can she be? Look for her to play less than 30 minutes for the whole Olympics. Way to go April!
Brandi had a bone bruise, which is different from a stress fracture. Not nearly as serious or as extended a healing period.