I'm glad to see that Boxx is continuing to score, and wonder if Tarpley was playing the in '#10' position. Come on, Aaron, hurry up and get your report posted to the US Soccer site!!!
Canada: Two shots? From one of the links above: "China, which was eliminated by Canada in the quarterfinals of last year's Women's World Cup, dominated with aggressive play, forcing Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod to make several saves. Canada managed only two shots on goal, both in the second half." Two shots... Dominated with aggressive play... Does anyone know if China has indeed returned to form so quickly after the WWC, or is the "domination" because Canada has fallen off, or does it have more to do with the players who are NOT there?
Re: Canada: Two shots? canada is definitely missing some players up front ... due to injuries latham and lang did not travel. we're definitely not at full strength, and although 2 SOG is very surprising to me, i guess that's how games go sometimes ... the CSA has yet released their game report yet, and i'm waiting for the lineups/subs before commenting more ... elaine
I was under the impression it wasn't unlimited, but I guess having 6 players go in during the second half proves that wrong.
Found at the bottom of the US Soccer USA-SWE game report: "A new look China, sporting new bright yellow uniforms and featuring a very young team gearing up to host the 2007 Women's World Cup, put together a gorgeous performance in dominating Canada, and only a 90th minute goal from Canadian Veronique Maranda made the score line close. China got a first half goal from Bai Li Li and a second half score from Teng Wei as they controlled possession for the entire match." I'm shocked too, elaine! It sounds like China really dominated, where Canada just happened to squeek one in at the end. Perhaps the reason China was able to dominate this match is because of Canada's depth. That I don't know. The only reason I suggest this is because all 4 teams are missing some of their top guns. Mia's sitting this one out, Wen retired, latham and lang injured, and Hanna back at home. Assuming all teams have depth, these absenses should/could make things equal, meaning each team shouldn't really take a hit when compared across the board with all the other teams.
Tarpley In the US Soccer article, April says Tarpley was the amid. Sounds like she delivered the goods, as a scorer anyway.
and just another thing to note from the canadian end is that the team hasn't been in training until a few days before leaving for china ... unlike other teams that had training camps in early january and such, our last camp was in early december. it's really not an "excuse" or anything, but according to coach pellerud in the CSA game report (http://canadasoccer.com/eng/media/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=1594), the players were sluggish after such a long break ... elaine
It was pointed out to me by someone that in last year's tourney, the number of subs the US used in each of their games were... 5 against Norway 5 against China 4 against Germany According to the LOTG...for "Official Competitions", a max of 3 subs may be used. For "Other Matches", all the teams must come to an agreement on the max number of subs used. So I guess that all four teams may have agreed to use more than 5 in this tourney.
Nothing like a good attacking mid. Go Tarp! I hope this is the start of something good. Sounds like Scurry came ready to play.
Sumth'n Good I agree ansonfan! Think about it... A Speedy Tarp being set loose by a sturdy, bruising Abby not to mention an always potent and quick on her feet Mia. Tarp certainly gives me the same sense of "things can happen when she's in" as does Abby and Mia.
Good to see Boxx, and other young players getting the chance to play, as they are needed on this team. Boxx in paricular, as the defensive midfielder, IMO. If you watch her play, she has more football sense, than most of the women I have seen play to date, on the US team. Nice to see her score goals, but her distribution is usually much better than most of the players on the team, who are lucky to connect, what seems to be half their passes. If these results continue, maybe the staff will be confident enough to play the younger players that show well preceding the Olympics, and stop selecting a few of the older players for the National team. I am sure that is not going to happen in the Olympics, but maybe this causes the staff to think if they will select players based on the past, or the present.
Thanks for the info. I'm not sure why, but I like tournaments where a max of 3 subs are used. It lends validity to the matches. I think so, anyway. Unlimited subs makes the match seem kind of silly. I mean, I enjoy the game nonetheless, but it's nice when you know you can only use three subs so you have to pick and choose who stays in and who comes out.
Re: Canada: Two shots? #1 According to the US media, Canada is dominated by whomever in almost every game they play. If you look at time of possession and SOG this assessment is at least partially correct, but it's not always the bottom line. Canada wins and ties a lot of games where they were otherwise 'dominated' (e.g. WWC vs. China and pretty much every game against the USA). The game report on canadasoccer.com didn't paint such a one-sided picture, largely because Pellerud sees the game from a different perspective. #2 China beat the USA 2-0 at last year's 4NT. They're a very good team that didn't convert possession into goals in the WWC. Two goals vs Canada is a good sign, but so was 2 against the USA prior to the WWC. I think China will need to keep scoring before anyone can say they're over that hurdle. #3 The CWNT is still missing 2 starting defenders (Chapman and Boyd) as well as forwards Lang and Latham. That's a lot of talent absent from the team at the moment. I think most CWNT fans would agree that Canada's subs can't fill the holes left by those 4. I wouldn't be surprised if Canada lost all 3 games but in terms of experience, playing one game at this level is worth 100 lop-sided victories. #4 Canada only had 2 shots and still managed to score. The goal was by yet another unheralded 17 year old with only 6 caps. I'm sure some people must wonder how the CWNT keeps coming up with these deadly efficient goal scorers. If Hooper, Latham, Sinclair, Lang etc. have anything in common it's their ability to convert on very few (and sometimes very marginal) scoring opportunities. Seems to be the 'Canadian Way'.
Good Point Great point CAFAN when you mention: "#1 According to the US media, Canada is dominated by whomever in almost every game they play. If you look at time of possession and SOG this assessment is at least partially correct, but it's not always the bottom line. Canada wins and ties a lot of games where they were otherwise 'dominated' (e.g. WWC vs. China and pretty much every game against the USA)." This reminds me very much of my beloved New England Patriots (American pointy football) this season. They do NOT dominate teams. They do NOT win big. The do NOT win pretty. They won the majority of their games this season by less than a touchdown. They went into OT several times. But they had a 14-game winning streak (nearly unheard of in the NFL) and they're going to the Super Bowl. Why? Because they find ways to win. They play mistake free pointy football. And they execute game plans very, very well. Sure, each game they pretty much play to the level of their opponent, which in some regards could be debatably labeled a weakness, but with this team it reveals their strengths, in their ability to squeeze every bit of talent out of each and every player. If I understand the point you were making CAFAN in #1, perhaps Canada is very similar to my Patriots. Go Pats!
MatchTracker? Is US Soccer doing MatchTracker for the Four Nations tournament? If not; just a more detailed game summary would be nice. I so wish these games were on tv...grrrr.
Well, it looks like the US tied China 0-0, according to ussoccer.com. Joy Fawcett was Chevrolet Woman of the Match!!
Okay maybe im missing something...but wheres Chastain and Wagner? Havent seen them in the rosters for the game reports and i thought they were invited to China??
Brandi is still recovering from her broken foot and Wagner apparently has a slight hamstring injury and was not put on the active roster. I believe she is with the team, just not playing.