4-5-1? So I guess the US has been playing a 4-5-1 formation? Did they do the same in the first game against Sweden? Wambach came out in the 55min for Roberts; so did Roberts go to right flank and Mac move up? Why is Mac being used as a midfielder; I mean she is capable there, but it's not her best position. Chalupny didn't play at all, what a waste. O'Reilly didn't get in the game till the 64th min. What did Bivens do get in April's dog house (sat again)...? So many questions--too bad we will never have any answers. Canada next; I predict a Canada win--just because they (Canada) are looking to beat someone up after two losses. That, and maybe April will go with the dumb 4-5-1 again.
Boxx --> Akers : Akers --> Boxx It's been tossed around many times in certain circles about Boxx being the next Akers. After the WWC and now this (see below), a fan in Beantown is nearly convinced. Quote from US Soccer game report: "The USA had a scare early in the match when Shannon Boxx cracked heads with a Chinese defender in the 7th minute while aggressively winning a head ball and went down in a heap. She left the field but returned after two minutes with nothing more than a knot above her right eye and put in an excellent day's work of ball winning for the U.S. team."
t tigercub wrote: "Why is Mac being used as a midfielder; I mean she is capable there, but it's not her best position. Chalupny didn't play at all, what a waste. O'Reilly didn't get in the game till the 64th min. What did Bivens do get in April's dog house." I get the impression that April is using this tournament as a way to get new players in the mix to see what works and what doesn't, who can play together and where, and who can't. Tigercub, this *may* answer some of your Q's! Here's an interesting post-match quote from April: "We had two teams experimenting (with new players), knowing the importance of not giving away one goal and two teams playing in the month of January after coming off a break. It's the pre-season for us and it's very difficult to score goals in the early part of the year." Of course, I think she gives a pi$$-poor excuse for not scoring... but that's another issue.
Re: MatchTracker? FYI, from LoTheLurker via way of the PonytailPossee.com boards....a poster had emailed US Soccer to see if they would be doing MatchTracker for these matches and the response from US Soccer was that there is no interest in carrying matches played in middle of the night overseas.
USA v CHINA [R] USA tied China must be good this time since they made themselves embrassed at the WWC in 2003 only making the quater-finals go to www.ussoccer.com for more info
April sees after 2 years that MITTS is a better player then Bivnes. But i will leave it alone. get pass the ponytail and the look she a great player
Re: 4-5-1? Canada is missing too many starters to pose a threat to the USA. Pellerud is using this tournament to try out some of his new youngsters. Doubt he's as much concerned about the outcome as seeing how the kids play at the international level. I expect the USA to win this one going away.
Re: Re: MatchTracker? Well that's just silly. Don't they have MatchTracker archives of national team matches? And on the west coast the game was at something like 10pm--not the middle of the night. I would just like a bit more detail about matches, that's all...grrr.
Re: Re: 4-5-1? I hope it's the same with April; seeing how the kids play at the international level. Good point about the missing Canadian starters, sort of forgot about that. I still think Canada has a chance; Sinclair is great.
don't read too much into it YOMITTS, I wouldn't read too much into the lineups Ape is using over in China -- explicitly the lineup used in the USA-China match, in which I can only assume is where you're drawing your reference of Ape using MITTS over BIVENS. It's pretty apparent that most (and probably all) of the teams in this limited tournament are using these games as a warmup, or practice if you will, for the upcoming months; they're using it to get a look at players, of which I believe MITTS is one. I'm not saying MITTS is better than BIVENS or that one deserves to start over the other, nor am I comparing them; all I'm saying is that we probably shouldn't place too much credence on the lineups used in this tournament. Save that for Feb. 25 when the USWNT kick off against T&T in the first Oly Qualifier.
Thanks for the link FearM9. The USA should win this tournament. I would have liked to see them score against China. Still not getting enough goals in the run of play but I think they're headed in the right direction. Canada may play a defensive shell and go for the tie (or a lucky win). That's the only way I can see them getting a point in this tournament, and even that's a long shot. Canada will be stronger at the Olympic qualifications and Algarve (Lang and Latham s/b healed by then) but I don't expect them to be back to full strength until sometime around the Olympics when Boyd and Chapman s/b ready to return to action. Saw a post indicating Sweden has some illness issues. If so, China has a good chance to finish 2'nd.
Joy Scores!!! [R] Congratulations to Joy Fawcett on her play in this tournament. Here is an early recap of the US-Canada game... http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news;_y...wN0aA--?slug=ap-fournations&prov=ap&type=lgns
Right...Sobs (Markgraf now) has never scored with the WNT...bummer. Don't know what to think of the game because I didn't see it...grrr.
I'm assuming that April was still worried about Canada possibly coming back to tie the game on a lucky goal - so it made sense to pick someone who is calm and collected (it wasn't chance that Joy was picked for 1 of the 5 kicks in the '99 championship game). Kate probably would have worked herself up so much that she'd have hyper-ventilated
From CyberSoccerNews: US Women get a good start to 2004 A healthy first step toward the Olympics by Merrill Ring So let the Tarpley v Wagner debate begin...
For all we know it might not come down to a Wagner/Tarpley debate. Other factors like new injuries or Parlow's concussion recovery might factor into the final picture. In any case, Wagner will have to show she's better than the next best alternative but right now Tarpley's in a very different situation. She's shown she can score goals against tough opposition in the run of play, a quality that could mean the difference between an Olympic gold or a lesser medal. I would think April would come under heavy criticism if she didn't give Tarpley every opportunity to prove the 4NT wasn't a fluke. If that means having an eternal or whomever else riding the pine for a while then so be it.
Remembering how solidly Fawcett took the '99 finals kick and how dependable and unflappable she is, I was an advocate during WWC '03 of her taking penalty kicks awarded for fouls on the Wombat (after which one would assume that Wambach would be somewhat shaken up and not of the best frame of mind to take the kick). Vindication is sweet.
You know you are the first person to really bring this up. I think we should all be wondering about Parlow's health. To still be feeling the after effects from a concussion 4 months later is a cause for concern. Don't know what her concussion history is, but I do remember she was out after dinging heads with Hooper in that WUSA gave vs. SanDiego. I know she was cleared to play, but from what I hear, she's still having some problems, thus she stayed home. Hope its not as serious as it sounds, but stuff like that can end a career.
Parlow That would be awful to loose Parlow; she's the big girl with good footwork (although she seems to land on her butt a lot in games--doesn't find the turf as much as Wambach though.) Hope CP is ok, I think the WNT needs her.