Anyone think Mac will play? How about Slaton? I would like to see Mia, Lil, Julie, Joy, and Brandi sit this one out and give some others playing time because a lot of them won't see much when it counts.
Starting lineup as per matchtracker: Mullinix Slaton Reddick Sobrero Bivens Roberts Boxx Wagner Hucles Parlow Wambach
For some reason, I don't have "chat" capability (at least, i think). Does anyone need me to attempt some PBP? mingyung
2-0 at half. Wagner with a beautiful bender from about 20 yards out. Wagner then assisted on the 2nd goal, Wambach headed it in and absolutely killed the goalie in the process.
This is the first time I've watched a woman's national team game. Costa Rica is really bad. I laughed on Hamm's goal when two of them whiffed in a row before it rolled right to Hamm. Hah.
I know it was just Costa Rica, but Shannon Boxx was very impressive and her spot on the roster is well deserved.
Costa Rica sucks. I hope you watch the WWC. Norway, China, Germany, Brazil will be good games to watch.
Yeah, I know some Charge fans who won't be too happy about that goal. Aly's goal was sick, though. Absolutely brilliant.
Initial thoughts. Shannon Boxx- Ha! See that is why she's on this team. Very nice. I saw no drop off in her game (WUSA vs. International) Mac- Holy mother of all come backs! I swear I was skeptical as to whether or not she would see time. She did, 20 mins. She has some rust to shake off, but you know what I saw no fear in her. She's ready. First half squad- Who was the oldest one out there? Kate? Nice chemistry. Good passing. Good look for our future starting line up? Homer comment- Yay Mia! Lil was doing a little dancing huh?
I noticed the final score wasn't in here. 5-0 USA.. Wasn't as close as the score. No shots or even attempts at goal for Costa Rica. One touch for the USA keeper but it wasn't totally needed. The ball never crossed the US's goal line for even a goal kick that I can remember. There are only about 8 teams in the world that can give the top teams like the USA any kind of a match. Costa Rica isn't one of them. Next week could be a little tougher against Mexico but they just got thrashed by Canada. I think it was 8-0.
Mexico was also beaten 2-1 by CSU-Fullerton. Sure wish CONCACAF had some decent teams other than Canada.
I probably will. I don't hate women's soccer, I've just never really liked it, so the WWC will probably be kinda cool. I know CRC sucks, though. I wasn't expecting them to play a good game.
You're right. Not a single touch in the 2nd half. At least our keepers get some touches in practice in preparation for the WC. Well, they're right off the WUSA season so they should be okay and match ready.
Hasn't it only been 3 months since Shannon's ACL tear? Generally, it takes about 6 full months before someone is ready to take the field. It takes a full year before someone "recovers" from this sort of injury, so I wouldn't expect anything big from her in the WWC against the better teams.
Props to April on the starting line-up. There have been games where this team played down to the oponents level--this wasn't one of them. They switched fields nicely and used the wings to break down the bunker. Boxx was fantastic, even if it was CR. She had a nice lefty goal. Aly's goal was sweet. A lot of Bivens' 1st half passes went to the white jerseys but she settled down. TR contributed to the offense.
Pitch? To start out with, I thought the pitch, at least as it appeared on TV with all the patches, etc. was abyssmal. Do they have rock concerts there every weekend? They had the one patch near the penalty area on the right side of the screen that look like it was covering a manhole or something. Terrible! And Philip Anschutz wants us to fork over $400 per seat for the final to watch a game played on that stuff! Has anyone seen the meticulous condition of the pitches in England's Premier League. They put this one to shame. Sure the ball rolls true if you don't have any grass on the pitch. It reminded me of an NFL game played on a baseball field before the baseball season is over with the sod placed over the mound and base areas.
I am a soccer coach and I have coached girls club and women's college, but am now coaching guys and as I watched last night I wished I would have been taping it. I have a very young team this year and the way the US passed the ball, playing simple and knowing what to do with the ball before they got it was something I would have loved to have shown my guys. A clinic, pure and simple!
a very good game by the US women. looks like the machine is well oiled prior to the big show. i'd love to see the same group from the first-half play a stronger team. if they're half as dominating as they were against CR, no one's stopping us from another WC title.
Comments of the game Now that I've vented about the pitch, I have some comments about the game too. Did this help Ape decide who was to play where? Let's see, who have we played of substance leading up to this WWC? People keep mentioning the 4NT and the Algarve Cup, but those were quite a while ago. Why can't we schedule anyone of substance before the WWC? Now we play that powerhouse Mexico on Sunday that was blasted by Canada. What is that going to prove? It's too bad, as one member mentioned, that there are no other good CONCACAF teams other than the US and Canada. And I guess we learned our lesson in the buildup to the Olympics with a tie with Canada. Play was OK based on the opposition. I liked Boxx's work in the midfield. Of course, most of these youngsters are in for a rude awakening when they are constantly pounded by the better teams we'll be facing - starting with Sweden. IMHO, Ally Wagner needs to make quicker passes in distribution. At the international level, if you keep the ball on your foot for too long, you'll get taken out - and not gently either. Along the same line, it's great to pass to a teammate with her back to the goal as long as she isn't going to be "cleaned" by her mark (e.g. Mia versus Nigeria in WWC 1999). Might we try some through balls and flighted diagonals rather than make sure that each of our 4 defenders has a chance to touch the ball before knocking it forward and asking for a knee or ankle injury! Did this game do anything to test our defense? No! Did it do anything for our keepers? No! It did give the WNT practice against another weak team that bunkers. That's no practice for the WWC where points are at a premoum, and starting with the quarters, you need to win and not bunker. We won't be facing this type of play in our bracket from any of the teams, including North Korea. I know the players are a lot more relaistic than the press releases. "Yes, we won, but..." It was good to see Mac back, but she needs to get her game head back on as well as her game leg (missed a gimme late in the game trying a chip with the wrong foot). She did stay out of contact. Not a real test of her knee, since she probably didn't do anything she hasn't done in her rehab, but good to see her back. CP is asking for a booking when she throws players aside, and she'll get them once WWC starts. Abby runs over players going for the ball, but CP treats the opponents like they are getting in her way. Can't wait til WWC starts and we can forget these yawners!