When Cox came in at the half the defensive left was shored up immediately. She also did some nice 1 v 1 defending against Clarke I believe.
Cox brought the team a little balance, she know's her role and how to play it. Get another 9 players to do that and the U.S. are fine You can't just shove all the players you rate as your best onto the field in a unfamiliar formation, and then expect them to work as a cohesive unit. Simple arithmetic can tell you 3 specialized CB's in a 4 player back line is never going to work. If Sundhage is so desperate to play her fav's, she should play a back 3 with wing backs. We all know she won't, but it if she doesn't sort something out, the balance in each department of the defence, midfield, and attack, is only being set up for failure. Looking at the pre WWC squad, I don't think I would be crazy in suggesting the WWC games featuring the U.S. are going to be very exiting, but for all the wrong reason's if your a U.S. fan.
Whitney Engen became my favorite player with the Red Stars. This kid plays 100% every game. She is in the game every minute. You won't catch her slacking off or sleeping. Tough as nails. And if you think you have beaten her, think again, she will track you down no matter how fast you are. Whitney Engen is better then half those on the USWNT game roster. In my opinion.