There is good news and bad news from today’s match against Norway. The bad news is that U.S. had a really rough first half. They had difficulty solving Norway’s pressure and had a tough time playing the ball through the midfield.

The good news is that the U.S. had a really rough first half, but stuck to the game plan, found a way to solve the pressure, and came back and spanked Norway 4-0 in the second half.

Yes, they had a little help from Norway’s ‘keeper, Ingrid Hjelmseth, but both goals that were in part the result of ‘keeper error wouldn’t have happened with out some pretty spectacular individual effort. Natasha Kai did well to read Hjelmseth’s casual ball placement and put herself in great position to take advantage.

“The big lift in the second half was Tasha Kai’s goal to start off our scoring streak,” said Heather O’Reilly. “Her energy and read on that play was just phenomenal.”

Amy Rodriguez’s shot was weak and should have easily been handled by Hjelmseth, but a nice ball from Wambach and some equally nice moves from Rodriguez put her in position to take the shot in the first place.

Wambach and O’Reilly’s goals were first class.

Pia Sundhage once again used all six subs (Tarpley, Whitehill, Heath, Rodriguez, Lopez and Osborne) and was pleased with the effort she got off the bench.

“The players coming off the bench, they did a great job and that’s a strength,” said Sundhage. “We will play the bench and that’s a message I want to send.”

This match was a better opportunity for Sundhage and the coaching staff to assess Nicole Barnhart and she looked good. Her performance here should keep her in the mix for the trip to Beijing.

Christie Rampone earned the Sierra Mist Player of the Match for the second game in a row. Rampone had an outstanding World Cup and just seems to be getting better and better.

I think it is pretty safe to assume that Natasha Kai, Amy Rodriguez, and Lauren Cheney are competing for two spots on the Olympic roster. They’ve each gotten a start in this tournament and so far, I can’t say that any one has distinguished herself one way or the other over the other two. We’ll see what happens on Wednesday when the U.S. takes on Denmark.

The Miss Congeniality Award

Amy Rodriguez, USC. We know she can play. She was the Offensive MVP, but this kid also has a ton of personality. If Nike/Madison Avenue is still looking for the next “face of women’s soccer”, they should give Rodriguez a call.

Unsung Heroes Award

The entire USC backline. Janessa Currier and Kasey Johnson made the All Tournament Team, but we would like to give a shout out to the entire backline including Stacey Strong and Karter Haug. You guys were awesome!

The Sounds Exactly Like 80’s Actor Judd Nelson Award

USC Head Coach Ali Khosroshahin. If I closed my eyes, I was back in college. It was The Breakfast Club all over again.

The Sore Loser Award

The UCLA players who ditched their post-match press conference. I know it was a tough loss, but the deal is you do the press conference, win or lose.

The Add Immediately to Pia Sundhage’s Speed Dial Award

USC goalkeeper, Kristin Olsen. Olsen was the rock star of the tournament. Her name was buzzing in the press box, throughout the stadium and all of College Station. She also happens to be a nice, humble kid.

The Put the Butts in the Seats Award

Texas A&M hosted a record breaking crowd of 8,255 despite the closest participating school being 800 miles away.

The Gives Best Press Conference Award

Florida State Head Coach, Mark Krikorian. Mark is gracious, candid and funny.

The Crazy Fan Award

Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Florida State. Two track and field athletes drove from Tallahassee to cheer on the ‘Noles in spandex body suits (yikes!) and garnet wigs.

The Best Goal Award

Lauren Cheney’s semi-final strike. Wow!

The Atta Boy Award

The NCCA staff. We will always gripe about the seedings and who has to travel where, but the NCAA knows how to host a National Championship. It was fun, it was festive and it was well organized. Well done.

Photos by Andy Mead/YCJ

UCLA was supposed win the National Championship this year. They have the talent all over the field. Most schools would be happy to build a women's soccer program around a Christina DiMartino, a Lauren Cheney, a Danesha Adams or a Kara Lang. UCLA has them all.

They beat Portland in the quarters in a game that many observers, myself included, thought should have been contested for the championship.

And it’s not like they didn’t come to play. UCLA looked to be the superior team for much of the match. They put on some outrageous displays of skill like Christina DiMartino toying with a handful of USC defenders before drilling a shot on goal from point blank range.

But Kristin Olsen, USC’s sophomore keeper came up with it. And she kept coming up with whatever UCLA threw at her. UCLA out shot USC 19-8 but only managed to get one by Olsen, powered in with a remarkable display of skill and sheer force of will by Lauren Cheney in the 38th minute.

UCLA rode that one goal well into the second half. Olsen kept USC in the match recording eight total saves, of which more than one were downright spectacular.

USC didn’t have much going offensively and I was ready to chalk the match up to a UCLA win and then Amy Rodriguez took over for USC, scoring two goals in a six-minute span to lead the Trojans to the final.

The Bruins were understandably devastated at the loss. A visibly shaken, UCLA coach, Jill Ellis, gave a short press conference while her players suffered through a post-match fireworks display before mourning with their family and friends for a season that wasn’t supposed to end this way.

The Women of Troy were a bit more subdued than you might expect for a team that had just earned the right to play in their first National Championship. Coach Ali Khosroshahin indicated that his team wouldn’t be celebrating until they won the final. “We’ve still got work to do,” he said.

The Trojans will take on the Florida State Seminoles in the final of the 2007 NCAA Women’s College Cup on Sunday at 1pm. The match will be broadcast live of ESPN2.

*Photo by Andy Mead, Yellow Card Journalism