Pump Up the Volume
If the volume level coming from the team bus during my phone interview with Amy Rodriguez very early this morning is any indication, the U.S. Women's National Team has put their loss to Norway behind them. I heard singing, laughing, screaming, all of which sounded incredibly upbeat. Unfortunately, it was so noisy I've had difficulty transcribing my interview with Rodriguez off my recorder. So, here are some very brief highlights from our conversation:
This is Rodriguez's second trip to China. Her first was for the Four Nations Tournament early this year where she scored her first goal. She is hoping that means China is lucky for her. A theory she hopes to test beginning tomorrow against Japan.
She was excited to enter the Norway match and earn her first Olympic cap in spite of the pressure that comes with a two-goal deficit.
"Unfortunately it didn’t turn out how we would have liked but I was happy to be able to get out there and play," she said.
Rodriguez feels like the team has moved on from the loss and is ready for redemption against Japan. She couldn't offer any hints as to any changes we might see in the match tomorrow, as the team hadn't had their pre-match meeting yet, but felt confident they were ready.
"We’re going to come out on fire," she said. "I have a lot of faith in my team and myself and I think we are going to be able to pull through."
The team has been sticking pretty close to the hotel since the games began just relaxing and focusing on the job ahead of them.
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