Fair Game caught up with Aly Wagner, who has recently returned to training after undergoing double sports hernia surgery back in January, while waiting out the thunderstorms in Cary.

How back are you? I noticed that you weren’t training with the team yesterday.

Well, I started to train and then I pulled myself out and that is primarily because my groins are sore. All my softer muscles are sore coming back because there is only so much you can do on your own. That’s all. I’m just trying to be smart so I don’t re-injure anything. You know how when you have an injury and you come back too soon you can overcompensate and injure something else. I’m just trying to be smart so that I don’t have any more setbacks. If it means taking half of practice off, that’s kind of where I’m at right now. Otherwise, I feel great. Like I said, my groins are a little bit sore but that is expected. I feel good with my touch. I feel good with the balls I’ve been playing. What I feel like I need to work on is my quickness, my explosiveness, just getting that back, because like I said, there is only so much you can do on your own.

When did you have the surgery?

I had it in January.

When were you able to start working out?

It wasn’t fun. It was a little bit worse than I expected because I was so excited to finally have closure to this injury. I didn’t really prepare myself for the surgery so it was a little bit more intense than what I expected. Just imagine having people go through your abs and then your throwing up that night. It’s just not a comfortable situation.

It sounds like having a baby.

Except without the joy of brining a life into the world!

I think I started running after two weeks and just slowly worked up from there.

You look fit.

I am. I should be but like I said, you can’t really replicate soccer fitness. I’ve done the workouts that have gotten me so fit before which is the culmination of 800s, cones, shuttles and one long run a week. So those things have helped me with my fitness base and now it’s just putting in all the other elements.

Do you think you have enough time to make the Olympic roster?

Initially I felt like I had more time than I do when I came in to the environment. I feel good soccer wise, my vision, my touch. I just have to get physically sharper. Time will be of the essence. Of course I believe that I can do it and I have faith in the process, but I just need to make sure that I don’t have any major setbacks along the way. I think if I can get back to where I was before and even better, I should be in the hunt.

Have you been communicating with Pia during your rehab?

Not much. I haven’t talked to her that much. The only thing I’ve heard is from my teammates telling me how I’m going to fit in really well and telling me how much I’m going to love the training. Within this week, I’ve seen that my style should fit in well with what she’s doing. I just need to stay healthy and get a little bit sharper.

How have the last couple years been for you as you haven’t been on the field consistently due to various injuries?

It’s been a struggle. It has been mental draining, physically exhausting. My tendency is to want to work hard and control what I can control and work through it and when you can’t do that it has been very frustrating mentally and then when you’re not playing on top of it it’s even more frustrating. I’ve had a lot of mental battles throughout this process and throughout last year too.

Obviously your World Cup wasn’t what you had hoped due to the injuries.

In the World Cup I was mentally prepared and ready and I really got a lot out of that experience. It was an awesome experience for me even though it wasn’t what I expected or what other people looking in might have expected from me but I totally got more out of it not playing than maybe I would have if I had played.

What have you done to keep yourself positive?

There are days when I get into the “poor me” and I say ‘please God, keep me healthy, make me healthy’, and then the reality sets in and I feel extremely fortunate and lucky to be in these situations. I’m really happy. I love my husband. I love my life. That’s one thing that I’ve noticed about this situation too is that I’m happy at home. I was happy doing training and working so hard. I was rehabbing over five hours a day with Pilates, with my therapy and my running and the soccer stuff. I realized how much I loved that and the dedication and then going home to my husband and my dogs. I feel pretty balanced about everything and know that whatever happens and whatever path is laid out for me, I’ll be happy. I’m not complacent; I’m just at ease with where I am in my life and in th

is process. I have the drive to get back for the Olympics and I feel like there is something left for me to achieve on the soccer field, but I’m happy with my development as a person too.

Will you try and keep yourself in the mix for the next cycle?

I can’t say honestly whether I will or won’t. It really depends on how my body holds up. I want to play in the league for sure, but I have a lot that I want to do outside of soccer and I think there are other aspects of my personality, like my passions, that I want to explore and whether that’s in business. I just think that there is other stuff that I want to do. It’s a matter of timing. It’s a matter of when I want to actually embark on those things in my life and head down a different career path. I’m going to play it day by day. Look at my goal and here is this big thing that I want to accomplish but then take it day by day because I can’t control it.

How about some advice for a young player that finds herself struggling with injury?

The only advice I would say is that you make sure you set your long-term goals and you set your day-to-day goals and just live in the moment. Live in the day. If you get overwhelmed that you have three months of rehab ahead of you or whatever that time might be, don’t think about that. Think about what you have to do today to get a little bit better, a little bit stronger, and a little bit closer to that goal of getting back on the field. Just decide that that is what you want. Decide if it is worth your energy and your time to put yourself through it. Is that your goal?

Just a few observations on the first half:

The crowd is bosterious but I can't hazard a guess as to the size as the stands across from the press box are completely vacant, save the on the field seats and the luxury boxes. I can hear the crowd, but I can't see them.

Wambach is working hard but seems a little off shot-wise.

The US has had a butt-load of corners. Okay, it was only eight but seemed like 50.

Pia has been very active on the sidelines. She pulled Tarpley over for about a 30 second pow-wow during the run of play.

Looks like Osborne, Whitehill, Lopez, Rodriguez and Hucles are warming up.

And I've run out of time. Enjoy the second half. Hopefully the US will hold it together better than the last two outings.

I attended training at Georgetown University about eight hours ago and I am still not dry. In fact, I'm not sure I will ever be dry again. It is ridiculously wet and unseasonably cold here in DC. The practice was light as expected the day before match so there is nothing earth shattering to report. Nichole Barnhart, just off knee surgery on Tuesday, gamely observed training from the sidelines with Aly Wagner. I spoke with Aly recently about her recovery and chances to make the Olympic roster and will post that interview soon.

Just when things have started to get interesting we had to go and neglect the blog. We were a bit overwhelmed getting Issue 13 together and had some technical difficulties posting from Cary. But we're back and will be reporting from DC. So stay tuned.

The U.S. launched their Olympic qualifying campaign tonight with a 6-0 victory over Jamaica with goals from Carli Lloyd, Abby
Wambach (2), Lauren Cheney, Heather O'Reilly, and Tobin Heath. The loss means that Jamaica is out after losing to Mexico 8-1 on Tuesday. The U.S. and Mexico will go through to the semi-finals but the U.S. needs a victory to finish top of the group and avoid an early meeting with Canada (assuming Canada finishes top of their group) before the final. Both finalists will represent CONCACAF in the Beijing Olympics.

Reports are coming out of Beijing that China's Football Association has fired women's national team coach Elisabeth Loisel.

In the better late than never department, I've started editing the video I took in the Algarve. Next time I'll make sure to load my editing software onto my laptop before I go. The first entry is the "Crossbar Game" as chronicled in the WNT Blog.

In a few hours, I will be heading to Lisbon to catch a plane home. It has been an incredible week of soccer here in the Algarve and while I am anxious to get home to my family, I am sad to see it end.

It isn't often that you get the opportunity to see a team transform before your eyes and while they still have some work to do, I feel like the team I saw take on Denmark today was a better and different team than I saw against China just last week. They faced tougher opponents as the tournament wore on and while their new, more possession oriented style of play wasn't automatic when the pressure was turned on, they stuck with it and it looked better and more natural with each game.

During the opening minutes against China through the waning minutes of the final, I was struck by the chatter I heard out on the field. The team was communicating at a volume I haven't observed since Julie Foudy left the pitch. Sometimes it was captain Christie Rampone exhorting the troops. Other times it was Kate Markgraf shouting out instruction. Heather O'Reilly was frequently heard calling for the ball. At first I wondered if it was my imagination or if the chatter was more noticeable due to the lack of fan noise on the field, but Rampone confirmed my observation.

"The communication is just really good, better than I think it’s ever been," said Rampone. "It’s definitely something we’ve been working on in training because everyone is responsible out there. We’ve been working on being on the same page and having the same voice instead of making so many different commands and I think everyone is feeling more and more comfortable."

As to Pia Sundhage, other than a quick interview at the College Cup, this was my first real exposure to her. She has an enthusiasm that is contagious and while she is a very savvy coach, in some ways she is just a big kid that loves soccer. She talks a lot about belief, courage and confidence. Her team seems to have bought in and will leave the Algarve with more confidence in what they are doing as they have seen it work.

The team will get a week off when they get home although they have a running program to keep them on track, then they are back together to get ready for Olympic Qualifying.

As for me, they are still pictures to post, videos to edit and thoughts to share (as well as Issue 12 to pull together), but they will have to wait until I get back to Georgia and get a few hours sleep. Thanks for sticking with us during the 2008 Algarve Cup. Look for an update on Friday.

Does anyone recognize the mystery woman in the visor?

New Coach of Women's Professional Soccer's New Jersey franchise, Ian Sawyers, scouting talent for his new team.

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.