For someone who covers women’s soccer, I don’t write a lot about Abby Wambach. It’s not that I’m not a fan, but Abby gets her fair share of media coverage and I’m always on the look out for a story that isn’t being told. Since the old timers retired, chances are if there’s a story in the mainstream media about the team, it has something to do with Abby. I don’t always feel compelled to pile on.

Everyone is writing about Wambach’s Olympic ending injury that occurred in the first half of the match against Brazil and I have been so impressed with how she has handled the injury I do feel the need to get my two cents in.

At least publicly, she has not taken one second to whine about the circumstances that stole her Olympic hopes, including the seconds immediately after her leg snapped in two and she knew her Olympic dream was history. She didn’t take a well-deserved moment to wallow in the pain of the injury or her reality. Instead she put on a brave face for her teammates who still had a match to win.

“The most important thing at that moment was winning the game and showing my teammates by example that they have to lean on each other a little bit more to get that gold medal that we’ve been desperately training for over the months,” Wambach said on a conference call with the media today.

She’s taken what could be a “poor me” moment and used it as an opportunity to encourage her team to the gold medal podium in Beijing. She was thrilled that Natasha Kai “did what she told her to do” and scored the winning goal to beat Brazil while she was at the hospital. And, she made a point to call Lauren Cheney, her replacement on the Olympic roster, to make sure she was comfortable with how she made the team.

“I want you to go there and not feel bad about being selected in this type of way,” Wambach told Cheney. “It won’t do you any good or this team any good. Ultimately, it will not make the team perform better. What’s important is that the team going into this tournament is feeling that they can win this. At the end of the day, that’s what makes you stand at the top podium.”

I’m not sure Wambach could have handled this situation any more professionally or selflessly than she has. She’s been working hard to convince us that the team can win without her. I’m jumping on her bandwagon and still looking for U.S. to compete for gold.

Word from San Diego is that Abby Wambach suffered a broken tib-fib and will have surgery tomorrow. She is expected to be out for 12 weeks thus ending her Olympic dreams. Best guess is that Lauren Cheney will be making the trip Beijing, but that's not official.

U.S. coaches, team members and fans are collectively holding their breath while waiting for word on Abby Wambach's injury during the first half of the match against Brazil. She has been taken to a local hospital and early speculation is that she has a break below the knee.

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.

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.

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.

Greetings from Albufeira, Portugal. I arrived last night, just in time to catch a decent nights sleep and hit the U.S. match with China.

This was my first time to see the team play since the Pia era began, unless you count the teeny video stream from the Four Nations Tournament in China. They looked good – definitely different – but really good.

Possession was the name of the game and they played it well. One touch passes ping-ponged around the pitch, starting at the back and working their way through the midfield to the forwards. There was the occasional long ball thrown in, just to keep China guessing, but the U.S. dominated the match exploring the angles of the pitch with short passing.

After the game, Abby Wambach was pleased with the team’s performance.

“The first half of that game is one of the best halves we’ve played in a long time, not even these past four games, but the past couples years. Things are starting to feel right, where it’s not a struggle. We’re learning how to play the game in angles, “ she said.

Of course, China didn’t put up much of a fight. They were content to stay packed in for most of the match, I can only assume in hopes of breakaway chances, which were few and far between and for which they seemed ill equipped to take advantage of. If China’s new coach, Elizabeth Loisel was looking to use this tournament to get a Chinese Federation that already seems disenchanted with her off her back, she didn’t get off to a good start.

The back line has undergone a bit of a makeover, at least for this match. Kate Markgraf was back in the center in her first match since the World Cup. Captain Christie Rampone joined her there with Lori Chalupny at left back and newcomer Rachel Buehler on the right. Buehler put in a more than solid performance in her first cap, which lasted a full 90.

Shannon Boxx and Carli Lloyd were both outstanding today in the midfield and earned a nod from head coach Pia Sundhage who called their play “tremendous”.

Lindsay Tarpley added another goal to her already impressive tally for 2008 to get her team off to a good start. That was it for the first half. Tobin Heath, who subbed in for Tarpley at half time, recorded her first full international goal just minutes into the 2nd half. Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd rounded out the scoring giving the U.S. their biggest win against China, ever.

That’s it for tonight. I’m going to post some pictures in the Photo Gallery before I get kicked out of the internet cafe which is already closed! I will report in tomorrow after practice.

I wouldn't trade my World Cup experience for anything, but I have to confess that it was nice to be on the field for a home game when the U.S. took on Mexico yesterday in St. Louis. I wasn't sure what to expect heading into the game. There has been a lot of negative press surrounding the team in the aftermath of the loss to Brazil and the ensuing Hope Solo soap opera. I was a little apprehensive about whether the fans might stay home in protest or come out booing with nasty signs.

In the end, there were a few nasty signs, very little booing and a boisterous crowd of 10,861 strong that overwhelmingly supported the USWNT. Mexico had cheering sections throughout the stadium which added some flavor, but they could not match the volume of the the U.S. fans. The shrill post-match cheering and autograph seeking hit a level I haven't personally witnessed post-Mia. And speaking of Mia, there were tons of kids and adults wearing U.S. jerseys, but very few of them were Mia's. Lori Chalupny's #17 was definitely the jersey of choice as St. Louis honored their hometown hero, but I saw plenty of Wambach, Boxx, Solo and Lilly kits as well. I'm hoping that's a good sign that this is no longer "The Greatest Team You've Never Heard Of".

It took about 20 minutes for the U.S. to shake off the cobwebs from the long trip back from China and nearly two weeks off, but they recovered from an early deficit to put on an entertaining 5-1 win.

Hope Solo did not dress for the match, but gamely supported the team from the bench in street clothes, hopefully a positive step in closing this chapter in USWNT history.

After the match, Abby Wambach acknowledged that she hadn't had an opportunity to read the statement Solo issue before the match, but said, "As a team, we're just ready to move forward."

The next move is to Portland, where the U.S. will meet Mexico again before finishing off the series and probably the year on Saturday in New Mexico.

The Hope Solo/Greg Ryan debacle could be the best or the worst thing that has ever happened to women’s soccer. I can’t decide. Women’s soccer has certainly gotten more ink in the last week than it has since Brandi Chastain swung her jersey over her head. Of course, the quality of that ink is debatable. In fact, I can’t recall a situation where so much has been written and said based on so little available information.

The heroes and villains in this drama seem to shift with each passing news cycle. Ryan is the villain for distracting his team with a questionable (questionable is probably the most polite thing that’s been said about it) coaching move. Hope Solo is a villain for throwing Briana Scurry under the bus (I know, the under the bus thing is getting old!) with her criticism of Ryan’s decision. Ryan is a villain for keeping Solo away from the third place match. The team is full of vengeful, spiteful, monstrous villains for supporting Ryan’s decision and not supporting Solo. Solo is a hero for having the courage to speak her mind. It goes on and on with the only constant being Ryan as villain.

In recent days, public opinion seems to have shifted to Solo as saint and the rest of the team, led by Kristine Lilly and Abby Wambach, as monsters. Again, this is with very little information available to support an informed opinion.

Let’s review what we know for sure:

• Greg Ryan made a questionable coaching decision to pull his starting keeper from the semi-final match against Brazil and replace her with her back up, a world class keeper in her own right, who hadn’t seen much time in the net since the Olympics and none in this World Cup.
• Solo, the starting keeper, was very upset by this move. We can infer that at least some of her teammates were also upset, but there have been no public statements to support the inference. In fact, the only statement that has been made was that it didn’t divide the team.
• The team, collectively, put in a poor performance and was shelled by a Brazilian team playing the match of their lives.
• Hope Solo gave an emotional, post match interview against advice from her press officer, emphatically stating the coach made the wrong decision, that she would have made the saves that Scurry didn’t and inferring (unintentionally, I suspect) that Scurry was a has been, living on the accomplishments of the past.
• Solo apologized via My Space, to Briana Scurry and to her teammates for her remarks. We don’t know the details of her personal apologies. The public My Space apology reads more along the lines of “I’m sorry I was misunderstood” rather than “I’m sorry for my behavior”. I have a 13-year old son and am very familiar with this genre of apology. It doesn’t usually get him out of trouble either.
• Greg Ryan with input from “team leaders” decided that Solo would not train with the team or suit up for the third place match.
• Team leaders, Kristine Lilly and Abby Wambach, characterized the decision as a team decision as the team felt Solo would be a distraction to their preparation for Norway.
• Solo did not participate in the match or the ensuing medal ceremony.
• Solo was not made available to the media during the duration of the China trip.
• Solo did not fly home with the team.
• She hasn’t spoken to media since.

What we don’t know:

• If the team decision was unanimous
• The content of her apology to Scurry and her teammates. Was it humble and sincere or more forgive me, you misunderstood?
• What has gone on behind the scenes between Solo and her teammates before, during and after this conflict.
• How Solo responded to being left off the team for the Norway match.
• Why she didn’t fly home with the team. Was it her choice or theirs?

Without answers to these questions (which may never come), I’m not prepared to sort the villains from the heroes. And, I’m certainly not prepared to vilify women whose good conduct I’ve observed up close and from afar over a period of years. That includes Hope Solo. I’ll wait for the facts to roll in before I make further judgment.

For now, I’ll enjoy the 15 minutes of fame that this story is bringing women’s soccer, while cringing that this is what it takes for this group of quality athletes and women to get noticed. At least they didn’t have to get naked to catch some attention.

For about the first 10 minutes of last nights match against Sweden, I felt like I had stepped right back on the roller coaster ride I had barely survived a few nights before. The Swedes came out firing and the U.S. was forced to defend almost exclusively in the opening minutes. Sweden earned four corners in the first four minutes of the match and five in the first 10.

“We did well (to hold off Sweden during the first few minutes). We held our ground when they came at us and we defended a lot more than we wanted to, but I think that the team stayed together and stayed strong,” said defender Christie Rampone who turned in another first rate performance.

Any doubt I had about Ryan’s choice to start Leslie Osborne as defensive mid over Shannon Boxx evaporated early in the match – about the time she boomed that header halfway up the field. That’s also about the time the match started to settle down for the U.S.

Not too long after, Kate Markgraf played what, according to her, was an uncharacteristically long ball over the Swedish defenders. It bounced over the keeper and into the path of Lori Chalupny who had timed her run perfectly. She was taken down near the goal line and earned a penalty kick, which was made by Abby Wambach.

“I saw (Lori Chalupny) holding a run so I just hit it and I kind of surprised myself with how well I hit it. I hit it how far Cat (Whitehill) hits it, and that’s kind of unusual. I think she inspired me to kick the crap out if it.” said Markgraf.

Boxx subbed in for Carli Lloyd at half time and erased any memory of the less than Boxx-like performance she turned in against North Korea. She took command, cleaning up messes all over the field.

Kristine Lilly and Wambach combined for an insurance goal in the 58th minute. Lilly sent in a beautiful ball to Wambach's chest which she settled and half-volleyed past the dumbstruck ‘keeper. It was a world-class strike

Wambach is having a great tournament Not only has she scored three goals, but she has also thoroughly entertained with fancy footwork, not often seen in a player of her size. She’s not the player she was in 2003. She is much, much more.

The U.S. survived Sweden’s attempt to get back into the match as time started to run down. It was another exciting match, but this one was a little bit easier on my blood pressure.

The U.S. goes into Tuesdays match against Nigeria dead even with North Korea. Both have four points and a two goals for goal differential.