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.
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.
Add comment