by Ethan Johnson
August 14, 2008
Because there is just too much happening in the Olympics to keep up with every event of interest, and because Beulah Sports truly is the first and last word on USWNT action, I have opted to condense my report into a single serving. The quarterfinals begin on Friday, August 15.
Seriously: Read Beulah Sports for the definitive recaps for these and other USWNT matches.
USA/Norway: Wow, what an awful match. Norway scored within the first 2 minutes due to a major miscommunication error in front of the US goal. I am softer on Hope Solo for the error than Beulah is. I don't have the footage to review anymore, but as I noted on my Pad of Death, Solo seemed to be coming out for the ball but Lori Chalupny got in the way, causing the Norway header to sail in. The second goal came in the 4th minute (!!), due to some sort of defensive breakdown by USA (not noted in detail) that led to a 1-v-1 on Hope Solo. The Norway player bent the ball around her and into the net. 2-0 Norway. I didn't take many notes after that except for "USA: Too many long balls forward/shots from distance. Need more possession play." Additionally, USA played far too central (read: no wing play to speak of) and lost 2-0. Margin for error in the rest of the pool matches: Nil. Kinda like USAs opening score.
USA/Japan: Pad of Death says on the first line: "USA much more aggressive + more wide play." USA scored in the 27th minute with a nice shot by Carli Lloyd at the top of the box. 1-0 USA. I defer to Beulah for then in-depth report, but overall I liked USAs urgent style of play and wish that they scored more goals. 1-0 anyway.
USA/New Zealand: Oh noes, I'm scooping Beulah! This was a must-win game for USA, and Heather O'Reilly got the memo. She scored inside of the first minute with a rocket from long distance. 1-0 USA. More shots on goal (noted, anyway) at 6', 9', 14', 15' 17' (all misses). Pad of Death reads: "USA too selfish in front of goal - too many low % shots." USA scored again in the 43rd minute by way of a long ball up to Amy Rodriguez (A-Rod). 2-0 USA. 45th minute: NZ tries multiple goal scoring attempts. All are denied. Halftime: I'd like to give mad props and big ups to the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel on DirecTV. It's the raw feed with NO commercial breaks, ever. JP Dellacamera and Brandi Chastain commented from New York. Nicely done. More Chastain commentary in future matches, please. NZ was more aggressive in the second half, keeping Hope Solo busy in goal. 57th minute: Multiple goal tries by USA result in a shot by Lindsay Tarpley. 3-0 USA. 60th minute: Angela Hucles takes a Chalupny rebound off of the woodwork to make it 4-0. NZ was too gassed in the end to begin to defy the shutout, and were sent home forthwith. BUT, as Chastain noted, despite the amazing scoreline, USA is looking vulnerable against tougher teams like Brazil and Germany. They caught a break by way of Japan beating the crap out of Norway 5-1, which means USA meets Canada in the quarterfinals, but they'd better firm up the game plan quickly before the medal rounds. Gold is not a sure thing.
As for the men, they bowed out in the preliminaries. I have no further comment. <EM>
(Sports? Why, sure! The ethmar.com sports archive may be found here.)
