[Leftcoast]

Here's the situation:

Midway through the 2nd half the US picked up a red card in the box on a questionable call.  Both players were going for the ball with lots of contact and the ref decided to favor the attacking Brazilian player.  Marginal, in my opinion, but if a foul is called then it has to be a red since it denied a goal scoring opportunity.

The really surprising move came one play later when Hope Solo made an amazing save on the ensuing penalty kick.  The same ref whistled again and claimed that Solo had moved before the PK was taken.  On replay Solo can be seen shuffling her feet but did not move off her line - the sort of movement that is routinely allowed on most PK's I've seen.  Brazil made the second penalty kick

Net result?  In one sequence of plays the US went from one up to tied and playing a man down.  Ouch! 

In my opinion the ref inserted herself into the match with two potentially game deciding decisions - both on marginal, at best, calls.

Or am I just wearing Red, White and Blue glasses?

[Leftcoast]

Here's the situation:

Midway through the 2nd half the US picked up a red card in the box on a questionable call.  Both players were going for the ball with lots of contact and the ref decided to favor the attacking Brazilian player.  Marginal, in my opinion, but if a foul is called then it has to be a red since it denied a goal scoring opportunity.

The really surprising move came one play later when Hope Solo made an amazing save on the ensuing penalty kick.  The same ref whistled again and claimed that Solo had moved before the PK was taken.  On replay Solo can be seen shuffling her feet but did not move off her line - the sort of movement that is routinely allowed on most PK's I've seen.  Brazil made the second penalty kick

Net result?  In one sequence of plays the US went from one up to tied and playing a man down.  Ouch! 

In my opinion the ref inserted herself into the match with two potentially game deciding decisions - both on marginal, at best, calls.

Or am I just wearing Red, White and Blue glasses?

[washingtonismoney]

1) the red card was necessitated by the foul call--the foul was sort of a 50-50 decision.
2) the re-take of the penalty was ridiculous.

The U.S. has been very poor at keeping the ball and passing and seem to have the English disease.

[washingtonismoney]

1) the red card was necessitated by the foul call--the foul was sort of a 50-50 decision.
2) the re-take of the penalty was ridiculous.

The U.S. has been very poor at keeping the ball and passing and seem to have the English disease.

[Redrum]

What?  The whole team staged an industrial action for an enforced tea break at 2:30 in the afternoon?

[Redrum]

What?  The whole team staged an industrial action for an enforced tea break at 2:30 in the afternoon?

[Spiny_Norman]

I think the re-kick was called because of encroachment by one of the other players inside the penalty box before the Brazilian player struck the ball.  At least the replay showed that was also a possibility.  Solo then received a yellow card for arguing.

BTW, the played who received the red card was Rachel Buehler.

[Spiny_Norman]

I think the re-kick was called because of encroachment by one of the other players inside the penalty box before the Brazilian player struck the ball.  At least the replay showed that was also a possibility.  Solo then received a yellow card for arguing.

BTW, the played who received the red card was Rachel Buehler.

[yvonne]

Eat THAT, ref!

Pure guts!

[yvonne]

Eat THAT, ref!

Pure guts!

[yvonne]

Who was the player who was down for like four minutes and then miraculously sprinted to life?

Also, Marta's goal was nice, but the wing was clearly offside right before it.

[yvonne]

Who was the player who was down for like four minutes and then miraculously sprinted to life?

Also, Marta's goal was nice, but the wing was clearly offside right before it.

[Canalejas]

It was Erika who miraculously recovered once the stretcher crossed outside the field of play.

What made the missed offside call so much worse was that several offside calls were made during the match that really shouldn't have been.  So this officiating crew was favoring the defense on even calls and then completely missed a Brazilian player off by 2 steps?

[Canalejas]

It was Erika who miraculously recovered once the stretcher crossed outside the field of play.

What made the missed offside call so much worse was that several offside calls were made during the match that really shouldn't have been.  So this officiating crew was favoring the defense on even calls and then completely missed a Brazilian player off by 2 steps?

[washingtonismoney]

What?  The whole team staged an industrial action for an enforced tea break at 2:30 in the afternoon?

No, England in soccer is famed for their aversion to anything but the most obvious knock-the-door-down tactics. Of course, England being soccer's Notre Dame, it never works ou tfor them.

Wonderful stuff from the U.S., though.

[washingtonismoney]

What?  The whole team staged an industrial action for an enforced tea break at 2:30 in the afternoon?

No, England in soccer is famed for their aversion to anything but the most obvious knock-the-door-down tactics. Of course, England being soccer's Notre Dame, it never works ou tfor them.

Wonderful stuff from the U.S., though.

[yvonne]

As one who is a fan of "soccer's University of South Bend," I'd say that England is known for losing penalty kicks in international competition.

[yvonne]

As one who is a fan of "soccer's University of South Bend," I'd say that England is known for losing penalty kicks in international competition.

[Griffins78]

You must all be celebrating like I did and forgot to post the goal at 122 minute mark in overtime with just 1 minute of stoppage time left in the match, down 1-2 after having survived almost an hour a man down with only 10 players the USA Women scored on a header by Abby Wombach that sent the match into penalty kicks and then Hope Solo blocked a kick by Brazil and the American PKs were strong and true and we WON to move onto the semifinal against France in the best match many of us have ever seen - men or women.

As Stanford great, and World Cup announcer, Julie Foudy said, "Unbelievable!"

[Griffins78]

You must all be celebrating like I did and forgot to post the goal at 122 minute mark in overtime with just 1 minute of stoppage time left in the match, down 1-2 after having survived almost an hour a man down with only 10 players the USA Women scored on a header by Abby Wombach that sent the match into penalty kicks and then Hope Solo blocked a kick by Brazil and the American PKs were strong and true and we WON to move onto the semifinal against France in the best match many of us have ever seen - men or women.

As Stanford great, and World Cup announcer, Julie Foudy said, "Unbelievable!"

[Redrum]

The dark underside of Brazil's women's soccer team.  Even their star, Marta,  kind of admits they hadn't prepared well. 

Liked this turn of phrase:  "With the cumbersome Wambach trundling round like a siege tower, the Brazilians were more than able to snuff out any threat and began to control the game."   

Note that the siege tower scored the last second header goal, a move a shorter player probably couldn't have.

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/...er-bennett

[Redrum]

The dark underside of Brazil's women's soccer team.  Even their star, Marta,  kind of admits they hadn't prepared well. 

Liked this turn of phrase:  "With the cumbersome Wambach trundling round like a siege tower, the Brazilians were more than able to snuff out any threat and began to control the game."   

Note that the siege tower scored the last second header goal, a move a shorter player probably couldn't have.

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/...er-bennett

[Leftcoast]

That was a great game - One of the most EXCITNG soccer games I've seen.  However,  I won't call it one of the BEST I've seen. 

The excitement was preceded, and I would say the result of,  very poor officiating for soccer's highest stage.  I noticed that all of the officials are women in this year's cup.  I'm going to be politically incorrect and suggest it would be much better if the WC chose the best and most experienced officials in the future - whether they are men or women.  Poorly officiated games may be exciting but their not good for the sport.  These officials were not up to the task and were often out of position to make the correct calls.    Surely better options were available if you widened the candidate pool to both men and women.

It's interesting how the US team play got stronger in the later stages of the game despite being outnumbered by Brazil.  I believe the US had a conditioning advantage and the superior endurance of the US team showed in the late 2nd half and the OT period.  Through much of this section the game was not played like an uneven numbers match and the US was able to attack and defend aggressively while the Brazilians looked passive and winded.

I missed the final goal due to a family commitment but celebrated loudly, if a bit late, when I heard the news on the radio.


(Edit:  7/11:  I see I'm not the only one wondering about the selection pool available for women WC refs.  Here's a link to an article covering this topic in a German newspaper. )

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15226198,00.html 

[Leftcoast]

That was a great game - One of the most EXCITNG soccer games I've seen.  However,  I won't call it one of the BEST I've seen. 

The excitement was preceded, and I would say the result of,  very poor officiating for soccer's highest stage.  I noticed that all of the officials are women in this year's cup.  I'm going to be politically incorrect and suggest it would be much better if the WC chose the best and most experienced officials in the future - whether they are men or women.  Poorly officiated games may be exciting but their not good for the sport.  These officials were not up to the task and were often out of position to make the correct calls.    Surely better options were available if you widened the candidate pool to both men and women.

It's interesting how the US team play got stronger in the later stages of the game despite being outnumbered by Brazil.  I believe the US had a conditioning advantage and the superior endurance of the US team showed in the late 2nd half and the OT period.  Through much of this section the game was not played like an uneven numbers match and the US was able to attack and defend aggressively while the Brazilians looked passive and winded.

I missed the final goal due to a family commitment but celebrated loudly, if a bit late, when I heard the news on the radio.


(Edit:  7/11:  I see I'm not the only one wondering about the selection pool available for women WC refs.  Here's a link to an article covering this topic in a German newspaper. )

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15226198,00.html