[BostonCard]

So, as always, beat Sweden and options start opening up for roster flexibility. Heck, the group could be won if we're on 6 points after the first two matches and we get some helpful results in the other matches. If Australia-New Zealand ends as a draw on the first day and the same happens for Sweden-Australia on the second day? We've already won the group even before the third match is played, so rostering decisions get easier at that point. 

So, about that... I almost wonder if we might want to mix the roster up a bit because we sucked.

BC

[BostonCard]

So, as always, beat Sweden and options start opening up for roster flexibility. Heck, the group could be won if we're on 6 points after the first two matches and we get some helpful results in the other matches. If Australia-New Zealand ends as a draw on the first day and the same happens for Sweden-Australia on the second day? We've already won the group even before the third match is played, so rostering decisions get easier at that point. 

So, about that... I almost wonder if we might want to mix the roster up a bit because we sucked.

BC

[ColoradoTree]

So, as always, beat Sweden and options start opening up for roster flexibility. Heck, the group could be won if we're on 6 points after the first two matches and we get some helpful results in the other matches. If Australia-New Zealand ends as a draw on the first day and the same happens for Sweden-Australia on the second day? We've already won the group even before the third match is played, so rostering decisions get easier at that point. 

So, about that... I almost wonder if we might want to mix the roster up a bit because we sucked.

BC

It's the same players that had been lights out for two years now, but absolutely--something needs to change. Whether it's a roster reshuffle or this flat performance is enough to wake folks up, I don't know, but the position group that's been the absolute best in the world and the toughest to crack in terms of making this roster--our midfield--was all of a sudden our weakest point. Sweden had no trouble slicing through us. 

Now we need two wins just to guarantee advancement through the group stage, and we're in line for a harder quarterfinal. I figured we'd get #10 Japan if we won the group, but finishing second would give us the Group F winner, so that'll be either #3 Netherlands or #7 Brazil. 

In some ways, that doesn't matter for a team where anything less than Gold is a failure. You gotta beat the best teams at some point, so the order in which you beat them is somewhat irrelevant. 

New Zealand is gonna face an angry and motivated USWNT. Sorry in advance, Ferns.

[ColoradoTree]

So, as always, beat Sweden and options start opening up for roster flexibility. Heck, the group could be won if we're on 6 points after the first two matches and we get some helpful results in the other matches. If Australia-New Zealand ends as a draw on the first day and the same happens for Sweden-Australia on the second day? We've already won the group even before the third match is played, so rostering decisions get easier at that point. 

So, about that... I almost wonder if we might want to mix the roster up a bit because we sucked.

BC

It's the same players that had been lights out for two years now, but absolutely--something needs to change. Whether it's a roster reshuffle or this flat performance is enough to wake folks up, I don't know, but the position group that's been the absolute best in the world and the toughest to crack in terms of making this roster--our midfield--was all of a sudden our weakest point. Sweden had no trouble slicing through us. 

Now we need two wins just to guarantee advancement through the group stage, and we're in line for a harder quarterfinal. I figured we'd get #10 Japan if we won the group, but finishing second would give us the Group F winner, so that'll be either #3 Netherlands or #7 Brazil. 

In some ways, that doesn't matter for a team where anything less than Gold is a failure. You gotta beat the best teams at some point, so the order in which you beat them is somewhat irrelevant. 

New Zealand is gonna face an angry and motivated USWNT. Sorry in advance, Ferns.

[82lsju]

roster from gostanford

https://gostanford.com/feature/tokyo2020...erpd_oly__

[82lsju]

roster from gostanford

https://gostanford.com/feature/tokyo2020...erpd_oly__

[teejers1]

New Zealand is gonna face an angry and motivated USWNT. Sorry in advance, Ferns.

Damn, didn't your pre-R1 woofing instill any humility in you?  

I suspect USA will win, but by all accounts, the a$$-whooping Sweden delivered was to a slow, not physically strong, and confused, USA team.  Slow, weak, and confused is no way to win a soccer match.

Didn't see match, but it sounds like the team could really have used a healthy Ertz (which asset is Not Available these days).

Any chance Macario gets a look?

[teejers1]

New Zealand is gonna face an angry and motivated USWNT. Sorry in advance, Ferns.

Damn, didn't your pre-R1 woofing instill any humility in you?  

I suspect USA will win, but by all accounts, the a$$-whooping Sweden delivered was to a slow, not physically strong, and confused, USA team.  Slow, weak, and confused is no way to win a soccer match.

Didn't see match, but it sounds like the team could really have used a healthy Ertz (which asset is Not Available these days).

Any chance Macario gets a look?

[BigEasyCard]

Women's rowing

Veronica Toro Arana (Puerto Rico)

Nice article about her journey to represent Puerto Rico:

How a Stanford med student became Puerto Rico's first female rower in Tokyo Olympics (msn.com)

Geaux Cardinal!

[BigEasyCard]

Women's rowing

Veronica Toro Arana (Puerto Rico)

Nice article about her journey to represent Puerto Rico:

How a Stanford med student became Puerto Rico's first female rower in Tokyo Olympics (msn.com)

Geaux Cardinal!

[fullmetal]

In rowing: 

Alie Rusher and the US women's quadruple scull sandbagged their heat and will race in the repechage for one of two qualifying spots on Saturday, two days from now.

Veronica Toro Arana (Puerto Rico) finished third in her single sculls heat and has advanced to the Sunday quarterfinals three days from now (seedings tbd).

[fullmetal]

In rowing: 

Alie Rusher and the US women's quadruple scull sandbagged their heat and will race in the repechage for one of two qualifying spots on Saturday, two days from now.

Veronica Toro Arana (Puerto Rico) finished third in her single sculls heat and has advanced to the Sunday quarterfinals three days from now (seedings tbd).

[ColoradoTree]

New Zealand is gonna face an angry and motivated USWNT. Sorry in advance, Ferns.

Damn, didn't your pre-R1 woofing instill any humility in you?  

I suspect USA will win, but by all accounts, the a$$-whooping Sweden delivered was to a slow, not physically strong, and confused, USA team.  Slow, weak, and confused is no way to win a soccer match.

Didn't see match, but it sounds like the team could really have used a healthy Ertz (which asset is Not Available these days).

Any chance Macario gets a look?

Hey, I don't think I was woofing--just saying that the kind of roster flexibility that would make Macario and the rest Olympians hinges on getting a win over Sweden. Sweden has long been our nemesis in major competitions and is the #5 team in the world, so I never would've said "oh man, we're totally gonna beat up on Sweden." More like "what sequence of events makes it more likely we can get everyone on a gameday roster?" 

But yeah, that was a pitiful and uninspired USWNT performance. If anyone can adapt, they can. And a jolt of energy from Macario wouldn't be the worst thing for the next roster. A roster shakeup to let everyone know their places aren't assured would be useful, too. 

This team beats New Zealand and looks great doing it. I'll go out on that limb.

[ColoradoTree]

New Zealand is gonna face an angry and motivated USWNT. Sorry in advance, Ferns.

Damn, didn't your pre-R1 woofing instill any humility in you?  

I suspect USA will win, but by all accounts, the a$$-whooping Sweden delivered was to a slow, not physically strong, and confused, USA team.  Slow, weak, and confused is no way to win a soccer match.

Didn't see match, but it sounds like the team could really have used a healthy Ertz (which asset is Not Available these days).

Any chance Macario gets a look?

Hey, I don't think I was woofing--just saying that the kind of roster flexibility that would make Macario and the rest Olympians hinges on getting a win over Sweden. Sweden has long been our nemesis in major competitions and is the #5 team in the world, so I never would've said "oh man, we're totally gonna beat up on Sweden." More like "what sequence of events makes it more likely we can get everyone on a gameday roster?" 

But yeah, that was a pitiful and uninspired USWNT performance. If anyone can adapt, they can. And a jolt of energy from Macario wouldn't be the worst thing for the next roster. A roster shakeup to let everyone know their places aren't assured would be useful, too. 

This team beats New Zealand and looks great doing it. I'll go out on that limb.

[82 Card]

Macario is on the field at 84 min.

Press was subbed in a little earlier and got a goal. Not sure if she gets credited with another goal where her cross was knocked in by NZL player.

[82 Card]

Macario is on the field at 84 min.

Press was subbed in a little earlier and got a goal. Not sure if she gets credited with another goal where her cross was knocked in by NZL player.

[82lsju]

Macario is on the field at 84 min.

Press was subbed in a little earlier and got a goal. Not sure if she gets credited with another goal where her cross was knocked in by NZL player.

final 6-1 USA

Press does not get credit for the New Zealand own goal

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/n...fwtvo35lan

[82lsju]

Macario is on the field at 84 min.

Press was subbed in a little earlier and got a goal. Not sure if she gets credited with another goal where her cross was knocked in by NZL player.

final 6-1 USA

Press does not get credit for the New Zealand own goal

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/n...fwtvo35lan

[DC 86]

Jane Campbell was the backup GK for this match, so Vlatko clearly is making an effort to ensure that all the alternates are eligible for medals. Of course now the team has to actually win a medal.

[DC 86]

Jane Campbell was the backup GK for this match, so Vlatko clearly is making an effort to ensure that all the alternates are eligible for medals. Of course now the team has to actually win a medal.

[82lsju]

I removed (alternate) from Macario and Campbell in the initial post on this thread.

[82lsju]

I removed (alternate) from Macario and Campbell in the initial post on this thread.

[ColoradoTree]

Jane Campbell was the backup GK for this match, so Vlatko clearly is making an effort to ensure that all the alternates are eligible for medals. Of course now the team has to actually win a medal.

I think some of it is workload management to keep folks fresh, too. But certainly, Campbell backing up today wasn’t about being in a better position to win, or else Vlatko would’ve had her on the original 18.

Abby Dahlkemper was again not super great, while I thought Davidson was terrific. I remain of the view that Tierna’s injury before the last World Cup cost her what was then a wide open starting spot between her and Dahlkemper, and she hasn’t been able to dislodge her since coming back. But a Sauerbrunn-Davidson pairing against Australia seems like the way to go. 

But overall, that game couldn’t have gone much better for us. Ertz was sharp. Lavelle was great. Macario did great and is now an Olympian! With Sweden beating Australia, we’re now in second place on account of a better goal differential than Australia. Beat them and we’re through in second place. Heck, a draw sees us through in second place, and even a loss almost certainly gets us through as one of the better third-place teams, given that third place in Group F is likely to have just one point. You don’t want to back into the knockout stage like that, of course, but that’s just to note that advancing at this point is nearly certain. 

If we advance in second, we will play the Group F winner (either Brazil or the Netherlands). If we advance in third, we play the Group E winner (likely Great Britain, but Canada if they beat the British on the 27th). 

With a tournament this small, there are no easy games in the knockout stage. If we’d won the group, the QF would have been against Japan. No fans means less of a home field advantage, of course, but that’s still a plenty tough out. 

Bottom line: we have to beat three good teams in the knockout stage to take Gold. If we look composed and sharp again against the Aussies, why not us? 

Brazil and the Netherlands have been scoring in droves, but they had a 3-3 draw today, so it’s not like they’re playing lockdown defense either. We can do this!

[ColoradoTree]

Jane Campbell was the backup GK for this match, so Vlatko clearly is making an effort to ensure that all the alternates are eligible for medals. Of course now the team has to actually win a medal.

I think some of it is workload management to keep folks fresh, too. But certainly, Campbell backing up today wasn’t about being in a better position to win, or else Vlatko would’ve had her on the original 18.

Abby Dahlkemper was again not super great, while I thought Davidson was terrific. I remain of the view that Tierna’s injury before the last World Cup cost her what was then a wide open starting spot between her and Dahlkemper, and she hasn’t been able to dislodge her since coming back. But a Sauerbrunn-Davidson pairing against Australia seems like the way to go. 

But overall, that game couldn’t have gone much better for us. Ertz was sharp. Lavelle was great. Macario did great and is now an Olympian! With Sweden beating Australia, we’re now in second place on account of a better goal differential than Australia. Beat them and we’re through in second place. Heck, a draw sees us through in second place, and even a loss almost certainly gets us through as one of the better third-place teams, given that third place in Group F is likely to have just one point. You don’t want to back into the knockout stage like that, of course, but that’s just to note that advancing at this point is nearly certain. 

If we advance in second, we will play the Group F winner (either Brazil or the Netherlands). If we advance in third, we play the Group E winner (likely Great Britain, but Canada if they beat the British on the 27th). 

With a tournament this small, there are no easy games in the knockout stage. If we’d won the group, the QF would have been against Japan. No fans means less of a home field advantage, of course, but that’s still a plenty tough out. 

Bottom line: we have to beat three good teams in the knockout stage to take Gold. If we look composed and sharp again against the Aussies, why not us? 

Brazil and the Netherlands have been scoring in droves, but they had a 3-3 draw today, so it’s not like they’re playing lockdown defense either. We can do this!

[DC 86]

Abby Dahlkemper was again not super great.

Very diplomatic. :)

Davidson should clearly be ahead of her, and I say that objectively, not as a biased Stanford fan.

[DC 86]

Abby Dahlkemper was again not super great.

Very diplomatic. :)

Davidson should clearly be ahead of her, and I say that objectively, not as a biased Stanford fan.

[johnbar]

Alix Klineman wins her first Olympic match with veteran partner April Ross.

[johnbar]

Alix Klineman wins her first Olympic match with veteran partner April Ross.

[BobK]

Fun match because it was close. Of course scary got the same reason

[BobK]

Fun match because it was close. Of course scary got the same reason

[Softball Fan]

Pandemic not enough adversity for you?  Typhoon Nepartak expected to hit Japan on Tuesday.

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/202...na/021000c

[Softball Fan]

Pandemic not enough adversity for you?  Typhoon Nepartak expected to hit Japan on Tuesday.

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/202...na/021000c

[82lsju]

Updated

Simone Manuel delivers Stanford's first second Olympic medal, a bronze, swimming the anchor leg in the women's 4x100m relay

Taylor Ruck swimming for Canada in the preliminaries delivered the silver medal in the relay

[82lsju]

Updated

Simone Manuel delivers Stanford's first second Olympic medal, a bronze, swimming the anchor leg in the women's 4x100m relay

Taylor Ruck swimming for Canada in the preliminaries delivered the silver medal in the relay

[BostonCard]

Simone Manuel delivers Stanford's first Olympic medal, a bronze, swimming the anchor leg in the women's 4x100m relay

I think that’s a bit of a disappointment.  I know the Australians were favorites, but I think the US was a possible challenger.

BC

[BostonCard]

Simone Manuel delivers Stanford's first Olympic medal, a bronze, swimming the anchor leg in the women's 4x100m relay

I think that’s a bit of a disappointment.  I know the Australians were favorites, but I think the US was a possible challenger.

BC

[DC 86]

Simone Manuel delivers Stanford's first Olympic medal, a bronze, swimming the anchor leg in the women's 4x100m relay

I think that’s a bit of a disappointment.  I know the Australians were favorites, but I think the US was a possible challenger.

BC

Australia was actually a massive favorite. At Pinnacle (the world's largest sportsbook) they were -1350 favorites, meaning that if you bet on Australia to win the gold you had to risk $1,350 to win $100, an implied probability of over 93%. At the beginning of the race Rowdy Gaines said that nobody could beat Australia and that the US could finish anywhere from second to fifth.

[DC 86]

Simone Manuel delivers Stanford's first Olympic medal, a bronze, swimming the anchor leg in the women's 4x100m relay

I think that’s a bit of a disappointment.  I know the Australians were favorites, but I think the US was a possible challenger.

BC

Australia was actually a massive favorite. At Pinnacle (the world's largest sportsbook) they were -1350 favorites, meaning that if you bet on Australia to win the gold you had to risk $1,350 to win $100, an implied probability of over 93%. At the beginning of the race Rowdy Gaines said that nobody could beat Australia and that the US could finish anywhere from second to fifth.

[BobK]

Regan Smith of Canada incoming Stanford with the silver

[BobK]

Regan Smith of Canada incoming Stanford with the silver