[ColoradoTree]

WSoc is out of the running for gold. One penalty kick early in the game got past backup goalie. That's all she wrote. 1-0 Canada. Bronze game on Thursday.

Actually in the 74th minute and the backup GK went the right way but the penalty was perfect, no GK in the world would have stopped it. Unfortunately the foul was committed by Tierna Davidson.

I thought O'Hara was one of the few bright spots of an otherwise frantically sloppy first half, consistently getting forward and passing to a midfielder who would promptly lose possession. 

When Press came into the game, she tried a novel approach to soccer called "shooting the ball," which the team hadn't really been trying to that point. Problem was that she wasn't getting the opportunity for really good shots. 

The midfield play was just abysmal. The forwards didn't do much of anything in the first half, but they also almost never had the ball, so it's hard to blame them too much, but they seemed to lose possession quickly the few times they did get it. I have no problem with how our defense played in the first half--quickly snuffed out any challenges and O'Hara and Dunn did a good job moving forward. Davidson had done a nice job, which is why that foul that led to the penalty is so harsh. 

Naeher was fine before she got hurt. Having Franch in her place didn't cost us a bit. Like DC noted, it was an absolutely perfect penalty, Franch dove the right way and covered a good deal of ground, but no keeper can stop a perfectly placed penalty. Other than that, Canada didn't have any good chances the entire time Franch was in, so you can't say her presence contributed to the loss. 

Losing 1-0 on that penalty (technically correct but really dubious) feels harsh because Canada certainly didn't do anything to win the game and was in no sense the better team. But it's not like the USWNT deserved to go through, either. We didn't have great chances or sustained periods of possession. Canada played a very CONCACAF game--defense-first, aggressively physical, stay organized and attack passing lanes in the defensive third, content to attack on counters rather than build possession themselves. (Except for the latter part of the first half, when Canada seemed on the front foot a little more.) We were the better team, on balance. But by no means were we good. 

Sigh. Onto the Bronze medal match....

[ColoradoTree]

WSoc is out of the running for gold. One penalty kick early in the game got past backup goalie. That's all she wrote. 1-0 Canada. Bronze game on Thursday.

Actually in the 74th minute and the backup GK went the right way but the penalty was perfect, no GK in the world would have stopped it. Unfortunately the foul was committed by Tierna Davidson.

I thought O'Hara was one of the few bright spots of an otherwise frantically sloppy first half, consistently getting forward and passing to a midfielder who would promptly lose possession. 

When Press came into the game, she tried a novel approach to soccer called "shooting the ball," which the team hadn't really been trying to that point. Problem was that she wasn't getting the opportunity for really good shots. 

The midfield play was just abysmal. The forwards didn't do much of anything in the first half, but they also almost never had the ball, so it's hard to blame them too much, but they seemed to lose possession quickly the few times they did get it. I have no problem with how our defense played in the first half--quickly snuffed out any challenges and O'Hara and Dunn did a good job moving forward. Davidson had done a nice job, which is why that foul that led to the penalty is so harsh. 

Naeher was fine before she got hurt. Having Franch in her place didn't cost us a bit. Like DC noted, it was an absolutely perfect penalty, Franch dove the right way and covered a good deal of ground, but no keeper can stop a perfectly placed penalty. Other than that, Canada didn't have any good chances the entire time Franch was in, so you can't say her presence contributed to the loss. 

Losing 1-0 on that penalty (technically correct but really dubious) feels harsh because Canada certainly didn't do anything to win the game and was in no sense the better team. But it's not like the USWNT deserved to go through, either. We didn't have great chances or sustained periods of possession. Canada played a very CONCACAF game--defense-first, aggressively physical, stay organized and attack passing lanes in the defensive third, content to attack on counters rather than build possession themselves. (Except for the latter part of the first half, when Canada seemed on the front foot a little more.) We were the better team, on balance. But by no means were we good. 

Sigh. Onto the Bronze medal match....