Rio 2016: Group Stage

The 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil kicked off on Friday night. Before the opening ceremonies, the United States Women’s National Team began their tournament Wednesday in Belo Horizonte, Brazil against New Zealand. “The Gals” then squared off against number three ranked France Saturday afternoon again in Belo Horizonte and Colombia last evening in Manaus. Through three games the USA women’s soccer team had a record of 2-0-1 earning them 7 points and the top spot in their group, Group G. The first place seed sets them up for a quarterfinals match-up with former Coach Pia Sundhage and Sweden on Friday.

In the first match against New Zealand the U.S. came away with a 2-0 win. The goals came from the feet of Carli Lloyd in the 9th minute and Alex Morgan in the 46th minute. The U.S. wasn’t tested much against New Zealand, but that changed quickly when the team played France in their second Olympic Group Stage match.

The U.S. squeaked away from France with a 1-0 win. The game could have gone either way, but France failed to capitalize on multiple scoring opportunities. It also could have ended in a tie, if not for 2015 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year Carli Lloyd. Lloyd scored off a rebound of a Tobin Heath shot that was saved and hit off the post. France exposed the USWNT back line several times during the match, but U.S. Goalkeeper, Hope Solo, stepped up when needed.

In their third and final group stage match against Colombia last evening, the U.S. succeeded in winning the group but not in the way they would have liked. The game finished in a 2-2 tie with the game tying goal coming from Colombia in the 90th minute. The U.S. fell behind early in the match in the 26th minute when Colombia’s Catalina Usme sent in a free kick that slipped through the five hole of Hope Solo. The U.S. equalized in the 41st minute when Crystal Dunn cleaned up the rebound of a Carli Lloyd shot that was saved and hit off the crossbar. Then shortly into the second half Mallory Pugh beat out several Colombia defenders and kicked the ball through the Colombia defense to the back netting. Her goal came in the 60th minute and put the U.S. up 2-1. Then right before the game went to stoppage time, Catalina Usme again sent in a beautiful free kick from the right side that beat Hope Solo far post. The USWNT failed to hold on for the win and Usme’s brace gave Colombia their first tie against the U.S. after losing their previous 5 meetings. The goals for Dunn and Pugh marked their first ever major tournament goals for the senior national team since both are making their Olympic debuts this summer.

In my opinion, the USWNT is not playing their best soccer. They’re not taking advantage of their scoring chances and their defense doesn’t seem as strong as it was last summer in Canada at the World Cup. Fortunately being as good as they are, they were able to pull out of the group stage with a number one seed. The medal round will be a whole different animal though. If they make it past Sweden on Friday and Brazil beats Australia, the stage will be set for a semi-final between the top ranked team in the world and the host nation. The culture behind the USWNT is a winning mentality. The ladies in the red, white, and blue are going to give it their all to try to win gold for their country. They just need to start peaking to make it a little easier on themselves.

Of note from the group stage, Julie Johnston’s been out with a slight groin injury. Whitney Engen filled in at center back the past two matches. Pugh also took a knock in the first match that kept her out of the France contest. Morgan Brian has seen limited action due to a prior injury. She only played some of the first three matches. Lastly and finally, Megan Rapinoe made her return from being out due to an ACL tear that happened in December. As you can tell, the U.S. has some injury concerns to be aware of going forward too. Hopefully they’ll be able to manage, improve, and secure their third straight Olympic gold.

FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015: USA v. COL

Last evening at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, AB the first match of the Knockout Stage for the USWNT in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup took place. The U.S.A. came away with a 2-0 victory against Colombia allowing them to move on to the quarterfinals on Friday night in Ottawa, ON. As heavy favorites to hoist the trophy at the end of the tournament, it was expected that the #2 FIFA ranked American women would have a dominant all-around performance against the #28 ranked Colombian women, just as fellow favorites (#1 ranked) Germany and (#4 ranked) France did against their opponents the previous day. Although the team did manage to keep a clean slate and put up two goals of their own, their performance was less than convincing compared to the other international powerhouses.

Head coach Jill Ellis stuck with the same lineup as featured in the Nigeria match, opting to switch sides for midfielders Tobin Heath and Megan Rapinoe (Heath switched from left to right and Rapinoe from right to left). In the first half, the U.S. attack started a bit stronger than in previous matches as they managed to get a few scoring opportunities early. In the 4th minute Heath sent in a shot from about 8 yards out that was tipped away by Colombia’s goalkeeper, Catalina Perez. The rebound was knocked in the net by Abby Wambach, who was called offside shortly after which disallowed the apparent U.S. goal. As the half went on, frustration set in for the Americans. Colombia seemed to take charge at times possessing the ball to try to gain opportunities. Also, the U.S. attack seemed to dwindle. At half time, the teams entered the locker rooms in 0-0 deadlock with an energy that seemed to favor Colombia.

The momentum switched shortly after the second half began though. In the 47th minute a through ball made it’s way to the feet of a sprinting Alex Morgan who was in the clear for a sure goal scoring opportunity. As she reached the top of the 18, Colombia’s Perez made a tackle that took Morgan down causing the referee to hand out a red card to the keeper and award the U.S. with a penalty kick for the take down in the box. Although the U.S. failed to score on the penalty (Wambach’s shot went wide), the red card which caused Perez to be removed from play took a toll on the game. Six minutes later the USWNT made their first dent on the scoreboard when Ali Krieger found Morgan just outside the right of the box. Morgan made a few touches to get inside and took a shot that deflected in off new goalkeeper, Stefany Castaño, near post. Later, in the 66th minute, Rapinoe was fouled inside the box and another penalty kick was awarded to the U.S. This time Carli Lloyd took the shot and converted putting the USWNT up 2-0. From there the game was controlled by the U.S.A. Colombia seemed to lose their flow that they had during the first half and the Americans came away with the win.

Of note, Rapinoe and center midfielder Lauren Holiday will be unavailable for the USWNT’s next match on Friday as both received their second yellow cards in the tournament thus far. It’s funny how that worked out considering Rapinoe and Holiday were the only two players on the team to receive yellow cards in previous matches. Also of note, the strong defensive effort by the U.S. back line continued through this match as they limited Colombia to only 2 shots on goal. The USWNT’s defense has consistently proved through four of the possible seven games in this tournament that it is the strongest aspect of their team’s play. The same cannot be said for the offense, which has been inconsistent since the beginning of this year.

Through the first four World Cup matches the USWNT has scored only 6 goals, the least amount ever to be scored through four games by a U.S. team in Women’s World Cup competition. Granted, the competition has gotten a lot tougher through the years, but the U.S. women’s soccer program is expected to be the best in the world. Their success at the international level has proved it. It’s time to stop making excuses and start providing the dangerous attack that we know so well from the USWNT. I have heard since the start of this World Cup year about how the U.S. needs to “peak at the right time”. I’ve talked about it on this blog. I’ve been expecting it each match. But right now, we’re three games from the World Cup Final and I have yet to see these talented soccer players reach or even be near that level they keep referencing. I guess frustration has set in for me. It’s because I believe in this team so much and I know what they’re capable of. I also think I just enjoy seeing them create opportunities and score goals. It makes matches so much more exciting to watch. I feel like that dominance hasn’t been a part of their games recently and I miss it. One thing is for sure though. Friday is a new opportunity. To win this tournament, each game needs to be taken one at a time. It’s win and move on. Lose and go home. So far, the USWNT has done the former. I guess that’s all that really matters and only time will tell what happens next on this World Cup journey.