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With a 1-1 draw and uneven play by both sides, last night’s match was a rather unsatisfying home return for the USWNT.

Given the team’s inspiring second place finish at the World Cup and its stale performances in preceding friendlies, it’s hard to take friendlies all that seriously anymore. Same goes for the new formation. Sundhage’s 4-2-3-1 wasn’t the same formation that France and/or Germany employed this summer. It simply looked like an attempt to get five attack-minded midfielders on the field all at the same time. It will take time to get everyone on the same page, surely more time than the team had been afforded going to this match. There should be a lot of chopping and changing ahead of London (should we qualify). This is the just the first instance of that.

Instead of evaluating the team’s performance, I’m going to take up a suggestion that Chris Henderson floated back in May. This is a ranking of the USWNT’s players by their value to the team over the past 12 months and their general indispensability ahead of Olympics qualifying. If player X was to miss a match, how effectively can she be replaced? World Cup performances are given extra weight, as was last night’s match.

O’Reilly - A constant workhorse and a constant creative force down the right flank. Even though she tends to be more effective in first halves (like last night), O’Reilly promises consistency. The U.S.’ attack lacks an extra dimension without her.

Krieger - Next to O’Reilly and a motivated Heath, Krieger was the sharpest player on the pitch. Her emergence has been remarkable. Perhaps it was the comforts of being home away from home, but she had a famously solid World Cup (even though she was very much part of the defensive breakdown that led to Japan’s first equalizer in the final). She hardly missed a beat last night. Her probing runs and crosses from the right flank have become a real threat for the USWNT.

Wambach - Everyone was clearly still adjusting to the new system last night, which wasn’t very helpful to Wambach. She didn’t have a lot of crosses or passes to work with, and mishandled HAO’s cheeky flick in the opening stages of the match. Regardless of the relative lack of service, she was still a menace, as always.

Solo - It was a rather pedestrian half for the USWNT’s goalie-cum-dancer. One key block, one poor clearance, one conceded goal (which was quite a scorching effort by Melissa Tancredi).

Rampone - The team captain missed the mark that resulted in Tancredi’s goal. It looked more like a positional error/misread than an instance of getting beaten for pace. Canada had a handful of threatening moments in the box, and Rampone looked a little tentative. Regardless, her vital performances in the World Cup will keep her on the top half of such lists for months to come.

Cheney - As the commentators said, Cheney played as more of a deep-lying midfielder than a defensive midfielder. She was much more effective when rampaging forward to join into the attack. Cheney will always threaten regardless of where she lines up on the pitch. It looks like Pia is finding ways to accommodate so many enterprising midfielders, and that might mean shunting Cheney to a deeper role.

Barnhart - The WPS playoffs (particularly the Super Semifinal match) affirms that Barnhart is a second choice no. 1 goalkeeper.

Morgan - For all her grace, composure, and positional sense, the 22-year-old is still not the finished article. Since the Algarve Cup, she’s lacked the clinical finishing touch that made her such a revelation in October 2010. Like her goal in the World Cup final and semifinal showed, she’s most dangerous with the ball at her feet in breakaways. She still lacks a lethal edge when she’s found in dangerous positions in the six-yard box.

Lloyd – Lloyd’s inability to consistently maintain possession has always been an issue, but it’s magnified by playing in an “attacking” midfield role. Lloyd is a forceful battler, not a finesse creator or a no. 10, which is why the Lloyd/Heath partnership has potential. A complementary partnership.

Rapinoe - Rapinoe looked unsettled in the hole behind Wambach, and it wasn’t surprising to see her get the hook at halftime. Now that Tobin Heath has staked a claim for a central midfield position, she’ll have to re-discover the vibrant form that made her one of the breakout stars of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Boxx - The U.S.’s midfield got turn asunder more than once last night, which makes you wonder how much the team missed Boxx’s defensive presence. She certainly has her shortcomings, but is the only defensively adept midfielder in the squad.

LePeilbet - Getting forward from a left-back position shouldn’t be a priority for LePeilbet, and she’s never going to get defensive cover with A-Rod playing out at left back. It looks like her days as a center-back are over. LePeilbet still doesn’t look like a natural outside back but she didn’t let the left flank get completely overrun last night. It is what it is.

Sauerbrunn - Sauerbrunn had a tepid start last night, particularly as Canada began the second half with renewed confidence. She imposed her authority as the half wore on, however. When she’s on point, no defender in the U.S. player pool has a more acute sense of positional awareness that Sauerbrunn does.

Heath (+) – Question from last night’s chat on FOXSoccer.com: “You think Heath can play that role with Lloyd?” My answer: “Not from a central role. Her skill set suits a wide position. Not physical enough to go toe to toe with steelier CM’s.” Okay, so we get things wrong sometimes. Thirty minutes later Heath came on as a sub and lined up alongside Carli Lloyd. And she did quite well. Heath was the surprise performer of the night. She accurately distributed clean passes from a central position and looked strong on the ball. Heath’s performance will surely give Pia more things to consider as she continues to toy with the central midfield. Possibly…fulfilling…potential…just…needs…consistency…

Buehler (-) – Buehler’s lack of pace seems like an inherent flaw that can seriously harm one’s self-confidence once it gets exposed. Buehler looks short on self-belief and sharpness, and has since the World Cup. The Boston Breakers center-back must be beginning to feel the pressure ratchet up as Sauerbrunn and Whitney Engen could soon gun for her starting spot.

Rodriguez - Experimentation. A-Rod had an okay start out on the left wing (she’s certainly got the pace for it), but forced crosses into traffic. Rodriguez suffers from Theo Walcott Sydnrome: Lots of athleticism, pace, and potential makes it difficult to drop them, but it’s frustrating to see such lack of improvement (and poor decision-making) after so many years in the fray. A-Rod’s fatal flaw is her wildly inaccurate shot. Instead of getting lost in the shuffle by retreating into a deeper role as a second striker, playing on the left wing gives her an opportunity to cut inside and beat defenders with speed. This could be Pia’s last attempt at finding A-Rod an effective position. If she doesn’t earn her keeps, A-Rod’s time with the USWNT should come to an end.

Lindsey

O’Hara

Loyden

Cox

Mitts

——–

Engen - Between Buehler’s shaky form and Rampone’s age, Engen is next in line to join the full USWNT set-up.

Klingenberg – Could be a solution at left-back or in left midfield.

Harris

Farrelly

Leroux

Snap judgment on Canada:

It’s easy to see how vital Christine Sinclair and Candace Chapman are to the side. Lest we forget about Jonelle Filigno and Josee Belanger either. Carmelina Moscato was probably Canada’s most consistent player on the night, as she helped Big Red disrupt the USWNT’s flow in midfield. John Herdman should be content with the result. The defense looked very rickety in the first half, but was much more effective in the second with closer man marking. The team played for a draw by bunkering in the second half, and succeeded. Melissa Tancredi ably converted one of Canada’s six shots on the night, and Lauren Sesselmann came close to giving Big Red the win. There’s much to do, but Herdman also has plenty of positive components to work with, too.

Miscellany:

• The U.S. has met Canada 48 times, and this was just the fourth draw and first since 2008. All four draws have ended 1-1.

• A total of 16,191 people turned out to watch the match last night. That’s a whopping 59 percent increase from the team’s domestic attendance average in 2010. Livestrong Sports Park (which looks like one hell of a facility) was 88 percent full. Most impressive, that’s the highest attendance since April 14, 2007 when 18,184 fans came out to watch the U.S. defeat Mexico 5-0 at Gillette Stadium. Can’t wait for Portland. Hopefully Timber Joey will be in town.

• If it wasn’t for the World Cup (and Wambach’s header)…16,191 Kansas City natives wouldn’t have come out to see the national team, WPS wouldn’t have had a massive surge in post-tournament attendance, Alex Morgan wouldn’t be as nationally recognized (at least not in a pop culture sense), 4,000 people wouldn’t have joined in the live chat last night (we here at AWK used to be happy with a couple hundred), and Hope Solo wouldn’t be dancing with the stars. The World Cup has changed everything.

• Abby Wambach scored her 123rd goal in a USWNT shirt. She’s now just seven goals shy of tying Kristine Lilly for second-most goals scored for the USWNT. She’s also five goals away from tying Birgit Prinz’s mark. She needs 35 more goals to tie Mia Hamm’s record of 158 international goals. Since making her debut in 2001, she’s averaged 12.3 goals a year. If she can keep that rate up for the next three years, she’ll surpass Hamm’s total. Wambach has scored six goals in 2011 and netted 16 in 2011.

• Here’s a list of various strikers’ goals-per-games rates. By this measure, former German great Heidi Mohr is the most prolific striker in women’s soccer history (who would have thunk it?). Sinclair and Wambach are neck-and-neck.

Mohr 0.79 (1986-1996)

Marta 0.9 (2002-current)*

Wambach 1.33 (2001-current)

Sinclair 1.38 (2000-current)

Akers 1.45 (1985-2000)

Grings 1.46 (1996-current)

Prinz 1.71 (1994-2011)

Hamm 1.74 (1987-2004)

Millbrett 2.04 (1991-2005)

Lilly 2.7 (1987-2010)

*Marta’s ratio is taken from her totals on her Wikipedia page, so yeah, pinch of salt.

• Heather O’Reilly earned her 150th cap on the night. The 26-year-old made her USWNT debut in 2002 and has averaged 16.6 appearances per year since. Believe it or not, she can actually tie or break Kristine Lilly’s almighty caps record. If she continues that average over the next 12 years, she’ll be on 349.2 total appearances in 2023, just three away from Lilly’s record of 352 caps. By then HAO will be 38 years old. It’s not an implausible scenario either. Lilly retired at age 39. Evergreen Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs will be 38 in November. Legendary Rangers center-back David Weir is 41. Given HAO’s short history of injuries, perhaps we should begin the “HAO for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup” campaign.

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