Support women's sports and SHARE this story with your friends!

The U.S. always plays better in the second match of two-legged friendlies. That rang true tonight as the team defeated Canada 3-0 at Jeld-Wen Field in Portland. Abby Wambach scored a brace while Alex Morgan notched the team’s final goal in the match’s dying seconds. Wambach scored three-quarters of the USWNT’s goals in the series.

Megan Rapinoe could have easily had a brace of her own in her old stomping grounds had it not been for the crossbar. Other than Rapinoe’s misfortune and Wambach’s vigorous final thirty minutes, it was a rather ho-hum match. The U.S. are still clearly working out the kinks of the new system which might help to explain the team’s lack of attacking fluidity (either that or it’s the USWNT and that’s simply how they play).

Some observations in brief:

Canada’s goalkeeper[s] looked up to the task until Wambach’s rocket shot.

John Herdman had the opportunity to evaluate his three goalkeepers over the course of these two matches. Karina LeBlanc – tonight’s starter – had a stellar first half. Between her fine saves and an obtrusive crossbar, the match remained scoreless going into halftime. Third choice goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé– back from a knee injury that saw her miss the World Cup – began the second half in impressive fashion, but it wouldn’t last long. Abby Wambach’s thunderous shot at the hour mark torpedoed Labbé’s confidence, and she never recovered.

It’s unfair to judge Canada without Christine Sinclair.

It just isn’t. John Herdman still has his work cut out for him as the team is obviously in a transitional phase. It was difficult to detect an identifiable mode of play for Canada as they played the lion’s share of these two matches on the back foot. Despite the same formation, Morace’s alluring soccer is a thing of the past. What a difference a few short months makes.

Credit the USWNT’s defense for taking some liberties.

But maybe that’s what happens when your opponents’ lone attacking force is Melissa Tancredi. The U.S. owned possession throughout much of the first half, which gave center-back Christine Rampone (who used to be an outside back) and outside back Becky Sauerbrunn (typically a center-back) license to roam up field. Stephanie Cox also looked comfortable in the attack, although in fairness, she didn’t have much defending to do on the right. Cox did a good job deputizing for Ali Krieger.

A-Rod did herself no favors.

A-Rod clearly wasn’t wedded to her starting spot on the left wing, but did little damage when she drifted to other parts of the field. It was a generally sloppy performance for the USWNT’s beleaguered forward; lots of running into traffic, misplacing passes, and conceding possession. Sundhage still hasn’t found an effective position for A-Rod, and it’s not hard to see why she would use these two games to as excuses to tinker. That being said, for all the experimentation (and a satisfactory first half last weekend), there just hasn’t been enough pay-off.

As she says, Tobin Heath turned the corner…right into Canada’s defense.

Tonight Heath couldn’t match the style with substance. It was a disappointing sight, as she seemed to excel in what was literally a more straightforward role in central midfield last weekend. The gratuitous touches and tricks did not help the team tonight.

Why was Solo subbed off in the 51st minute and not at halftime?

To get clapped off by the Pacific Northwest faithful, right?

What will become of the 4-2-3-1 now?

The jury is still out on Sundhage’s formation switch. She gave everyone a run out in these two friendlies, and it’s hard to say that any one player particularly benefitted from the new system. On one hand, fringe players made the most of their opportunities: Kelley O’Hara had a nice game tonight on the right wing and has been said, Tobin Heath had a fine performance in central midfield last Saturday. Still, there are questions to be raised. Marooning Lauren Cheney out behind the two designated attacking midfielders still beggars belief. Will Carli Lloyd (who remained on the bench tonight) and Shannon Boxx still be guaranteed starting spots when Megan Rapinoe and Cheney have shown they can do a job in those positions? Sundhage has said she hopes the new formation will allow for a more possession oriented style of play. It will need some more time and some more work. Retaining balance in midfield – a perpetual issue for the USWNT – will also be key.

Hats off to Portland.

It looked like the only person absent from Jeld-Wen Field was Timber Joey. (If Wambach had gone on to score a hat-trick and the chainsaw were in operation tonight, she’d leave PDX with a giant slab of the log with her name etched into it.) But seriously, Portland rocked tonight – as was expected.

The U.S. played before near capacity crowds in these two friendlies. It makes you wonder why the USSF chose to host November’s friendly against Sweden at the University of Phoenix Stadium and not another soccer-specific stadium. The team’s recent attendances have been phenomenal, but a 63,400 capacity venue sounds pretty cavernous. Unless the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority offered to cover the overhead costs and other expenditures, it’s an odd choice.

Support women's sports and SHARE this story with your friends!

• Soccer
• Sports
• WNT

This post is related to an event on our Calendar:

• U.S. Women vs. Canada Women

View Original Post at allwhitekit.wordpress.com

View jennaawk's Full Profile