U.S. women a tale of two teams
Does opening tie show resilience or fragility of squad?
You can wonder how fragile the U.S. can be when they lose a key player for several minutes.
And you can admire how resilient the team can be, equalizing when they are not at the top of their game.
Heather O'Reilly's 69th-minute goal equalized for the U.S. and saved them from an embarrassing fate in the Group B opener before a Korean-partisan, rain-soaked crowd of 35,100 at Chengdu Sports Center Stadium in Chengdu, China Tuesday night.
"Anytime you expect or hope to win a game, and you come out with a draw, you are a little disappointed," said striker Abby Wambach, who scored the USA's first goal. "Winning is the only thing."
Indeed, especially for the U.S. in the first round of the Women's World Cup. They have never been beaten in the opening round, forging an 11-0-2 mark over five cups. Their only other blemish was a 3-3 tie with China in Sweden in 1995.
In many respects, it was quite fitting that O'Reilly scored the tying goal. After all, she was denied an opportunity to play in 2003 because of a broken leg suffered several months prior to the event. O'Reilly's other big goal was the game-winner in the 2-1 victory against Germany in the 2004 Olympic semifinals en route to the gold medal.
"It is a pretty great feeling," she said of her 12th international goal. "Pretty awesome. This is every kid's dream. Surprisingly, though, I really went out there with calmness. I think I felt most nervous during the national anthems. ... In the end, it is just soccer."
Midfielder Lori Chalupny dribbled about 30 yards before sending the ball to Kristine Lilly out on the left flank. Lilly sent a cross into the penalty area. A Korean defender got a foot on the ball, but couldn't clear it. O'Reilly pounced on it and fired home a nine-yard shot.
"It was critical," U.S. coach Greg Ryan said.
North Korea, probably the most mysterious women's team in the world because very little is known about the side even in these modern high-tech times, took the game to the U.S.
At times, the USA looked tentative and a step behind the never-say-slow down Koreans, who won many 50-50 balls and second balls.
"They showed up," Ryan said. "They're a great team. They're a fantastic team. I've watched them since 2003 when I was a scout. They can all play. They are quick, skillful, and they can run all day. Fantastic team. Look for them down the road."
The Koreans also shot from all over the place, obviously realizing that a slippery ball could be an adventure for a goalkeeper.
And it turned out it was -- for both sides.
Despite being on their heels for good chunks of the game, the U.S. managed to grab the lead on Wambach's 78th international goal in the 50th minute. Team captain Kristine Lilly found Wambach, whose 12-yard blast beat goalkeeper Jon Myong Hui. Jon allowed the ball to slip through her gloves.
"I thought that was going to be the changing point of the game," Wambach said. "It was so back-and-forth. North Korea is such a great team that getting one goal is great. ... I felt like this was going to be the point where we start taking advantage of the game."
It wasn't meant to be.
A bleeding Wambach was forced from the game in the 57th minute after opening up a cut on her head after colliding with Ri Kum Suk for an air ball in front of the U.S. goal.
That forced the U.S. to play a woman down and it seemed the entire team became unraveled with its leading goal-scorer and vocal leader. The Koreans took advantage of what appeared to be rare disorganization and a rare confidence drop by the Americans.
Solo shrugged off the blunder. "It's a day in the life of a goalkeeper," she said. "The conditions are slick and it is wet out there, but it happens."
Korea took the lead as it took advantage of confusion by the defense in the penalty area. A shot from the top of the box was blocked by Shannon Boxx. The ball wasn't cleared and Kim Yong Ae tucked it in from eight yards in the 62nd minute.
Three minutes later Wambach returned, helping to restore the U.S.'s right frame of mind.
"I had to hurry up the process and yell at the doctors to get it done quicker," Wambach said. "I was in the locker room getting stitched, so I didn't see the second goal. I heard it, and was screaming what happened, what happened. . . . I cursed some bad words and hurried up and got my jersey on and ran as fast I could to the midfield stripe to get back on."
The U.S. was revived and while Wambach didn't play a direct role in the equalizer, O'Reilly was allowed to play hero once again.
The Americans managed to hold off the plucky Koreans as Solo was forced to make two key saves en route to an eight-save performance -- in stoppage time, including knocking away a long-range attempt three minutes into added time.
Ryan said he spoke to Solo immediately afterwards about the first goal.
He said he told her: "'Hey, Hope. No problem. Don't worry about it.'
"She saves us a lot. You saw her save us there at the end of the game with that great save. It was our turn to save her and that's the kind of team we are."
Next on tap for the U.S. is Sweden in Chengdu on Friday (ESPN, 5 a.m. ET). It is an obvious must-win game. With all four teams in the group with one point apiece -- Nigeria overcame a one-goal deficit to record a 1-1 draw -- it is vital the USA gets three points from the Swedes.
If not, the U.S. could wind up in the enviable and unusual position of trying to stay alive instead of having legitimate visions of a third world championship.
Michael Lewis covers soccer for the New York Daily News and is editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He can be reached at SoccerWriter516@aol.com. Views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
