Quarter Volley

I’ve been all about leg 2 of DC United/Harbour View FC of late, but there has been other soccer to note.

Algarve Cup Final: US WNT 2 - 1 Denmark
Carli Lloyd’s 14th minute goal was answered by Denmark’s Catherine Sorenson on 30′. Both goals were the first allowed by either defense to that point in the tournament. Abby Wambach scored on 49′ to give the US the win, it’s 6th in the Algarve Cup Final since 2000.

Highlights of all the matches can be found here.

Olympic Qualifying: US 1 - 0 Honduras
The worries over the 1-1 draw v. Cuba as pertains to the US getting to the next round have obviously subsided. The win over Honduras meant that the US won their group, and they will now play Canada on Thursday night in Nashville with a spot in the Beijing Olympics on the line (FSC, time TBA).

The lone goal in the Honduras match came courtesy of an Eddie Gaven penalty kick. That makes two consecutive games in which the US has had their only goal come by PK. Throw that in with the flukey Adu cross/goal that was scored in the Cuba match, and the US looks like it has some serious trouble in the scoring department with just 3 total goals in as many matches. Hopefully they find enough to beat Canada on Thursday.

There’s soccer next to, in front of, and behind us this week. So, with that in mind…

Examining (yesterday):
A 0-0 halftime score turned into a 4-0 victory for the US WNT over Norway. Natasha Kai, Abby Wambach, Heather O’Reilly, and Amy Rodriguez tallied goals as the US booked a place in the finals against Denmark on Wednesday the 12th.

It’s been tough to follow these matches on matchtracker, not just because I can’t really tell how the game is going, but also because matchtracker can go out and leave me in a lurch (see: match against Italy). Under other circumstances I’d have more to write, but sadly I just haven’t the resources. Give me a live online video feed or something!

Experiencing (tonight):
At 8:00pm EST the US U-23s kickoff against Cuba from Tampa, FL to begin their CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying journey. The game is going to be shown live on FSC. Anything less than a comfortable victory would be disappointing, I think.

Expecting (tomorrow):
DC United. Harbour View. I’ve said my piece. If I had the wings of an eagle, if I had the ass of a crow, I’d fly over Kingston tomorrow…

8:45am - I’ve made the decision to live blog the second Algarve Cup group match for the US against Italy by way of ussoccer.com’s matchtracker. In their first match, Italy were beaten 4-2 by Norway. We now switch to match time.

1:00 - We’re underway and the Italians get a quick shot on goal that’s saved and cleared by the US defense.

3:00 - But the US answers back and earns 2 consecutive corner kicks but can get off no shots.

5:00 - 5 minutes in and we have our first booking. Italy’s Patrizia Panico sees yellow for a foul on Lori Chalupny.

6:00 - US lineup: Hope Solo (GK), Christie Rampone, Stephanie Cox (Lopez), Kate Markgraf, Chalupny, Lindsay Tarpley, Shannon Boxx, Carli Lloyd, Heather O’Reilly, Lauren Cheney, Abby Wambach

7:00 - That’s a 3-5-2 according to the matchtracker, with O’Reilly playing a midfield role.

8:00 - 1-0 US. Lindsay Tarpley gets her 2nd goal of the tournament. This one is assisted by Lauren Cheney.

12:00 - The stretcher’s out for a downed Italian player. Insert World Cup 2006 joke here.

15:00 - Panico puts one in the net for Italy but she’s called offside. That’s the third offside for Italy in the opening 15 minutes.

17:00 - The Italian defense is its own worst enemy. They pass it back to their keeper off of a Solo goal kick, and the keeper shanks it for a corner. Allow me to repeat, she shanks it for a corner. I couldn’t do that if I tried. Lloyd’s corner grazes Wambach’s head and is out for a throw.

20:00 - Wambach shoots just over the bar.

22:00 - Boxx and Lloyd stand over a free kick from 28 yards. There’s no question who should be taking this.

22:00 - Indeed it’s Lloyd, who sends it wide right.

25:00 - A Wambach chip into the area goes wanting.

27:00 - The US have as many corner kicks (3) as Italy have offsides. I don’t know why I feel that is interesting.

28:00 - Shannon Boxx is whistled for a foul. “Boxx accidentally hits a player in the face” says matchtracker. I’m presuming it’s an Italian, but who knows.

32:00 - Italy send in a cross on a free kick but Solo comes and collects.

38:00 - The most dangerous Italian on the pitch appears to be midfielder Melania Gabbiadini. She evidently has been making dangerous runs for much of this match. It’s a good thing nothing has come of them to this point.

40:00 - Italy’s Tatiana Zorri shoots wide right from 35 yards

44:00 - Another Lloyd corner, and this time Italy clears it away.

45:00+ - Lloyd shoots high from 22 yards.

45:00 - Three minutes of stoppage bring us to halftime.

Half - Here are the stats. US on the left. The quality isn’t great, but I blame it on the copy/paste.

46:00 - Three halftime subs: Cat Whitehill for Markgraf, Tobin Heath for Tarpley, Leslie Osborne for Lloyd.

47:00 - I don’t like the Lloyd move, since she’s dangerous on set pieces and it’s only a one goal lead. Tobin Heath should bring some attacking flair though.

53:00 - With Lloyd out, O’Reilly takes a corner. It’s cleared away.

56:00 - Matchtracker keeps referencing how physical this match has been, this time saying that the “tackles are still flying in on both sides.” Gee. I wish I could, yanno, see it.

59:00 - A Boxx shot follows a Gabbiadini shot on goal.

60:00 - Rachel Buehler on for Chalupny.

61:00 - Whitehill runs over Italian goalkeeper Chiara Marchitelli on a corner kick. She’s fine.

64:00 - It’s tough to glean much from words on a screen about a match, but I would feel a lot more comfortable if the US would get one more.

65:00 - Whitehill almost grants me my wish, shooting low and toward the left corner, drawing a sliding kick save out of Marchitelli. A sliding kick save? How and why?

66:00 - Cheney, mostly quiet since assisting on the goal, shoots into the side netting outside the goal.

Matchtracker’s frozen me out. Trying to get it back.

Annnnd nevermind. A 74th minute strike by Heather O’Reilly gave the US a 2-0 lead which they would hold for a 2-0 victory. The US dominated the 2nd half statistically, outshooting Itally 12 to 1.

The US lead their group for the time being on 6 points, but the Norway/China result has not yet been posted and Norway already have 3 points.

The US WNT is in Portugal at the Algarve Cup. Their first match of 3 group matches was today against China, and through Lindsay Tarpley, juggler extraordinaire Tobin Heath, Abby Wambach, and Carli Lloyd, the US were victorious 4-0. Naturally games are not being shown live, but they can be followed via the ussoccer.com match tracker. The remaining group matches are Friday March 7 against Italy (8:45am EST), and Monday Match 10 against Norway (10:00am EST).

As you can see I’ve been behind in my writing, but I am getting myself back up to speed. My own soccer, and soccer of the professional variety will be taking over my life again very soon.