USA 1 Japan 0

The only goal of the game was off a nice overlapping combination with Tarpley and Cox on the sideline.

Cox ran into the corner and cracked a nice centering pass to the top of the box which Carly Lloyd put away with a blast.

The team still looked a bit ragged, but at least they passed. AROD looked very dangerous several time with her speed, but couldn't finish anything.


must sleep....

Was that an assist for Steph?

(Sure I could look it up, but that would cut into my posting time!)

Challenge for you experts:

Is Pia doing basically the same thing as Greg Ryan in having the back and mids kick long balls to the front in the hopes that the offensive attackers wack it in?

Did she set up her team with that in mind when Abby was healthy, and now it's kinda late to change horses in the middle of the proverbial stream?

Appreciate your responses.

FANatic wrote:Was that an assist for Steph?

(Sure I could look it up, but that would cut into my posting time!)

I didn't look it up either, but it's probably not an assist - too many part-touches before Lloyd got her shot off.
It doesn't matter. It was one of the few well set up plays of the match.

I'm sure Pia built the team around Abby. She had a lot to do, and I don't think there was all that much time to do much else. with the loss of Whitehill, Osborne, Lilly, etc, I think all she could do was try and teach this group how to play a bit smarter soccer. So far the results are pretty mixed.I don't think she could have replaced too many other players. Some of those ar obviously past their peaks, but to replace them all would have been too disruptive.

After the games is a different story. She can thank the vets and send them on their way, then spend 3 years teaching a new, and hopefully smarter, bunch. There are some pretty good players waiting in the wings.

There are several players 31-32 who won't be around next time.

I agree Geezer, that 2012 team could be exceptional and not just because there should be several Pilots on the team.

Thanks guys. Appreciate your thoughts.

Agree geezer, Pia was kind of boxed in there. The proof in the pudding, (where the heck did that saying come from, anyway?), should become clear as the next few years pass.

We'll see then what kind of coach Pia really is.

FANatic wrote: The proof in the pudding, (where the heck did that saying come from, anyway?),

Any Spanish major out to be able to tell you that one. the phrase dates back to at least 1615 when Miguel de Cervantes published Don Quixote. In this comic novel, the phrase is stated as, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating ". (or tasting)

It's a play on words in spanish. "Proof" is also yeast. and the pudding was spiked in the tale.

400 years later, the phrase has lost words and meaning.

Geezer - this article seems to back you up 100%:

WorldWideWords

Stephanie did get an assist. I thought she would, as from my view no one hit the ball before it got to Lloyd. Rodrigues tried to head it but couldn't get to it.

WooHoo!!! Great news that Steph got the assist, in the only goal of the game. Hope Pia and her assistants took note of how she set up the goal with a run down the sideline, then sending the ball into the middle for one ot the attackers to put in the back of the net.

Pure Pilots 101! (Yes, I realize Pia is aware of the various styles of attacking the opposition. I'm just pumped Steph set it up as we've seen her do so many times on the Bluff!)