U20 World Cup

Nikki Washington was cramping up at the end of the game. If anyone has her e-mail tell her about pickle juice.

I missed the first half trying to find the station but when i finally started watching the announcer kept saying 3-0 is a harsh result for France. I think he meant that they played better than the score. Anyway wait till they meet China such gamesmanship and schenanigans you will never see the likes of, just wait.

From what I watched it all came down to the US taking advantage of opportunities and some FANTASTIC saves by Naeher. The play on the field was fairly well matched, it just all came down to finishing...

For future reference we ought to recognize Naeher is a great shot stopper. That kind of keeper needs to be beat on crosses and redirects.

So, tell me. To anyone who watched the match. How did the Pilots trio look?

Elli played 6 or 8 minutes at the end, and earned a card for her efforts. It was right after Keelin got creamed from behind with no card, and I think the ref wanted to make sure the chippyness stopped.

Michelle played the first half and had a couple of chances, but didn't finish. she did get to show her speed on a couple runs and crosses.


Keelin was Keelin, battling in the middle. Not a lot of the game was in the air this time, and that's where she wins everything.

I was encouraged that the USA actually showed it can do the short passing game, something they didn't show in Beaverton. Of course, they just did it after they got ahead. I've never understood why player will do it when they are ahead but won't when the game is even. Diccico says the short game is too dangerous, then uses it to make the other team chase.

Go figure....

Auto Pilot wrote:For future reference we ought to recognize Naeher is a great shot stopper. That kind of keeper needs to be beat on crosses and redirects.

I thought her first half was horrible. She totally missed coming out on two balls in the box, one of which would have been a goal if the French player hadn't missed from 1 foot! She also tried to play footsie with a French forward and almost lost the ball there. I would have yanked her. She didn't show anything good when under pressure.

Her second half was totally at the other end of the scale. Great stops, great reflexes. No doubt when she's good, she's very good. I wonder if she's always that erratic.

Ellie on got on for the last 6 minutes but got a questionable yellow card right off. So not much to say about her performance as she didn't have time to show.

Michelle had a couple chances in the first half that I did not see. Sydney LaRoux was subbed in for her in the second half and scored twice.

Keelin played the whole game and the announcer said she and the rest of the mids were "Tidy" players meaning that the were controlling with no mistakes. So I guess for today Keelin starred.

Geerz. . .I wonder if she's always that erratic.

Could have been nerves. I don't know how much international experience she has. Sometimes the players have to adjust to playing faster at the National Team level. Things they can get away with in college can be disasterous at this level.

Elli came in at forward when Nikki Washington got dinged. She never seemed to get in the flow of the action, part of which might have been the unfamiliarity of playing up front.

I never felt like Michelle got into a situation where she could be dangerous in the first half. The places she got the ball required more of the kind of tricky skills to escape a double-team and make the quick pass than the explosive speed and power that she is so good at. Leroux thrived in those situations where Michelle didn't, so it was probably a good substitution. (Sure looks like it in hindsight.)

Keelin was Keelin, but as was mentioned earlier the match was played mostly on the grass.

Did anyone else notice that the French coach looked a lot like Garrett Smith?

after watching the game today, it seemed to me that the pitch at estadio nelson orzayrun seems larger then normal or that of merlo field. i have searched the internet over an over to try an find the dimensions, alas i can not. help?

fozziewozzie wrote:after watching the game today, it seemed to me that the pitch at estadio nelson orzayrun seems larger then normal or that of merlo field. i have searched the internet over an over to try an find the dimensions, alas i can not. help?

I think it's about the same as Merlo, which is the official FIFA recommended size. It clearly has a larger area around the pitch. If you look at the following picture, you'll see the restraining hash mark is in about the right place for a standard pitch.




from http://www.losdiablosrojos.cl/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=898

That's the easiest way I've found to estimate the width of a field. The penalty area is 44 yards wide (18 + 18 + 8 ) and the corner-kick hash marks are each 11 yards from the touch line. That adds up to 66. It usually pretty easy to guess the distance between the hash marks and the edge of the penalty area. Multiply that by two and add 66 to get the field width. At Merlo, the marks and the box are 4.5 yards apart, so the field is 66 + 2*4.5 = 75 yards wide.

Yup, that's why I showed that picture. it shows that distance in the 4-5 yard range.

In Merlo's case, all you need is wikipedia.

ok, i'm not a math major nor have i ever been good at math. so in the most simplistic of terms, is the pitch, specifically, wider/bigger then the pitch at merlo? i know that merlo is one of the bigger pitches in college soccer. it seems to me that the u-20 pitch s wider by several yards.

Merlo is 75x120, which is the size that FIFA recommends for all international competitions, and is als te size that the NCAA prefers.

that size pitch leaves 4.5 yards between the restraining hash mark and the 18 yard box. If a field is different from that size it's really noticeable.

The field in chile is the same size as Merlo. It just has more grass around it.

Next ime you are at the CCSC, look at the turf practice field and where the restraining hash mark is. You'll see how funny it looks compared to the stadium field.

What is the purpose of the restraining hash marks?

Its so a defensive player can't go past it to get to the kicker on a corner. It just saves time so the ref doesn't have to keep pushing players back. If you are closer to the corner, you get booked. It also allows two offensive players to start a short corner without a defender within 10 yds.

The US beat Argentina 3:0 on a goal from Becky Edwards and two from Alex Morgan.

Elli played the whole game.
Keelin was banged up a bit in the first game and played only in the second half.
Michelle , still nursing the effects from getting banged up earlier in the season, also played in the second half

Next up for the USA is China. It appears the USA has secured its spot in the knockout rounds already.

They must really been beat up. I thought they were getting lots of rest during the weaning time in the second half of the season.

I think Elli has been nursing a foot issue, too. That's part of being an athlete. I don't think at this stage of the season that many players are 100%.