Loss to Mexico Exposes Frailties of US Soccer

November 6th, 2010

By Eric Slack

If the U.S. Women's Soccer team fails to qualify for a World Cup for the first time, the 2-1 loss in the CONCACAF World Cup qualification tournament to Mexico on November 5 won't be the defining moment. The defining moments happen every day, every weekend around the country as American players are poorly served by the pay to play youth development system.

The fact that the US lost to Mexico is only shocking to those who haven't been paying attention. Long gone are the glory days of the Michelle Akers, Mia Hamm and the 1991 and 1999 World Cup championships. The unfortunate truth is that the US soccer system isn't producing enough world class soccer players on either side of the gender divide.

Long gone are the glory days of the Michelle Akers and 1999 World Cup winning team

In the loss, the Americans displayed the same tactical ineptness that plagued the men at the 2010 World Cup, giving up the opening goal in the second minute of the game and allowing Mexico to retake the lead a minute after the US had tied the match. They couldn't put away two or three golden chances throughout the course of the game and needlessly strayed offside on a disallowed goal in second half stoppage time that would have tied the match.

Beyond that, the Mexicans were clearly the classier technical team. Former Boston Breakers head coach and current national team coach Pia Sundhage said as much after the match when she said, "Mexico made us look not so good today. They are a very technical team."

After the final triumph of the 91ers (Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain, Kristine Lilly, and Joy Fawcett) at the 2004 Olympics, it soon became clear that other countries were passing our women's soccer program on the technical and tactical levels. The US is still a threat in any competition, but only because of athleticism. Brazil is light years ahead of us technically. Germany has won the last two World Cups, and the US had to settle for third place.

Occasionally, we mask our deficiencies with fortunate victories. After a horrendous 2007 World Cup that featured a 2-2 draw with North Korea, narrow victories over Sweden and Nigeria, and a 4-0 dismantling courtesy of Brazil in the semifinals, the U.S. somehow managed to win the 2008 Olympic gold medal. They lost to Norway in the first round, snuck by Canada in the quarterfinals, and somehow beat Brazil in the final.

Perhaps a loss would have sent a message to the US Soccer Federation that the system they oversee is failing. Instead, a gold medal glossed over a program that has clearly lost the air of invincibility it once had.

The proof of our systematic failure is in the proverbial pudding, and it appears that things are going to get worse before they get better. Kristine Lilly, who turns 40 next year, is still part of the national team picture. The Connecticut native and Boston Breakers star is a legend, but it is amazing to think that she is still needed by the US squad.

The US U-20s fell in the quarterfinals to Nigeria at the U-20 World Cup over the summer, and the U-17 national team's loss to Canada in March meant the team failed to qualify for the 2010 U-17 World Cup.

Why is this happening? There are no secrets here. Priorities at the youngest ages are completely out of whack. Too many parents and coaches care more about winning than about technical development when kids are in their formative years. Many coaches also have no idea how to teach proper technique, can't correct mistakes, and are tactically naive.

Too much emphasis is placed on chasing elusive college scholarships. Youth players also don't put in enough work on their own by playing hours of unstructured pickup games and watching high level soccer on TV or in person.

There are some decent players coming up through the system, including some with New England ties. Boston College goalkeeper Jill Mastroianni and the Hanson, Mass./Scorpions SC products Kristie and Sam Mewis come to mind. But as a nation, we aren't producing the greatest women's soccer players in the world anymore.

The U.S. will probably still qualify for the 2011 World Cup, as they should be able to beat Costa Rica and Italy to qualify. As painful as it is to say, however, maybe the kick start we need is a kick in the pants by failing to qualify.