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Carli Lloyd set up the American's second goal with her free kick. (CHRIS ADUAMA/ aduama.com) |
In the first 45 minutes, the U.S. struggled mightily to find a rhythm against the committed Costa Ricans, who defended very well inside their own penalty box, and the Americans were not sharp on the few chances they did create.
With just one goal needed to change the game, the U.S. put together some excellent attacking soccer after the break. Heather O’Reilly, aided by halftime substitute Tobin Heath, terrorized the flanks as the U.S. pounded away at the Costa Rica goal, forcing the Ticas to drop even deeper into its own half, setting up its back line just a few steps above the penalty arc. The USA took full advantage of the stretched out field and finally broke through the mass of red jerseys in the 57th minute.
"Of course it was a great feeling when you score goals, especially the first one, because then we knew Costa Rica had to attack," said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage. "But I have to say, we have to be smarter, and I think we were smarter in the second half. They were so tight centrally, so we needed to go wide. We needed to use the flanks better and that's why we changed the system a little bit, so we had Heather O'Reilly and Tobin Heath on each side and I think that changed the game."
Heath got around the defense on the left side and cut a ball back on the ground to Kai. The U.S. forward smacked her shot hard on frame from 10 yards out, but it initially looked as if Ticas goalkeeper Priscilla Tapia had made the save. The ball had enough steam on it, though, that it slipped through her hands and rolled across the goal line into the lower right corner.
The second goal came in the 72nd minute as Carli Lloyd sent in a free kick from the left wing. Kai got her head on the ball, but sent it looping high in the air toward the goal. Tapia went up to grab the ball right on the goal line, but as she came down, fumbled it and O’Reilly stuffed it into the net from just a foot away.
Young forward Amy Rodriguez came off the bench in the 74th minute and gave the U.S. an offensive spark in the final 15 minutes. Her running created the final goal as substitute Angela Hucles played her down the right wing. Rodriguez raced around a defender and chipped a pass back to Hucles, who had continued her run, and the U.S. midfielder brought the ball down about 10 yards from the goal at the right elbow of the goal box. Hucles coolly played a square pass right into the path of Kai, who slammed her shot into the right side of the net from eight yards away to finish the scoring in the 89th minute.
Costa Rica had two good chances in the match, the first coming in the 68th minute when Amara Wilson drew a nice diving save from U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo. Two minutes from time, a well-struck Costa Rica free kick skipped into the box and bounced off Solo’s chest as she was buried underneath two Costa Rican attackers, but the U.S. was able to clear before a Tica could get a foot to the rebound.
U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT:
Scoring Summary:
USA – Natasha Kai (Tobin Heath) 57th
USA – Heather O’Reilly (Natasha Kai) 72nd
USA – Natasha Kai (Angela Hucles) 89th
Lineups:
USA: 18-Hope Solo; 14-Stephanie Cox, 3-Christie Rampone – Capt., 4-Cat Whitehill, 17-Lori Chalupny; 9-Heather O’Reilly (16-Angela Hucles, 83), 7-Shannon Boxx, 11-Carli Lloyd, 5-Lindsay Tarpley (13-Tobin Heath, 46); 6-Natasha Kai, 20-Abby Wambach (19-Amy Rodriguez, 74).
CRC: 1-Priscilla Tapia; 3-Vanessa Rojas, 4-Karol Galves, 5-Amanda Esquivel, 10-Katherine Alvarado, 15-Cristin Granados, 16-Yuliana Rodriguez, 8-Monica Malavassi – Capt., 12-Laura Sanchez, 14-Amara Wilson, 17-Adriana Venegas (13-Megan Chavez, 69).
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