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US Striker Abby Wambach scored another goal Sunday. (CHRIS ADUAMA/ aduama.com) |
The packed house and fanatical pro-Mexican crowd created an atmosphere not often experienced by the U.S. women, which scored all three of its goals in the first half. It was the 15th largest crowd ever to watch the U.S. women outside of the United States and the largest ever outside the USA in the western hemisphere.
"We saw Mexico play three days ago so we knew the formation, but they have a 12th player, and that's the crowd. It was absolutely wonderful," said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage. "This is my first time here in Mexico with the U.S. team and that kind of crowd, I appreciate it a lot. We knew there would be battles, a lot of one-v-one, and a technical Mexico team. So we needed to stay focused in defending and find the space outside their backs. We did a pretty good job at the end of the day."
Sundhage made four changes to the lineup that defeated Jamaica, 6-0, last Friday, inserting Hope Solo in goal, Rachel Buehler at right back, Tobin Heath at left midfield and Kai up top with Wambach.
It was Kai who silenced the crowd just 13 minutes into the game with her 11th career goal. Midfielder Carli Lloyd did well to win a challenge in midfield and struck a long ball to Heather O’Reilly on the right wing. The U.S. midfielder brought the ball down and set off on a long run toward goal before slipping a pass to Kai into the right side of the penalty box. Kai had time to pick her spot and rolled the ball into the left corner past Mexican goalkeeper Sophia Perez.
Spurred on by the home crowd, Mexico attacked with fervor in the first half and Evelyn Lopez hit the side-netting in the 27th minute after spinning free of a U.S. defender in the left of the penalty box. When the equalizer did come four minutes later, it was from forward Lupita Worbis, whose world-class strike from outside the penalty area on the right side caught the absolute upper left corner past a flying Solo.
Almost right off the kickoff, defender Kate Markgraf sent a long ball to Wambach down the left side. The U.S. forward pushed past two defenders into the penalty area, then eluded Perez to the outside before rolling the ball into the open net. It was the 92nd goal Wambach’s career and her third of the tournament.
Wambach’s goal instantly erased Mexico’s momentum, but an even more painful blow was dealt with just seconds left in regulation time of the first half. O’Reilly tried to loop a pass over the Mexican back line but defender Natalie Vinti got her head on the ball, sending it up in the air. As she tried to turn and chase the ball, she slipped and Kai swooped in to take possession for a one-one-one chance. Perez also slipped as she made her move to close down the U.S. forward, but then regained her feet only to be nut-megged by Kai, who simply rolled the ball through the Mexican ‘keepers’ legs and into the net from nine yards out.
The goal was crushing for Mexico, as the halftime whistle blew seconds later. The fact that the U.S. did not score in the second half can be mostly attributed to Perez, who flew around her goal in the final half hour to make a half-dozen spectacular saves and difficult grabs off crosses in traffic.
U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT:
Scoring Summary:
USA – Natasha Kai (Heather O’Reilly) 13th
MEX – Lupita Worbis (unassisted) 31st
USA -- Abby Wambach (Kate Markgraf) 32nd
USA – Natasha Kai (unassisted) 45th
Lineups:
USA: 18-Hope Solo; 2-Rachel Buehler, 15-Kate Markgraf, 3-Christie Rampone – Capt., 17-Lori Chalupny; 9-Heather O’Reilly, 7-Shannon Boxx (12-Leslie Osborne, 66), 11-Carli Lloyd, 13-Tobin Heath (5-Lindsay Tarpley, 46); 6-Natasha Kai (19-Amy Rodriguez, 56), 20-Abby Wambach.
MEX: 20-Sophia Perez; 4-Natalie Vinti, 5-Maria Castillo, 13-Lulu Gordillo (19-Iris Mora, 67), 14-Isabel Valdez (2-Leticia Villalpando, 30), 6-Monica Vergara, 7-Evelyn Lopez, 11-Patricia Perez (9-Monica Ocampo, 46), 17-Tania Morales, 8-Carmen Padilla – Capt., 10-Lupita Worbis.
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