By FRANCO PANIZO
The feel-good story that was the U.S. women's national team at the World Cup has come to a close, and it does so without the fairy-tale ending.
The U.S. team lost in the World Cup final on Sunday, falling to Japan 3-1 on penalty kicks after playing to a 2-2 draw. The win gave Japan its first ever World Cup trophy.
Shannon Boxx, Carli Lloyd and Tobin Heath all missed their penalties in a game that saw the United States waste multiple opportunities and a pair of leads.
The Americans started the game strong, created most of the scoring chances, and looked ready for World Cup glory, but an inability to capitalize allowed Japan to equalize late on two separate occasions.
Alex Morgan, who entered the game at halftime, gave the Americans the lead with a left-footed finish in the 69th minute. Japan found an equalizer in the 81st, however, after a poor defensive clearance. The United States went ahead again in extra time off an Abby Wambach header in the 104th minute, but that was cancelled out when Homare Sawa flicked in a corner kick four minutes from the final whistle to force penalties.
Here are the match highlights in case you missed the game:
Continue reading "USA gives up lead twice, loses to Japan in penalties in WWC final" »

USWNT vs. France: Your Running Commentary
The U.S. women's national team is a game away from reaching the final of the Women's World Cup for the first time since winning it all in 1999.
After their breathtaking, come-from-behind victory over Brazil in the quarterfinals, the U.S. women face France in a semifinal match in Moenchengladbach, Germany (12 p.m., ESPN/ESPN3.com/Galavision). The French team has been a revelation in this tournament, defeating Canada and Nigeria in group play before falling to host Germany to finish second in Group A. France defeated England in penalty kicks to reach the semifinal.
U.S. coach Pia Sundhage has made one change to her starting XI, replacing suspended centerback Rachel Buehler with Becky Sauerbrunn, who becomes the first player ever to make her World Cup debut this late in the tournament.
If you will be watching the match, please feel free to share any thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below. Enjoy the action.
Avi Creditor at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (181) | TrackBack (0)