Minus two top players, can Team USA beat China in the Women's World Cup?

The US women's team defeated Colombia Monday night to advance to the quarterfinals in the World Cup soccer tournament in Canada. But foul trouble means the team will be without a pair of players for their next match.

|
Erich Schlegel/USA Today Sports
US midfielder Megan Rapinoe is fouled by Colombia defender Angela Clavijo during the second half round of sixteen in the FIFA 2015 women's World Cup soccer tournament in Vancouver.

As if the competition wasn't stiff enough, Team USA will be down two key players going into the quarterfinals against China on Friday in the Women’s World Cup.

In a 2-0 win over Colombia Monday to start the knockout round, Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe of the US both committed fouls, each earning their second yellow card of the tournament, which mandates automatic suspensions for the team's next game.

Ms. Holiday’s foul came first, in the seventeenth minute. Her attack on Colombia's Yoreli Rincon drew the card from the referee after Ms. Rincon fell to the ground. Holiday hardly flinched when the call was made, though she knew it meant she would be out for the next game if the team advanced.

"I didn't think about it the rest of the game," Holiday told ESPN after the game. "It was unfortunate that it happened, and I think it was a weak yellow card, in my opinion. But I think we have a great team, [and] we have a lot of people that can step up."

Holiday played out the next 73 minutes with intense focus, eventually creating a play early in the second half off an aggressive steal that led to forward Alex Morgan getting fouled by Colombian goalie Catalina Perez, who received a red card from the referee and was ejected from the match.

Though Abby Wambach failed to capitalize on the penalty kick, Colombia had to play down one player for the remainder of the game because of the red card, which completely shifted the dynamic of play in Team USA’s favor.  

In the first half, Ms. Rapinoe drew five fouls. But when she ran into Colombia forward Orianica Velasquez in the second half, she received her second yellow card and her fate was sealed for the next game.

Rapinoe, just like Holiday, stayed focused even after the foul was called.

"I knew [it meant missing the next game], of course," Rapinoe told ESPN. "You can't change too much how you play. Maybe I could have been a little bit more cautious, but I didn't think the fouls were that bad. Yeah, it's unfortunate both Holiday and I [are] out for the next game. But we've got good players coming off the bench, so I don't feel too bad about it."

Both women proved to be leaders in Monday’s match; only underscoring how much they will be missed in the upcoming game against China.

Holiday created both chances for her teammate Morgan to score – which she did, once – and emerged against Colombia as a defensive force that helped keep the ball out of the US half of the field at key moments.

Rapinoe’s goal-making ability will be missed on a squad that has had trouble converting strong attacks into points. She scored two of the four goals that Team USA tallied during the group stage of the tournament.

"I thought Lauren was fantastic," teammate Tobin Heath said in an interview with ESPN. "I think she's an unsung hero on our team. Her work ethic and just her ability and her vision on the field is tremendous. I don't think she gets enough credit for what she does for this team and her leadership qualities ... And obviously, Pinoe has been one of our stars this tournament so far in her ability to create and be dangerous."

Though the US women defeated Colombia, a team that beat France in group play, who the US may face as the tournament progresses, without Holiday and Rapinoe against China, their fate is far from clear.

According to ESPN, Morgan Brian and Christen Press will likely replace Holiday and Rapinoe at midfield. The deep bench that Team USA has touted all tournament will be tested Friday.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Minus two top players, can Team USA beat China in the Women's World Cup?
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2015/0623/Minus-two-top-players-can-Team-USA-beat-China-in-the-Women-s-World-Cup
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe