ASN: U.S. Girls Wrap: Saying Goodbye and Wanting Forward

Abby Wambach’s departure caps off a yr of nice success and big change for the U.S. girls’s nationwide staff. Right here, ASN’s John D. Halloran takes a look forward to the 2016 Olympics. 

BY

John D. Halloran

Posted
December 17, 2015
2:15 PM

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WITH A 1-0 LOSS TO CHINA on Wednesday night time in New Orleans, the USA girls’s nationwide staff closed out its World Cup Victory Tour and bid adieu to all-time worldwide goal-scoring chief Abby Wambach.

Wambach ended her illustrious profession with no objective. On one other degree, the defeat—which ended a 104-game dwelling unbeaten streak for the USA—represented a closing altering of the guard and new alternatives for a number of kids seeking to break into the squad.

Over the past two camps, head coach Jill Ellis has begun the method of retooling her staff, bringing in a number of latest faces because the 4 World Cup veterans, together with Shannon Boxx, Lauren Vacation, Lori Chalupny, and now Wambach, retired one after the other. Subsequent month, the U.S. will begin recent because it begins closing preparations for February’s Olympic qualifying match. As that course of develops, Ellis faces two urgent questions: 

Who will make the 20-player qualifying roster?
How will the post-Lauren Vacation midfield take form?

Here’s a breakdown of Ellis’ decisions within the month forward.

GOALKEEPERS

For Olympic qualifying, Ellis’ 20-player roster will embody three goalkeepers, and seeing that Ellis hasn’t introduced in anybody new on the place in the previous couple of months, selecting three web minders ought to be a straightforward determination.

Hope Solo stays the U.S.’s undisputed No. 1 and, barring an harm or main improvement in her ongoing authorized state of affairs, she is going to hold that place.

Backing up Solo within the 2015 World Cup and all through the Victory Tour have been Ashlyn Harris and Alyssa Naeher. Harris proved herself a greater than succesful backup in two friendlies earlier this yr in opposition to France and England, whereas Naeher did properly in opposition to China on December 13 and made a stable save late in that match to protect the shutout.

The attention-grabbing determination for Ellis can be what occurs after qualifying. Bizarrely sufficient, whereas 20 gamers are allowed to be rostered for qualifying, solely 18 gamers (with two goalkeepers) are allowed for the precise match in August.

It is rather odd that Naeher obtained a sport, however Harris did not. I’m to see if she will get minutes in Oly qualifiers.

— Sarah (@DasGherkin) December 17, 2015

Harris appeared to be the established first-choice again up over the previous yr, however within the U.S.’s most up-to-date trio of video games, Naeher obtained the one minutes of the 2—maybe signaling a re-ordering of the depth chart. 

CENTER BACKS

Anchoring the backline, World Cup duo Becky Sauerbrunn and Julie Johnston are locks for qualifying, however who Ellis will select because the staff’s backup is anybody’s guess.

Whitney Engen would appear to be the pure alternative and has repeatedly confirmed herself to be a top-class defender. Nevertheless, Ellis hasn’t put Engen into any of the final 5 matches in a span that stretches again to September.

As a substitute, Ellis has given these minutes to College of Virginia standout Emily Sonnett. Brazil’s proficient assault roundly torched the teen again in October however Sonnett performed mistake-free on Wednesday in opposition to China underneath restricted stress. Whether or not Ellis has given Sonnett the minutes as a result of she merely needs to provide the younger defender a correct run out, or as a result of she has misplaced religion in Engen stays to be seen.

Lastly, Ellis must make a really troublesome determination relating to captain Christie Rampone. The U.S. veteran will flip 41 years outdated this summer time and missed this final set of friendlies with a bone bruise. One other such harm, again in March, is what opened the door for Julie Johnston to say the beginning position. Whether or not her physique can maintain up for an additional 9 months, and whether or not or not she is going to stay one in every of Ellis’ prime three decisions on the place are huge query marks.

FULLBACKS

That is one place with overflowing depth for the Individuals. Not solely can Ellis depend on World Cup standouts Ali Krieger and Meghan Klingenberg to close down the flanks, however she will additionally use Kelley O’Hara and Crystal Dunn in a pinch.

Each O’Hara and Dunn have seen a good quantity of motion in extensive midfield roles of late and each are additionally succesful defenders. Within the 2012 Olympics O’Hara shut down her facet of the sector as a left again. In that very same yr, Dunn gained a U-20 World Cup with the U.S. without any consideration again.

The participant seemingly neglected of the combo with a such a small roster for qualifying is newcomer Jaelene Hinkle. Hinkle is a pure lefty and has proven flashes of her means in restricted minutes throughout the Victory Tour. However at 22-years-old and with squad rotation unlikely, Hinkle will in all probability have to attend till the 2019 World Cup cycle to get an actual shot.

CENTER MIDFIELDERS

In the midst of the pitch, Ellis will rely closely on Morgan Brian and Carli Lloyd to get the U.S. by qualifying and past. The large query is: Who will substitute Vacation?

Recently Ellis has relied on Lindsey Horan. Ellis first pulled the previous Paris Saint-Germain and U.S. U-20 ahead into the midfield in opposition to Trinidad and Tobago final week and he or she has performed the final three video games on the place with blended outcomes. Horan excelled in opposition to Trinidad and Tobago, however then struggled in opposition to China on Sunday night time. On Wednesday, in opposition to China for a second time, Horan put in a center of the highway efficiency. Whereas uninvolved for lengthy stretches, she additionally regarded to nick the equalizer late within the match earlier than being dominated offside.

That being mentioned, Ellis faces two potential issues with making her technique depending on Horan and giving the teen the majority of the midfield minutes in these current video games. First, what occurs if Horan is unable to get the job achieved in opposition to higher competitors? The coach hasn’t used these matches to vet her different choices in Sam Mewis, Danielle Colaprico, or Rose Lavelle. The second potential drawback is: What occurs if both Horan, Brian, or Lloyd is injured?

Tobin Heath is one choice and will slide into an attacking or defensive position within the center. However the extra seemingly choice—and one Ellis tends to revert to when she doesn’t have her three first-choice midfielders out there—is to drop Lloyd right into a extra defensive position and play a 4-4-2. Nevertheless, this technique has repeatedly proved ineffective previously and units the U.S. up for a slew of further issues.

In a 4-4-2 in opposition to inferior opponents, each Lloyd and Brian are likely to go ahead, leaving the staff weak to counterattacks. In opposition to high quality sides, the 2 midfielders often get pinned again, are unable to hitch the assault, and get dominated within the possession battle in opposition to groups utilizing three central gamers.

WIDE MIDFIELDERS

With Megan Rapinoe out injured and unlikely to make it again for the Olympics, Tobin Heath has change into the No. 1 choice out extensive. The staff additionally has loads of depth on the place with Kelley O’Hara, Crystal Dunn, Heather O’Reilly, and Stephanie McCaffrey all preventing for spots.

O’Hara and Dunn ought to be locks, particularly contemplating their versatility to play within the backline and even up prime. The true determination for Ellis will come right down to bringing each O’Reilly and McCaffrey, or solely one of many two.

If Ellis decides to deliver a fourth middle midfielder—which she ought to—Ellis would seemingly should drop a large midfielder. O’Reilly’s tenure with the staff goes again over a decade, whereas McCaffrey has impressed within the U.S.’s current matches displaying some unbelievable 1 v. 1 means on the flank. Ultimately, both can get the job achieved.

FORWARDS

Up prime, Ellis has no scarcity of choices with World Cup veterans Alex Morgan, Christen Press, Amy Rodriguez, and Sydney Leroux out there. Ellis has most well-liked Morgan up prime for the final six months in a single-striker set, whereas Press has supplied a activate the bench tallying 4 targets within the staff’s final 5 matches.

Morgan struggled by a lot of 2014 and 2015 with accidents however confirmed a return to type in current matches. Nevertheless, she limped out of Wednesday’s contest after an obvious hamstring harm.

For her half, Press is coming off an uneven yr. Whereas she shined early in 2015 for the U.S. and all through your complete NWSL marketing campaign, she fell off with the Individuals throughout the World Cup and has struggled to reassert herself in a beginning position since then.

Rodriguez is one other participant who shined within the NWSL however has but to be given a full run out by Ellis. Nonetheless, she is a veteran who appears to have accepted a job off the bench—a troublesome trait for a coach like Ellis to seek out amongst so many proficient gamers.

Lastly, there’s Leroux. The striker confirmed herself to be practically unstoppable in late 2013 and early 2014 underneath former coach Tom Sermanni, however then hit a tough patch of type to complete up 2014. Leroux did not regain her footing and noticed her minutes dramatically decline in 2015. Then, after the World Cup, she underwent ankle surgical procedure and has but to make a return to motion. These components might make Leroux expendable ought to Ellis elect to take a fourth middle midfielder and nonetheless need to deliver each O’Reilly and McCaffrey as extensive midfielders.

The U.S. returns to motion on January 23 in opposition to Eire in its solely primer previous to Olympic qualifying.