US women qualify for London Games
By
Joseph White
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — In the
end, what matters is that the U.S. women’s soccer team is going to the Olympics. What the players
won’t soon forget is how hard they had to work to get there.
The Americans booked their way to London last night with a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in the
semifinals of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament.
Tobin Heath scored in the 16th minute to give the United States all the scoring it needed, and
goals by Carli Lloyd (72nd minute) and Alex Morgan (89th) put the game away. Had the Americans
lost, they would not have played in London.
But the top-ranked Americans were less crisp than when they were in defeating teams by a
combined 31-0 earlier in the tournament.
Costa Rica is ranked 41st in the world, has never qualified for an Olympics or a World Cup and
has never scored on the United States in eight meetings. It proved to be a scrappy opponent,
however, occasionally frustrating the Americans with physical play. In the end, defenders Kelley O’H
ara, Rachel Buehler, Christie Rampone and Amy LePeilbet combined with goalkeeper Hope Solo to keep
Costa Rica out of the net. Solo played despite a slightly pulled right quadriceps that had been
bothering her all week.
The United States will be the two-time defending champion in London, having taken gold in Athens
in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008. It will be the third straight Olympics in which the Americans will
be trying to make amends for World Cup disappointment from the previous year. They finished second
at last year’s World Cup in Germany, losing to Japan in the final.
The victory also puts the Americans into the tournament final on Sunday, a bragging-rights-only
game against the winner of last night’s late game between Mexico and Canada.
Women’s Soccer
CONCACAF Olympic qualifying
At Vancouver, British Columbia
Yesterday’s semifinals
Winners qualify for Olympics
United States 3, Costa Rica 0
Canada vs. Mexico, late
United States 3, Costa Rica 0
FIRST HALF: 1. United States, Heath 16th minute.
SECOND: 2. United States, Lloyd 72nd; 3. United States, Morgan 89th.
U.S. lineup: Solo; O’Hara, Buehler, Rampone, LePeilbet; O’Reilly (Rodriguez 70),
Lloyd, Boxx (Rapinoe 79), Cheney, Heath (Morgan 72); Wambach.
Sunday’s championship
Semifinal winners, 8 p.m.
Article source: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2012/01/28/u-s--women-qualify-for-london-games.html