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USWNT clinch quarterfinal berth as Rapinoe leads rout of Colombia

USAColombia (Getty)_

By BRYAN ROBISON

The U.S. Women's national team punched their ticket to the Olympic quarterfinals after winning their second consecutive preliminary match, with a 3-0 win over Colombia on Saturday.

Unlike like their first preliminary match against France on Wednesday, which saw the United States women have to overcome a slow start, there was no such struggle against Colombia. After falling to a 2-0 defecit to the French within the first fifteen minutes and having to fight back to power their way to a 4-2 win, it did not take long in their second match to cease control.

Megan Rapinoe was the star of the show, scoring the opening goal with a long-range strike before setting up the final goal of the match to seal the USA's second straight victory.

Rapinoe knocked in the first goal of her Olympic career in the 33rd minute when she curled a 20-yard shot into the net. She celebrated the goal by sending a birthday message to teammate Ali Krieger, who turned 28 years old Saturday. Krieger was unable to join her fellow teammates for the Olympics due to a knee injury she suffered in January.

In the second half, Abby Wambach avenged an earlier foul that should have sent off Colombian Lady Andrade, who seemed to clearly punch the American forward. The referees did not see the infraction, however, and Colombia was able to continue with a full squad. Wambach ended up being the one punishing the Colombians, as she put the match out of hand with a second American goal with just fifteen minutes left to play.

Carli Lloyd continued her strong start to the tournament, as she scored the third goal of the match, and her second in two games. The midfielder was a member of the starting lineup after Shannon Boxx was ruled out for the match due to a hamstring injury.

Colombia will take on France in Newcastle on Tuesday, with both squads likely fighting for their tournament lives. The American women will travel to Manchester on Tuesday to take on North Korea, who defeated Colombia 2-0 last Wednesday.

Comments

  1. She criticized Rachel Buehler who is an extreme liability in the back. She only said that Buehler needed to possess the ball out of the back instead of clearing it to the other team. This is totally accurate.

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  2. bbb…. well yeah but….. see… the conclusion I wished to jump to and run wild with was that she’s tweeker.

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  3. Rapinoe is the best player we have IMO. I watched her during the World Cup and she was involved in most of our scoring. She was not given the recognition she deserved in her great set-up work during that WC. Hopefully this game will get her some of that much deserved credit.

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  4. nothing really. she was just over critical of their defensive abilities. no personal attack on anyone whatsoever. whether hope solo was offended or not she should have been more professional. she lost my respect.

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  5. And why are diuretics banned? Because they flush _____ out of a person’s system.

    A. Regular ol’ Gatorade piss.
    B. Any water soluble substance, like many performing enhancing drugs.
    C. Evil.

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  6. Funny except the substance she had detected wasn’t performance enhancing or anything close to being a “roid”. It was a diuretic… meaning it makes you pee a lot. Sucks when the truth gets in the way of a good story.

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  7. Huh…. 3-0 sloppy win eh? Funny that. By any but the most cynical measure, that’s a nice win. I can’t help but wonder how Brazil’s 1-0 win against NZL measures up from high atop euroman’s soapbox? Strange I guess, but I’ve never been much impressed by claims of moral victory or worry due to claims of run of play while ignoring the final result. Especially in tourney play, it’s all about getting points…… scoreboard. Least…. that’s what the rules dictate.

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  8. What game were you watching? It could have easily been 8-0 USA if it was not for two goal line saves, a shot that hit the cross bar and two lucky saves. Plus Columbia never threatened. Did you see Brazil play NZ. They were lucky to win that game and Japan couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn vs Sweden!

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  9. 75 minutes of pretty even soccer doesn’t make for a rout…USA has to pick it up a bit after two sloopy matches. Survive and advance so far so it’s all good but Japan and Brazil are waiting. This kind of performance will not win gold.

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