U.S. thumps Canadian women in soccer friendly
Last Updated: Monday, May 25, 2009 | 10:07 PM ET
By John F. Molinaro, CBC Sports
Canadian defenceman Brittany Timko, left, battles for the ball with American Lori Chalupny during first-half international friendly soccer action in Toronto on Monday. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)Carolina Morace has a long way to go to elevate Canada into the class of elite teams that dominate women's soccer.
That point was driven home in spades during Canada's 4-0 loss to the United States in an exhibition match Monday night before an announced crowd of 10,255 fans at Toronto's BMO Field.
The Canadian team sports a 2-1-2 record under Morace, the Italian-born coach who, when she took over the reins in February, stated her goal was to "ensure that Canada plays at the highest level of international soccer."
She fell well short of that objective on this night.
The score didn't reflect the disparity between the two sides, and the Canadian women can count themselves lucky the loss wasn't heavier, because they were completely outclassed by the reigning Olympic champions.
Morace thought otherwise, though, and applauded her squad for trying to play possession soccer, as opposed to just hitting the ball forward and chasing it down, like the team was famous for doing under previous coach Even Pellerud.
"I'd prefer to lose 4-0 against a team of this calibre than win 3-0 against an easy opponent," Morace told reporters through a translator. "I don't think there was a four-goal difference [between the teams].… I don't think the score was indicative of the play."
The U.S., ranked No. 1 in the world, ran roughshod over Canada (No. 11), comfortably containing star striker Christine Sinclair, who is still looking for her 100th international goal, and easily repelling the beleaguered Canadian attack.
Sinclair lamented that she didn't score her 100th goal on home soil.
"I put more pressure on myself today because it was at home and we don't get too many chances to play before our fans," the Canadian striker said.
"It would have been great the way it could have worked out, scoring it at home and against the U.S.… It didn't happen today, but I know it will happen sooner or later, so I'm not too concerned about it."
For all the hype surrounding games between these next-door neighbours, the reality is the U.S. enjoys what could charitably be described as a lopsided advantage in the series. Canada has won just three times in 45 matches — with four draws — and last won more than eight years ago.
The last time these two teams met on Canadian soil was on June 30, 2001, when they played to an exciting 2-2 draw at Toronto's Varsity Stadium.
The high-tempo, pressing game employed the U.S. on Monday worked to perfection. By swarming Canada every time it had the ball, the U.S. didn't give the home side any time to settle, which allowed the Americans to hit on the counter-attack after the Canadians coughed up possession.
It took the U.S. all of two minutes to reap the rewards of this game plan. After forcing a Canadian giveaway in midfield, the Americans quickly moved the ball forward and Shannon Boxx drove a hard shot from 22 yards out that beat Canadian goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc.
After spurning two more scoring chances off Canadian defensive errors, the Americans padded their lead just before halftime. Megan Rapinoe collected a short pass and used a Canadian defender inside the box as a screen as she curled a gorgeous shot by LeBlanc just inside the far post.
Canada showed more attacking verve after the break, but never tested American goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, who replaced starter Hope Solo at the start of the second half.
Lindsay Tarpley put the game away for the U.S. in the 77th minute, scoring on a tap-in following a goalmouth scramble that ensued when Canada failed to clear the ball off a corner.
Lauren Cheney nodded in a cross from the right wing three minutes later to compound the Canadians' misery.
"Most of the underlying problems today were of a physical nature," Morace said. "We gave up possession, but we have to give credit to the U.S., who applied a lot of pressure to us. One of the things we're going to try to improve is our conditioning."
Monday marked Sinclair's 130th appearance for Canada, tying her with Charmaine Hooper for second on the all-time list. Sinclair, from Burnaby, B.C., is just three appearances short of surpassing all-time leader Andrea Neil (132).
Canada and the U.S. will meet in two more exhibition games this summer: July 19 in Rochester, N.Y., and July 22 in Charleston, S.C.
