TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Scurry, U.S. Unable To Stop Marta, Brazil

ADVERTISEMENT

By STEPHEN WADE, The Associated Press

Published: September 28, 2007

HANGZHOU, China - The way Brazil and sensational striker Marta played, it didn't matter who was in goal for the United States.

Marta scored two goals and the Brazilians put on a dazzling display of soccer Thursday, outhustling the Americans at nearly every turn to cruise to a 4-0 victory in the Women's World Cup semifinals.

The Brazilians will play in their first final Sunday against defending champion Germany.

'If you asked me how I do that, I can't explain,' Marta said, even after watching TV replays of her goals. 'Things happen very quickly during the match, and afterward I start thinking: 'How do I do that?''

That's what American goalie Hope Solo was asking. Angry she was replaced for the critical game in favor of veteran Briana Scurry, Solo lashed out at U.S. coach Greg Ryan.

'It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that,' Solo said. 'There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. ... You have to live in the present. And you can't live by big names. You can't live in the past.'

Ryan defended his decision and Scurry, who made her 164th appearance for the United States.

'I don't have any regrets about that,' he said. 'I think Bri played a great game.'

He stressed that he didn't think the switch affected the game.

Ryan might have been right. The Brazilians attacked from the start, and the Americans were unable to keep pace as they saw their 51-match unbeaten streak end with their worst loss in a World Cup match.

The U.S. will play Norway for third place Sunday.

The opening score came on an own-goal in the 20th minute, when American midfielder Leslie Osborne headed a corner behind Scurry. Lucky or not, the Brazilians were off and running and proved to be better in every facet: clever triangulated passes, counterattacks, audacious moves and blistering shots.

'They played like a team,' American striker Abby Wambach said. 'I've never seen them play so well. They brought all of their heart and all of their soccer to the table.

'It's a hard loss to swallow. More than anything it's just heartbreaking, it's hard to go down like this.'

Marta made it 2-0 in the 27th to add to Brazil's growing confidence. She evaded a half-dozen players and cracked a left-footed shot from 15 yards that hugged the ground and beat Scurry diving to her left. Any hope the U.S. had was snuffed out a few seconds into first-half injury time when Shannon Boxx picked up her second yellow card, leaving the Americans a player short. The foul was marginal, but Boxx lunged on a tackle trailing just a step behind the Brazilian attackers.

Forced to push for a goal in the second half, the U.S. left itself exposed at the back with Maycon, Daniela and Cristiane narrowly missing in the opening minutes. Cristiane finally broke through in the 56th minute to make it 3-0, left-footing a shot home in a one-on-one contest with Scurry.

Brazil's last flurry came in the 79th minute when Marta showed why she was the 2006 player of the year. Off the left wing, she faked around U.S. defender Tina Ellertson, raced into the box, faked another defender and beat Scurry with a shot that drew a huge ovation from a crowd of 48,000.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT