ST. LOUIS --
It was so good for the United States women’s national team in a 4-0 win against New Zealand in front of a whopping red, white and blue crowd of 35,817 at Busch Stadium that Jill Ellis was even able to trot out the old stalwart Abby Wambach for the final 18 minutes.
That’s when you know things are shaping up the right way for the No. 2-ranked team in the world -- the U.S. team that is rapidly putting together a formation and momentum to try and win its first World Cup since 1999.
So good, in fact, that a hometown girl -- St. Louis native Lori Chalupny -- also came on as a substitute in the final minutes of the game and popped in a goal.
So good that three of the four U.S. goals came from defenders, including Chalupny, Meghan Klingenberg and Julie Johnston. And then to have a huge, live audience in one of the most storied sports stadiums in America … the U.S. team was pumped.
No wonder Ellis has been sporting a slightly more relaxed air these days. After a crash course in taking over the U.S. women’s national team just one year ago, and then absorbing all manner of second-guessing from soccer fans who want to see the U.S. women push into a new era of invincibility, Ellis may have the team exactly where everyone expects them to be: Peaking just in time for the 2015 Women's World Cup.
Granted, the U.S. first game is two months away on June 8, but from what the U.S. women displayed against New Zealand, the final piece of the U.S. preparation seems to have them operating at a succinct and high level of play, thanks to the recent emphasis on attacking in the final third of the field.
"I think it’s a massive add-on," Ellis said about having her defenders being such viable options for goal scoring. "I’m excited because who do you focus on coming in?"
No wonder there was brief discussion after the U.S. victory over whether New Zealand goalkeeper Erin Naylor might have deserved to be the player of the game. The U.S. attack kept the Football Fern defense on their toes all afternoon in front of a sun-kissed crowd, only to see a 1-0 U.S. lead balloon to the 4-0 victory in the span of five minutes in the closing minutes of the match.
And if only the U.S. had been a bit more lucky earlier in the match on some of the shots that hit the goalpost or careened just wide of the net, the score could have been easily even more inflated.
Still, the victory was secured early in the first half, when it was clear the U.S. was going to control the tempo and pace of the game. The U.S. jumped to a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute when defender Meghan Klingenberg drilled a 14-footer into the back of the net after taking a cross from Ali Krieger.
The U.S. celebration was as bright as the St. Louis skies, which was fittingly welcoming to a U.S. team playing its first game on home soil after four matches in Europe so far this year. The U.S. is now 5-1-1 and seems a relieved distance from the shaky start to 2015, when they dropped a friendly against No. 3-ranked France and then defeated England. The momentum the team gained from their Algarve Cup tournament championship in March was clearly demonstrated in the lineup and its production on the field against New Zealand.
What had been anticipated as a good test for the U.S. due to the Football Ferns attacking style turned more or less into a clinic by the U.S., whose lineup seems to have gelled into a firm setup.
Starting against New Zealand is now a back line that appears to be the starters for the World Cup: Julie Johnston, Becky Sauerbrunn, Krieger and Klingenberg. The unit is clearly firing on all cylinders, not just defending their own goal but in bolstering the U.S. midfield and attack by going end to end.
Klingenberg in particular seems to almost always be in the right place at the right time, which is really saying something given that under Ellis’ formation requirements, the defensive backs on the wings are expected to cover a lot of ground. Good thing Klingenberg has the legs and work ethic to make it work.
This was Klingenberg’s first goal of 2015 and second career strike for the U.S. women’s national team. Her previous goal was an almost exact replica against Haiti on Oct. 8, 2014 in group play of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship.
While the fans in St. Louis roared for Wambach upon her entrance to the game, and cheered for goalkeeper Hope Solo when she took warmups, younger players like Klingenberg, Alex Morgan, Julie Johnston (who turns 23 on Monday) and Sydney Leroux are part of the reason the U.S. is finally looking like it is moving away from the hard-nosed, long ball attack that characterized its heyday.
Another highlight on the day was the start by Megan Rapinoe, who earned her 100th career cap. The midfielder had not started since the second game of group play of the Algarve Cup, and had not seen much more time in Portugal, but she was fresh and furious on the pitch against New Zealand.
Rapinoe led an attack that had the U.S. on the verge of several other scoring changes. In the 38th minute, Rapinoe beautiful cross to Amy Rodriguez, who had great shot but just not quite enough luck: The ball hit the post to the great groan of the Busch Stadium crowd.
Just moments before, Rapinoe and A-Rod had executed a nice give-and-go into the left side of the box, only Rapinoe couldn’t generate enough power to get the shot past Naylor. Rapinoe worked hard to move the ball and take shots herself, but she came up just a bit short on that end. She did, however, feed Chalupny for the U.S. team’s third goal of the game, before being subbed in the final minutes of play.
As it stands, based on playing time and who has dressed for the U.S. team’s games so far this season, the pool of candidates who may not make the World Cup roster has dwindled down to three players: defenders Rachel Van Hollebeke and Crystal Dunn and midfielder Shannon Boxx, though Ellis has said if Boxx, like veteran Christie Rampone, can get fit and some playing time, she would appreciate having that kind of experience available during the World Cup.
