|
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
April's gamble U.S. women's coach defends move in China draw
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- It seemed a strange move by the coach. Even the players did a double-take. At a time when conventional wisdom called for more defense, the U.S. women's soccer team added more offense. Leading 1-0 with 28 minutes to play in Sunday's game against China, coach April Heinrichs took out defender Brandi Chastain and sent in forward Cindy Parlow. Suddenly, only three defenders were protecting the slender lead instead of the usual four. Five minutes later, the Chinese scored and game finished 1-1. Instead of clinching a semifinal berth with a victory, the Americans now need a win or tie Wednesday against Nigeria to assure themselves of advancing. "I didn't get it," defender Kate Sobrero said. "I see CP coming in for Brandi, I'm like, `Wait a second, we need a defender back here.' We've played three back a bunch a times, so it was OK. But at first we were like, `What?'" On Monday, Heinrichs defended her move and said she would do it again. In hindsight, the substitution shouldn't have been a surprise, because it defines the type of aggressive play Heinrichs has brought to the team since succeeding Tony DiCicco earlier this year. "We always play to win," Heinrichs said. "If we had sat back and given up a goal, that would have been conservative, and that's not our style. "They were really running at us with confidence, and I thought Cindy Parlow was certainly worthy of getting some considerable minutes with this team. If Cindy Parlow had scored, it would have been the greatest decision since the invention of sliced bread. That's the nature of the business I'm in, I guess." Being aggressive is one thing, but cutting against the soccer grain in the Olympics against one of the best teams in the world is the ultimate bold commitment to that philosophy. The more natural move would have been to put in Parlow and take out forward Mia Hamm, who was not playing well. Nevertheless, the aggressive mantra is a hit with the players, including midfielder and captain Julie Foudy, who was so caught off guard by the move that she shouted twice to midfielder Kristine Lilly to retreat and compensate on the wing. "I started shouting, `Balance! Get back!' She's like, `I heard it the first time,'" Foudy said. "It's playing on the edge. It's like, I have enough confidence in you guys to play on the edge. I love that mentality." The Chinese attacked immediately after Parlow entered. A foul by Hamm resulted in a free kick, and captain Sun Wen hit a spectacular 33-yard drive to tie the score. Parlow did play well, and nearly scored twice. She also helped thwart the long balls sent forward by the Chinese defense. Lilly had a chance to win the game with a penalty kick, but Gao Hong saved it. "It's nice to play for a coach who doesn't want to settle," Sobrero said. "I hate the teams that just to settle for a tie. April definitely does not do that." Which means Heinrichs will be going for the win against Nigeria, even though a draw will be enough to advance. "It's dangerous in our book to play for a draw," Heinrichs said. "My experience in soccer is that any team that plays for a draw almost always draws or loses. That's a dangerous psychology. "We're going to play aggressively. We're going to play to attack. We're going to play to put teams under pressure. What is the phrase, the best defense is a good offense? You never take that for granted. You turn that faucet on, we always leave it turned on."
| ||||||||||||||||||||
