The USWNT has lost just once in regulation in the last 15 months -- that being the game with MexicoGetty Images
The USWNT's performance on Sunday in a Concacaf W Gold Cup quarterfinal win over Colombia "at least suggested that news of the team’s death may have been greatly exaggerated,” according to Kevin Baxter of the L.A. TIMES. The USWNT has lost just once in regulation in the last 15 months -- that being the game with Mexico last week. But scratch below the surface and the whispers say that “it’s obvious something isn’t right.” After the loss to Mexico, the “whispers built into a shout.” Gone are the days when the USWNT could “simply roll out the ball and dominate teams with its swagger.” Yet “those expectations remain.” Meanwhile, the problems with the team “run deep” and the “window to fix all this is closing.” The Olympic tournament kicks off in less than five months and the USWNT, which hasn’t played in an Olympic final since 2012, “will face arguably the strongest field in women’s soccer history in Paris.” But as “bad as the U.S. looked against Mexico, that’s how well it played against Colombia.” Baxter noted if you leave out F Alex Morgan and G Alyssa Naeher, the average age of the other nine starters on Sunday "was just 23." Five of the team’s last eight goals "have been scored by teenagers." Morgan said, “The entire performance was very professional and really well-executed. Especially the young players” (L.A. TIMES, 3/4).
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