USA wins last game of 2008 1-0

The USA finished off their fantastic year with another 1-0 win over China. Heather O'Reilly got the winning goal in the 34th minute to seal the victory for the United States. That was Heather's 10th goal of the year and she also has 10 assits to go along with it, which makes her only the sixth player in USA WNT soccer history to score in double-double figures. Mia Hamm did it 5 times, Abby Wambach twice, while Carin Gabarra, Tiffeny Millbret, and Shannon MacMillin each did it once. This was the USA's 33rd victory of the year, and what a fantastic year it was. The US not only won every tournament they were in this year (Four Nations, Algarve Cup, Olympic Qualifiers, Peace Queen Cup, and the Beijing Olympics), they also have the record for most wins in a calender year. The USA team will meet again at the end of January, so no more blogging until then! For those of you that read this..Merry Chritmas, Happy New Years, and enjoy the holidays!!

Sundhage re-signed with US Soccer

Pia Sundhage, the USA WNT head coach, has re-signed her contract with US Soccer unitl 2012. This means that Pia will be the head coach of the team through the 2011 World Cup and 2012 Olympics. Lets hope Pia stays around for awhile. She obviously is a great coach and a great addition to the team!

USA beats China 1-0

The USA beat China on December 13 in California 1-0 off of a Tina Ellertson goal (assisted by none-other than Amy Rodriguez). You may have heard of Tina Ellertson from the 2007 World Cup team. She took 2008 off to give birth to her second child, but has returned with the team. It was Ellertson's first goal, as this was her first time to play forward for the National team. In '07 she was a defender.
Kristine Lilly played her first match of 2008, as she returned from giving birth to her daughter in July. Kristine came on in the 55th minute to recieve her 341st international cap.
The US controlled most of the game and had a lot of chances on goal, especially from Carli Lloyd and Kristine Lilly.

Starting 11

Defensive Huddle


Hope Solo

Lil is back!

Kristine Lilly is finally back with the USA WNT after giving birth to her daughter Sidney in July. Of course Kristine is no newcomer to training as she has 340 camps, which means A LOT of practices! I'm sure she did great and hasn't lost a step! Welcome Back Lil!

Great Minds Think Alike

Ok, I know it has been ages since I've updated. I've been pretty busy, but once I saw this picture I knew I had to update. OK, so the USA is back again, playing a two game series against China starting on December 13. Most everyone from the Olympic team is back, including Hope Solo...as a brunette! But, the thing I love the most is that I just colored my hair a few weeks ago. It's probably stupid, but I thought it was cool how we both dyed our hair darker around the same time!






Do you like her new look, or do you prefer her as a blonde?

Happy Birthday Nicole!

Nicole Barnhart, the WNT back up goalie, turned 27 on October 10. Happy Birthday!

3 more games

The USA WNT will contiue their "Achieve Your Gold" with a 3 game series against South Korea. The first game will be on November 1 in Richmond, Virgina. The second will be on November 5 in Cincinnati, Ohio and the third will be on November 8 in Tampa, Florida.

The USA should be playing another 4 games after these 3 are over.

Another Draft

Sorry I haven't been blogging in awhile. Things have gotten kind of busy and the team is on a 3 week break.

But, on October 6, the WPS held the General Draft. The players in this draft are out of college. Some of them have played on the USA WNT for some games and rosters. I think that these are the players to watch as they will greatly improve and maybe make it onto the national team.


The results:

Round One
1. Washington Freedom:Sarah Huffman
2. Bay Area:Jill Oakes
3. Washington Freedom: Becky Sauerbrunn
4. Boston Breakers: Amy LePeilbet
5. Los Angeles: Karina LeBlanc
6. Chicago Red Stars: Danesha Adams
7. Sky Blue FC:Cori Alexander


Round Two
8. Sky Blue FC:Keeley Dowling
9. Chicago Red Stars: Ella Masar
10. Los Angeles:Kendall Fletcher
11. Boston Breakers:Nancy Augustyniak Goffi
12. Los Angeles:Christie Welsh
13. Bay Area:Kandace Wilson
14. St. Louis: India Trotter

Round Three
15. St. Louis: Angie Woznuk
16. Bay Area:Liz Bogus
17. Washington Freedom:Lori Lindsey
18. Boston Breakers:Sue Weber
19. Los Angeles:Manya Makoski
20. Chicago Red Stars: Marian Dalmy
21. Sky Blue FC:Kacey White


Round Four
22. Sky Blue FC:Jenny Anderson-Hammond
23. Chicago Red Stars:Ifeoma Dieke
24. St. Louis:Joanna Lohman
25. Boston Breakers: Kristin Luckenbill
26. St. Louis:Amanda Cinalli
27. Bay Area:Tracy Hamm
28. Washington Freedom:Emily Janss


Joanna Lohman, Kacey White, Angie Woznuk, India Trotter, Christie Welsh, Amy LePeilbet, and Becky Sauerbrunn have all played some games for the full USA WNT.

Marian Dalmy played on ther 2007 Women's World Cup team and Kristin Luckenbill was the backup goalkeeper on the 2004 Olympic team.

September Birthdays

Happy Birthday to Lindsay Tarpley and Lauren Cheney!! Lindsay Tarpley turned 25 on September 22 and Lauren Cheney turned 21 on September 30.

Happy Birthday to them both.
Lindsay Tarpley

Lauren Cheney

International Draft

Here are the results for the international draft for the WPS. The players get drafted and then decide on whether or not they would like to play.

FIRST ROUND

Bay Area: Formiga (Brazil)
Boston Breakers: Kelly Smith (England)
Los Angeles: Marta (Brazil)
St. Louis: Daniela Alves (Brazil) *Trade with Washington Freedom
Chicago Red Stars: Cristiane (Brazil)
Washington Freedom: Homare Sawa (Japan) *Trade with St. Louis
Sky Blue FC: Sarah Walsh (Australia)

SECOND ROUND

Bay Area: Christine Sinclair (Canada)
Boston Breakers: Fabiana (Brazil)
Los Angeles: Aya Miyama (Japan)
Washington Freedom: Sonia Bompastor (France)
Chicago Red Stars: Heather Garriock (Australia)
St. Louis: Renata Costa (Brazil)
Sky Blue FC: Rosana (Brazil)

THIRD ROUND

Bay Area: Eriko Arakawa (Japan)
Boston Breakers: Maycon (Brazil)
St. Louis: Lotta Schelin (Sweden) *Trade with Los Angeles 4th Round
Washington Freedom: Lisa De Vanna (Australia)
Chicago Red Stars: Karen Carney (England)
St. Louis: Melissa Tancredi (Canada)
Sky Blue FC: Ester (Brazil)

FOURTH ROUND

Bay Area: Erika (Brazil)
Boston Breakers: Shinobu Ohno (Japan)
Los Angeles: Han Duan (China)
Washington Freedom: Louisa Nécib (France)
Chicago Red Stars: Caroline Jonsson (Sweden)
Los Angeles: Margret Lara Vidarsdottir (Iceland) *Trade with St. Louis 3rd Round
Sky Blue FC: Kelly Parker (Canada)


Man, this is really hard! I still have no idea who I'm going to cheeer for! Do any of you?

Thanks Lori!!

Ok, so the USA WNT blog does this thing where it allows fans to ask questions to Lori Chalupny, a defender on the team. Many people ask questions, but she actually answered my question!!! I don't know why this feels so cool, but I guess it's neat that she took the time to answer questions from the fans.

zoe said...
Hey Chupa!
Congrats again on the gold!!

Just wondering..what was going through your mind as the ref blew the whistle at the end of the gold medal game? what was the most special moment for you?



Chalupa: Hi Zoe, thanks for the question. I will never forget the moment the whistle blew. I had always dreamed of winning an Olympic gold but never really thought about the final whistle. To tell you the truth, I don't really remember what I was doing or what I was thinking. I was just overcome by emotion. It's hard to pick out a favorite moment from that day, but I think standing on the podium, singing our National Anthem and watching our flag being raised was the most emotional for me. It was a moment of such joy but also pride. I was so proud to be standing there with the other 17 girls.

USA closes out series with two wins over Ireland

Sorry I haven't been blogging lately. School has gotten kind of hectic and I haven't had much free time.

Anyways, the USA beat Ireland 1-0 on September 17 in New Jersey. The goal came from Natasha Kai in the 72nd minute of the game. She is the highest goal scorer this year with 15 goals! Tash is actually averaging 1 goal per game! Christie Rampone also celebrated her 200th cap in this game which she got during the Olympics.


The USA capped off their 3 game series with a 2-0 win in Chicago on the 20th. Shannon Boxx was captain of the game as she celebrated he 100th cap. This was also the USA's 29th win in the calender year, which means they broke the record for most wins. The USA had 28 wins in 2004. The goal scores in this game were Lori Chalupny and Kate Markgraf, who both happen to be defenders! This was Kate Markgraf's first ever goal in 193 games with the national team. She actually got the goal off of a penalty kick.

The USA will take the month of October off before playing another 7 games in November.

WPS USA WNT draft

Today the WPS (Women's Professional Soccer) allocation (draft) of the USA WNT took place. There are 7 citys,(Boston, St. Louis, L.A., Bay Area, Chicago, Washington D.C., and the New Jersey Area) so only 3 players are selected to each team.
Unfortunately, you must be out of college to play in the league, so Amy Rodriguez, Tobin Heath, and Lauren Cheney, are not included in the draft.
Abby Wambach, Leslie Osborne, Cat Whitehill, Tina Ellertson, Kristine Lilly and Ali Kriger are included in the draft even though they didn't participate in the Olympics.

Well, here are the results:

Boston Breakers: Angela Hucles, Kristine Lilly, and Heather Mitts
St. Louis: Hope Solo, Lori Chalupny, and Tina Ellerston
Los Angeles: Shannon Boxx, Stephanie Cox, and Aly Wagner
Bay Area: Nicole Barnhart, Rachel Buehler, and Leslie Osborne
Chicago Red Stars: Carli Lloyd, Lindsay Tarpley, and Kate Markgraf
Washington Freedom: Abby Wambach, Cat Whitehill, and Ali Kriger
Sky Blue FC(New Jersey): Natasha Kai, Heather O'Reilly, Christie Rampone.

I think that the two strongest teams would be Sky Blue FC and Chicago Red Stars. Sky Blue FC have a fantastic central defender in Christie Rampone. She's a great leader and will be able to control the back. Natasha Kai is a great forward and Heather O'Reilly is a fantastic right midfielder who can create a lot of chances for her team.
Chicago also has a great team. They also have a great central defender in Kate Markgraf. She too is a great leader and can control the game. Carli Lloyd is a fantastic midfielder who will probably score a lot of goals for the team. Lindsay Tarpley is a versitle player who played as a midfielder in the Olympics, but also played as a forward in the 2007 World Cup.

The Boston Breakers have a great team as well. Angela Hucles has been playing better then ever and will be a great forward for the team. Kristine Lilly has a lot of experience and will be a leader for this team. Also, Heather Mitts is a very good defender and will be a huge asset for the team.

St. Louis I think will do pretty well. Hope Solo is probably the best goalkeeper in the world and will do a good job of controlling the back. Lori Chalupny played as a left back in the Olympics, but has also played as a midfielder in the World Cup. She is very capable of playing any position on the field. Tina Ellertson was defender in the World Cup, but she has also played forward.

Los Angeles looks pretty good. Unfortunatly they don't have a strong leader in the back, but I'm sure Stephanie Cox will step up. Shannon Boxx will be a leader in the middle and Aly Wagner can play up top or in the midfield. They don't have a dominate scorer, but they should be pretty good.

The Bay Area seems like the weakest team to me. Nicole Barnhart was the backup goal keeper in the Olympics and hasn't had that much game experience in the goal. Rachel Buehler is a good central defender, but also hasn't had that much experience. Leslie Osbore is a strong defensive midfielder, but hasn't played for awhile. This team doesn't have a someone that can really score goals, but hopefully they will get some.

Washington Freedom looks pretty good. Abby Wambach is probably the best scorer in the league, and they will probably draw a lot of fans to watch her play. Ali Kriger played in Germany for the past few years, and her team actually won the UEFA Women's Cup last year. Cat Whitehill is a strong defender and I think that she will come out stronger than ever.


I'm really excited to see which international players will be drafted to the teams and to have the league start!

I'm not sure which team I'm going to cheer for yet, but I'm excited that the league is up and running again!!

USA wins 2-0 over Ireland

On Saturday in Philadelphia the USA beat Ireland 2-0 on goals from Natasha Kai and Heather O'Reilly.

Heather O'Reilly celebrated her 100th cap as the games captain. She actually played in her 100th game in the gold medal match of the Olympics.

The USA took the lead in the 32nd minute on a fantastic header from Natasha Kai. Heather O'Reilly played a great ball near the penalty area and found Tash's head.

Ireland played a tough match and held strong even though they were out shot 20-4.

The USA had many chances, but was unable to score again until the 86th minute. Heather O'Reilly cracked a great left footed shot that sailed over the Irish keeper and into the net.

The USA's next game will be on Wednesday in the states, but Thursday here. They will actually be streaming the game on ussoccer.com, so you should be able to watch it on your computer. Unfortunately...I'll be in class. ;)

Angela Hucles

Got this article off of ussoccer.com. I know it's a little late,(written during the olympics) but I thought it was a pretty inspirational. Hope you enjoy it!




Hucles the Hero

To put into perspective Angles Hucles’ performance in the 2008 Olympics, consider these statistical nuggets:

Heading into 2008, Hucles had scored exactly five goals in 70 career caps (just 27 starts) and had not scored since 2004.
In 2008, she has seven goals, including a team-leading four in the Olympics where has started all five games.
She had played in 18 matches heading into the Olympics – all in the midfield – and had started exactly one.
But when Abby Wambach went down with a broken leg 30 minutes into the USA’s last Olympic warm-up match, Hucles was called upon to step up.

It was quite a LARGE step.

Playing as a withdrawn forward behind the speedy Amy Rodriguez, Hucles has filled a valuable role linking the midfield with the forward line while finding pockets to receive the ball in front of defenses. She has been able to turn and run at the back line, play the center midfielders or spray balls to the wings. That ability has helped the U.S. attack move forward, leading to all sorts of scoring chances for her and her teammates.

“Angela Hucles is a fantastic story,” said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage, who actually traded Hucles from the Boston Breakers to the San Diego Spirit after the final WUSA season in 2003. When Sundhage took over as U.S. coach, she saw a Hucles who was fitter. faster and better able to play the style of soccer she desired. “She has been one of the most important players in this team.”

You can call it the experience of veteran player coming through. You can call it preparation meets opportunity.You can call it the right player at the right time or the right fit for the right style. Whatever you call it, call it a heck of a performance so far.

“Coming from playing in the midfield and now playing up top, I’m still playing almost directly with Shannon (Boxx) and Carli (Lloyd), so we’ve been used to playing together and it’s not as big of an adjustment,” said Hucles. “Just playing over the years with this team and having that chemistry both on and off the field has helped me personally. When there’s an adjustment like that, it really comes down to the chemistry which has helped us be successful.”

It’s not like forward is a foreign land to Hucles. It was her college position, where she is the University of Virginia’s all-time leading scorer, and also played up top for the U.S. Under-21’s. But when she broke onto the full women’s team in 2002 it was loaded with forwards, thus she moved to the midfield.

“It’s been a few years since I play forward and I haven’t been in this position where I’ve been able to shoot this much and have these kind of scoring opportunities,” said Hucles. “But overall, I’m happy whenever I get to play. Being part of the Olympics is a huge thing, much less being able to play in an Olympic final match. I love being able to score goals if that’s what’s asked of me and any way I can contribute I’m happy to do that.”
While her move from midfield to forward is impressive, her transition from the bench to the starting eleven has necessitated the most change in her outlook.

“I’ve been pretty much a substitute this entire year,” said Hucles. “My role has changed a bit with this Olympics. I think being a bench player is one of the hardest positions on this team. When you’re on the bench, you’re still playing in the game, you’re having the emotional drain, cheering, supporting your teammates, and you don’t get that physical relief that players on the field do. The substitutes don’t get enough credit a lot of time, or are overlooked.”

After Hucles scored her second goal against Japan, she ran to sidelines to celebrate with the substitutes, sharing the moment with her bench brethren.

Score one - actually two - for the reserves.

Not Much to Say

Well..nothing to interesting has happened in the past few weeks. The team starts their tour on September 13. It is supposed to be a 10 game tour, but only 3 games are scheduled so far.

It's kind of sad. I don't have much to do. I mean, no more walking through the streets of garapan trying to find the game, no more match tracker, no more staying up late, and no more gold medals to celebrate for 4 years. At least the WPS(women's professional league) will be starting up in the spring. This will give us a chance to continue to watch our national team players while looking for new up and coming stars.

I will definitely continue to blog as often as I can, but unfortunately no big tournaments will be coming up. But of course, you can count on me to keep you posted!


Let's hope that some of these games are shown on TV here!!

Until next time...

August Birthday's

Happy Birthday to Rachel Buehler, Kate Markgraf, and Aly Wagner, who all had their birthday's in August.

Rachel turned 23 on August 26, Kate turned 32 on August 23, and Aly turned 28 on August 10.

Happy Birthday to them all!

Kate Markgraf

Aly Wagner

Rachel Buehler

Still Can't Believe It

I still can't believe the USA won. To tell you the truth, after I heard Brazil beat Germany 4-1 I thought the USA were doomed. Of course I still wanted USA to win, but I didn't know how they would be able to stop Marta. Of course, and thank goodness, they proved me wrong. I didn't stay up to watch the game, but the minute I woke up I raced to the computer. When I clicked on "women's soccer results" my heart was racing like crazy. As the page loaded, all I could do was pray. When I finally saw the words "USA Women win gold," I ran around the house like a crazy person. ( I did it very silently because my family was still asleep) I was so thrilled! Not only did the defense play amazingly, but they were able to capitilize on one of their few chances. I knew for sure that Hope Solo would have an amazing game, and sure enough she did. If any of you had a chance to see some of the game highlights you know what I'm talking about. She had some spectacular saves and really was the reason this team won. The defense played amazing as well. What a great tournament for this team and for Pia, their new coach. Hopefully this team will continue to grow and improve with Pia.


Now they are going home and playing in a 3 game series against Ireland. The matches will be in Phildelphia on September 13, East Rutherford, New Jersey on September 17, and Chicago on September 20.(my birthday!!)

For video clips of the team celebration and photos go to www.ussoccer.com, and www.nbcolympics.com.

here are some more pictures from the match:

USA WINS!!!

The USA beat Brazil last night in overtime to win the gold medal! Carli Lloyd scored a great goal in the Both teams played very well and worked hard to earn that gold.
Brazil was putting pressure on the USA all night, but the stayed strong and held them off. Hope Solo played excellent and kept Brazil's top scorers, Marta and Cristiane, from scoring. Solo's best save of the night happened in the 72nd minute when when Marta go behind two defenders and dribbled the ball into the 6 yard box. Marta had an open shot, but Solo's fast reflxes kept the ball from going into the net.
Both teams fought hard, but regulation was winding down, and the game was sent into overtime. Just 6 minutes into the overtime, Carli Lloyd got the game winning goal. Lloyd got the ball from Amy Rodriguez and blasted a left footed shot past the keeper. The USA was able to hold off Brazil and win the gold.
I can't believe they won!!! I definitely had my doubts, but they proved everyone wrong. I'm so glad!! GO USA!

Natasha Kai celebrating after the win


Hope Solo and Pia Sundhage celebrating

Natasha Kai and Hope Solo on the podium




Aly Wagner, Hope Solo, and Carli Lloyd recieving their gold medals

On to the finals!

Last night USA beat Japan 4-2 and is heading to the gold medal match against the Brazilians. Yep, Brazil spanked Germany in a 4-1 win to get their spot in the finals.



Japan got the lead early in the 11th minute off of a corner. The USA thankfully didnot put their heads down and tied it up in the 41st minute off of a Angela Hucles goal. The goal started all the way down in the back from Hope Solo as she kicked a goal kick all the way up field. A Japanese defender was forced to make a clearance, but it landed at the feet of Heather O'Reilly. Heather took the ball down the line and played a cross into the middle. Hucles was able to slot it in for the USA's first goal.


The USA was then able to take the lead right before halftime on a goal coming from Lori Chalupny. She hit a rocket from 17 feet out to get the USA ahead before halftime.


In the second half the USA dominated and outshot Japan 13-6. USA's third goal came from Heather O'Reilly in the 70th minute. It started off of a throw in from Heather Mitts. O'Reilly recieved the ball and saw that the Japanese goalkeeper was off her line. She then hit a dipping shot that sailed over the Japanese keeper.


Just ten minutes later Angela Hucles got her second goal of the game on an assist from Heather O'Reilly.

Although the USA dominated, the Japanese never gave up and got their second goal in stoppage time.

I can't wait for the USA Brazil game. I think it is definitely going to be tough for the USA to get a win, but they can definitely do it. The good thing is that no matter what happenes the USA will still go home with a silver, which is pretty good considering tey are missing some key players.

GO USA!

Too Close for Comfort

Last night the USA took on Canada in the quarterfinals in a match that was 4 hours long.

The USA started off the game great. They were getting shot after shot and it seemed as if this game was going to be a blow out. In the 12th minute the USA broke through and got a goal from Angela Hucles. Amy Rodriguez went down the line and crossed the ball in near the post. Heather O'Reilly was able to get a head on it and flicked it back to Angela Hucles who put it away. The USA continued to gain momentum until they had to stop they game 21 minutes in due to lighting.


Heather O'Reilly and Lindsay Tarpley celebrate after Angela Hucles goal

The players were not allowed back on for 84 minutes and it took an extra 15 because they had to warm back up. The game resumed, but it seemed as if Canada had a good discussion in the locker room and came out with a lot of energy. In the 30th minute Canada forward Christie Sinclair got the equalizer. She took a shot and the ball went right through a full-streched Solo.

Following the goal, Canada dropped back into their defensive third playing with only one up top. They wanted to keep the USA from maintaining any possesion and tried to counter-attack whenever they had the chance. But, the USA continued to have chances as they out-shot Canada 34 to 8.

Hope Solo punches a ball out


Canada didn't have many chances, but kept the USA from scoring as regulation winded down. Just before overtime Natasha Kai was subbed in, as they hoped she would bring some energey into the game. Of course, she did.

In the 101st minute, Natasha Kai got the goal and won the game for the United States. Shannon Boxx, who earned her 100th cap in the game, played a great ball into the penalty area. Tash was able to get her head on it and score the game winning goal. It was not golden-goal overtime, so the US had to play another 29 minutes before it was over.

Tash and the team thanking the fans after the game.


Tobin Heath, Lindsay Tarpley, and Amy Rodriguez pumped up after the win.


Here are the results from the other quarterfinal games:

Germany-2 Sweeden-0

Brazil-2 Norway-1

Japan-2 China-0

The USA goes on to play Japan in the semifinals as Germany and Brazil play each other. I am actually very nervous about the USA playing Japan again. I think that they are a very good team and will give the USA some trouble. The Brazil vs. Germany game will definitely be a game to watch.

The USA plays on Monday, August 18, at 9:00pm local time, which means it would be playing at 11:00pm here. Brazil and Germany play on the same day at 6:00pm local time, which is 8:00pm here. I think we should watch the Brazil vs. Germany game at the Canton Restaurant. Go Germany!

Let's hope that the USA can beat Japan and make it to the gold medal match! I really hope that they play Germany as they haven't been playing so well in this tournament and might be easier for the USA than Brazil.

I Can't Believe It!

Before last nights matches, Norway was first in Group G, USA was second, and Japan was third. The only way for the USA to advance in FIRST was to beat New Zealand, and then have Norway lose to Japan. They would have also needed to score more goals then Norway did because both teams would be tied with 6 points.

Well..




They did it! USA creamed New Zealand 4-0, while Japan took on Norway and beat them 5-1!!! Arigato! This means that the USA finishes group G in first while Norway is in second. USA goes on to play Canada in the semi's while Norway takes on Brazil.

The first goal for the United States came in just the 41st second on a long strike by Heather O'Reilly. The New Zealand keeper cleared a ball into the midfield while Carli Lloyd jumped up for the header. Heather found the ball at her feet and saw that the keeper was way off her line. She took a dipping shot and sure enough, it went in!!
The second goal was from Amy Rodriquez off of a long ball that was played by Rachel Buehler. Lindsay Tarpley scored the third, while Angela Hucles scored the fourth.

It was a great night of soccer and I am so happy that this team came back from their first game loss!!

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

As many of you know, the Olympics is not being televised live. I was able to watch the USA Norway game on the internet, but it definitely wasn't as exciting as watching it on TV. I was planning on watching it again on the internet until I got a call from Brenda....

I guess Patty Coleman and Brenda watched some Olympic games in the past in Garapan because many shops had Chinese satelite. Brenda said that we may be able to find a place that would allow us to watch the game. Of course, I said I would go, and put on my USA gear.

Thank you to Amber for writing USA on my cheek. I literally couldn't have done it without you. :)

So, we were off. Brenda, Patty, Amber, Maddie, and I, on a quest to find the USA vs. Japan game. We searched everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE. We went to Chinese markets,massage places, restaurants, even a shooting range. But, no such luck.

Us entering the shooting range. :)

We walked down many streets, searching...but couldn't find it. We realized that our hopes of watching the game were over and that we would have to try and watch it over the internet. So, Brenda called up Rob and asked him to bring down some laptops. We then walk over to the Hyatt and wait.






The computers finally arrived and we went to work. We tried hard to get the game on the internet, but we had to settle for matchtracker.




When we got on to matchtracker, we see that the USA leads Japan 1-0!! We were relieved, but nervous that Japan would score and tie it up.


While we were watching the game, some of Brenda's students came over and joined in on the fun! :)




Thankfully the USA won the game and got 3 points. All they need to advance is a win over New Zealand, which they should be able to pull off.

Go USA!



Happy after USA won