Ryan benches Solo for consolation game at WWC

[bronx bomber]

Just an FYI, her dad died this past year and Solo dedicated the season to him. OBV she was extremely motivated to win. Coach made a terrible decision, she is immature.

[bones]

I think it's [censored] mentioning Scurry, but I have no problem with what she said to the coach. Btw, I read that the coach, who previously feuded with Brandi Chastain, spitecut her within days of getting the job. Which could contribute to the obv lack of respect from Solo.

[CardSharpCook]

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I'm surprised more people on the team didn't say something.

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It seems likely that Hope got her conviction to say something to ESPN based on the private comments of her teammates. You know, a few of them say to her, "wow, you deserve to be starting!" and then her own belief in her ability is reenforced and then she says what other players on the team are thinking. The difference is there is a more direct impact on Solo, so she is the one moved to break the lines and talk to the media. Also, the other players surely know that it is "wrong" to say something to the media because you're expressing a lack of faith in both your coach, and your goalkeeper.

[CardSharpCook]

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Just an FYI, her dad died this past year and Solo dedicated the season to him. OBV she was extremely motivated to win. Coach made a terrible decision, she is immature.

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WELL LA DI FREAKING DA!

[Assani Fisher]

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I would think that a better analogy would be a star pitcher, but you have a decent #2 pitcher who has played well against one team many years ago with all different players but somehow the color of their jersey means something so that pitcher has just got it against that team so you stick with the old flame thrower who just knows how to get out a certain color jersey.

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I thought that the backup had beaten Brazil in most recent game before this year's games?

[CardSharpCook]

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Scurry hasn’t played for the U.S. since she faced Brazil in a 2-0 win at a Giants Stadium friendly in June. She was also the goalie in the 2004 Olympic final, when the Americans beat Brazil, 2-1, in extra time in the gold medal game.

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Looking at the team's site, scurry has started 4 of the team's 15 games this year btwn jan1 and aug25. Solo, 11. Scurry also played the 2nd half of a lopsided contest vs. New Zealand. Scurry allowed 2 goals in 4.5 games. Solo had allowed 7 in 11.

starts in 2006: Scurry 3, solo 18, Branam 1.

Starts in 2005: Scurry 0, solo 7, Barnhart 2.

In 2004, Scurry would split time with Luckenbill. Luckenbill would frequently sub in for the 2nd half (sometimes during the 2nd half). Solo does not appear to be on the team in 2004.

[chuckleslovakian]

Strawberry: You're pinch-hitting for me?

Burns: Yes, you see you're a left-hander and so is the pitcher. If I send up a right-handed batter it's called playing the percentages. It's what smart managers do to win ballgames.

Strawberry: But I hit nine home runs today.

Burns: You should be very proud of yourself. Sit down.

[CardSharpCook]

still reading their website. Randomly, in a 3/12/07 game, US wins 3-2, Sweeden had 2 shots on goal... meaning Solo had zero saves.

In the 6/23 brazil match, scurry saves all 4 S.O.G.

Vs. England in jan, scurry saves 6 of 7 shots.

On 3/14 solo is 3/3 vs. denmark.

A lot of these contests have like 2 S.O.G.s for the opponent. Regardless, there doesn't seem to be any statistical data to support a theory of "scurry is obviously inferior". At least, not in recorded matches with other countries. I'm sure the team has done some research into the effectiveness of each goalie in practice. Scurry has clearly been under-used the past 3 years, but she did start 27% of the US's games this year, and with her half game, recieved 30% of the playing time at goalkeeper. It's not like they dragged her out of mothballs.

[IrishHand]

At the end of the day, a coach makes decisions and is judged based on the rationale behind them and, more importantly, the results of them.

Benching Solo was largely indefensible and had atrocious results. Ryan deserves what he's getting, both from Solo (immature, yes, correct, yes) and the media. He'll be fired within days, Solo will be starting in net for several years. She's winning this debate one way or another...it just hurts her and the national team that a chance at a World Cup was lost.

As for the "Solo may not have saved the first goal", I don't necessarily agree with that. As another posted noted, a big part of being the keeper is mental - communicating, organizing the defensive line, etc. Solo in net is a completely different situation in terms of where the defenders are, what they're thinking and what they're doing. To me, all you can fairly consider is (a) the defense was rock solid in front of her the past few games and (b) she's a superior physical goalkeeper by any measure (athleticism, speed, etc).

[Spechel EDD]

can everyone stop saying that her remarks after the game are unwarranted already

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/fifawomens/...ch_backfi.html
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For me, the fascinating part of the night was in the "mix zone" where the athletes have to walk by the press, to get to the team bus.

We were busy getting a clip from Abby Wambach when I saw Hope Solo, clearly upset, walking by. I said quietly, "Hope, do you want to comment?" The press person for the U.S., Aaron Heifetz, said out loud to me, "She didn't play, you only want to talk to people who played the game." Hope spun on her heels when she heard Heifetz say that and said, "No, I want to talk!" This is after she had walked by ESPN and other crews waiting to get clips. We were the first crew to interview her, and the first thing she said is that it was the wrong decision not to put her in net, and that she would have stopped those shots. Also, she said, the only people who would have made that decision, didn't understand the game of soccer. A stunning announcement from her, and clearly something the press person didn't want her to say. She went on to say she didn't understand the decision, that this was 2007, not 2004 (a reference to Scurry's performance in the Olympic final in 2004) and that she was terribly upset by the decision to keep her on the sidelines.

She was honest, fair, and to the point, and in my opinion, quite brave to even do the interview when she was clearly devastated at the team's result. Even more interestingly, as she walked away from the interview, she again spun on her heels and said to Heifetz: "Don't you ever tell me what interviews I can do."

Then we attempted to talk to goalkeeper Briana Scurry about the game. The same PR person who told us we can only talk to players who actually played the game, refused to let Scurry stop to talk to us. I called out to Scurry to ask her to talk and she pointed to Heifetz and said, "He's the boss." I told her she was her own boss and Hope was willing to talk to us. Scurry shook her head, and walked away.

Afterward, I told Heifetz that wasn't fair to keep Scurry away from the press. He told me what wasn't fair, was the way I was "digging" at Hope Solo. I pointed out she was the one who wanted to talk, but he walked away from me, shaking his head.

I feel I only acted as I was supposed to do as a journalist. I approached Hope in a gentle way, simply asking her if she wanted to talk. When she was told by her PR person that she wouldn't talk, she reacted in a way I think I would have in the same situation. While many times PR people are helpful in these situations, Aaron Heifitz managed to upset and anger Solo even more. That led to good clips for us that ESPN even borrowed, since they didn't have them.

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