U.S. Women's Soccer Get's Epic Victory Over Japan

Hope Solo

Carli Lloyd played like Michael Jordan in the swang song to a World Cup season- which makes Megan Rapinoe her Scottie Pippen perhaps.

With her defensive prowess in net, Hope Solo would naturally be Dennis Rodman in this hoop laden analogy, but the whole endeavor is to explain, describe, evoke the pure dominance that the US World Cup Women's soccer team displayed in the revenge laden massacre of Japan to capture the championship victory.

Last time around it was Japan who walked away with the victory.  Well, actually the U.S. team avenged that loss with an Olympic victory in soccer, but who cares about Olympic soccer?  Going into the U.S. vs Japan rematch game, the women kept repeating that they were not trying to remedy a wrong with a victory over Japan.  Their play proved them to be telling the truth because this team played as if they were seeking to be seen as the best team in the world and beyond, and they used the World Cup championship platform as an opportunity to display the full capacity of their ability.  They may have only scratched the surface on their ability as a team.

Megan Rapinoe

Without a doubt, the younger players who were either backups during the last defeat, or weren't even on the team, felt the necessity of bringing their best for the vets.  After scoring 4 goals within the first half of the first half, the U.S. came back down to earth and gave up a restless goal by falling asleep against a dangerous opponent.  Japan threatened to score two more times before I could fully ingest their first strike, but Hope Solo rose up like Rodman to stifle Japan's attack.  Although they had to deploy it early, Japan abandoned the kamikaze approach this time because it proved to open the field up to the space the U.S. needed for the 4-0 breakout. In sports with nets and goalies, 3 goals is a cushion while 2 goals simply is not. Playing with any lead can be tough- unless you are on a mission slightly larger than a World Cup.

Lloyd playing for the U.S. national team in
San Jose, California on May 10, 2015.

What was clear to fans like me, who only care to watch soccer during the World Cup or when I score some free tickets to see the July 4th Colorado Rapids game, complete with fireworks (still waiting on that to happen actually), was that the U.S. team was stronger, faster, more talented and totally better coached this time as well.  They were the Chicago Bulls with Lloyd creating extreme problems like Jordan, attracting so much defensive attention all while scoring and creating for teammates, just like Mike. Winning the Cup was valuable to this team, but seemed a distant second to establishing themselves as the best team in the galaxy, bar none.



Just the dynamic of U.S. versus Japan begs recollection of two nations once at war, and the lingering impact of animus that feels historically deposited into the DNA of each nations citizens.  We may never find ourselves dropping bombs on one another, but we darn sure expect war in athletics every chance we get.  If the 4 quick strikes from the U.S. didn't destroy the will of the enemy- and it didn't- would we need another deadly onslaught  to avoid the risk of playing too defensive, encouraging a Japan comeback? Once Japan closed the score to 2 points in the second half, the U.S. quickly responded to re-establish their cushion and their credibility as the best team in the galaxy. Maybe the universe.

Several of the players found themselves at a loss for words with the dominance of their "out of this world" performance.  Could their be a team in another universe that might have beaten this team last night?

Not last night.  Not in this universe or any other.  That is what message our U.S. women's soccer team sent with their manner of play.  No matter who they had to play on that day, this team was focused on prevailing.  As they finally raised the championship trophy before a Canadian crowd of 50,000, it seemed eerily small compared to the enormity of the performance.  It also seemed to be exactly the statement that they were after.