Wednesday’s was only one game, but it’s a game that’s consistent with a larger body of work. And yet she’s being put in position to be judged against players who’ve trained most of their lives to be midfielders. And when, in the second half, Cheney was near the penalty area and put a nice touch on a ball hit out of the back, we saw that forward’s skill set still rests in her. It’s almost an unfair challenge to give somebody - asking a player so close to becoming a world-class striker to, in her mid-20s, become a world-class midfielder. Tonight, however, Cheney failed to show she can be an improvement. That lack of creativity is a problem when Carli Lloyd is in the team, too. Until Sydney Leroux started dropping back and to take the ball high in midfield, the U.S. When Scotland’s midfield gave her time to turn and look upfield, Cheney demurred. One-touch passes into defense and wide to O’Reilly and Rapinoe need to be complemented by a threat going forward. Cheney was competent and mistake-free paired with Shannon Boxx in the middle, but for a team at the U.S.'s level, being competent is not enough. On Wednesday, that learning curve was exposed. So Lauren Cheney, who also has the intelligence and technical quality to play in midfield, has been slowly adapting to a middle-of-the-park role since post-2011 World Cup. Getty ImagesLauren Cheney, midfielder, is still a question mark - She has all the skills to be a great forward, but on a team that has Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, and Sydney Leroux being great is no guarantee of playing time. For Press, it was her third-goal of the week, but with no defender within eight yards of her as she raced into the right side of the box, it was clear the Scots had finally worn down. Thirteen minutes later Christen Press, who had just come on for Wambach, slid a 10-yard shot inside the right post to make it 3-0.
Heading home the 153rd goal of her career, Wambach gave the U.S. In the 51st minute, that running finally paid off when Leroux cut under defender Jennifer Beattie and onto a pass from O’Reilly before crossing for Abby Wambach. was finally able to open up the Scottish defense. Thanks in large part to the effort of forward Sydney Leroux, the U.S. was up 1-0.Īfter playing out the rest of a choppy first half, the U.S. Taking advantage of a moment’s indecisiveness, the U.S. Megan Rapinoe, having switch flanks with Heather O’Reilly five minutes earlier, was allowed to collect the pass and wait for it to drop toward her right foot before curling a shot inside the left post with the outside of her boot. The U.S.'s opening goal came in the 21st minute after the Scots turned off on a cross from the U.S.'s left. had initial difficulty creating opportunities against a Scottish defense content to keep the world’s No. Without somebody willing to assume a creative presence, the U.S. lacked fluidity going forward, single-touches throughout their team failing to generate any meaningful scoring chances. With Tobin Heath, Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan all missing from Sermanni’s starting XI, the U.S.
fail to establish any rhythm against a Scottish defense that was quick to collapse into its own end. with few lessons learned as they closed out a two-match set with Scotland.Ī choppy beginning to the match saw the U.S. A flat performance against inferior opposition left the U.S. Women’s National Team to cruise to a 3-1 victory over Scotland, but if Tom Sermanni is looking for Christen Press-esque positives from Wednesday’s match in Nashville, the team’s new head coach will be hard pressed. A severe step back from their Saturday form was still good enough for the U.S.
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