With the United States and Canada playing two friendlies against each other in less than a week, it could have been predicted that neither team would necessarily bring their best on Saturday night. USWNT head coach Pia Sundhage decided to experiment with a new formation and players in new roles, and while plenty of positives came out of the match, the team looked like they had more to work on than aspects of their game completely sorted out, as both teams were slightly disappointing in a 1-1 draw.
USA Vs. Canada, 2011 Friendly: Full Time, USWNT And Canucks Play To 1-1 Draw
The USWNT goal was a penalty, scored in the first half by Abby Wambach. Carli Lloyd created the chance with a great through ball into the box for Heather O’Reilly, who had her shot saved by Erin McLeod. The follow-up shot by Wambach was handled and a penalty was given, then converted by USWNT’s current leading goal scorer.
Canada struggled to get into the game for much of the first half, but would eventually fight a goal just before the halftime whistle. On a counter-attack, central defenders Christie Rampone and Rachel Buehler were caught well out of position, then beaten for pace by Melissa Tancredi, who finished well past Hope Solo for Canada’s equalizer.
Both teams used a number of substitutions in the second half to get a look at a number of different players, and that became the primary function of the rather uneventful 45 minute period. Canada had a chance to win at the death when Lloyd committed a bad giveaway to Lauren Sesselmann, but the former striker and now defender missed an absolute sitter.
The teams will meet again later in the week at Jeld-Wen Field in Portland, Oregon, where both managers might be willing to experiment with much different teams.
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