Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course it's all about Sydney Leroux.
Of course she was going to be the focal point, of course she was going to have an impact (especially with Alex Morgan out of the American lineup) and of course -- of course -- she took advantage of a Canadian mistake and scored the winner on Friday night down in Frisco, Texas.
She's the devil incarnate or she's being unfairly judged for a decision made as a teenager or she's a ferocious competitor or she's simply the dumping ground for all the pent-up anger and insecurity within Canadian soccer fans or she's brash and arrogant or she's a fabrication artist or she's some combination of all of these things, or possibly none of these things at all, depending on who you ask.
All we know for certain is that she's a very talented player who is going to be a thorn in our sides for a long time.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
The latest gouge extended the Americans' unbeaten run against Big Red, which currently stretches back to 2001, and bumped up their all-time record against Canada to some ungodly figure I don't want to look up because it will make me sad.
On a bumpy, somewhat-chewed-up field in Texas (thanks, high school football!), neither team could produce many particularly compelling scoring chances in the first half, though a sweet combination play near halftime was nearly (oh so nearly) finished off by Diana Matheson. Canada defended for their lives in much of the opening 45, a valiant effort highlighted by Kadeisha Buchanan unceremoniously kicking an American opponent in the rump.
The second half brought a bit more control by Canada and even (gasp!) a scoring chance or two. On the other end, Erin McLeod was putting in her customary good night's work, but was left hanging when a botched clearance gifted Leroux with an empty-net sitter from a few feet out.
All in all, Canada put in a respectable effort against a team that, as has been said repeatedly in this space, isn't ranked #1 in the world for nothing. There's something to be said for conceding just one goal (and a fortuitous one, at that) against a squad that can afford to have Christen Press (28 goals in 24 games for Tyreso in 2013 -- on a team that includes Marta!) come off the bench.
Here are some more of my #HotTakes:
- Despite being away from national-team duty for nearly three years, Josee Belanger didn't look out of sorts, which is encouraging. While she's not at 100% capacity yet, Canada could definitely use her as an attacking option in the near future (which is why John Herdman incessantly bugged her to come back to the program, after all).
- Remember when Canada played the USA last June, and Buchanan (at age 17) started, and we were all "WTF?" My oh my, how times have changed. And yeah, she's still just 18.
- One of Herdman's main goals for the evening, spelled out on Thursday, was to avoid conceding early and avoid getting beat in transition. Well, the latter point was moot, since it was largely one-way traffic; and for the second straight meeting, Canada held the Americans scoreless through the 70th minute.
What's next for this team?
This week, we'll learn the details of three home friendlies in 2014 (to be played in Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver, unless the CSA is putting press conferences in those cities just to troll the locals). No word on opponents, but if the USA is on that slate (especially if it's the Vancouver game), well then, the fuel just keeps getting added to this fire. Before any of that, though, the ladies will head off to the Cyprus Cup next month.
Will we ever beat the Americans again? Will anyone (they've now gone, I believe, 843 games without a loss [citation needed])? Time will tell. But if the soccer gods have any mercy -- or at least, a cheeky sense of humour -- the next cross-border showdown will feature a brace for Rachel Quon en route to a Canadian triumph.
Then again, as we were reminded on Friday, the soccer gods seemingly don't have any mercy. Not for us, anyway.
Maybe Abby Wambach's constantly yelling in their ears too?
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