U.S. Seems Uninspired in 1-0 Win Over Canada

Based solely on its less-than-impressive performance Saturday, the United States women’s national soccer team will struggle to win the Olympic gold medal when it travels to Greece next month.

Unless, that is, it considerably lifts the level of play from its last two games.

The Americans won, edging Canada, 1-0, on defender Heather Mitts’ first international goal, but what the crowd of 9,110 at the Coliseum in Nashville was treated to was anything but the U.S. at its best.

Coach April Heinrichs’ squad, with the single exception of midfielder Kristine Lilly, was uninspired.

There was no passion to its play, no spontaneity and no inventive flair. It was a solid, predictable performance, the grind-it-out, wear-them-down, by-the-book sort of soccer that can turn fans into former fans.

The U.S. attacked for most of the 90 minutes, but pass after pass sent in from the wings resulted in either poor finishing or good defending. There was no U.S. player able or willing to run at the defense, to dribble, to try something out of the ordinary -- the way Tiffeny Milbrett and Mia Hamm used to do.

Canada had not played a game in almost four months and had only one practice before the match. It also started 16-year-old defender Emily Zurrer and four other teenagers who are headed to the FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Championship in Thailand in the fall.

Given that, and given that Heinrichs had named her Olympic team Tuesday, more was expected from the American squad.

True, the U.S. kept the play primarily in Canada’s half and took 20 shots, but only 10 of those were on target, and nine of them were saved by lively Canadian goalkeeper Taryn Swiatek.

The U.S. also earned 13 corner kicks but wasted all of them except Hamm’s effort from the right corner in the 73rd minute. Hamm got the ball to defensive midfielder Shannon Boxx, and Boxx’s header into a scrum of players in front of the net was redirected past Swiatek from about one yard by Mitts.

For its part, Canada managed only eight shots, but the four of those that were on target gave goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill, making her first start for the U.S., no problems.

“The game of soccer is such that one team can dominate and the other team can hang in there until the end,” Heinrichs told Associated Press. “That’s what happened to us tonight.

“We played well and created a plethora of chances. Any other night, we might capitalize on four of five of those chances. Tonight we only scored on one.”

The U.S. scored only once in its previous game, a 1-1 tie against Japan on June 6.

Heinrichs has two games left -- against Australia in Blaine, Minn., on July 21 and against China in Hartford, Conn. on Aug. 1 -- before the Olympics.

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Jones reported from Los Angeles.