The Morning After: US vs. North Korea in Women's World Cup

The Morning After is a recurring piece highlighting a particular match the morning after it occurs or whenever we get around to posting it.

---

By Kayla

The US kicked off their bid for the 2011 Women's World Cup today against North Korea, finishing with a 2-0 result that gained them three points and placed them at the top of their table.

The North Koreans held the Americans scoreless in the first half, while the US remained strong by controlling the play with their speed and passing.  Overall, the North Koreans almost matched the Americans in possession, but the Americans' 12 shots on goal produced 2 goals in the second half of play.  After four shots directly to the keeper, Lauren Cheney's persistence paid off as she finally got through with a header in the 54th minute.  It was her 14th goal in her 40th appearance for the US.  Cheney admits that headers are not her strong point as a player but knew that her persistent attempts to score would eventually give way to a goal.

Defender Rachel Buehler scored in the 76th minute from a right-footed strike that was the result of a header from Carli Lloyd, which insured the win for the US.
Hopefully this match is the beginning of a return to form for the US ladies, who have been criticized for their inconsistency from three losses in the past five months (this after more than two years since their last loss).

The US will continue group play on Saturday when they take on Colombia, who lost to Sweden 1-0 in their first group stage match. 

Strangely enough, North Korea's coach Kwang Min Kim blames their loss to the US on a June 8th incident during a training session where more than five players (including the keeper and four defenders) were struck by lightning.  Although the incident resulted in the involved players being sent to the hospital and a physician stating they would not be back to full health in time for the World Cup, Kim's players still joined the squad for the tournament.  Kim's comments caught most people off guard, due to the fact that no one else seemed to be aware of the incident.

Makes you wonder what would have happened if the North Koreans had won and Kim still decided to retell of the events on June 8th.  Theories of super human strength due to the lightning, perhaps?

Clearly, she flipped Carli Lloyd with her mind.


Kayla is a writer, co-editor & co-founder of The Captain's Armblog.  She enjoys eating too many sweets, writing, and defending Fernando Torres. Send her digital candies to thecaptainsarmblog@gmail.com