The U.S. Women’s National Team began their title defense by
celebrating thirteen times—often garishly—against heavy underdog Thailand. Some
spectators, including this blogger, took umbrage to those unwarranted dances,
in effect, the big team lording it over the much smaller side well after the
competitive portion of the match had concluded. As the Women’s World Cup wended
onward, the U.S. would experience the sport’s encroaching parity, scoring
thirteen times over the ensuing six matches. The team’s swagger never wavered, though,
and they applied it throughout intense 2-1 triumphs against Spain, host nation
France, and England, a team which, arguably, could’ve dethroned the Americans
in the semifinals, but for an offside flag and a saved penalty. The battling
spirit of the American women even clashed with the White House as an enjoyable
Twitter feud erupted between President Trump and co-captain Megan Rapinoe, an
indefatigable star and buoyant spokeswoman. Rapinoe converted a fortuitous
second half penalty in the final against the brilliant Dutch goalkeeper, giving
the U.S. a deserved lead with thirty minutes to play. Had they triumphed
against The Netherlands one-nil, the Women’s National Team would have lifted
the trophy all the same, jumped around a champagne-soaked locker room after
receiving their medals, and returned to the U.S. with a freshly bolstered claim
to receive the same pay as the U.S. Men’s National Team (who’ve never won a World
Cup quarterfinal). Yet the match still required a reminder of why pundits call
football “the beautiful game.”
The call is best in
Spanish, but that video has been deleted!
This one features the entire play as well as Chariots of Fire.
While many may dwell in the world of the outcome—midfielder Rose Lavelle’s stunning cracker—the play began with defender Crystal Dunn, who tackled the ball by going to ground. Midfielder Sam Mewis created the opportunity for a counter by controlling the ball and dribbling it toward the center of the pitch before passing. On rushed Lavelle, who charged right into the counter-attack, driving the ball up the heart of the Dutch defense, aided by Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and Tobin Heath, whose runs forced the defenders to maintain their shape; otherwise, the defense might have collapsed on Lavelle or forced her to pass. Lavelle did four crucial things in a flash: (1) she turned the defenders inside out with her graceful quickness, (2) she didn’t reveal her intentions re: passing or shooting, (3) she created space for the shot with a last-second right-footed touch; and (4) she struck the ball as well as anyone—male or female—can hit a football, just as the two center backs converged in an effort to block her attempt. The midfielder celebrated in fabulous form and let’s talk about her celebration. Unlike Rapinoe, who often strikes a pose, Lavelle jumped into the arms of her teammates, and not just the ones on the field, but she rushed to the sidelines where she leapt into the arms of the bench players. (We’re not knocking Rapinoe—we admire her play and her tweets.) The goal crippled the Dutch, who probably revered it as much as we did. As you know, the game ended two-nil, with Lavelle having scored the thirteenth of the goals that followed the first thirteen against Thailand.
After the competition had ended, the media declared that
boys (in addition to girls) could draw inspiration from the USWNT. We agree
with this of course, but why stop there? This blogger is an old bloke
well-removed from his meager athletic efforts, and I’ve watched the goal a
preposterous number of times. Some of my writer colleagues scoff at the
importance of sports, but they’re wrong to be that way. Win or lose, sportswomen
like Lavelle and her teammates teach us about brashness and technique; they
teach us about the wildness (or wilderness) of the moment. I wonder how many
girls, boys, and adults can name even one player on the U.S. Men’s National
Team, when they can probably name a goodly number of the starting eleven on the
women’s side, who deserve, by now, the same treatment as their underachieving
and lesser-known male counterparts (who could always join the “diving team” if “soccer”
didn’t work out.) The goal, meanwhile, will be admired for years to come. Forza Lavelle!
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