On to Hangzhou!

The new Olympic Stadium in Tianjin is truly a spectacular structure seating 58,000. Driving in I got the impression that all of the security was just a dress rehearsal for next year’s Olympics. I arrived with enough time to walk around and admire the building.



Arriving at the SMC (Stadium Media Center) is getting to be a bit like walking into the office, just in a different city. Mike, Nick and Jaime from ESPN, Raj and Zhaubin from Sports News TV, Ronald from Getty and Sal from USA Today. There are brief greetings for those who had been down in Wuhan or Hangzhou for the last few days, everyone sat down started to work.

There was a new crew on the scene. Julie Foudy and the other ESPN broadcast team had just arrived from Connecticut to broadcast from the stadium instead of the studio.

By the time the game got started, my primary thought was – thank god it’s not raining!

The first half with England was incredibly even. Intense, aggressive, but balanced. Both teams were having trouble settling into their game. Both playing well, but neither fully playing their game, it was more like they were each being reactive, instead of measured and responsive.

At the end of the first half, each only had one shot on goal and balanced stats.

The second half was a different game, it was our game! For the first time in the tournament, the US team was truly playing their game and they were fabulous. They marked every move and the passing was, as the English would say – Spot on!

Abby got the first goal three minutes into the half, using her head of course.





She and the English captain, Faye White had a head-to-head battle all night.




Defensively, Christie Rampone (you know, Rylie’s mom) fiercely covered every move and as I have come to expect, Heather O’Reilly was all over the field, with both speed and quickness.







Another clean sheet for Hope and on to Hangzhou!