US women must beat Costa Rica?for Olympic berth

The United States women's national team may be Hope-less in a winner-take-all qualification match for the 2012 Olympic Games against Costa Rica on Friday night.

But, even without Hope, you can still bet the Barnhart on the U.S. women punching their ticket to London.

All puns aside, the U.S. women could take the pitch against Costa Rica in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualification tournament without Hope Solo in tow as their star goalkeeper nurses a quad injury that she aggravated against Mexico on Tuesday night after originally sustaining the injury during her much-ballyhooed stint on "Dancing With the Stars." If she can't go, longtime backup Nicole Barnhart, who filled in an injured Solo during much of the team's World Cup qualifying campaign, will be pressed into duty for the first time in the tournament.

Either way, Solo's sore leg should be nary a concern for the U.S. against a Costa Rican team that has not only never beaten the U.S., but never scored a goal against them. The U.S. holds a 34-0 scoring edge over Las Ticas in seven matchups.

Naysayers and worriers may be having flashbacks to November 2010, when, with Solo out following shoulder surgery and Barnhart in goal, the U.S. suffered a shocking 2-1 defeat in the semifinals of World Cup qualifying to a Mexican team that, at the time, had also never beaten their American rivals. El Tri, however, demonstrated an ability to hang with and seriously challenge the U.S. in matches prior to their World Cup qualifying clash.

Costa Rica -- defensively overwhelmed in a 5-1 loss to Christine Sinclair and Canada on Monday night -- has never done that, and it seems unlikely they will do so on Friday night against a very in-form U.S. squad that has yet to surrender a goal in Olympic qualification while outscoring opponents 31-0 in three matches. Thanks to some stellar play from the backline and aggressive challenges by holding midfielders Shannon Boxx and Carli Lloyd, Solo has hardly been called upon to do anything, making a total of just three saves.

Las Ticas simply lack the skill and fitness necessary to pose a true challenge to the Americans. Only the would-be biggest upset in U.S. women's soccer history can stand between the U.S. and an Olympic berth.

So, with or without Hope, the U.S. women can start packing their bags for London.

A few more things to keep an eye on Friday night:

If she plays, will Barnhart be rusty?
Barnhart has started a grand total of one match over the past five months, a 1-1 draw with Sweden on Nov. 19. So it stands to reason that there may be a few cobwebs to shake out. But, Barnhart got plenty of reps in the team's November camp while Solo was competing on "Dancing With the Stars." It's unlikely that she'll have any significant problems being ready.

Who will replace Ali Krieger?
Heather Mitts got the nod to replace Krieger following her knee injury against the Dominican Republic, and started again in her place at right back against Guatemala. But against Mexico, Pia Sundhage elected to slide normal first-choice center back Rachel Buehler out wide, with Becky Sauerbrunn taking Buehler's place in the middle next to captain Christie Rampone. While perhaps not as smooth on her runs and crosses from out wide as Krieger or Mitts, Buehler gave an absolutely dogged defensive effort, stymying the speedy Monica Ocampo in her attempts to attack from the left wing. Plus, Heather O'Reilly has been so dominant on the right wing that the U.S. can likely afford to sacrifice a bit of offensive production at right back. Look for Buehler to be back on the outside again.

Will Sydney Leroux continue to play ahead of Alex Morgan?
Morgan was the breakout star of the 2011 World Cup, but the 21-year-old Leroux has been the breakout star of this tournament with her five-goal performance in the second half against Guatamela. Morgan has struggled for playing time in Sundhage's new 4-2-3-1 formation, with Abby Wambach serving as the lone striker. So, it was interesting - perhaps surprising - to see Leroux, not Morgan, get the call to line up next to Wambach when Sundhage switched to a 4-4-2 formation to begin the second half against Mexico. Keep an eye on who the first striker off the substitutes bench is Friday night. If it's Leroux again, it will be a strong sign that she's played her way into prime position to make the London roster.

Source: http://www.universalsports.com/news-blogs/blogs/blog=olympact/postid=577074.html

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