The Streak is Over

Waking up at a semi-unnatural time this morning, thousands of fans across the United States put on their gold jerseys and tuned in to watch their U.S. Womens National Team play Brazil. Sure, we were nervous because it was the Samba Girls - but never doubted for a second that we would not end up the victors.

90 minutes and four Brazilian goals later, we sat stunned in our living rooms.

The game started out with the U.S. on 100% attack mode - pure momentum and adrenaline. This energy quickly shifted when Osbourne tried to clear a header from a cross in the box, but she mis-directed the ball, sliding past Brianna Scurry and into the goal. 1-0 Brazil. In the 40 hours leading up to the game, fans and press alike were all shocked about Coach Ryan's decision to replace Hope with Brianna, but with Brianna's 12-0 career record vs. Brazil, we were confident in his decision even if it did visibly shake up the chemistry of the starting 11. Osbourne's own-goal was a fluke which put the U.S. in an awkward, somewhat-comprimising position of settling a little too far into defense in the following moments.

7 minutes later, Brazil's Marta appears at the top-of-the-box, and nails a left-footed ball which cuts through a few U.S. defenders and in a narrow space between Brianna's gloves and the post. Goal. Brazil 2-0. This was the first time our team has trailed by two goals in their 51-game unbeaten streak.

The next downfall for the U.S. came when Boxxy was literally run over by Brazilian Christiane - yet surprisingly Shannon was issued a second yellow card. As she was laying on her back, stunned from being pushed to the ground, the referee showed her a red card. At this point, all the fans watching at home were throwing their coffee and pancakes at the tv, butterflies in their stomach because they knew we needed all 11, we needed Shannon.

With Carli coming in for Lopez in the Second Half, and despite being down 2 goals and 1 player, the hope for a comeback was still there. Marta and her Brazilians kept the pressure on, making pass after pass until they found the open player. Their aggressive intensity came an easy option for Christiane, having time to setup and beat Scurry inside the box, making an effortless goal in the 57th minute.
"I'm heartbroken." - Abby Wambach

The 2006 FIFA Female Player of the Year has again been called the most valuable in the world, and she did not disappoint in today's game. Weaving through players, dancing a mini-samba while trying to fake out Ellertson, you can't take your eyes off of Marta. The goal of the match came in the 79th, when the forward back-heeled a ball into the air - a pass to herself - through Ellertson, cut back past Cat and shot the ball into the right corner of the net. Making finesse and technique look easy and effortless, the crowd in Dragon Stadium ooh'ed and ahh'ed everytime Marta touched the ball, and gave her a standing ovation after this conversion.

10 minutes left, 4 goals to 0, and 1 man down, the outcome of the game was looking bleak for the U.S. WNT. After a short few minutes of battles in the midfield, the whistle is blown and the game is officially in the books. The 51-game undefeated streak is over. The tears are flowing. The season is done. The United States has not won the Women's World Cup.

Abby sums it up best - "We could have come out stronger I think, but today was Brazil's day. I'm heartbroken." Ms. Wambach, we feel your pain.