U.S. women move to do-or-die semis

By: JournalNow Staff | The Associated Press
Published: January 26, 2012

VANCOUVER, British Columbia --

The U.S. women's soccer team was still on the field Tuesday night, having dispatched rival Mexico, when Abby Wambach gathered her teammates for a little speech.

The message: "We haven't done anything yet."

The Americans avenged one of their most shocking losses, and did so emphatically. Two early goals put to rest any notion of another upset by Mexico, and Carli Lloyd scored her first international hat trick in a 4-0 victory that clinched first place in the Americans' group and put them a major step closer to the London Olympics.

But hang on. Next up is the one game in this tournament that matters most, the London-or-bust semifinal against Costa Rica on Friday. The winner gets one of the two available berths for the Olympics; the loser stays home.

Wambach and her teammates remember all too well the sting from a 2-1 defeat against Mexico in Cancun in a World Cup qualifier 14 months ago, the only time in 28 tries the Mexicans have beaten the Americans. That loss forced the U.S. into a backdoor playoff just to qualify for the World Cup.

"This was the exact same position that we were in, in Mexico in 2010," Wambach said. "We haven't done anything. We still have one game left. That's what I said — stay focused.

"It's simple. I think everybody understands it. But I also think that in hindsight we wish we had said something like that prior to that game. Because we didn't say those things, I didn't want to leave any stone unturned. And that's kind of what that speech was about."

The Americans will be heavily favored in the semis. Costa Rica is ranked No. 41 in the world and has never beaten the U.S., having been outscored 34-0 in seven meetings. Had the Americans lost to Mexico on Tuesday, they would have faced a much tougher semifinal against host Canada.

Instead, it will be Mexico vs. Canada in the other semi that will produce the tournament's second Olympic berth.

Note: Solo is nursing what she called "a little quad pull." She had an ice pack on the leg after the game.