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     USA STRIKES QUICK AND EARLY FOR RECORD 3RD TITLE
Futbol Fabone 7 and Sepp Luvs the Ladies join champ Thecomebacker and D.R. in money circle

LĪHUʻE, KAUA'I, HAWAI'I (smt) -- 1D-USA have always started strong and aggressive in their matches but either bad luck or poor finishing kept the match scoreless and their opponents usually gained strength and the halftime score is 0-0 (4 matches 0-0 @ half, another 0-0 up to the 45').  This time, less than 3 minutes in, Carli Lloyd scored in her 4th straight match and put USA ahead.  She then scored again two minutes later.  And then added an incredible- opportunistic-great half-field bomb which completed her hat trick in the 16th minute.  With Lauren Holiday's goal two minutes earlier, it was 4-0 before 1C-Japan could take a shot.  Shell-shocked, but to their credit, they fought back cutting the lead in half early in the 2nd half.  But the steady Tobin Heath sealed it two minutes later and the USA coasted to its 3rd WWC title, winning 5-2.   And yes, I wore my red shirt.  You can thank me when you see me.

So is this the first time the Twitterverse/Blogverse influenced a coach in how he/she manages?  I don't completely buy the fact this was all planned out and it is not a coincidence that the USA started "peaking" as soon as Jill Ellis, after weeks of prodding by commentators everywhere, switched the formation from the drab 4-4-2 vs Germany.  But like Steve Sampson, who was highly criticized yet won the double (US Open Cup and MLS Cup) with the LA Galaxy, Ellis now has a title to her name.

The third-place match saw 52 shots (a ridiculous 34 by 1B-Germany) but just 11 on goal and included another soft PK call.  2F-England's Fara Williams converted the PK in the 108' giving England the Bronze Medal, 1-0 after extra time.  So #1 Germany has to settle for 4th place after starting off so strong with 19 goals in the first four matches.  England's last two goals have been PKs.

So, after checking out of the Courtyard Marriott Coconut Beach lounge and watching the kickoff, we soon left the hotel to cheers.  Good sign (unless it was a bunch of Japanese tourists).  We drove about a minute down the road to a pizza parlor and heard cheers.  To my surprise it was 3-0 on SD broadcast on a HDTV.  But then saw the Lloyd golazo that went in and couldn't believe my eyes. Made the lunch less stressful, that's for sure and my son happy since was so excited that if USA won I'd get $35 for finishing 3rd.  He was a little disappointed that I already have the $35.  This does add symmetry that I won 3rd in our first WC pool in 1998  as the only person to pick France to win the cup and was 1 of 16 to pick USA to win the WWC.  Considering I only had a 6 in 1024 chance (0.59%) to win 3rd, I was relying on my second entry, Sepp 'N Turf (12th, 112) and my France pick to win the money.

Thecomebacker (135 pts) and D.R. (129), who had already clinched money took 1st and 2nd and the USA win moved Futbol Fabone 7 (128) into 3rd and Sepp Luvs the Ladies into 4th (126).  All 4 who got both semifinalists and the winner finished in the money.  So congrats to Ed L, David C, Scott T (yours truly), and Damian C. Spermicidal WFC (who had the most Group stage wins, tied for most quarterfinalists, and tied for most semifinalists) held on as long as he could but dropped from a tie for 2nd to 10th (117).  YellowCard (108) was the only one to pick Japan and would've finished 2nd but she had to settle for 14th.  Soccerhorn, who missed the last 6 matches and was in 1st after the Group Stage, took the cellar with 96 pts, one of three who did not hit the century mark.

The tiebreaker did not have to come into play for any money spots but it did decide placements for four other positions (9th/10th, 13th/14th, 18th/19th, 20th/21st).  After a surprisingly low scoring 3rd place match the USA-Japan explosion brought the final goals to 8, which was picked by 4 entries including our pool champ (EEChick1400 (9th, 117), Franfromseattle (11th, 113), and Vivisdaddy (20th, 98) were the others).

So thanks to everyone for participating, especially on such short notice.  We can expect a bigger and better pool in 2019 when the WWC moves to France.  Don't forget that next year is our 2nd HWCI Euro Pool and 2018 will be our 6th HWCI Men's World Cup pool.  2017 is a dark year for major soccer tournaments, but maybe the FIFA Confederations Cup.

    Bits 'N Bobs:  Goals: 146 (2.81/match, 52 matches) (6 own goals (8-NGA, 18-ECU (2), 35-MEX, 50-ENG, 52-USA), 18 goals by subs (3-GER (2), 8-SWE, 16-CIV, 16-THA, 16-CRC, 23-COL, 24-ENG, 24-MEX, 25-NED, 27-GER(2), 30-CMR, 31-NGA, 39-GER, 41-AUS, 42-NED, 47-JPN, 49-USA))... Shutouts: 30 (1-CHN, 2-NZL, 3-CIV, 4-THA, 5-SUI, 6-ECU, 9-KOR, 11-ENG, 13-CAN, 13-NZL, 14-NED, 17-NGA, 19-USA, 19-SWE, 21-ESP, 23-FRA, 27-THA, 29-ECU, 31-NGA, 33-CRC, 35-MEX, 37-CMR, 38-COL, 40-KOR, 41-BRA, 44-SUI, 45-CHN, 47-AUS, 49-GER, 51-GER)... Extra Time: 2 (46-GERvFRA (1:1, 1:1), 51-GERvENG (0:0, 0:1))... PSO: 1 (46-GERvFRA (5:4, 5.0 Rounds)... Hat Tricks: 6 (Anja Mittag (3-GER), Celia Sasic (3-GER), Gaelle Enganamouit (6-CMR), Fabienna Humm (18-SUI), Ramona Bachmann (18-SUI), Carli Lloyd (52-USA))... PK: 18/22 (1-CAN, 4-NOR(x-SV), 5-JPN, 6-CMR, 6-CMR, 6-CMR, 9-BRA, 13-NZL(x-CB), 18-SUI, 18-ECU, 22-KOR, 26-CHN, 36-ENG, 38-USA (x-WL), 38-USA, 39-GER, 46-GER, 49-GER(x-WL), 49-USA, 50-JPN, 50-ENG, 51-ENG)... 90'+ goals: 7 (1-CAN 92', 6-CMR 94', 14-CHN 91', 24-MEX 91', 36-COL 94', 42-NED 92', 50-ENG og 92')... Leading at Half: 25-2-6 (19 ties, L: 30-SUI, 34-ESP)... Scoring 1st Goal: 37-4-9 (2 0-0 ties, L: 16-CIV, 30-SUI, 34-ESP, 43-NOR)... Red Cards (goals for/against): 3 (6-ECU 66' (0/3), 8-COL 47' (0/2), 31-NGA 69' (0/0))...  GER finished with a +14 GD (20-6) and took an incredible 185 shots (26.4 per match), 54 of them on goal (7.7 per match), getting at least 25 shots (at least 8 on goal) in each of the first four matches (29-15, 27-8, 36-16, 25-11)... after scoring 19 goals in their first 4 matches (4.75 per match, 358 minutes), GER scored just 1 in the last 332 minutes (0.33 per match) and that was a PK... too many records to mention... Thecomebacker picked up 135 of a possible 166 points (81.3%) - of course in four years, there will be 168 possible points (first 2 matches this year didn't count) if I can actually get the pool up and running in time, this time... USA is 34-4-5 all-time in WWC... five goals propelled USA back to #1 in most goals in WWC (112 vs GER's 111)... Match Order: RR: 1-2 | 4-3 | 8-6-7-5 | 11-12-10-9 | 15-14-16-13 | 20-18-19-17 | 23-21-24-22 | 27-28^B-25-26^A | 29-30^C-31-32^D | 35-36^F-33-34^E | R16: 39-37 | 41-40-44 | 43-38 | 42 | QF: 46-45 | 47-48 | SF: 49 |50 | 3rd: 51 | Final: 52...

Remember: Your focus determines your reality. - Qui-Gon Jinn, I:TPM....
Scott