Will add some plays here as well since this is the Olympic hot spot
Going to take Australia +2 goals (-110) over USA Woman's soccer
They played earlier this week it was 2-1 and Abby Wabach who has scored 16 goals in 17 games is serving a one game suspension and will not be there with Mia Hamm to play..... Article below
220 to win 200
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THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) -- It's time for Mia Hamm to get a new partner -- for one game, at least.
With Abby Wambach out with a suspension, Hamm will find a different cohort at the front of the attack when the U.S. women's soccer team plays Australia in its final first-round game Tuesday.
``We'll miss Abby's presence,'' Hamm said. ``You can't discount the impact she has on this team. But at the same time we have some players who, when called upon, can contribute.''
It'll be quite a pair of shoes to fill. Wambach has scored 16 goals in 17 games and was directly involved in four of the five goals in 3-0 and 2-0 victories over Greece and Brazil.
There's also the chemistry factor. Hamm and Wambach have both scored in four straight games, including the final two warmups before the Olympics. That streak comes to an end because of Wambach's one-game suspension, which she received for committing yellow-card fouls in the first two games.
The good news is that the U.S. team already has qualified for the quarterfinals and only needs a tie against the Australians to clinch the group. The better news is that coach April Heinrichs is spoiled for choice with talented players to put on the front line.
``You could pick Lindsay Tarpley, Cindy Parlow or Heather O'Reilly,'' Heinrichs said. ``You could have Kristine Lilly play up top and shift somebody else to midfield.''
Tarpley and O'Reilly are the two youngest players on the roster. O'Reilly, still a teenager, is also the team's fastest player.
``The thing she has that no one else on our team has is blazing speed,'' Hamm said. ``She has the ability to get behind any defense.''
Tarpley is versatile, able to play any midfield position, as well as forward. She was a sparkplug as a second-half substitute in the victory over Brazil, a game that was tied at halftime.
``She's just got great soccer instinct,'' Hamm said. ``She's someone who just goes out there and plays by feel.''
Then there's the veteran Parlow, playing her third Olympics. At 5-foot-11, she is as tall as Wambach and plays a similar physical game.
The Lilly option is less likely. Heinrichs did move Lilly forward in order to play three attackers in the second half against Brazil, but the longtime veteran is best in midfield.
Heinrichs said she won't reveal her choice until kickoff.
``All four of them give us a different look,'' she said. ``And it depends on what you want and what your team needs and what your opponent poses in terms of problems.''
Although her team is playing its third game in seven days -- and already is assured of advancing to the next round -- Heinrichs said she will not be conservative as play as though content for a draw.
``It's very difficult to manipulate the results or manipulate the placement,'' she said. ``I don't think we've tried to do that, ever. It's dangerous thinking.''
Heinrichs got some good news Monday when FIFA president Sepp Blatter, in a visit to the athletes' hotel, announced a change in the yellow-card suspension rule for these Olympics. Heinrichs had said the usual FIFA rule was unfair because not all of the women's teams are playing the same number of first-round games.
Under the normal rules, a player who receives two yellow cards in the first round of a major tournament is suspended for the quarterfinals. Under the change, Blatter said players in the four-team Group G, which includes the United States, will not be suspended if they receive a second yellow card in their third game. The only exception would be if a player receives two yellow cards -- or one red card -- in that third game.
The change does not affect Wambach, but it does benefit defender Christie Rampone, who received a yellow card Saturday against Brazil. She now can play in Tuesday's game against Australia without the worry of getting suspended for another yellow card.
The Americans also will be interested to hear their reception from the fans in their second game at Kaftanzoglio Stadium. The team was booed often in the second half against Brazil, although it was difficult to tell whether the sentiment was anti-Americanism or just frustrated fans rooting for the underdog.
``I was just surprised about how the crowd was so against us,'' defender Joy Fawcett said. ``We were told to expect it, but it just kind of surprised me. They were for Brazil, and if our fans cheered, they'd cheer over them.''
LENNON NIGHT
