Choosing Briana Scurry Over Hope Solo was the Wrong Decision

Did Coach Greg Ryan Cost the US Women's National Soccer Team a Chance to Go to the World Cup Finals?

"It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the match knows that." (ESPN)

This is just a portion of what Hope Solo said following the United States loss in the World Cup Semifinal match to Brazil, 4-0. From the time World Cup Group play began, Solo recorded shutouts in 3 of the 4 matches she was in goal, with those being the matches against Sweden and Nigeria, and then a strong team from England in the quarterfinals. The only match in which she gave up any goals was the first match of World Cup Group Play against Korea, in which the match ended in a 2-2 tie. (Fifa.com)

It was not as if Solo did not have the experience, she has recorded 45 appearances and was named the starting goalkeeper in 2005 (Wikipedia) on the United States National Team and had been their starting goalkeeper throughout World Cup Qualifying. Apparently, though, Greg Ryan thought that replacing Solo in the World Cup Semifinal match against Brazil with Brianna Scurry would benefit the team in some way. Ryan justified his decision by mentioning that Scurry had performed well in the past against the Brazilian National Team. However, the fact remains that Scurry had not played in a match since June of 2007.

I thought everyone knew the saying "don't rock the boat". Apparently, Coach Ryan was not aware of this phrase when he made the goalkeeper switch prior to the World Cup Semifinals. The team was on a 51 match unbeaten streak, Solo had only allowed two goals in World Cup Group Play and even Nike viewed her importance on the team by putting her in their latest marketing campaign entitled, "The Greatest Team You've Never Heard Of". Making a goalkeeper switch when the current goalkeeper has not done anything wrong is a bad decision for several reasons. First, it brings more attention to the entire team, in the form of questions and press conferences, causing them to lose focus in matches and in practice. Also, it makes everyone wonder what was really behind the decision making-in this case, why would Coach Ryan replace the goalkeeper that has been labeled the starting goalkeeper since 2005.