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Showing posts with label Sandra Sepulveda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sandra Sepulveda. Show all posts

July 6, 2011

Colombia 0, Korea DPR 0

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With neither team having a chance at the quarterfinals, Colombia and Korea DPR battled to a scoreless draw over 90 minutes. Both teams finished with one point in Group C, but technically Korea DPR finishes ahead of Colombia because of goal differential.

Colombian coach Ricardo Rozo elected not to start Yoreli Rincon, nor did he use her as a substitute. Both teams went with the same goalkeeper they had in the first two matches, Hong Myong Hui for Korea and Sandra Sepulveda for Colombia.

Momentum shifted back and forth over the first 45 minutes. Colombia took the early initiative, with Korea pressuring more after the 20th minute, but Colombia closing the half strong.

Orianica Velasquez was the most active player in this match. She attempted two shots early on, with Hong saving one near the post and the other going wide.

In the 7th minute, Jo Yun Mi shot wide from 18 yards on Korea's first really offensive opportunity of the day. Jo had one of the best chances of the half for Korea in the 25th minute, but her hard shot from 12 yards was saved by Sepulveda. Later a cross found Jo making a near post run, but her shot went wide of the left post.

Colombia may have gotten a bit lucky late in the half. Ra Un Sim attempted to dribble into the penalty area, but was knocked down by Nataly Arias. The referee allowed play to continue with no foul being whistled.

Velasquez continued to fire away in the 2nd half. In the 55th minute, she sent one well over the net from 20 yards. A little later, her free kick from 35 yards was a laser beam, but unfortunately right at Hong.

Katerin Castro had a chance in the 67th minute, as she received the ball 12 yards from the goal on the right side of the penalty area, but her shot was blocked by a Korean defender before it reached the goal.

In the 72nd minute, Ri Ye Gyong shot the ball over the net. Another Korean chance came in the 85th minute as Jo was able to attempt an uncontested header from 10 yards, but put it wide of the left post.

Velasquez had one final effort in stoppage from 35 yards, but the ball sailed a foot wide of the left post. The match ended in a scoreless draw.

Surprisingly, with so many shots in this match, there were very few dangerous scoring chances. Both teams had to be disappointed to come away from the tournament without scoring a goal. But considering these were the two youngest teams at the World Cup, perhaps they have a bright future to look forward to.

July 2, 2011

United States 3, Colombia 0

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United States dominated Colombia for most of 90 minutes, taking their second Group C match with a 3-0 victory and it really could have been much more. The Americans took 27 shots, nine of which were on goal and nearly all were dangerous.

The victory means that the United States have qualified for the quarterfinals, with only first and second place in Group C to be decided. The US will meet Sweden on Wednesday to settle that.

Both teams made changes to their starting lineups. Lori Lindsey started for Shannon Boxx in the midfield to give the veteran a bit of rest. Meanwhile, Colombian coach Ricardo Rozo elected not to start his young star Yoreli Rincon who had struggled in their first match.

The first chance came in just the third minute. Lauren Cheney played a ball into the left side of the box, but Amy Rodriguez's shot from a bad angle was saved by Sandra Sepulveda.

Just four minutes later, Heather O'Reilly's cross from the right side found Abby Wambach on the left side of the box. Wambach's shot was saved by Sepulveda and the rebound went to a wide open Rodriguez who skied the ball over the crossbar. Sepulveda injured her hand on the save on Wambach and the injury may have cost her later in the match.

Rodriguez had yet another chance in the 10th minute as a well-weighted ball from Lori Lindsey sent her in alone on the left side, but Sepulveda cut off the angle and Rodriguez fired wide.

A poor touch on a clearance led to the United States' first goal in the 13th minute. Heather O'Reilly picked up the loose ball and hammered a shot into the left side netting from 25 yards out. That goal had to take some of the pressure off of the USWNT.

A corner almost led to another goal, but Wambach's header went wide left in the 21st minute. That was followed by Rodriguez's curling shot from 20 yards that was saved by Sepulveda. In the 31st, another cross by O'Reilly from the right side found Wambach wide open, but her header went well over the bar. In the 36th minute, Sepulveda saved Lauren Cheney's blast from 12 yards. Chance after chance and the US still only led by one.

Colombia had very few chances in the first half, but they did put the ball into the net once. In the closing minute of the half, Diana Ospina put the ball through to Katerin Castro, who slipped the ball past Hope Solo, but Castro was well offside on the play.

Megan Rapinoe came on as a halftime substitution for Rodriguez and instantly brought energy and a goal to the US. A throw-in came to Cheney with her back to the net, about 30 yards out. She turned on her defender and slipped a pass just inside the penalty area to Rapinoe. Rapinoe worked her away along the top of the box toward the middle and drove the ball into the upper left corner of the net.

In the 57th minute, Carli Lloyd made it 3-0 on a long-range bomb from 28 yards that Sepulveda appeared to have saved, but it went off her hands into the goal. One had to wonder if the earlier injury might have been a factor there.

The United States continued to pile on the chances, but scored no more goals. Rapinoe rattled the crossbar in the 68th minute, just missing her second goal. In the 80th minute, Wambach blocked Sepulveda's attempted clearance and the ball squarely hit the right post, but stayed out of the goal.

Colombia appeared to have a golden opportunity in the 85th minute, but Orianica Velasquez took a bit too much time and the US defense was able to recover. It must be said that Velasquez had some very good moments as a second half substitute.

The two things the US didn't want in the closing minutes were injuries or yellow cards. Unfortunately, they got both. Heather O'Reilly came off in the 62nd minute and it was unclear what the nature of her injury was, but she was obviously in some discomfort as she was examined on the sideline.

Abby Wambach received a yellow card in the 84th minute as her foot caught Sepulveda in the side as the Colombian keeper was making a save.

Hope Solo posted her fifth straight World Cup shutout, making only four saves for the match.

The United States and Sweden have qualified for the quarterfinals. The order will be determined by the match between the two on Wednesday. In the event of a tie, the United States would win the group based on goal differential. Colombia will face Korea DPR in the other Group C match on Wednesday.

June 28, 2011

Sweden 1, Colombia 0

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Sweden opened their quest for the 2011 World Cup with a 1-0 victory over Colombia in Group C action on Tuesday. It was convincing performance by the Swedes on the field, if not on the scoreboard.

Sweden had multiple scoring opportunities in the opening minutes against the young Colombian team. Lotta Schelin got in on the keeper in the 3rd minute and slid the ball by Sandra Sepulveda, but Natalia Gaitan was there to clear it off the line for Colombia. In the 10th minute, Sepulveda did get a good piece of Schelin's shot from 12 yards, but the ball rolled behind her only to be saved and cleared by the combination of Gaitan and Andrea Peralta.

Perhaps the best opportunity came two minutes later as Lotta Schelin was able to touch the ball across to Jessica Landstrom just outside the six yard box. Landstrom promptly skied the ball over the net, for what should have been a sure goal. Colombia had managed to survive the opening onslaught by the Swedes with the game still tied.

Then the game seemed to settle in for a bit. Midfielder Caroline Seger earned a yellow card in the 29th minute. Sweden was clearly the bigger and far more physical side, outfouling Colombia by a 17-4 margin for the match.

Sweden had one more good opportunity in the 35th minute as Landstrom nearly sent Schelin through on goal, but Sepulveda anticipated nicely and came out to clear before the Swedish striker could get to it.

The second half started much the same, with Sweden again missing a golden opportunity. Schelin was able to touch the ball around Sepulveda at the 18, but her shot from the left side of the penalty area rolled just wide of the right post. A few minutes later, Landstrom tried to chip Sepulveda, but the ball went well over the net.

Finally, in the 57th minute, Schelin was able to make a run from the right side, drive to the end line and cross to Landstrom, who this time slid the ball low and into the net to give Sweden a 1-0 lead.

Carmen Rodallega gave Colombia some hope in the 66th minute, but her shot went over the bar and it appeared that goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl had it covered in any case. Rodallega was the most dangerous player for Colombia most of the day, making nice runs up the left side and menacing the Swedish right flank at times.

Sweden continued to attack. Therese Sjogran bent one just outside the upper right corner in the 78th minute. Two minutes later, a Sofia Jakobsson shot heading inside the left post was parried away by Sepulveda.

Colombia had one last chance in the 92nd minute, but Rodallega's shot went just over the bar and any dreams of a draw went out the window. Lindahl earned the shutout and Sweden took the three points.

While they won the match, Sweden had to be a bit disappointed with the result in a game they dominated. In a group where goal differential could make or break a quarterfinal bid, they are just a +1.

Colombia might have been a bit lucky at times, but they did manage to hang in there in their first ever appearance in the World Cup against a very tough Swedish team. Perhaps their biggest disappointment is that Yoreli Rincon really didn't get much chance to get into the offense, often dropping deep into her own half of the field to defend.

Sweden will now play Korea DPR on Saturday in a very important match that could well determine a quarterfinal berth. After facing a physical Swedish side today, Colombia gets to face an equally physical United States on Saturday.

June 25, 2011

Group C Preview: Colombia

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Colombia (#31)
Region: Conmebol
Coach: Ricardo Rozo
How They Qualified: Finished 2nd in Campeonato Sudamericano.
Prior Cups:
2007: DNQ
2003: DNQ
1999: DNQ
1995: DNQ
1991: DNQ

Roster (Average Age: 22.04)
NamePosClubAgeCaps/Goals
Paula ForeroGKGol Star1910/0
Sandra SepulvedaGKFormas Intimas Medellin2311/0
Alejandra VelascoGKGol Star250/0
Nataly AriasDFUniv of Maryland2511/3
Natalia GaitanDFUniv of Toledo201/0
Fatima MontanoDFAguila Roja263/0
Yuli MunozDFEstudiantes2214/1
Kelis PeduzineDFClub Deportivo Eba2519/2
Andrea PeraltaDFEstudiantes2324/1
Tatiana ArizaMFAustin Peay State2010/1
Yulieth DominguezMFEstudiantes1712/3
Daniela MontoyaMFFormas Intimas Medellin208/1
Diana OspinaMFFormas Intimas Medellin223/0
Yoreli RinconMFGol Star1711/8
Carmen RodallegaMFSarmiento2729/4
Liana SalazarMFUniv of Kansas1810/0
Orianica VelasquezMFIndiana Univ2110/1
Lady AndradeFWLiga Bogota195/1
Katerin CastroFWEstudiantes195/3
Catalina UsmeFWIndependiente Medellin2117/14
Ingrid VidalFWGeneraciones Palmiranas2014/5


Recent Matches:
DateOpponentCompetitionResult
6/20/11WalesMatchworldW 3-1
6/18/11New ZealandMatchworldL 0-1
6/15/11DenmarkMatchworldW 1-1 (3-1 pk)
4/24/11MexicoFriendlyL 2-4
4/22/11MexicoFriendlyL 2-3
11/21/10ArgentinaCampeonato SudamericanoW 1-0
11/19/10BrazilCampeonato SudamericanoL 0-5
11/17/10ChileCampeonato SudamericanoT 1-1
11/13/10UruguayCampeonato SudamericanoW 8-0
11/11/10BrazilCampeonato SudamericanoL 1-2
11/9/10VenezuelaCampeonato SudamericanoW 5-0
11/5/10ParaguayCampeonato SudamericanoW 3-0
9/20/10ChileFriendlyW 2-1
9/18/10ChileFriendlyW 2-0


Colombia is one of two teams making their World Cup debut in 2011. Their 1-0 victory over Argentina at Campeonato Sudamericano earned them a ticket to Germany, with Ingrid Vidal’s goal celebration conjuring memories of Brandi Chastain and 1999. So now that Colombia has arrived at the world’s stage, what will they do?

Colombia posted a record of four wins, two losses, and a tie over a brutal 17 day stretch in Ecuador to qualify for this World Cup. The two losses were certainly nothing to be ashamed of, both at the hands of Brazil, one of them by a single goal.

Since then, they have played only five official matches, two friendlies against Mexico, both of which ended in losses, and three matches in the Matchworld, winning two with their only loss coming against fellow qualifier New Zealand.

Like Mexico, Colombia’s roster features several players that play NCAA soccer here in the US. One, former Maryland Terrapin Nataly Arias, actually grew up in the United States. Four others were born in Colombia, Natalia Gaitan (Toledo), Tatiana Ariza (Austin Peay), Liana Salazar (Kansas), and Orianica Velasquez (Indiana).

The two big offensive threats for Colombia are midfielder Yorely Rincon and forward Catalina Usme. Rincon, who is just 17, scored five goals in seven matches at the Campeonato Sudamericano. She scored twice for Colombia at the U-20 World Cup in 2010. Colombia finished in 4th place in that tournament. She has a strong right foot and can score from distance.

Usme, at age 21, is Colombia's most experienced and talented striker. She teams up with the aforementioned Vidal to form a particularly dangerous duo up front for Colombia.

Experience for Colombia comes from midfielder Carmen Rodallega, defender Kelis Peduzine, and defender Andrea Peralta. Rodallega recently scored twice in the Matchworld competition against Wales.

In goal, Colombia may have two choices. 19-year old Paula Forero led Colombia through the qualification tournament and did a fine job. However, Sandra Sepulveda played in the three recent matches at the Matchworld Cup and may start in Germany.

There is no doubt that Colombia has several talented young players, but do they have enough? One has to believe that Colombia’s roster is not as deep as the teams they will be facing in Group C so game and player management will be very important for coach Ricardo Rozo.

Colombia will be heavy underdogs coming into this tournament. They are a very young squad and outside of the Campeonato Sudamericano, they have played few matches. The recent Matchworld competition gave them a dose of what they will be facing in Germany, but just a small dose.

Colombia is ranked just 31st in the world. Qualifying for this tournament was a major step for the future of their program. It will be an uphill battle for them to survive Group C, however, it would certainly be within the realm of possibilities for them to pull an upset.

Note: Some information for this article was obtained at www.fifa.com and www.colfutbol.org.