(July 7, 2015 at 9:24 am)c172 Wrote: If so, that's pretty irresponsible soccer. However, part of me thinks Carli saw a split second opportunity for reasons most of us won't understand (but the USWNT might).
Reasons we won't understand? Like Nap said, it happens all the time at all levels of play. When there's a change of possession and the ball's at your feet, the first thing you do if you have any space at all is look downfield; mostly hoping to find one of yours already streaking for a potential counterattack. If the one in the odd colored uniform is pressed up and there's no viable outlet take a chance, it's expected and not irresponsible. In Lloyd's case the only outlet was the left winger, but she was marked. The keeper got caught out of position.
Brian, if you want to make an analogy to American football this play would be similar to a quarterback dropping back from his own 15 and having a defensive lineman step in and make a one handed pick on an attempted flair pass for a touchdown. What you're missing is that the one handed pick isn't analogous to the kick you're enamored with, it was the sweet flick Lloyd did to evade the streaking defender to create the space she had to look downfield; brilliant awareness.
If you want to see a great kick in a similar situation, check out this volley by Stankovic a few years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajn5lzhZk6k
