Game Time

Pregame excitment!

After collecting our stuff we jumped on a bus and headed to Landsdowne Stadium for the big night!  We arrived just in time to watch the last few minutes of France's heart-breaking loss to Germany in penalty kicks on the jumbotron.  After settling into our seats the whole scene really started to sink in . . . we were really at the Women’s World Cup Quarterfinals and the USA was about to take on China!  The atmosphere was great and our Canadian friends were definitely backing the USA . . . as were the thousands of Americans that made the trip.

The USA team made it through the group stage and round of 16 games without undue difficulty, but at the same time they were just barely eeking by each game.  Writing this update after the World Cup had actually concluded, I know a few things happened during this match that really paved the way for the USA’s eventual success in the tournament . . . and it was very exciting to watch live.  First (and sadly) both Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday were benched after receiving 2 yellow cards in previous rounds.  In itself this was a sad thing, as we were all sad not to see them play (especially 'Pinoe), but this coupled with the decision to not start Abby Wambaugh (she did sub in later) set in motion some pivotal changes in the team's dynamics.  Major among these were pushing Carli Lloyd, who has been playing a deeper center midfielder (and someone who I think has been underappreciated for years), further forward, and wow did she take advantage of it . . . netting the winning goal and ultimately contributing to her ultimate win of the Golden Ball award for the tournament.  It also completely changed the team's dynamic and energy with as other players like Tobin Heath really stepping up and bringing an excitement to their play that just hadn’t been there all tournament.  In any case it was a great victory and super exciting to be there in person to see it all happen.

Post-match celebration!!!

Yum!

Following some after-match attempts to find the team bus, and maybe bump into . . . I don’t know, maybe Megan Rapinoe . . . we decided to walk the couple of miles back to the hotel rather than wait with the masses for the buses.  Along the way we found a restaurant that K had identified before the trip as one to check out, The Whalesbone Oyster House, and she was absolutely right.  It was really a hole in the wall, but they knew how to cook seafood.  And we had front row seats as the only table available was practically in the kitchen (best table in the house).  These guys had fun, did shots with customers, and all the while managed to prepare dish after dish in this tiny kitchen with a rhythm that was fascinating to watch.  We ordered almost one of everything and even asked them to surprise us with a custom oyster appetizer.  Delicious. 

Two things not to miss in Ottawa: US World Cup quarterfinals (ok, perhaps hard to come by) and The Whalesbone Oyster House.