Scurry Should Have Replaced Solo Earlier

• New York Times, Friday, September 28, 2007 5 PM

Jere Longman, writing in the New York Times' Goal Blog, also compares Greg Ryan's decision to pick Briana Scurry over Hope Solo to that of a baseball manager -- a manager playing the percentages with a certain hitter or pitcher. Previously, Scurry was 12-0 against Brazil and she "pitched 8 shutouts," the last which came in a friendly in June, when the USA defeated Brazil, 2-0.

Longman adds that even at 36, Scurry had surer hands, greater anticipation, quicker lateral movement and better reflexes than Solo. Add to that the fact that Scurry always responded to pressure situations of a World Cup and the decision made sense.

Ryan's mistake was not replacing Solo with Scurry after Solo struggled in the 2-2 tie with North Korea. That would have given Scurry a few games to get sharp before the Americans faced their biggest obstacles.

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