Half Time: U.S.-China
Few moments of high anxiety for either team in the opening 45 minutes means zero goals, although the U.S. did have the majority of the possession and leads 9-2 in shots.
But the last shot of the game (before a weak Tina Ellertson effort in stoppage time) came in the 15th minute and the contest could do with a shot (or two) of adrenaline.
Highlights include:
*Carli Lloyd almost scoring direct from a 10th minute corner that appeared to at least partially go over the line after China goalkeeper Zhang Yanru had trouble handling the ball under pressure.
*A Lindsay Tarpley break down the right wing in the 19th minute saw a cross sent over to an on-rushing Angela Hucles, who should have done better to at least get the ball on target.
*Tina Ellertson, making her first start for the full national team as a striker, rounded goalkeeper Zhang Yanru in the 28th minute to set up Lindsay Tarpley, but her shot went wide.
Hucles replaced Tarpley up front midway through the first half to little effect.
About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
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