Scurry to start in goal for U.S.

Give Greg Ryan some credit. He certainly has a lot of chutzpah.

After all, it isn't every World Cup -- men or women -- that the coach replaces his successful and healthy goalkeeper with another one on the eve of a vital semifinal encounter.

Yet, Ryan decided to roll the dice and make the big switch, replacing Hope Solo with Briana Scurry for Thursday's semifinal confrontation between the U.S. and Brazil.

In fact, no one could recall any coach make such a head-spinning decision so late in the tournament with so much at stake.

"I've never concerned myself with the press reaction," Ryan said Wednesday. "I've always just asked myself, 'What can I do to give my team to win the next game?' I think I've done that. If it turns out to be a mistake, I can live with that. I've made mistakes before. I've never questioned myself. I say, 'OK what do I believe in my heart, my mind the best decision for this team to win this next game?' I think it's Bri."

In some respects, Ryan can't win, even if the team does and goes onto to capture an unprecedented third Women's World Cup crown.

The USA, many observers would say, were favorites to take the whole thing and we were going to win anyway, regardless who guarded the goal, whether it was the 36-year-old Scurry, a two-time world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, or the 25-year-old Solo, who has won nothing.

If the U.S. falls short and loses to either Brazil in the semis Thursday (ESPN2, 7:55 a.m. ET) or world champion Germany in Sunday's final, critics will point to the switch.

Indeed, Ryan has become too much of an obvious and inviting target.

His coaching regime, which could become a year shorter if the USA fail in their championship quest, probably will be defined by the move.

Ryan says it was tactical, that Scurry is better suited to face the talented, skillful and shifty Brazilians, that the veteran goalkeeper has tamed the South American side before, most recently in a June 23 WWC warmup at Giants Stadium, 2-0, and twice in the 2004 Olympics, including the victorious gold medal match.

That is true since Solo has never played against the South Americans.

But the U.S. is undefeated in this competition at 3-0-1 and brought a 51-game unbeaten streak into the match.

Solo had allowed but two goals in the first four games -- both in the 2-2 draw with North Korea in the U.S.'s opening match, a rather shaky performance by the Red, White and Blue, especially when Abby Wambach was in the locker room getting stitches to repair a cut in her head during a seven-minute span. The U.S. surrendered two goals while playing a woman short, one was Solo's fault, a shot that went through her gloves. The other wasn't.

She also came up big in all three first-round encounters, including wins against Sweden and Nigeria.

But then came Tuesday, bloody, Tuesday for Solo.

"I was very taken back by it," she admitted. "It's the nature of sports and it happens. Day in and day out you see it in the NBA, the NFL you see it all the time."

But not with the U.S. women's national team. You can count on one hand the controversies with this team during its 22-year existence. Perhaps the biggest controversy was former U.S. coach April Heinrichs sitting out a healthy Mia Hamm during a 2003 WWC match. Hamm could never get her game going again as the USA were eliminated in the semifinals by Germany.

Outside of the team and the players, it was difficult to find anyone to defend Ryan's decision and its repercussions.

Questions abound:

Former U.S. national team captain and current ESPN commentator Julie Foudy, a recent Hall of Fame inductee and member of both U.S. world championship sides and a two-time gold-medal winner, put the entire situation into perspective.

"I respect Bri more than any other 'keeper in the world," said Foudy, who said she aired a similar commentary on the cable network. "But you just don't do that now to a player, to a team because there are so many other ramifications
of it.

"What happens if they want to bring her into the final if they get through? Have you lost her? Bri hasn't been playing much. It's not like they have been battling out that top spot and she's been getting a lot of games. She hasn't been playing much. And how does it affect team chemistry. That's always been our strength. you support each other.

"So having said that, I think Bri will be fine and the move will be fine. I think it becomes a distraction and you're too focused on that rather than the game. To me it's a sign of worrying too much about an opponent. I think you just play. You know they're good. you know their strength and weaknesses but you don't have to make such a drastic change."

Foudy admitted that she was taken aback by the move. "Yeah, I couldn't believe it," she said.

"Who knows what Greg's thinking. I think sometimes you can overthink things and maybe that was the case. If he pulls it off, Maybe it is hailed as a great move," she added with a laugh.

"The biggest thing for me, Bri's fine. It's more of a team chemistry issue and how Hope rebounds if you want her and the fact Bri hasn't been playing that much."

Foudy felt her former team and teammates will be pros about the whole thing.

"I'm sure hope will handle it professionally," she said. "Women empathize with that kind of stuff easily. It's going to have its effects. I've got to believe Hope was not happy about it since she didn't know about it. It's one thing if he had been saying to her, 'Look, coming into this World Cup, this is what I'm thinking of doing. He just said today that Hope had no idea. He rightfully so has been defending her and when people questioned whether Bri should be in and the years leading to the World Cup, he stood by Hope. That's why I was surprised to see that happen.

"They'll be professional and they'll be fine. they have a great leader in Lil (Kristine Lilly) and Kate Markgraf. I'm sure they'll bounce back well."

Whether it was a temporary memory lapse or the fact he didn't realize it, Ryan's answer to another question might have been insightful. He was asked whether he feared Scurry might be too rusty because she hadn't played a full 90 minutes since that 2-0 victory against Brazil on June 23.

"Are you sure it's the end of June?" he asked, obviously referring to Scurry's 45-minute stint as a second-half sub in a rout over New Zealand Aug. 12.

Ryan was reminded that the question was about a full game.

"Bri's got no problem," Ryan said. "She's got great experience. You watch her train and you see the way she plays. She's on top of her game.

"Bri will be ready. She'll be ready. Wait and see."