And I think on the header, it doesn’t look like she ever saw the ball, and it bounced off her head. You’re right. In each case, NZ looked like the attackers moving toward the goal. Not a good place to be.
Yup. It’s one thing for a defender to block a shot when she’s standing with her back to the goal and playing shots coming at her. It’s another thing when the whole defense is hustling to get back and the defender is trying to deflect shots angling in from behind while her own momentum is carrying her into the goal. NZ just gave a clinic on why most teams bunker in against the U.S.