Women's World Cup: Morgan, Lloyd help U.S. oust 10-woman Colombia, reach quarterfinals

Once again, it wasn't very convincing. Once again, it was good enough.

The United States, powered by second-half goals from Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd, saw off a valiant Colombian side Monday evening in Edmonton to take the next step on the road that they hope - and frankly, expect - will culminate with a third Women's World Cup title, claiming a 2-0 win to advance to the quarterfinals of this year's tournament.

The goals came after Colombian goalkeeper Catalina Perez was sent off in the opening minutes of the second stanza, which only furthered the air of inevitability that was so pronounced heading into the contest.

While Abby Wambach's subsequent penalty was spurned horribly wide, Colombia enjoyed only a few short minutes of respite before Morgan hammered home what would be the eventual match-winner.

And yet, despite another dominant defensive performance, the continuing inability to craft legitimate scoring opportunities with ease, despite boasting so much attacking talent, remains a major concern as Jill Ellis and company head into their quarterfinal match against China.

It was good enough today. It may be good enough on June 26 in their next match.

Will it be good enough to reach the ultimate goal - particularly with the likes of Germany or France standing in the way? That's the question that much of the nation is answering with a resounding "no" at the moment.

The Goals (and Penalties)

47th minute (MISSED PENALTY) - Abby Wambach, United States: After a largely uneventful opening half - aside from a few impressive saves from Perez - everything went haywire in the opening seconds of the second stanza. Wambach, who is one goal shy of equaling Marta's record for most tallies in Women's World Cup history, stepped to the spot after Morgan was sliced down inside the area by the aforementioned Colombian keeper. With Stefany Castano between the posts to replace the red-carded Perez, Wambach fired her left-footed penalty wide of the mark.

53rd minute - Alex Morgan, United States: The American striker, whose niggling knee injury was one of the predominant storylines coming into the tournament, scored her first goal of the competition to set the United States on course for the win by firing a right-footed blast from a tight angle beyond Castano - who probably should have done better, but could only get an arm to the ball before seeing it go into the roof of the net.

66th minute (PENALTY) - Carli Lloyd, United States: Megan Rapinoe, who found herself with acres of space in the channel between the right-back and center-back of Colombia in the second half, was taken down inside the area, which allowed Lloyd - who took over the spot-kick duties following Wambach's earlier miss - to coolly slot home her attempt and put the result beyond any doubt.

Woman of the Match - Alex Morgan

The team's best attacking player when fully healthy, Morgan continues to gain match fitness as the tournament goes along. That should be a frightening thought for every other country still in the competition.

The 25-year-old was a constant menace for the Colombian defense, winning the opening penalty of the match and then scoring her first goal of the tournament, which would ultimately hold up as the winner.

Her quick, clever movement in the attacking-third, which opens up space for the likes of Rapinoe to make late runs into the box, only figure to improve as she continues to gain sharpness, and should be a fixture of the Americans' offense in the latter stages of the tournament.

It's nice to have back, looking (somewhat) like the Morgan we all know.

The 1,000 Words

"This blows."

Stray Thoughts

• For all of the (justified) disappointment in the United States' lackluster string of attacking performances in Canada thus far, it is important to remember that they are still in a very good position to, at the very least, reach the final of the competition ...

• To that point, with the trio of Hope Solo, Becky Sauerbrunn and Julie Johnston proving to be an impenetrable force in defense, the likelihood of winning that one match is not nearly as improbable as many seem to think at the moment. Since conceding a goal in the 27th minute of their opening match against Australia, the Americans have not been breached. It's tough to lose if you are never scored on.

• With all due respect to China, the United States will go into their quarterfinal match as a massive favourite. While history, unless it is incredibly recent, has no bearing on the upcoming contest, the United States' record against the Chinese provides an interesting tidbit, if simply to acknowledge just how one-sided this fixture has been over the last decade:

• We'd be doing the tournament a grave injustice if we didn't recognize Colombia's achievement in reaching the knockout stages. Fueled by the ridiculous dribbling skills of star attacker Lady Andrade, who did all she possibly could to back up the trash talk that made headlines ahead of the contest, Las Cafeteras have a bright future.

(Courtesy: Alicja Siekierska)