Women's Olympic Soccer 2012: Adjustments Team USA Must Make to Win It All

The U.S. women's soccer team enters the 2012 Olympics with a bulls-eye on their back. They have won the past two golds in the event, and they have won three of the four gold medals since this event became a part of the Olympics. 

They are a dominant force in international soccer. That said, they enter on the heels of last year's disappointing second-place finish in the World Cup, and they are fooling themselves if they think they can win the gold without making some adjustments. 

Here is what they must do to finish off an Olympic three-peat: 

Avoid Penalty Shootouts 

The U.S. women are strong enough that they can run through this competition without having to go to a shootout. Of course, the same could have been said at the last World Cup, and they were forced into two of them. 

It took a miracle finish for them to do so against Brazil, and they capped that off with an impressive 5-3 win in the shootout. 

Then Japan managed to do what the U.S. did to Brazil and forced a shootout with a late goal. The Americans were not as fortunate in that shootout, hence the second-place finish.

It is not that the U.S. is at a disadvantage in a shootout, it's just that anything can happen at that point, and they would be wise to eliminate that possibility.

Unleash Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan entered the World Cup as an unproven international player who was still earning her playing time.

She did just that with her dynamic goal scoring ability, and she has quickly emerged as one of the team's leading weapons.

She is going to be a huge key in these Olympics, and the team will be well-served to get her as many opportunities on goal as possible.  

Increased Aggressiveness 

In order to make the previous two adjustments, this team must become more aggressive. When they struggled at the World Cup, the US had a hard time scoring. In three of their six games, they managed just one goal in regulation. That is not going to cut it. 

This team has had such a dominant run that they have grown accustomed to not having to take chances to win. They will have to gamble a bit more here. 

The U.S. must make a point of keeping the pressure on the opponents by pressing forward and creating as many shots as possible. They can't let other teams keep the score close and keep hope alive.