USA vs Colombia Women's Olympic Soccer: Alex Morgan and 3 Stars Who Must Shine

Alex Morgan and company will hit the pitch for the second time in these Olympics as they take on Colombia.

The Games got off to a rocky start for the Americans when France jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead and exposed some holes in their defense. Morgan, Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd responded with a combined four goals to take the match and the points.

Colombia, on the other hand, just never put it together against North Korea. They looked dreadful.

As the Americans look for another three points in Group G, here are the stars that need to shine.

Alex Morgan

The first step in getting three points is winning, and to win you need goals. It's that simple, and that's why Morgan needs to continue her onslaught on the net against Colombia.

Morgan has 19 international goals in 2012 alone, a remarkable stat that she can add to against Colombia.

If Colombia plays the same way they did against North Korea she will get plenty of chances to celebrate goals.

Look for Morgan to take advantage of the Colombian defense and come through for the US once more. At least once more.

Hope Solo

The best keeper in the world will need to improve her performance for the USWNT.

While the two goals allowed against France were not her fault entirely, she needs to take command of the backline and shout orders for a more effective defense.

There was not much Solo could do about either goal against France. Gaëtane Thiney struck a beautiful ball that Solo barely got her fingertips on and Marie-Laure Delie took advantage of some poor defending to blast a rocket into the net.

Solo should take care of business against Colombia, but she needs to be more vocal and take control of the defense moving forward.

Tobin Heath

Heath was largely absent against France, and with all of her talent that should not be the case.

The other midfielders made their presences felt, and that is not to say she played badly but rather she was too silent. She can be a crucial piece to the USWNT moving forward with her ability to possess the ball and make the right passes forward. And she can score when given the opportunity as well.

Heath needs to assert herself against Colombia and become the playmaker Pia Sundhage knows she can be.

If she ups her game it could bring a cavalcade of goals for the Americans.

The Backline

After the performance against France it is hard to call out one player in particular.

The USWNT defense has shown some spotty defense over the past couple of years and the trend continued against France.

The open game allowed the French to stretch the field and find plenty of space between the defenders. With excellent talent like Christine Rampone and Amy LePeilbet this should not be the case. The USWNT have the players to be great defensively. It's time to put it together.

In conjunction with Solo, the defense need to make a few adjustments to tighten up their game. As they look forward to the knockout stages this needs to be addressed to avoid attacks like the French put forth.