This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

If nothing else, ESPN's telecast of the Women's World Cup final proved what soccer fans have known all along.

You don't have to have a lot of scoring to have a lot of excitement.

Granted, Japan's come-from-behind victory over the United States was about as exciting a soccer game as you're likely to see. Twice, the U.S. scored to take the lead in breathtaking fashion. And Japan's goals late in regulation and even later in overtime to tie the match were nothing short of thrilling.

The shootout that followed was almost anticlimactic.

But it was all the almosts that stood out. All the times the Americans almost scored. The times Japan almost scored and the U.S. barely managed to clear the ball.

Those moments were as compelling as the goals themselves. At once thrilling and frustrating.

And the good folks at ESPN once again did a fantastic job of conveying all the action and all the emotion that came with it.

The entire ESPN team — led by play-by-play man Ian Darke and color commentator Julie Foudy — proved to be absolutely correct when they told viewers that the Americans' inability to finish on chance after chance in the first half could come back to haunt them.

"It could have been over after half an hour if the chances had been taken," said Darke. "There nearly always is a price to pay for that."

Once again, the only major flaw to ESPN's coverage was Foudy's inexplicable confusion over how much time remained in the game. She was a mess during the USA-Brazil game; she caught all kinds of criticism for it; and she did it again on Sunday.

With 11 minutes remaining in OT, she told viewers there were six minutes to play. Then she told them there were 16 minutes to play. Then she laughed as if she had made a joke.

Foudy herself was the joke. Like when she told viewers her seat at the game was "30,000 feet up."

Wow. Those were bad seats.

But ESPN should also be proud of itself for hitting exactly the right tone in its coverage. Yes, this was the American network bringing the American team in the World Cup final to American viewers, but there was no sense that ESPN was cheerleading.

Players from both countries were praised when they deserved it. And criticized when they deserved it.

Granted, it would have been tough to be in any way anti-Japan, given that the team was playing in the shadow of the tsunami that killed tens of thousands. But ESPN's coverage was enthusiastically even-handed throughout the tournament.

And, like the members of Team USA, the ESPN team didn't hesitate to praise the winning team.

"I just think the ball had Japan's name on it. They were destined to win it," said Darke. "Japan won rather more than a soccer game here."

That was tough for American fans to hear, but Darke got it exactly right.

Scott D. Pierce covers television for The Salt Lake Tribune. Email him at spierce@sltrib.com; follow him on Twitter @ScottDPierce; read his blog at sltrib.com/blogs/tv. —