BEIJING — The mixed doubles curling team of Vicky Persinger and Chris Plys has not played up to its capabilities. That makes Team USA a potential threat as they look to advance out of round-robin play and into the semifinals of the Olympic tournament.
That can be looked at in a different way, too. The reason they are at .500 with three matches to go is because they have not played up to their capabilities. They were off to the athletes village for a Saturday night meeting after falling, 7-2, to a strong Canada team.
"We just got to talk about it and figure it out and come back and get on the same page," Plys said. "And if we do that, then, you know, I think we're just as dangerous as anybody else in the field here."
Shot-making skills have been a little erratic, and it proved costly Saturday night against the Canada team of Rachel Homan and John Morris. Morris is attempting to win back-to-back mixed doubles gold medals and become the first curler in Olympic history to medal three times.
Against a side like Canada, weaknesses will be exposed. Like when the Twins play the Yankees in the postseason.
The match was tied at 2-2 through four ends. Persinger was locked in, making 91% of her shots. The fifth end came down to a measurement, which Canada won to earn a point. Canada then took a 4-2 lead after six in what was a pivotal end. Persinger had the hammer and tried working a shot in from right to left, but it clipped the guard along the way and missed its mark. A little bit to the right, and the match would have been tied.
"I threw it to make it," said Persinger, from Fairbanks, Alaska. "I didn't want to be chicken. I've got to make it close to the guard to have a shot and that's what I did. Unfortunately, I was half an inch too close."
Canada put the match away in the seventh with three points as Team USA was forced to get aggressive. A risky move with the savvy Morris on the other end, but there was little choice.
"In terms that everyone will understand," said Plys, who was born in Duluth, Minn., "we were low on chips and had to push all in."
Do not stick a fork in Team USA yet. It deserves credit for being 3-3 after starting 1-2 and being on the precipice of disaster.
Persinger and Plys began the journey with a 6-5 win over first-time Olympians Australia, who were coached by Morris before he was appointed to Team Canada. Then the USA lost, 8-4, to a surprising Italy side that remains undefeated. Norway won easily, 11-6. With everything on the line, Team USA beat a solid Sweden team, 8-7, in extras on Friday before taking part in the opening ceremony. Saturday began with a 7-5 win over China to get back even. Missed opportunities in that match made it closer than it should have been.
Team USA is now in that spot that many teams that are scuffling in the opening round of a tournament end up. Sometimes one win can ignite a run. Sometimes it's just not meant to be.
At 3-3, they need to at least go 5-4 to have a chance at a top-four finish. A 6-3 record would surely get them to the semifinals. Two of their opponents, the Czech Republic (Saturday , 7:05 p.m. Minnesota time) and Switzerland (Sunday, 6:05 a.m.), are 2-4 in the round. Their final game of round-robin play is against Great Britain (Sunday 7:05 p.m.), one of the gold medal favorites.
It's asking a lot to reel off three straight wins. Persinger and Plys have missed shots and left points on the ice. But they will awaken Sunday knowing they can still sling their way into a chance for a medal. Maybe that will get them locked in.
So they left the National Aquatics Center, nicknamed the Ice Cube during this Olympics, trying to figure out what will it take to put its best game together.
