Hope Solo #1 of the USA catches the ball during the game against China at PPL Park on May 27, 2012 in Chester, Pennsylvania. USA won 4-1.
(May 26, 2012 – Source: Drew Hallowell/Getty Images North America)

(PhatzRadio / USA Today) — CHESTER, Pa. – After surrendering a goal on one of several defensive breakdowns in the first half, the U.S. women’s soccer team gave the sellout crowd of 18,573 what it came to see — precision striking from Alex Morgan, a late goal from Abby Wambach and the occasional glimpse of goalkeeper Hope Solo in a 4-1 victory against China.

But the defense may be a concern as the team heads into the Olympics with the players named Sunday by coach Pia Sundhage.

The Olympic tournament allows only 18 players instead of the 21-player limit in the Women’s World Cup. Goalkeeper Jill Loyden and midfielder Lori Lindsey were both named Olympic alternates. Sundhage’s other two cuts were defenders —Ali Krieger, who excelled in Germany but is just returning from a right ACL injury, and veteran Stephanie Cox.

PHOTOS: Top shots of Hope Solo

Those cuts leave only six defenders, including converted midfielder Kelley O’Hara. Though left back O’Hara is the relative newcomer among the starting back four, China found success attacking the other flank, where Amy LePeilbet had trouble containing the inventive and speedy Chinese attack.

“We were trying to push forward the first 10 minutes,” said captain and central defender Christie Rampone. “Not everybody was on the same page.”

China’s Han Peng found acres of space early in the game but opted to pass rather than shoot at Solo. Zhang Rui found herself in a similar situation in the 22nd minute and made the smarter decision, burying the shot past Solo to the far post.

“For some reason this team likes to get itself in some interesting predicaments, and we like to work our way out of those,” Wambach said.

Sundhage saw the early struggles going beyond the defense.

“I’m more concerned with the fact that we didn’t keep the ball,” she said. “The whole game was good because we made some changes at halftime and we talked about it. Kelley O’Hara wasn’t even involved in the attack in the first half, but in the second half, she was up and down the flank. We could control the tempo and kept the ball, so it was better in the second half.”

With Cox and Krieger off the roster, Sundhage has few options on either side of the defense. Becky Sauerbrunn, who played centrally as a second-half substitute alongside starter Rachel Buehler, could move out to one of the flanks if needed. The only other defender on the bench is Heather Mitts, who fought back from injury to make the 2011 World Cup squad but has played little over the past two years.

Sunday, the concern was easy to forget. China, which has steadily plummeted from its position as a world power, has defensive defiencies of its own, and the USA exploited them with ease.

The first goal, in the 34th minute, was a beauty — Morgan collected a deflected cross and curled a low shot to the far post. The second goal two minutes later was ugly — a few players whiffed on the ball in the air, and it bounced off Chinese captain Zhou Gaoping and slowly rolled in as the defense watched helplessly.

Early in the second half, Morgan ran onto a long ball over the top from Rampone, held off a defender and expertly finished.

“She’s so strong on a one-v-one opportunity,” Wambach said. “Before she got in behind the defender on the third goal, my hand was straight in the air. I knew she was going to score.”

The Chinese team mounted little attack the rest of the way and failed to track Wambach on a late throw-in, giving her a chance to power past a defender and drill the ball into the upper netting.

The only player on the Olympic roster who was not on the World Cup squad is young forward Sydney Leroux, who played the last 10 minutes as the USA went with an attacking lineup despite the two-goal lead. Her shot in the 86th minute produced the best save of the game by Chinese goalkeeper Zhang Yue.