One minute last week Natasha Kai was sitting on the bench in the U.S. Women soccer team's final Olympic tuneup match with Brazil.

Sixty seconds later a whole lot had abruptly changed for both Kai and the Americans.

About as fast as you could say Qinhuangdao, which will be the site of the U.S. team's Olympic opener against Norway in a scant 15 days, Abby Wambach went down in a collision with what was described as a mid shaft oblique fracture of the tibia and fibula.

Wambach's obvious pain was matched by that of the U.S., which will have to do without its leading scorer and sparkplug for these Beijing Games.

So, when Kai entered the match as Wambach's replacement at forward and knocked in the only goal in the second half, it was a symbolic score as well as the match decider. It was a hopeful sign for the U.S., which surely needed one at that point.

With it, the 25-year-old former Kahuku and UH player began immediately taking on some of the considerable burden of replacing the seemingly irreplaceable Wambach.

It is a role she has precious little time to ease into. Even with Wambach, who is fifth among U.S. goal scorers all time, the U.S. was hardly a wide favorite to repeat its gold medal of Athens, where it beat Brazil in overtime. To be sure, it had its work cut out, especially after taking the bronze in the Women's World Cup last year where it finished behind Germany and Brazil.

Kai, who was second to Wambach in both goals and assists through a 19-0-1 start this year, was originally to have been the junior partner of a one-two combination with Wambach at forward. When teams threw everything they had in stopping Wambach, it was Kai's job to make them pay. It was a job she seemed to relish and was growing into match by match.

Now, the U.S. is asking Kai to go from a supporting role into a leading one. As much as it needs her scoring now, the U.S. requires even more from Kai. It is counting upon someone to set a standard and tone in play. Especially against the physical Germans and Brazilians.

And that might have been the most impressive element of Kai's performance in the "friendly" against Brazil last week. From the moment she charged onto the field, Kai gave as hard — and as much — as she got. So much that, from a California emergency room, she earned a shout out from Wambach.

What happened with Wambach was an untimely setback for the U.S. But where the Americans go from here will have a lot to do with how Kai takes this battlefield promotion and runs with it.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.