With the U.S. Soccer community still feeling the after shocks of Jurgen Klinsmann’s roster announcement and the Brian Straus bombshell article about the state of the men's national team, I couldn’t help but think about Klinsmann’s counterpart, Tom Sermanni.

The new head coach is not disliked. His choices are not being questioned. The U.S. fan base is still very much in a honeymoon state with him. But, as reader David pointed out last week, Sermanni is making some decisions that are very similar to Klinnsman, and the only difference is the delicate pivot of our reaction to the situation. “As a USMNT & USWNT fan, I can't help but think how small changes in outcomes might lead to very different interpretations of what happened," David wrote. "For example, if we had lost against Sweden, Ashlyn Harris would be 'too young and inexperienced' and Sermanni would be an idiot for starting her, not daring and confident (see Gonzalez, Omar). Same goes for sitting Wambach and Rampone (see Bocanegra, Carlos).”

A few disclaimers. The stakes and spotlight are different for Klinsmann at the present moment. He’s been manning the ship for 18 months, and is facing critical World Cup qualifying matches. Sermanni has only been in charge for two and a half months, and Women’s World Cup qualifying is still a year away. Plus the spotlight always shines a bit brighter on the men’s side.

But still, there are parallels between Klinsmann and Sermanni’s choices. Neither coach has played the same lineup twice, with Klinsmann rolling out 23 different looks, and Sermanni unveiling six. Harris earned her first cap in the U.S.’ final Algarve Cup group game against Sweden, a match that required a win or a tie to advance. Gonzalez started at center back in a critical Hex match in Honduras. In the Algarve Cup championship game, Sermanni started a back four that did not include captain Christie Rampone but did include youngster Whitney Engen, who had five caps at the time. Klinsmann did not name veteran captain Carlos Bocanegra to his recent roster and is expected to field a very inexperienced defense.

Very similar decisions with very different reactions. The main difference, of course, is the outcome. The U.S. drew 1-1 against Sweden and beat Germany 2-0, making Sermanni’s decisions look like the right ones, while the USMNT lost to Honduras, and the pressure is at a boiling point going into the Costa Rica game.

Maybe it does all go back to narrative. As Reader David pointed out, the narrative of the dominant USWNT and gutsy coach could just as easily morphed to a directionless team and a questionable coach with just a defensive slip the wrong way that leads to a goal. Just as easily, a USMNT win in Honduras could have painted Klinsmann as a masterful judge of positions that is in touch with his team.

So, are we being to cynical and demanding on the men’s side, and too optimistic on the women’s? Is it even fair to compare the two coaches at this juncture?

This could all be moot if the men get three points on Friday, especially if Sermanni’s efforts to remake the team stop panning out and the U.S. is in danger of not qualifying for Canada. But until then, I am thankful for the dominance of the USWNT, and the fact that we on the women's side of the game don’t have to deal with these difficult questions and choices.

Maura Gladys, a featured ASN columnist, works in production for KICKTV. She also runs the goalkeeping blog All You Need Is Glove.