I'd actually argue that the keeper's hands were a foot and a half or two from the ball and that given her approach and given a speedy attacker, the attacker could be more likely to get a foot on that ball and slip it around her. I doubt they'd score or even maintain control, but given the trajectories, it's more likely that the momentum and positioning of the striker made them more apt to make it to the ball than a keeper who is immobile and dropping to her knees to receive a ball.
Also, physics aside, I think I read somewhere that as soon as a goalkeeper gets even a finger on the ball, you back off (you being the attacker); the correlative then is that until the keeper gets a finger on the ball, it's not in their possession and free to challenge. It's not a written rule of course, but food for thought. I'll try to find it again.
Last edited by adidaskitten86; 06/02/09 05:29 AM.