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SHANGHAI, China (Sept. 30, 2007) – The U.S. Women’s National Team got the first two goals from Abby Wambach and single scores from Lori Chalupny and Heather O’Reilly in a 4-1 dismantling of Norway to take third place in the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The two goals gave Wambach six in six Women’s World Cup matches and won her the Silver Shoe as the tournament’s second leading scorer. The goals also upped her career total to nine over two Women’s World Cup tournaments, moving her past Mia Hamm and into second place on the USA’s all-time WWC scoring list behind only the great Michelle Akers (12 goals). Germany captured the 2007 Women’s World Cup champhionship with a 2-0 victory over Brazil, which knocked the U.S. out in the semifinals 4-0. "I feel like in this tournament from the time I came for the draw, the U.S. was behind the eight ball because we had a very difficult group," said U.S. head coach Greg Ryan in assessing the tournament after Sunday's win. "And then in the first game with Abby getting stitches and having to pull a draw out against North Korea. Each game was so under the gun. “It was hard for the players to just completely relax and play the kind of soccer that they love because each match became an elimination game for us. Tonight I was just so happy that the players just completely relaxed, played some great soccer and entertaining football with confidence in themselves and in their teammates." The United States played excellent rhythmical, attacking soccer for the entire 90 minutes, creating all sorts of scoring chances, eventually out-shooting Norway 23-7 while putting 10 shots on target to Norway’s two. U.S. captain Kristine Lilly, playing in her final Women’s World Cup game in her record fifth tournament, played a consummate match, terrorizing Norway down both flanks all night long with dynamic dribbling runs and well-struck shots. Heather O’Reilly did the same, continually stretching Norway’s defense with her speed and earned the corner kick that led to the first goal in the 30th minute. The USA came out rolling in the second half and within seconds of the restart had earned another corner kick. This also came from the left side as Lopez drilled the ball to the near post. Cat Whitehill got a foot on the ball, stealing it out of Nordby’s arms. Her close range shot clanked off the inside of the left post and bounced right into the middle of the six yard box. Wambach was first to it, slamming the ball home from less than a yard away. "The first one, it’s a deflection goal," said Wambach describing her two tallies on the night. "It hits the inside of my calf. Chalupny, she is the one who basically produced that goal. Even the second one, Cat hits off the post on the corner kick, so I got pretty lucky to get the goals that I did today. More importantly, what I tried to do was leave every bit of energy and emotion that I had on that field. It’s not easy playing in the third place game but I was very proud of everyone." The Americans then put the game away with two back-to-back goals in the 58th and 59th minutes. The first came from Chalupny, who played a world-class match in midfield. It was Chalupny’s second goal of the tournament and sixth career score. The third goal came seconds later, and seconds after Lindsay Tarpley had entered the game for Wagner. Tarpley struck a shot from the middle of the penalty area that was kicked saved by Nordby. Tarpley then hammered her own rebound back on goal, but Nordby couldn’t hold that one either, and the ball squirted left to O’Reilly, who blasted her right-footed shot into the net from close range. The goal was also O’Reilly’s second of the tournament, and 13th of her international career. Lilly walked off the field for the final time in a Women’s World Cup match in the 89th minute as she was replaced by Natasha Kai and received a rousing ovation from the sell-out crowd to celebrate her historic career. Marta of Brazil won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and the Golden Shoe as the tournament’s top scorer with seven goals. Germany’s Birgit Prinz won the Silver Ball and Brazil’s Cristiane won the Bronze Ball. Norway’s Gulbrandsen, who also scored six goals in the tournament, won the Bronze Shoe. Norway won the FIFA Fair Play Award, and Germany’s Nadine Angerer, who saved Marta’s penalty kick in the Final that would have tied the match, was chosen at the tournament’s Best Goalkeeper. The U.S. team will have some time off before regrouping in St. Louis, Mo., to face Mexico at the Edward Jones Dome on Saturday, Oct. 13, in the first of the final three matches of 2007. The match will kick off at 7 p.m. CT. The USA will then travel west to face the Tricolores on Oct. 17 at PGE Park in Portland, Ore. with a 7 p.m. PT kickoff. The final match, also against Mexico, will take place on Oct. 20 at University Stadium in Albuquerque, N.M., with a 4:30 p.m. MT kickoff. U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT Match-up: USA vs. Norway Scoring Summary: USA – Abby Wambach (Lori Chalupny) 30th minute. Lineups: NOR: 1-Bente Nordby; 2-Ane Stangeland Horpestad - Capt., 3-Gunhild Folstad
(15-Madeleine Gisk, 57), 6-Camilla Huse, 19-Marit Christensen; 4-Ingvild
Stensland, 8-Solveig Gulbrandsen, 18-Marie Knutsen, 21-Lene Storlokken
(14-Guro Knutsen, 61); 10-Melissa Wiik (9-Isabell Herlovsen, 78), 16-Ragnhild
Gulbrandsen. Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: Officials: Sierra Mist Woman of the Match: Lori Chalupny You knew the U.S. women would eventually lose a game, but no one wanted it to be in the semifinals of the 2007 FIFA World Cup in China. That is exactly what happened. Brazil took a 2-0 first half lead on a U.S. own goal and a strike from its star, Marta, and then took advantage of playing against a U.S. side reduced to 10 players after Shannon Boxx was sent off with her second yellow card in first half stoppage time. It was a phantom foul. The U.S. lost the semifinal matchup with Brazil 4-0. It was the worse loss ever for a U.S. WNT side. But before they lost the game, the U.S. women seemed to have lost their swagger, part of which was their confidence. Although they won their group with a 2-2 draw with North Korea and shutout wins over Sweden (2-0) and Nigeria (1-0) they did not possess the ball very well. Against Nigeria they scored the game’s only goal 52 seconds into the match, and then held on for the win in a game that they expected to win by multiple goals. It would appear that Coach Greg Ryan stressed shutting down the opponent’s top players, rather than focusing on the play of his team and forcing the opponent to adapt to the U.S. team’s strengths. All that paled to the decision to replace Hope Solo as the U.S. goalkeeper against Brazil with veteran Briana Scurry. Yes, Scurry had never before lost to Brazil, but Solo had never lost to anyone when standing in goal for the USA. Solo, who had a ball go through her hands for a goal in wet conditions against North Korea, had not given up a goal in three straight shutouts in China and had 300 scoreless minutes before being taken out of the lineup. Scurry had not played in three months, and had been in goal during a 2-0 win over Brazil in June when Solo was with her family after the death of her father. Odd, that Solo had been Ryan’s starter in 40 of the 50 games since Ryan had been the coach, and then she was not. The decision to make the change was apparently made without consultation with veteran members of the team, including captain Kristine Lilly, and it became the focus surrounding the team, rather than the game with Brazil. No one will either know which of the goals Solo would have saved, or if she would have saved any of them. The reality is that four were scored on Scurry. The first came midway through the first half when a low corner kick,
moving straight to Scurry, was headed past her by Leslie Osborne.
Was there miscommunication between defender and goalkeeper on that play? “It’s heartbreaking,” said U.S. striker Abby Wambach, who didn’t see much of the ball in the match. “It’s a hard loss to swallow.” In her final Women’s World Cup, Lilly said “It hurts. It just hurts.” The U.S. had only loss to Brazil once before in 22 previous encounters (19-1-2) with the U.S. The defeated broke a 51-game unbeaten streak that went back to a 3-1 loss to Denmark on Nov. 5, 2004. The U.S. had not lost in 50 games since Ryan became the head coach back in 2005. The U.S. will now play Norway, loser Germany in the other semifinals, in the third place game on Sunday. Germany will play Norway for the 2007 World Cup championship. It is the second consecutive World Cup that the U.S. has played for third. U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati was at the game, but offered no comment on Ryan’s future as the women’s national coach. GANGZHOU, China (Wednesday, September 26, 2007) -- In a surprise move, Briana Scurry will replace Hope Solo in goal when the United States women face Brazil tomorrow in an 8 a.m. (ET) Women's World Cup semifinal to be televised by ESPN2. The winner of tomorrow's match will meet Germany in the championship match. Germany blanked Norway 3-0 in today's first semifinal. After a bad mistake that allowed North Korea an equalizing goal in an eventual 2-2 draw in the opening Group B match for the U.S. and the Koreans, Solo has recorded three straight shutouts and played well. U.S. coach Greg Ryan apparently has decided to turn to the 36-year-old Scurry because of her experience against the crafty Brazilians, whose ball skills have impressed most World Cup observers. "The way the Brazilians play in terms of creating off the dribble in the penalty box and making a goalkeeper make reaction-type saves, I think Bri is the best goalkeeper in the world in those situations," Ryan said on ESPN.com. Scurry was the starting U.S. keeper in the three previous Women's World Cups, including making the dramatic penalty-kick save that set up Brandi Chastain's winner to defeat China in the 1999 title match tiebreaker. "I think some people might find it to be unusual, but I'm getting my opportunity now and I'm not really concerned about what has happened in the past," Scurry said in the ESPN.com report. "I have been playing incredibly well. I kept myself in shape, kept myself on my toes and sharp. So he just decided it was going to be me." Solo, 26, has been the starter in net throughout 2007. Ryan informed her Tuesday of the change. "The moment I got tapped on the shoulder saying I need to meet with you, I had a pit in my stomach and I knew what it was," Solo said. "I was very taken aback, but that's the nature of sports and it happens," Solo said. "He has his reasons." The U.S. is undefeated in its last 51 matches (44-0-7, .931), all but the first under Ryan, who replaced April Heinrichs in early 2005. In the 58th minute of the opener against North Korea in a driving rain, Solo allowed Kil Son Hui's shot from distance slip through her hands to tie the score at 1-1 in the eventual 2-2 outcome. She seemed to recover nicely from what could have been a traumatic flub. It would seem the main U.S. problem would not be goalkeeping, but its penchant to start slowly and its inability to maintain a fluid attack. Julie Foudy, a member of the four prior U.S. World Cup teams and now an ESPN commentator was not a big fan of the change in goal. "I think Bri will be fine, and the move will be fine, but I just think it becomes a distraction when you're too focused on that rather than the game," she told ESPN.com. "To me, it's a sign of worrying too much about the opponent. I think you just play. You know they're good. You know their strengths and weaknesses, but you don't have to make such a drastic change." "I just think sometimes you can overthink things. Maybe that was the case, but if he pulls it off, maybe it's hailed as a great move." The U.S. is 19-1-2 all-time against Brazil. Scurry was in net for the last two meetings with the Brazilians -- a 2-0 victory June 23 in East Rutherford, N.J. and in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece when Scurry's heroics kept the Americans in the game until they could prevail 2-1 in overtime. "We came here trying to win a world championship, put the players
on the field that we thought could win each game," Ryan said. Goalkeepers (3): Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Briana Scurry (Dayton, Minn.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.). Defenders (6): Marian Dalmy (Lakewood, Colo.), Tina Ellertson (Vancouver, Wash.), Stephanie Lopez (Elk Grove, Calif.), Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.), Catherine Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala.). Midfielders (7): Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis), Angela Hucles (Virginia Beach, Va.), Marci Jobson (St. Charles, Ill.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wisc.), Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.). Forwards (5): Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawai'i), Kristine
Lilly (Wilton, Conn.), Heather O'Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Lindsay
Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.). > By Robert Wagman. From www.SoccerTimes.com USA Reaches Semifinals With 3-0 Win Over England U.S. Women’s National Team scored three goals in a 13-minute span early in the second half to defeat England, 3-0, putting on a commanding quarterfinal performance to qualify for the semifinals of the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The USA got goals from Abby Wambach in the 48th minute, Shannon Boxx in the 57th and a capper from team captain Kristine Lilly in the 60th minute to effectively put the match out of reach with a half hour remaining. The USA, which has advanced to the semifinals in all five Women’s World Cups that have been contested, will now play Brazil. Brazil beat Australia 3-2 in their quarterfinal match. Norway will play China in the other semifinal. Norway eliminated North Korea and Germany beat North Korea in the quarter. The USA’s semifinal will be played at Dragon Stadium in Hangzhou
on Thursday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m. local. The match will be broadcast live
on ESPN2 starting at 7:55 a.m The USA earned two quick corner kicks to start to start the half, and on the second, Lilly drove the ball from the left corner to the far post where Wambach freed herself from the English defenders to power a header home from close range. It was Wambach’s fourth goal of the tournament and 81st of her international career, coming in her 100th career cap. She becomes the 20th U.S. player to hit the century mark. “The first goal is always critical in a match,” said U.S. head coach Greg Ryan. “It was difficult for England to get their game going after that because they lost the momentum and we kept pressing and going after them. It’s very difficult to play from one down, but it was great for us. We were able to put in one and then two others fairly quickly.” After the goal, the Americans continued to put pressure on England and the second goal came after Cat Whitehill won a tough tackle at the edge of England’s defensive third. The ball ricocheted to Boxx, who evaded a defender and scorched a left-footer from the top of the penalty box that skipped into lower right corner past the diving England goalkeeper Rachel Brown. Three minutes later the USA was up 3-0, courtesy of a long service from Whitehill that caught Brown rushing too far out of her goal. Under pressure from Lilly, Brown was too aggressive and the ball skipped over her head and off her gloves. Lilly continued her run and squeezed past England defender Faye White for the easy tap in from close range. It was her first goal of the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the 127th of her international career and eighth career score over five Women’s World Cups. Lilly has also three assists in the tournament. The U.S. defense was once again stellar, posting its third shutout in a row in this tournament, and kept England star Kelly Smith out of dangerous areas for the entire match. Midfielder Leslie Osborne was charged with shadowing England’s leading scorer, but the back line of Stephanie Lopez, Whitehill, Kate Markgraf and Christie Rampone were rock solid in the air and on tackles the entire night. Markgraf showed her recovery speed in the 20th minute, toe-poking the ball away after Eniola Aluka had briefly burst free in the left side of the penalty box. Lopez took a cleat to the head from Jill Scott in the 23rd minute and had to leave the game momentarily, getting five staples in her scalp on the sideline to stem the bleeding. The gash was not as severe as the 11-stitcher suffered by Wambach against North Korea, but the USA’s youngest player got the staples removed and did need three stitches after the game. Lopez was stellar at left back for the USA and also sent in several dangerous crosses early in the match while attacking down the wing. She also found Wambach at the edge of six yard box just a few minutes before halftime, but the U.S. forward’s lunging volley went high. The USA had two more chances in the dying minutes of the first half, one when Lilly ran onto a header flick from Wambach into the left side of the penalty area and cracked a left-footed half-volley that Brown had to push over the top. Lori Chalupny also had a shot go wide off a short corner. The USA out-shot England 17-9 and piled up an 11 to six advantage in corner kicks, but the English certainly did well to build the ball out of the back and challenged U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo on several crosses. Solo also had to palm away a dipping free kick from Smith in the 69th minute. White, the England captain, went down hard in the 37th minute after taking an inadvertent elbow in the nose from Wambach, but returned to the match after a getting treatment on the sideline. The USA came close to adding to the lead later in the game as Lilly hit a drive off Brown’s chest in 79th minute and three minutes later, Wambach almost blocked Brown’s clearance into the net. The USA will travel back to Shanghai tomorrow and take Monday off from
training. The team will train in Shanghai on Tuesday morning before heading
to Hangzhou on Tuesday afternoon. The USA is scheduled to train at Dragon
Stadium on Wednesday. In the other quarterfinal played today, Germany
sent North Korea home with a hard-fought 3-0 win. In the semifinals, Germany
will face the winner of the China-Norway quarterfinal being played tomorrow
in Wuhan. Match-up: USA vs. Sweden U.S. Wins Group On Chalupny’s Goal SHANGHAI, China (Sept. 18, 2007) – The U.S. Women’s National Team got a goal just 53 seconds into the match from midfielder Lori Chalupny, then battled Nigeria through a steady rain on a sloppy pitch for the remainder of the match to record a 1-0 victory and win Group at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup. With seven points from three group matches, the USA takes first place in one of the most difficult groups in Women’s World Cup history and will now face Group A runner-up England in the quarterfinals on Saturday, Sept. 22, in Tianjin at the Olympic Center Stadium. Kickoff is 8 p.m. local and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN beginning at 7:55 a.m. ET. In the other Group B match played simultaneously, Sweden defeated North Korea, 2-1, as Lotta Schelin scored twice, but the result was not enough to keep the Swedes in the tournament as the Koreans advanced to the quarterfinals due to a superior goal difference. North Korea will face defending champion Germany on Saturday, Sept. 22, in Wuhan (live at 4:55 a.m. ET on ESPN2). “I am also very proud of my players because this is a very difficult group," said U.S. head coach Greg Ryan. "Tonight’s games allow us to go first in our group, which was an important goal for our team. To go through without a loss in this group, I’m very, very happy that we’ve reached this stage." While sheets of rain fell on the players during the entire game, and the field was soft and slippery due to persistent rain the entire day leading up to the match, the feared typhoon conditions of high winds and thunderstorms did not materialize. Heading into the match, the USA knew that in order to win the group, it needed to beat Nigeria by more goals than North Korea beat Sweden. In the end, the North Koreans lost, meaning the USA just needed a tie to win the group, but the Americans got a quick start nevertheless, scoring inside the first minute after earning a throw-in deep on the left sideline. Defender Cat Whitehill tossed the ball on a loop toward the six yard box where forward Abby Wambach flicked it on with her head. The ball fell to Chalupny, who took it down with her chest and toe-poked a shot that took a deflection off a Nigerian defender’s leg and into the lower left corner from six yards away. It was Chalupny’s fifth career international goal, and her first in a Women’s World Cup. It was also the second fastest goal at the beginning of a match in Women’s World Cup history. While the crafty and speedy Nigerians had the edge in possession, the USA had more dangerous chances, out-shooting the African champions 16-10 while putting six shots on goal. The USA also had four dangerous headers, two by Abby Wambach and one each from Kristine Lilly and Shannon Boxx, that missed the frame. Nigeria had just two shots on frame during the entire match. Lilly also had two free kicks – one in each half – from just outside the penalty area, but sailed both just over the crossbar. One of those Wambach headers came in the 19th minute after a good buildup down left side. Lilly dropped a nice cross right on Wambach’s head, but her leaping header went high. In the 43rd minute, another crashing header from Wambach was acrobatically pushed over the crossbar by flying Nigerian goalkeeper Precious Dede. Wambach was treated rudely by the Nigerian defenders, getting cut down from behind and cracked in the head on several occasions, several of which were not blown as fouls. Boxx had an open look at a far post header off a corner kick just a minute before halftime, but couldn’t turn it on net. Sweden also got an early goal in the other Group B game, meaning with the USA’s 1-0 lead, they were carrying a two goal advantage over North Korea until the Asian power tied the game in the 24th minute. Before Sweden took the lead back in the 54th minute, there was a 30-minute stretch in which one more North Korea goal would have put them atop the group by virtue of more goals scored. Alas, it was the Swedes that got the winner, and the USA also had to hold off a late Nigerian charge. The U.S. back line of Christie Rampone, Whitehill, Kate Markgraf and Stephanie Lopez did a remarkable job of keeping the pacey Nigerians in front of them, as the Africans broke midfield pressure on several occasions in the second half to get free down the wings, only to be run down by U.S. players. Nigeria’s best chance of the game came in the 75th minute when Perpetua Nkwocha got a step on Whitehill into the right side of the penalty box, but slid her shot wide left of the goal as U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo came out to challenge. Solo came up with the save of the game with five minutes left in the match as Rita Chikwelu got on the end of a cross from the right flank for a far post header that Solo first saved, and then corralled in a mad goal mouth scramble during which she was fouled. She also had to secure a skipping cross on the ground in the 87th minute. The USA came close to getting a second goal on three occasions in the latter stages of the second half, but Dede was solid in the nets for Nigeria. In the 68th, Lilly hit a drive from the top of penalty arc right at the Nigerian ‘keeper and in the 80th minute, Dede knocked down a cross from O’Reilly, which was cleared before Chalupny could get a boot on it. Two minutes from time, Chalupny hammered a shot through traffic from inside the penalty area that Dede somehow saved with her legs. The Americans killed most of the last few minutes by holding the ball deep in the right corner, a tactic for which Wambach paid the price, getting kicked several times and hit in the face by the scrambling Nigerians. Ryan made his three allowed substitutes, sending on Leslie Osborne in the 64th minute for Carli Lloyd, giving Lindsay Tarpley the last six minutes in place of Lilly, as well as giving a first Women’s World Cup cap to defender Tina Ellertson, who came in for Rampone in the 77th minute. It was a special game for Ellertson, whose mom was born in Nigeria. The USA will not travel to Tianjin tomorrow due to the impending arrival of the heart of typhoon Wipha that is scheduled to hit Shanghai in the early morning hours. The U.S. team will spend the day in Shanghai waiting for the storm to blow over before heading north to Tianjin on Thursday. Fans can follow the 2007 Women’s World Cup on the ESPN family of networks, which will broadcast all 32 games live, as well as on ussoccer.com, which is providing daily information via podcasts, videos, features, the WNT blog and much, much more. U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT Match-up: USA vs. Nigeria Scoring Summary: USA – Lori Chalupny (Abby Wambach) 1st minute. Lineups: Subs not used: 1-Briana Scurry, 2-Marian Dalmy, 6-Natasha Kai, 10-Aly Wagner, 16-Angela Hucles, 19-Marci Jobson, 21-Nicole Barnhart. Head Coach: Greg Ryan NGA: 1-Precious Dede; 13-Christie George – Capt., 14-Faith Ikidi, 16-Ulumma Jerome, 19-Lilian Cole; 2-Efioanwan Ekpo; 7-Stella Mbachu, 10-Rita Chikwelu, 11-Chi-Chi Igbo (8-Ifeanyi Chiejine, 22); 4-Perpetua Nkwocha, 18-Cynthia Uwak (9-Ogonna Chukwudi, 83). Subs not used: 3-Ayisat Yusuf, 5-Onome Ebi, 6-Gift Otuwe, 12-Tochukwu Oluehi, 15-Maureen Mmadu, 17-Yinka Kudaisi, 20-Maureen Eke, 21-Aladi Ayegba Head Coach: Ntiero Effiom Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: Officials: Sierra Mist Woman of the Match: Lori Chalupny Wambach’s Two Goals Sinks Sweden U.S. forward Abby Wambach scored from the penalty spot in the 34th minute and then sealed the match with a thundering half-volley in the 58th as the U.S. Women’s National Team defeated Sweden 2-0 in a crucial Group B match at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup. "I am so proud of my players,” said U.S. head coach Greg Ryan. “We knew that this was potentially an elimination match with Sweden. We discussed what would be the difference in the game, and I think big players win championships. You saw what Abby did tonight. She played great. Kristine Lilly played great. I thought it was a very good performance from all of our players and (goalkeeper Hope Solo) had a very strong performance tonight also." The USA will now travel back to Shanghai to prepare for its final Group B match on Tuesday, Sept. 18, against Nigeria at the Shanghai Hongkou Football Stadium. Kickoff is 8 p.m. local / 7:55 a.m. ET live on ESPN. North Korea defeated Nigeria, 2-0, in the other Group B match, meaning that the USA and North Korea are tied atop the group with four points, while each team has a plus-two goal difference. The match was played in conditions opposite from the USA’s first game against North Korea, which took place in steady rain on a sloppy, wet field. This game was played under sunny skies on a dry field, with temperatures in the 80s, as more than 30,000 fans cheered on both teams. The Americans had more of the dangerous chances while out-shooting Sweden 15-13, and put eight shots on goal to the Europeans' two. The USA came out in a 4-3-3 formation as Ryan made two changes from the lineup that faced North Korea, inserting Leslie Osborne for Shannon Boxx and Lindsay Tarpley replaced Heather O’Reilly. Both Osborne and Tarpley played well in their Women’s World Cup debuts, especially Osborne, who did a excellent job clamping down on Swedish star Victoria Svensson while strongly winning numerous head balls. The USA had to survive a nervy first 10 minutes in which Sweden earned five corner kicks. As would be the case for the entire match, however, the U.S. women showed their ability to defend set plays and win air balls, clearing away every dangerous service. The penalty kick was earned after defender Kate Markgraf sent a long ball into the Sweden penalty area from the midfield stripe near the right sideline. The ball took a monster hop over charging Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl and was dropping toward net. As U.S. midfielder Lori Chalupny raced under the ball and prepared to tap it in, Sweden defender Stina Segerstrom chopped her down right near the goal line. Hungarian referee Gyoengyi Gaal pointed to the penalty spot, and cautioned Segerstrom, who was fortunate to get away with just a yellow card after denying an obvious scoring opportunity. Wambach took a long run up to the ball and calmly converted her shot into the left corner as Lindhal went the wrong way. Ryan put on Shannon Boxx for Carli Lloyd at halftime and the move helped solidify the midfield defensively as the Americans continued to repel the steady stream of long balls sent at the back line by the Swedish attack. Wambach effectively put the game away in the 58th minute, but it was through the work of Tarpley and captain Kristine Lilly that the goal came to fruition. Tarpley aggressively won a ball on the left sideline and tapped the ball to Lilly on the left wing. Lilly spied Wambach on a dead run into the penalty area with two defenders in tow. Lilly lofted a perfect pass to Wambach’s chest, which she deftly brought down between the two Swedes and struck it on the half-volley from 12 yards out, smashing it past Lindahl who didn’t move. "The ball got wide to Kristine, and I saw her take a touch facing up toward the field, and that she had a chance to play a long ball in so I just kind of made a run,” said Wambach. “She saw me making the run and she basically did all the rest. She put an amazing ball on my chest in between the two defenders and I luckily took a decent touch off my chest and was able to half-volley it. It's one of those goals as a forward that you want to say, "yea, I meant to do that, to put it exactly where it went" but you know, in this situation, I just hit it as hard as I could and it went in." The goals upped Wambach’s career international total to 80, and brought her tally to three scores in the tournament, which equals the number she scored in the entire 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The Swedes were dangerous on their set pieces for the rest of the match, and Solo acrobatically batted away a miss-hit cross in the 79th minute, back-peddling to swat the ball out for a corner kick. The USA put its first six shots of the match on frame, and did not hit a shot that missed the target until the 41st minute, when Lloyd volleyed high from just right of the penalty spot after corralling a deflected cross from Wambach. Lloyd had a half-chance just seven minutes in, but couldn’t reach a skipping cross and ended up fouling Lindahl instead. Lloyd also smacked a 30-yard free kick from straight away center, but it skipped off the defensive wall and into the arms of Lindahl. Chalupny almost got behind the Sweden defense in the right side of the penalty area in the 16th minute, but Lindahl came out to smother. Lindahl made another good save in the 21st minute as Cat Whitehill powered a free kick from five yards in front of the halfway line that was headed for the back of the net before the Swedish goalkeeper dove back to parry it away. One minute later, Lilly fired a left-footed blast from 25 yards that was knocked down by Lindahl, but the rebound eluded Tarpley who couldn’t get a foot on the ball. Lindahl also knocked down a well-struck Chalupny shot in the 29th minute. In the 35th minute, Chalupny did get behind the Sweden defense, this time in the left side of the penalty area, driving towards the near post before cutting the ball back into the seam, but it was cleared before a U.S. player could get a foot on it. Sweden really pressed for the first 10 minutes of the second half as the USA struggled to get a hold of the ball, but even with Sweden’s pressure, they could not break down the USA’s back line of Stephanie Lopez, Whitehill, Markgraf and Christie Rampone. Solo was forced to grab a loose ball in a scramble in the 56th and had to watch a dangerous curving service off a free-kick fly outside her left post in the 77th minute, but after she pushed away that cross two minutes later, and the usually clinical Hanna Lljungberg scuffed a header off a corner kick just wide right of the goal, it was clear it would not be Sweden’s day. The USA had a couple of good chances in the second half. Tarpley fired wide from left corner of the penalty area after beating a player in the 63rd minute and Lilly almost beat Lindahl from long rage in the 72nd, but the Swedish goalkeeper recovered to snag the shot. Lilly just missed making it 3-0 in the 75th minute, sliding to get on the end of a long free kick, but couldn’t get a solid foot on the ball. Heather O’Reilly was the final substitute for the USA, coming in the 67th minute and helped salt away the win with some savvy play at the end of the match. Fans can follow the 2007 Women’s World Cup <http://www.ussoccer.com/teams/womens/fwwc/index.jsp.html> on the ESPN family of networks, which will broadcast all 32 games live, as well as on ussoccer.com, which is providing daily information via podcasts, videos, features, the WNT blog and much, much more. U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT Match-up: USA vs. Sweden Scoring Summary: USA – Abby Wambach (penalty kick) 34th minute. Lineups: Subs not used: 1-Briana Scurry, 2-Marian Dalmy, 6-Natasha Kai, 8-Tina
Ellertson, 10-Aly Wagner, 16-Angela Hucles, 19-Marci Jobson, 21-Nicole
Barnhart. SWE: 1-Hedvig Lindahl; 3-Stina Segerstrom (9-Therese Lundin, 81), 4-Hanna Marklund, 13-Frida Ostberg, 16-Anna Paulson; 5-Caroline Seger, 8-Lotta Schelin, 15-Therese Sjogran (18-Nilla Fischer, 65), 20-Linda Forsberg; 10-Hanna Ljungberg, 11-Victoria Svensson – Capt. Subs not used: 2-Karolina Westberg, 6-Sara Thunebro, 7-Sara Larsson,
12-Sofia Lundgren, 14-Sara Johansson, 17-Madelaine Edlund, 19-Charlotte
Rohlin, 21-Kristin Hammarstrom. Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: U.S. Women Open World Cup With Draw CHENGDU, China (Sept. 11, 2007) – The U.S. Women’s National Team extended its unbeaten streak to 48 games, but the 2-2 draw with North Korea to open the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup was their biggest challenge in two-and-a-half years. North Korea, ranked #5 in the FIFA World Rankings, came into the tournament as the mystery team. The Koreans have not played outside of Asia, and all of their training sessions have been closed to the media and fans. Coach Greg Ryan’s squad came into the game expecting
a tough challenge, and came away with a point in a game that was not their
best outing. Eight minutes later Wambach and a Korean player clashed heads on a corner kick, and the USA’s leading scorer had to leave with a cut on the back of her head. She would take two stitches on the sideline, but by the time she returned to the game the U.S., playing with 10 players, had given up two goals. The tying goal came when U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo let a high shot slip through her hands and into the goal. The go-ahead goal came on a rebound when the U.S. didn’t clear the ball from in front of the goal. Heather O’Reilly picked up a loose ball inside the box and first-timed a shot in the back of the right corner to tie the game in the 69th minute. A total of 39 shots were taken by both teams, but only four found their mark. North Korea, which had more of the run of play and time of possession than did the U.S., had the more threatening of shots. In fact, Solo had to make two huge saves in stoppage time to preserve the draw. In the second Group B game, Nigeria came back to draw 1-1 with heavily favored Sweden. Thus, each of the four teams in the group earned a point. The U.S. will play Sweden next on Friday, Sept. 14. That makes the group wide open as play continues. It is important to finish first in the group to avoid an early round matchup with defending World Champion Germany in the knockout phase. Germany routed Argentina 11-0 in its opening game, behind a hat trick by Brigit Printz. Printz, who played in the WUSA with the Carolina Courage, now has 12 all-time goals in World Cup play, which ties her with the USA’s Michelle Akers. “I thought we had the better chances overall in the game,” said Ryan. “Getting a draw is very important at this stage of game. It keeps us alive heading into the next game with Sweden. We knew this group was going to be tough. It’s time to move on to the next match.” U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT Match-up: USA vs. North Korea Scoring Summary: USA – Abby Wambach (Kristine Lilly) 50th minute. Lineups: PRK: 21-Jon Myong Hui; 3-Om Jong Ran, 5-Song Jong Sun,
15-Sonu Kyong Sun, 16-Kong Hye Ok; 2-Kim Kyong Hwa, 7-Ho Sun Hui (17-Kim
Yong Ae, 22, 19-Jong Pok Sim, 90), 9-Ri Un Suk, 12-Ri Un Gyong; 8-Kil
Son Hui, 10-Ri Kum Suk – Capt. Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: Officials: The United States women rolled to a thoroughly dominating 4-0 victory over Finland in its final tune-up before the Women's World Cup, but the news wasn't all good. Star striker Abby Wambach suffered an injury to her big toe and was forced to leave the match in the 27th minute. Wambach leads the U.S., 13-0-2 in 2007 (10-0-2 against World Cup entrants), with 11 goals, while adding three assists. In her career, she has 77 goals in 96 games. The U.S. Soccer Federation reported Wambach, who watched the remainder of the game from the bench, had a jammed toe, but it would seem likely tests will be taken to determine the severity of the injury. Wambach was injured in the 10th minute and hobbled until asking to come out 17 minutes later. She was carrying in the middle of the field when sliding Finland defender Petra Vaelma whacked Wambach's legs out from under her, though no foul. was called. Both players got up and Vaelma then kicked Wambach in the right foot as she attempted to tackle the ball. Wambach briefly sat on the turf, holding her foot. "I haven't heard any more. I just saw her at halftime and she's pretty sore," U.S. coach Greg Ryan said. "We just don't know. We hope that she is fine and it's just a sprain or something like that. "I'm not even going to think about it yet. Abby's tough enough where we'll throw a cast on her and she'll play anyway. She's an awfully tough kid. In the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament (last November), she was on a bad ankle that entire Gold Cup, and she scored the goals to get us into the World Cup, so I am confident that Abby will be fine." In a classic mismatch, the U.S. did not allow a shot on goal, holding a 38-2 edge in shots, 16-0 on frame. "Tonight, we hit the back of the net and had tons of chances," Ryan said. "I thought that we had a lot of energy in attack tonight. We said let's just roll up our sleeves and go after them in attack. It's important to carry that kind of spirit into the World Cup. We are going to go after teams and if they can hang with us, OK. If not, we'll just keep swinging until we can knock them out." By winning their 13th straight outing, the U.S. women enter the World Cup ranked No. 1 in the world, having not lost a match in the last three years. The Americans are 39-0-7 (.924), 38-0-7 (.922) under coach Greg Ryan. The WWC runs from September 10-30 in China with the U.S. opening against North Korea on September 11. Striker Kristine Lilly, who has played in a world-record 331 international games and has 126 goals, reached a milestone in the 30th minute when she registered her 100th career assist, setting up midfielder Shannon Boxx's header that put the U.S. ahead 1-0. Finland goalkeeper Tinja-Riikka Korpela made it easy. "It's nice. It helped us score a goal. That is always good," Lilly said of the assist. "It's always good when you can help your team win and hit some milestones along the way." Lilly sent a free kick from deep in the left corner to Boxx, facing the left post from eight yards out. Boxx headed the ball with a weird backspin into the far corner over Korpela who, apparently misreading the movement on the ball, though it would go over the crossbar. When it became obvious the ball would fall into the net, Korpela waved at it feebly. Of her 15 career goals, Boxx has five goals in five appearances at The Home Depot Center, where the U.S. team trains. "My first cap was here. My first goal was here," she said. "This place will always have a special place for me and I will always remember my first goal with the national team." Ryan said, "She's one of the best in the world at set play goals. She looked like a forward tonight, taking players on. I think she likes it here." Six minutes later, the U.S. made it 2-0. Forward Heather O'Reilly, cutting horizontally from the right sideline, split the defense with a pass to fellow midfielder Lori Chalupny, racing behind the defense and approaching the box. Taking the ball forward, Chalupny crossed to Lilly for an easy four-yard tap into an unprotected net. All three players who combined on the goal are University of North Carolina alumni. In fact, a UNC grad was involved in each of the four tallies with striker Lindsay Tarpley contributing the third goal. That tally came in the 68th minute when defender Christie Rampone delivered a long ball down the right side to Tarpley, who ran right past an obviously exhausted Vaelma.. Tarpley carried into the box, dodged Korpela to the right and shot eight yards into the right side to make it 3-0 with her 17th career goal.. O'Reilly "must have taken at least a half dozen, maybe more, shots tonight," Ryan said. "I'm glad she got rewarded for her good play with that nice goal at the end." Eight minutes later, O'Reilly finished the scoring with a sliding finish of midfielder Carli Lloyd's cross. Notes: The U.S. women will take a day off an depart for Shanghai and
the World Cup on Monday. Lineups: United States - Hope Solo, Christie Rampone, Catherine Whitehill (Marci Jobson 84), Kate Markgraf (Tina Ellertson 79), Stephanie Lopez; Shannon Boxx (Aly Wagner 79), Lori Chalupny (Leslie Osborne 76), Heather O'Reilly, Kristine Lilly - captain (Natasha Kai 74), Lindsay Tarpley, Abby Wambach (Carli Lloyd 27); Finland - Tinja-Riikka Korpela, Petra Vaelma (Hanna Pyhäjärvi 69), Tiina Salmén (captain), Jessica Julin, Miia Niemi (Maija Saari 28), Susanna Lehtinen, Sanna Valkonen, Katri Nokso-Koivisto (Veera Vartiainen 84), Leena Puranen, Susanna Hokkanen, Annica Sjölund (Linda Sällström 60), Sanna Talonen (Susanna Hokkanen 90). Scoring: Shots: United States 38, Finland 2. Shots on goal: United States 16, Finland 0. Saves: United States 0, Finland 12. Corner kicks: United States 7, Finalnd 2. Fouls: United States 7, Finland 8. Offside: United States 4, Finland 1. Yellow card cautions: none. Referee: Kari Seitz. Assistant referees: Flisha Mariscal, Marlene Duffy.
Fourth official: Jennifer Bennett Attendance: 7,118 at The Home Depot
Center in Carson, Calif. Weather: 73 degrees and clear. Host: China Lilly Scores Career #124 To Lead U.S. Past Japan 4-1 SAN JOSE, Calif. (July 28, 2007) – The U.S. Women’s National Team got a powerful header from Shannon Boxx in the first half, and second half strikes from Kristine Lilly and Abby Wambach to record a rousing 4-1 win over a feisty Japanese Women’s National Team on a gorgeous night at Spartan Stadium. A crowd of more than 11,000 saw the USA improve its record to 11-0-2 in 2007 with just two games left in the team’s Send-Off Series before leaving for the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup in China. This year the USA is 9-0-2 against teams that will be playing in the Women’s World Cup. “I was really happy with the performance,” said U.S. head coach Greg Ryan. “I thought we defended really well. Japan is very quick, skillful and creative, and broke us down in the second half, but overall I thought we defended very well. I was really happy with how aggressive we were in attacking and really going after them.” The USA has now won three consecutive games against the Japanese after tying the three previous matches. The four goals were the most the U.S. team has scored against Japan in the last seven matches between the two countries dating back to 2000. The tight dimensions of the Spartan Stadium field certainly impacted play, making for a very crowded midfield, but the Americans dealt well with the conditions, using the flanks despite the 68-yard width as outside backs Christie Rampone and Stephanie Lopez consistently got forward into the attack. Lopez set up the first U.S. goal and Rampone the second. The USA got on the board through a corner kick in the 17th minute as Lopez swung a whistling cross in from the left side. Boxx lost her mark for a moment, and on the dead run but without leaving her feet, sent a bullet header into the right side of the net from just inside the six-yard box. It was Boxx’s 15th career international goal, but first she returned from major surgery after suffering a knee injury in the middle of 2006. Boxx was forced to leave the game with five minutes left after cracking heads with a Japanese player and needed four stitches to close a gash above her right eye, but she was fine after the match. Rampone’s cross from the right wing led to the second goal as the ball glanced off the head of Lindsay Tarpley, which wasn’t enough to send the shot on goal, but just enough to throw off recovering Japanese defender Yukari Kinga, who ran through the ball and inadvertently knocked it into her own net with her shin from a few yards out. Japan put together a flurry in the middle of the first half, which produced several corner kicks and a well struck shot in the right side of the penalty area from Shinobu Ohno, but U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo easily gobbled it up at the near post. The U.S. team created chances all night, putting nine of its 16 total shots on goal, and had several near misses. While the USA controlled most of the first half, the second saw the world’s top-ranked team quicken the pace and rhythm as they attacked the Japanese goal relentlessly, peppering goalkeeper Miho Fukumoto with numerous shots and crosses. The U.S. got its third goal in the 55th minute after Leslie Osborne crossed from the right flank to Lori Chalupny, who was stationed in the middle of the penalty area. Chalupny brought the ball down beautifully with her back to goal, held off a defender and slipped a short pass to Lilly The U.S. captain bent her first-time left-footed shot into the left side netting from nine yards out, giving Fukumoto no chance. It was Lilly’s 124th career goal and seventh of 2007. “Each game we feel better,” said Lilly. “Obviously, there are moments we want to change and we don’t want to let in a goal like that. We get little lulls – 15 or 20 minutes – in a game that we want to clean up and end up keeping the ball, but for the most part if we’re scoring four goals, that’s good for us. That means we’re putting more numbers up there and it makes it harder for teams to come back. I thought overall this team did great tonight, all our subs stepping on the field tonight and making a difference, it was really awesome tonight for us.” The USA went on to threaten with a point blank header off corner kick by Wambach that was cleared by defender, a wide open header that Lilly put over the top, a sneaky shot by Lilly that almost skipped into the near post if not for a Fukumoto smother and a shot from Cat Whitehill that was stuffed by the Japanese ‘keeper almost right on the goal line after the U.S. defender had ran onto lopping ball over the defense. The final U.S. goal came in the 74th minute after Kinga, on a night she may like to forget, handled the ball in the penalty box after substitute Carli Lloyd had tried to flick the ball over hear head. Wambach sent Fukumoto the wrong way and blasted her shot into the left side of the net for her 75th career goal, tying Cindy Parlow for fifth on the all-time scoring list. Parlow scored 75 goals in 158 career games. Wambach’s 75th came in her 94th career match. In the 74th minute, Japan came close to pulling one back when Nayuha Toyada dribbled down the left flank and then cut back towards the penalty area. With time, the defender teed up and ripped a shot that got past the outstretched hands of Solo only to find the top of the crossbar and skip out of bounds. Japan finally found net five minutes later, ending the USA’s shutout streak at 398 minutes over the past four games. The goal was created by a series of nice one-touch passes, but a U.S. tackle pushed the ball right into the path of Yuki Nagasato and she hammered it past Solo from 12 yards out. “I think a lot of Asian teams are very similar,” said Lilly in reference to how this match can help in the USA’s Women’s World Cup opener against North Korea. “They’re technical ability is probably the best in the world. They are very technical on the ball and they’re very quick. You saw their goal, it was three passes and boom. I believe that’s what North Korea is going to be like. We haven’t seen them in quite a while, but Japan is like that, China is like that, so that’s the kind of Asian technique that they have and it was good for us to see that. We played China, Brazil, Norway and Japan, all different looks and it gives us an opportunity for these players that haven’t had World Cup experience to experience World Cup teams beforehand and know what we’ll be up against this September.” The U.S. team will go now go on a break before re-grouping on Aug. 6 in Chicago, Ill., in preparation for an Aug. 12 match against New Zealand at Soldier Field. The USA will play its final Send-Off match on Aug. 25 in Carson, Calif., at The Home Depot Center in before the team heads to China. For complete details and ticket information for the entire Send-Off Series, visit to ussoccer.com. - U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT - Match-up: USA vs. Japan Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA – Shannon Boxx (Stephanie Lopez) 17th minute. Lineups: JPN: 1-Miho Fukumoto; 2-Azusa Iwashimizu (19-Mami Yamaguchi,
86), 3-Hiromi Isozaki, 4-Tomoe Sakai (6-Kozue Ando, 12, 20-Mizuho Sakaguchi,
67), 23-Nayuha Toyodal; 5-Tomomi Miyamoto, 8-Aya Miyama (7-Miyuki Yanagita,
58), 10-Homare Sawa, 14-Yukari Kinga (13-KyokoYano, 75) ; 9-Eriko Arakawa
(18-Yuki Nagasato, 67), 11-Shinobu Ohno. Statistical Summary: USA / JPN Misconduct Summary: Officials: Sierra Mist Woman of the Match: Lori Chalupny U.S. Women’s National Team Quote Sheet U.S HEAD COACH GREG RYAN On the performance of Stephanie Lopez: U.S. CAPTAIN KRISTINE LILLY On if Japan helps them prepare for North Korea who they play in the
World Cup: On what she told the team after Japan scored: On the fans: On the young players stepping up: U.S. MIDFIELDER LESLIE OSBORNE On the loss of the shutout streak: U.S. DEFENDER, AND SACRAMENTO NATIVE, STEPHANIE LOPEZ On the fans overall: On if the USA’s size difference over Japan made a difference:
With 62 days remaining until the USA’s opening match of the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup, U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Greg Ryan has named the first 18 players who will represent the United States on women’s soccer’s grandest stage. With all 16 participating teams allotted final rosters of 21 players, Ryan will make his final three selections in the coming weeks. The 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be held in five Chinese cities from Sept. 10-30. The USA opens the tournament against North Korea on Sept. 11 in Chengdu. “We named the 18 now because we’ve been in Residency Camp two years in a row, we’ve spent two years together and we know these players inside out,” said Ryan, who will coach in his first FIFA Women’s World Cup. “These 18 have earned the right to be on this World Cup Team. We want to remove the stress from trying out and just say, ‘you guys are the ones, you’re in, let’s get after it.’” The roster is a product of about two-and-a-half years of player evaluation by Ryan and his staff that has included 42 international matches. Since taking over as head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team in March of 2005, Ryan has looked at 43 players in full international matches and more than 60 total including training camps. Photo
Gallery Lilly will play in her home state of Connecticut this weekend as the USA continues its Send-Off Series with a match against Norway on July 14 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. Kickoff is 6 p.m. ET with the match broadcast live on ESPN2. Lilly comes into the match with a world record 327 appearances for the USA. The first 18 players named include goalkeeper Briana Scurry, who will be participating in her fourth Women’s World Cup after making her tournament debut in 1995 in Sweden. Two other players – defenders Kate Markgraf and Christie Rampone (known as Sobrero and Pearce, respectively, in the historic 1999 Women’s World Cup) were named to their third Women’s World Cup Team. Lilly, Scurry, Markgraf and Rampone are also the only four players on the 2007 WWC roster who were on the USA’s 1999 WWC team. Of the other 14 players, four were named to their second Women’s World Cup Team, but 10 players will be participating in a Women’s World Cup for the first time, the most first-timers ever for any U.S. Women’s World Cup Team (not counting, of course, the first Women’s World Cup in 1991). With three players still to be named, more than half of the U.S. roster will likely be experiencing the Women’s World Cup for the first time. Conversely, the eight U.S. veterans who will be playing in multiple Women’s World Cups have combined for more than 1,100 total caps and 78 Women’s World Cup matches, giving the USA an enviable combination of youth and experience. “We’ll probably name the last three players in the next couple of weeks,” said Ryan. “We’re just looking at what we need to round out the squad. We have some young players that we are still taking a look at and we want to make sure we make some very good decisions on these last three spots.” Along with Scurry, Ryan finalized his goalkeeper corps with Hope Solo and Nicole Barnhart. Solo has played 32 of the 42 matches Ryan has coached and is on the brink of becoming the second most-capped goalkeeper in U.S. history behind Scurry. Barnhart has just three caps, but at 5-10 and with tremendous athleticism, has a bright future. The youngest player and only non-professional selected to the roster is 21-year-old defender Stephanie Lopez, who still has one season left of eligibility at the University of Portland. For the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup, defender Cat Whitehill (then Cat Reddick), was the youngest player selected, and went on to play a major role in the tournament after an injury to Brandi Chastain. At the time, Whitehill was a rising senior at the University of North Carolina. Coincidentally, the youngest player on the 1999 Women’s World Cup roster was Lorrie Fair, also a defender and also, at the time, a rising senior at UNC. Whitehill now has 110 caps and joins Markgraf (159 caps) and Rampone (164 caps) to give the USA a tremendously experienced back line. Ryan also chose defender Tina Ellertson, who has just 22 caps but is perhaps the fastest player in U.S. history and one of the best marking backs ever to play for the national team. “Making the World Cup Team for the third time, making a big roster
like this, is probably one of the best feelings because you are so excited
to be considered to represent your country in a World Cup, but at the
same time, you are not as affected by nerves because you know what to
expect,” said Markgraf, who started for the USA in both the 1999
and the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cups. “We have more first-time
World Cup players on this roster than ever, but Greg has really given
them the chance over the past few years to get acclimated to this level
of play. The young players really do have a lot of experience.”
All of the U.S. forwards named in the first 18 have a track record of coming through on the biggest of stages. Abby Wambach currently has 74 goals in 92 games for the USA, the best strike rate in U.S. history, and led the USA in scoring at the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2004 Olympics, where she scored the winning goal in the gold medal match. Lilly has 123 career goals, second only to Mia Hamm all-time, and has seven career goals in Women’s World Cup play. Both Lindsay Tarpley and Heather O’Reilly were members of the U.S. team that won the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship in Canada, and both scored huge goals for the USA at the 2004 Olympics as the two youngest players on the squad. O’Reilly’s strike came in the semifinal win over Germany and Tarpley’s in the gold medal game victory over Brazil. Wambach, Lilly, Boxx and Whitehill are the only four players on the roster who have scored in Women’s World Cup play. Despite the number of players entering their first Women’s World Cup, the first 18 players chosen for the 2007 U.S. Women’s World Cup Team have an average age of 27 years. Following the Norway match, the USA will have a week off before traveling to Northern California to face Japan on July 28 in San Jose, Calif. The team hits the stretch run with a game on Aug. 12 against New Zealand at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill., before playing the Send-Off match in Carson, Calif., at The Home Depot Center against Finland on Aug. 25. “The players now have that sense that ‘hey, this is our team’ and let’s start focusing on our team, on team building,” said Ryan. “We are going to focus on two great opponents in our next two games, Norway and Japan, both who will be in the World Cup, and then really start looking at our first-round matches with North Korea, Sweden and Japan. We’ll start focusing on those opponents so we can be set and ready when we get to China.” 2007 UNITED STATES WOMEN’S WORLD CUP ROSTER Players Pos. Ht. DOB Hometown College Caps/Goals FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP – ROSTER BY POSITION DEFENDERS (5): Tina Ellertson (Vancouver, Wash.), Stephanie Lopez (Elk Grove, Calif.), Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.), Cat Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala.); MIDFIELDERS (6): Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Marci Jobson (St. Charles, Ill.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wis.), Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.); FORWARDS (4): Kristine Lilly (Wilton, Conn.), Heather O’Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.).
GOALKEEPERS (3): Nicole Barnhart (2007), Briana Scurry (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007), Hope Solo (2007); DEFENDERS (5): Tina Ellertson (2007), Stephanie Lopez (2007), Kate Markgraf (1999, 2003, 2007), Christie Rampone (1999, 2003, 2007), Cat Whitehill (2003, 2007); MIDFIELDERS (6): Shannon Boxx (2003, 2007), Lori Chalupny (2007), Marci Jobson (2007), Carli Lloyd (2007), Leslie Osborne (2007), Aly Wagner (2003, 2007); FORWARDS (4): Kristine Lilly (1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007), Heather
O’Reilly (2007), Lindsay Tarpley (2007), Abby Wambach (2003, 2007).
The U.S. Women’s National Team rolled to a 2-0 win over Brazil in the first meeting between the teams since the 2004 Olympic gold medal match. A crowd of almost 17,000 watched the match at Giants Stadium in New Jersey as the USA improved its record to 9-0-2 in 2007 with four games left in the team’s Send-Off Series before leaving for China and the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The win also stretched the team’s unbeaten streak in regulation time to 43 games, 42 of those under head coach Greg Ryan. Kristine Lilly gave the U.S. a 1-0 first-half lead and Abby Wambach made it 2-0 when she ran onto a free kick, struck by Cat Whitehill from near midfield in the game’s 17th minute. Wambach redirected the long kick into the goal for her 74th career goal in just 91 international matches. “We’ve been working a ton on set pieces because we know most of the World Cups and Olympics have come down to set pieces in the final,” said U.S. coach Greg Ryan, whose team has scored its last four goals from set plays. “I didn’t think we’d get this many. We work on them constantly and probably spend four or five days a week doing some set piece work.” Lilly’s goal was her 123rd in her career and sixth in 2007.and it came just seconds into the game. The win extended the team’s unbeaten streak in regulation time to 43 games, 42 of those under Ryan, who has yet to lose as the U.S. head coach. The fifth FIFA Women’s World Cup will be played from Sept. 10-30 in five Chinese cities. The U.S. team will now go on a break before re-grouping on July 6 in Hartford, Conn., in preparation for a match against long-time rival Norway at Rentschler Field on July 14 as Lilly makes a triumphant return to her home state. After facing Norway, the USA will travel to Northern California to face Japan at Spartan Stadium in San Jose on July 28, before taking on New Zealand in Chicago on Aug. 12 at Soldier Field. The U.S. team will finish up against Finland in Los Angeles on Aug. 25 at The Home Depot Center in the final match before the team heads to China. The U.S. Women’s National Team continued its march
to the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup as forward Abby Wambach
put together yet another spectacular goal-scoring performance, heading
home two balls off set plays in the second half to lead her team to a
2-0 victory over China . Wambach’s double upped her international goal total to an amazing 73 in 91 international games. The win over China in the first of the six-game 2007 U.S. Women’s National Team Send-Off Series was the USA’s third of the year over the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup hosts, and upped the team’s record in 2007 to 8-0-2. The win also stretched the team’s unbeaten streak in regulation time to 42 games, 41 of those under head coach Greg Ryan. The fifth FIFA Women’s World Cup will be played from Sept. 10-30 in five Chinese cities. The U.S. team will now travel to New Jersey/New York where it will spend the week preparing to face Brazil on June 23 at Giants Stadium. That match kicks off at 5 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Galavision . “Fantastic effort,” said Ryan of Abby Wambach’s two-goal game. “Abby is a battler. She never quits and she is great at finding some way to beat you. Today maybe it wasn’t her best day in terms of finishing in the flow of play, but she is going to find another way and tonight she did that twice.” After the match against Brazil on June 23 in East Rutherford, N.J., which will be a re-match of the 2004 Olympic gold medal game, the U.S. team will have some time off before resuming the “Send-Off Series” against Norway in East Hartford, Conn., at Rentschler Field on July 14 as team captain Kristine Lilly makes a triumphant return to her home state. After facing Norway, the USA will travel to Northern California to face
Japan at Spartan Stadium in San Jose on July 28, before taking on New
Zealand in Chicago on Aug. 12 at Soldier Field. The U.S. team will finish
up against Finland in Los Angeles on Aug. 25 at The Home Depot Center
in the final match before the team heads to China. For complete details
and ticket information for the entire Send-Off Series, visit to ussoccer.com. - U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT -
Match-up: USA vs. China
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA – Abby Wambach (Kristine Lilly) 67th minute. USA: 1-Briana Scurry; 3-Christie Rampone, 4-Cat Whitehill, 15-Kate Markgraf, 14-Stephanie Lopez; 7-Shannon Boxx (12-Leslie Osborne, 53), 17-Lori Chalupny, 11-Carli Lloyd; 9-Heather O’Reilly, 20-Abby Wambach, 13-Kristine Lilly – Capt. (5-Lindsay Tarpley, 78) Subs not used: 6-Natasha Kai, 8-Tina Ellertson, 16-Angela Hucles, 22-Marian Dalmy, 24-Nicole Barnhart. Head Coach: Greg Ryan CHN: 1-Zhang Yanru; 5-Li Jie – Capt. (17-Jiong Shuai, 75), 23-Zhou Gaoping, 8-Weng Xinzhi (11-Liu Huana, 67), 16-Liu Yali (14-Li Dongna, 63), 4-Pu Wei, 21-Song Xiaoli (9-Ji Ting, 46), 15-Qu Feifei, 7-Bi Yan, 10-Han Duan, 20-Zhang Ouying (24-Zhang Ying, 67). Subs not used: 3-Wang Kun, 18-Xu Meishuang. Head Coach: Marika Domanski-Lyfors U.S. Women Earn Difficult Draw The United States was drawn into Group B for the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be held Sept. 10-30 in China. The 16-team draw was held on April 22 in Wuhan, China. The U.S., ranked #1 in the FIFA World Rankings, was drawn into a group that includes Sweden, Nigeria and North Korea. It is probably the most competitive of the four groups in the tournament. Sweden was the runnerup in the 2003 World Cup, which was won by Germany. Germany is in Group A, along with Japan, England and Argentina, while Group C includes Norway, Ghana, Australia and Canada. Host China tops Group D, along with New Zealand, Brazil and Denmark. The U.S. is currently riding a 36-game unbeaten streak. The Americans
have not lost an international match in the past two years, and have not
l lost since Greg Ryan became the U.S. head coach
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