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Kai Scores Three As U.S. Women Roll The U.S. Women’s National Team ended a three-game domestic tour with a comprehensive 6-0 victory over Canada as forward Natasha Kai scored her first career hat trick. Lindsay Tarpley, Carli Lloyd and Leslie Osborne also added goals in what was a dominating performance from the opening whistle. Amazingly, the USA scored six goals without getting one from top scorer Abby Wambach, who played creator in this match, dishing for three assists. This game quickly took a different direction from the last meeting between the two countries on April 12 in the championship game of the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament. That game was won by the USA in penalty kicks and didn’t see its first goal until overtime in the 107th minute, followed by an equalizer from Canada with just four minutes left. In front of a festive crowd of almost 10,000 tonight at RFK Stadium, the USA out-shot Canada 21-2, holding their northern neighbors without a shot in the second half, and scored five second half goals. “I’m thrilled,” said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage.
“We talked about changing up the rhythm in the attack. My dream
is to take this game to the next level and I think we can do it. We’re
halfway there. The way we played today, there were so many good things
I could stand here for an hour just talking about how good it was. And
still it could be better.” The first goal came in the 23rd minute as Wambach controlled a ball at the top of the penalty box on the left side with her back to the goal. She played a short square pass into the path of the sprinting Tarpley who hammered her first-time shot on a line just inside the right post to give the USA a well-deserved 1-0 lead. The spectacular strike was the 26th career goal for Tarpley and the ninth of 2008, besting her previous high for a calendar year when she found the net eight times in 2004. The second half barrage started in the 54th minute as Lloyd looped a high ball into the penalty box that at first didn’t look dangerous. Kai positioned herself under the falling sphere and snapped off a header that surprised Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod, hitting off her leg and into the net to make it 2-0. The USA’s third goal came just six minutes later on yet another fantastic build-up and quick possession in the final third. The ball was played to Shannon Boxx on the right wing and she swung a perfect spinning cross into the penalty area that was met by Kai just inside the six-yard box. The Hawaiian got a good piece of the ball and powered a header past McLeod to make it 3-0. The fourth goal, and third in a nine-minute span, came as the USA burst through Canada’s restraining line with a perfectly-timed pass from Wambach that sprung Lloyd on a breakaway. The attacking midfielder made a great run from behind and then out-ran Canada’s defense to the top of the penalty box. She took a touch to her right to elude McLeod and slotted the ball into the open net as she tumbled to the ground. The goal was the fifth for Lloyd in 2008 and 15th of her young career. Kai just missed the hat trick in the 72nd minute as Lloyd played a nifty pass to slice open the Canada back line. Kai had a one-on-one chance inside the penalty area, but McLeod came out quickly to stuff the shot with a brave save. Three minutes later Kai got another chance and this one she finished. This time it was Wambach who played a perfectly-weighted ball behind the Canadian backs to give Kai and open look at goal and she drew McLeod out of her goal before poking a slow roller into the lower right corner from 10 yards out. The three goals marked the first career hat trick for Kai and upped her career total to 18 in 45 games. The goals also gave her a team-leading 10 for the year. The USA had numerous other chances to add to the lead during the second half, including a 69th minute header from Wambach that was cleared off the line by Canadian defender, but by that time the USA had all the goals they needed. The game was capped by the third-career goal from midfielder Leslie Osborne, who came into the match in the 70th minute. Forward Amy Rodriguez, herself a 76th minute sub, blew by a defender in the right side of the penalty box and turned the corner before slipping a short pass into the seam that Osborne slammed into the goal from 10 yards out. It was Osborne’s first goal since Nov. 26, 2006, when she scored against Canada in the championship game of the 2007 Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament. The U.S. women, who has been on the road since April 21 will now go on a break before regrouping in Los Angeles for a two-week training camp at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., that begins on June 19. Following that camp, the USA will have a week break before heading to the Peace Queen Cup in South Korea where it will face Australia, Brazil and Italy in first-round play. - U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT - Scoring Summary: USA – Lindsey Tarpley (Abby Wambach) 23rd minute. Lineups: CAN: 18-Erin McLeod; 6-Sophie Schmidt (4-Clare Rustad, 46), 9-Candace
Chapman, 10-Martina Franko, 11-Randee Hermus; 8-Diana Matheson, 19-Jonelle
Filigno, 7-Rhian Wilkinson (5-Robin Gayle, 73); 12-Christine Sinclair,
14-Melissa Tancredi (17-Brittany Timko, 90), 15-Kara Lang (21-Jodi-Ann
Robinson, 70). Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: Officials Sierra Mist Woman of the Match: Natasha Kai U.S. Women Forced To Win In Extra Time…….Again! BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (May 3, 2008) – In a wild match that saw the U.S. Women’s National Team score two own goals and give up a three-goal lead in the second half, substitute midfielder Angela Hucles provided the game-winner in the 94th minute as the U.S. defeated Australia, 5-4, while getting the winning goal in extra time for the second straight game. The win gives the U.S. women a sweep of Australia in the two-game domestic set after winning, 3-2, in Cary, N.C. on April 27. The victory ups the USA’s 2008 record to 12-0-1 heading into a match against Canada on May 10 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. Kick-off is 7 p.m. ET. “There is something with this team that we refuse to lose,”
said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage. “The way we’re
winning is different, but playing in games like this is so important for
us to deal with. This is another good result by the U.S. team.” Against the Matildas in Cary, Carli Lloyd was the hero, scoring the winner in the 91st minute. This time, Hucles supplied the dramatics, scoring in the 94th minute as she crisply volleyed home from eight yards with her left foot after running under a flicked header from Wambach, who had won the ball off a long free kick from Cat Whitehill. Just seconds after Australia kicked off, the match was over. Wambach scored the USA’s second and fourth goals while Lindsay Tarpley, starting at an outside midfielder position for the first time since 2004, supplied the first and third. The two goals for Wambach gave her 95 in just 118 games and put her five short of the magical 100-goal mark. For Tarpley, the two scores upped her career total to 25 and gave her eight in 2008, tying her previous high in a calendar year, achieved in 2004. There was little clue early on that the game would end 5-4 and Australia actually had the first chance in just the fourth minute as speedy forward Sarah Walsh got behind the defense on a pass that split the USA’s center backs right up the middle. U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo came out to challenge and tried to tackle with her feet, but Walsh dribbled around her. Still, Solo delayed her enough that the U.S. defenders could recover and Christie Rampone was able to clear the shot away about three yards from the goal line. The USA gave Australia a bit of a lift in the 19th minute after Walsh got free down the right flank and hit a hard cross on the ground. Whitehill was retreating and tried to slide and clear, but as she fell, inadvertently knocked the ball into her own net from just a few yards away. Before and after the own goal the U.S. team was controlling most of the play and held a 7-1 advantage in shots when they struck twice in two minutes to take the lead. The first U.S. goal came in the 28th minute after a nice series of quick passes led to outside back Stephanie Cox getting an uncontested cross from the left wing. She drove the ball to the far post where Shannon Boxx headed it back into the mix in the middle. The ball deflected off the head of an Australia defender and directly to Tarpley, who slashed through to send a bullet header into the net from five yards out. About a minute later, it was 2-1 after forward Natasha Kai played her running mate Wambach a nice pass through the defense and into the right side of the penalty box. Wambach beat Clare Polkinghorne with a stutter-step before slapping her shot through the legs of goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri and into the near post from a sharp angle. The USA added a third goal three minutes before halftime as Kai got behind the defense on the right side and chipped a cross through the goal area. Tarpley took the ball down with her chest inside the penalty area as she moved to her right to separate from a defender and then struck a volley just inside the left post. The USA had piled up a 14-3 shot advantage by halftime and the match seemed to be sealed when the Americans scored just 19 seconds into the second half to make it 4-1. Outside back Heather Mitts got a ball down the right wing on an overlap and cut a pass back to Boxx who hit a first-time cross into the penalty area over a pulled up Australia back line. Unmarked, Wambach headed powerfully home from just inside the six-yard box. The Aussie showed fantastic fighting spirit to tie the match, out-shooting the U.S. by an 8-7 margin after the break, but the comeback was not without a little assistance from the USA. Just three minutes after Wambach’s second goal, Australia got one on a bit of a fluke play as Collete McCallum launched a long ball from inside her defensive half. The ball got over the U.S. backs and took a big hop at the top of the box, flying over second half substitute goalkeeper Briana Scurry who had come out of the penalty area to challenge. With U.S. defenders in tow, Walsh was able to run down the loose ball and knock it into the open net from just a few feet away. Australia made it 4-3 in the 64th minute as Lauren Colthorpe took a short square pass from Joanne Burgess at the top of the right side of the penalty box and lashed her shot into the lower left corner, giving Scurry no chance. The tying goal came just five minutes later and it was eerily similar to the USA’s first own goal. Burgess got some space in the right side of the penalty area and hit a hard cross on the ground that got past Scurry at the near post, but didn’t seem to be headed to an Aussie player. Rampone tried to clear, but slid and knocked it into the U.S. net from close range. Tarpley just missed the hat trick in the 68th minute after Boxx once again headed a dropping ball back across the face of the net, but the U.S. midfielder had two tall defenders in her way and couldn’t turn the ball on goal. U.S. forward Lauren Cheney came into in the match in the 80th and had a chance to settle things just seconds later as Boxx played her a short bouncing ball to the top of the six-yard box. With some space, she fired her uncontested half-volley over the goal from seven yards away. Australia had its chance to get a winner in 88th minute as Colthorpe unleashed a blast from distance that smacked against the crossbar, but it was Hucles who finished her chance five minutes later to seal the win. The goal, the sixth of her career, was the first for Hucles since Oct. 16, 2004, against Mexico in a match that she also scored the game-winner in a 1-0 victory. The match also marked just the sixth time in 23-year history of the U.S. Women’s National Team that the squad has allowed four goals in a match and first time the team has ever won a game while allowing that many goals against. There is no live television for the game with Canada at RFK Stadium.
Match-up: USA vs. Australia Scoring Summary: 1 2 F AUS – Own Goal (Cat Whitehill) 19th minute. Lineups: AUS: 1-Melissa Barbieri ; 3-Karla Reuter (4-Dianne Alagich, 46), 5-Cheryl
Salisbury - Capt., 11-Clare Polkinghorne (2-Kate McShea, 58), 16-Lauren
Colthorpe; 19-Kim Carroll, 7-Heather Garriock, 14-Collette McCallum, 20-Joanne
Burgess (17-Kyah Simon, 74); 9-Sarah Walsh, 12-Kate Gill (8-Caitlin Munoz,
85) Statistical Summary: USA / AUS Misconduct Summary: Officials: Sierra Mist Woman of the Match: Lindsay Tarpley U.S. Edges Australia In 91st Minute CARY, N.C (April 27, 2008) – In a match that was delayed 53 minutes due to rain and lightning, the U.S. Women’s National Team earned its first domestic win of 2008 with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Australia on a stoppage time goal from midfielder Carli Lloyd. The stadium was pounded by rain starting 40 minutes before the original kickoff of 7 p.m. and along with several bursts of lightning, caused almost an hour delay. When the teams finally took the field, the fans were treated to a wonderfully exciting match that saw three goals in the final six minutes. A goal from Natasha Kai in the 35th minute and another from Abby Wambach in the 49th had staked the USA to a 2-0 lead, which seemingly was to be the final score. Australia had other plans, though, scoring twice in three minutes in the 86th and 88th minutes to tie the game. That set the stage for heroics from Lloyd after substitute Angela Hucles was fouled by Selin Kuralay on the left wing about 20 yards from the sideline. Halftime substitute Cat Whitehill sent an excellent service to the far post that drew Australia goalkeeper Lydia Williams off her line. In a tight pack of players, she tried to punch clear but hit the ball high in the air. It fell to Lloyd inside the six-yard box and she jumped over an Australia player to nod the ball into the open net with her head, setting off a wild celebration by the U.S. players and fans. “You are 2-0 up, and then 2-1 and 2-2 and you can see in the body language that we still wanted to win,” said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage. “When we got the free kick, you could feel it. That feeling is contagious. The goal is just huge, even though it’s just a friendly game, but still that goal is huge. Not only for Carli, but for the whole team including myself, because it gives you the feeling you can win no matter what.” The win was the first for Sundhage inside the United States and moved the USA’s record in 2008 to 11-0-1. The two teams will meet again next Saturday, May 3, in Birmingham, Ala., at the famed Legion Field. Kickoff is 4 p.m. CT and the match will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel. The heavy rains actually ceased six minutes into the game, but the field was still saturated, making for extremely slick conditions in some parts of the field and plodding puddles in others. Even though the heavy rains started about 55 minutes into the game, the field held up extremely well throughout the match. The USA’s first goal came as Lloyd cleverly slipped through two defenders in the midfield and dribbled with pace toward goal. She then played a perfect diagonal pass into the penalty area to the cutting Wambach, but the U.S. forward unselfishly let the ball run through her legs and into the path of the streaking Kai. With her first touch, Kai almost let the ball skid too far in front of her, but recovered with speed to slide and knock her shot off the inside of right post and in from seven yards out. It was Kai’s 15th career goal and seventh of 2008. Young forward Amy Rodriguez replaced Kai at halftime and immediately made an impact, creating the second goal almost on her own. She took a pass just over midfield and raced by Aussie defender Clare Polkinghorne into the box before sending a delicate short chip to top the six-yard box. Almost falling backwards, Wambach got a head on the cross and looped it into the side-netting of the left corner. The goal, her seventh of 2008, was the 93rd of Wambach’s career as she races toward the magical 100-goal mark. The USA fired 22 shots (seven by Lloyd and five from Wambach) to Australia’s 13, but were almost made to pay for not being able to manufacture a third goal despite numerous chances over 90 minutes. Australia pulled a goal back with four minutes left as Heather Garriock, playing her 100th match for the Matildas, sent a cross in from the right wing to the far post that was expertly headed by Kate Gill across the goal mouth and into the far post from an extremely tight angle. One minute later, the crowd was stunned as Lori Chalupny was whistled for handling the ball in the penalty area as she slid to tackle the ball away. She won the tackle, but the ball rolled up and hit her on the arm with her whole body on the ground. The assistant referee waved her flag and referee Margaret Domka point to the spot. Australia captain Cheryl Salisbury took the kick and drove it to the left corner where Solo made a spectacular save, but the ball bounced right back to the Aussie captain who headed it into the open net to tie the game. Showing great fighting spirit, the Americans tallied 45 seconds in the first minute of stoppage time. Before Domka whistled the end of the game 75 seconds later, Rodriguez almost made it a two-goal victory when she missed wide right of the post on a golden chance from 15 yards. “I have to say it’s a good start (to the run of three domestic games),” said Sundhage. “This game had so many things. Some parts were very good in the first half and the people coming off the bench did very well. I said to the players, the way we won the game, it’s a winning feeling and that is so important to have when we go into the Olympics. This is perfect training for us.” Solo was excellent in the horrible conditions over 90 minutes, making at least three powerful punches in first half, coming out to the top of the box twice to corral dangerous through balls and tipped a dangerous 19-yard half-volley from Sarah Walsh over the cross bar in the 20th minute. She also held several skipping shots well, and made the initial stop on the PK. Despite not being able to punch clear at the end of the match, Williams also had a solid game on the wet field for Australia, holding numerous hard crosses and shots on which rebounds would have been finished by crashing U.S. forwards. She made 10 saves in the match. U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage made all six of her allowed substitutions during the match and also gave a start to defender Heather Mitts, who returned to the U.S. lineup with an excellent performance after missing the last year while recovering from an ACL injury. Mitts played 53 minutes before being replaced by Rachel Buehler. The U.S. team will now head to Birmingham where they will train all week in preparation for the second leg against Australia. Tickets starting at $18 and can be purchased through ussoccer.com, by calling 205-715-6000, and at all Birmingham-area Ticketmaster ticket centers (including Publix and FYE stores). From Birmingham, the USA will travel to Washington, D.C., to face Canada
on May 10 at 7 p.m. ET at RFK Stadium in a re-match of the CONCACAF Olympic
Qualifying championship game held earlier this month in Ciudad Juarez,
Mexico. Scoring Summary: USA – Natasha Kai (Carli Lloyd) 35th minute. Lineups: AUS: 18-Lydia Williams; 3-Karla Reuter (19-Kim Carroll, 76), 5-Cheryl
Salisbury – Capt., 11-Clare Polkinghorne, 16-Lauren Colthorpe; 7-Heather
Garriock (2-Kate McShea, 89), 13-Amy Chapman (12-Kate Gill, 58), 14-Collette
McCallum, 15-Sally Shipard (6-Amber Neilson, 65); 9-Sarah Walsh (22-Selin
Kuralay, 82), 17-Kyah Simon (20-Joanne Burgess, 59). Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: Officials Sierra Mist Woman of the Match: Carli Lloyd U.S. Now Knows Olympic Opponents The U.S. Under-23 Men and Women’s National Teams were drawn into their respective groups for the 2008 Olympic Games during the Final Draw this evening in Beijing, China. The U.S. Women were drawn in to Group G, and will face Norway, Japan and New Zealand in first round play, while the U-23 Men were placed into Group B with Japan, the Netherlands and Nigeria. The Final Draw placed all 28 teams in this year’s Olympic Football Tournaments for the men and women, which will be played from Aug. 6-23 in five venues: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao. The 12 teams in the women’s tournament were divided into three groups of four teams each, while the 16-team men’s tournament includes four groups of four. The U.S. Women received a top seed in the tournament along with host China, which will head Group E, and Germany, which will head Group F. On the men’s side, the U.S. will open against Japan on August 7 at 5 p.m. local (5 a.m. ET) before facing the Netherlands on August 10 at 7:45 p.m. local (7:45 a.m.), with both games taking place at the Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Tianjin. The team will then travel to Workers’ Stadium in Beijing to conclude group play against 1996 gold medalist and 2005 Under-20 World Cup champion Nigeria on August 13 at 5 p.m. local (5 a.m. ET). “It’s a difficult group, definitely, but that’s what we expect in a tournament that includes the top 16 teams in the world,” said U.S. Under-23 head coach Peter Nowak. “They are very quality teams we will face and we have to be up to the challenge. This is a great challenge for us and we can gain a lot of experience from these kinds of games and this kind of tournament.” “I’m very excited about the challenge of the draw overall,” said U.S. Women’s head coach Pia Sundhage. “Group F is certainly the strongest of the three groups, but our group will be very good as well. We will play three very different teams with very different styles of play, which will test our ability to adapt in a world championship tournament with just a few days rest between games.” In the men’s tournament, the top two finishers in each group will advance to the quarterfinals, while in the 12-team women’s tournament, the top two teams in each of the three groups plus the two best third-place teams after the completion of first-round play will advance to the quarterfinals. This will be the fourth Olympic soccer competition for women. The WNT has won two gold medals (Atlanta ’96 and Athens ’04) and one silver medal (Sydney ’00) in previous Olympic tournaments. The U.S. will be participating in its 13th Olympic Games on the men’s side, and their first since 2000 when they finished in fourth place. Olympic Men’s Football Tournament
The U.S. Women’s National Team got a dramatic overtime free-kick goal from Carli Lloyd before Canada tied the game three minutes from the end, sending the match into a penalty kick shootout where the Americans prevailed 6-5 to win the 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament. Both teams had already secured their berths to the 2008 Beijing Olympics with semifinal victories the U.S. triumph moved its record in CONCACAF competitions to 27-0-1 and marked the eighth overall confederation title for the USA. It also marked the third straight tournament championship under head coach Pia Sundhage after winning the Four Nations in China in January and the Algarve Cup in March. “It was an exciting game, you could hear it in the crowd’s reaction,” said Sundhage. “The way we played in the second half was very good and we created a lot of chances. This is the environment that really matters when you have the word “final” attached to it and being pushed to penalty kicks it’s one of the best things that could happen to the U.S. team in this tournament. You can’t match the feeling in practice of taking penalty kicks in a game like this, and it could happen in the Olympics. But I am very happy for the team as there were so many good things out there tonight.” The USA out-shot Canada 24-10 during the match but ran into a red-hot goalkeeper in Erin McLeod, who played a Herculean game for her country. She made 10 total saves, including at least a half-dozen spectacular goal-saving stops But in the end, it was U.S. goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart who ended up being the hero, diving to her left to push away Brittany Timko’s penalty kick on Canada’s seventh attempt of the shootout. U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage left two of her top attackers on the bench to start the game, giving some rest to Abby Wambach and Heather O’Reilly as Amy Rodriguez got the start up top and Kacey White played at right midfield. Leslie Osborne also got her first start of the tournament, playing an excellent 120 minutes at defensive midfield. When the USA had the ball, Canada played four defenders across the back with midfielder Diane Matheson sitting right in front of them, and four players across the midfield with Melissa Tancredi as the lone striker. Organized and tough in the their defensive tactics, the Canadians proved difficult to penetrate for the U.S. team in the first half. As their opponents tired in the second half, the Americans launched attacked after attack only to find McLeod up for the challenge. In the 107th minute of the first overtime period, Canadian forward Kara Lang chopped down Lloyd on a hard tackle from behind about 28 yards from the net just left of the penalty arc, earning a yellow card for the challenge. Stung by the tackle, Lloyd stayed on the turf for a few moments before rising and pulling off a moment of brilliance. Lloyd sent her hard, dipping shot over the wall and into the lower left corner on a bounce, finally finding a way past McLeod, then celebrated with a sprint to the bench area where she was engulfed by her teammates. It seemed the goal would be enough to seal the win, but Canada got an improbable equalizer just three minutes from the end of overtime. The Canadians earned a corner kick which was floated in from the left side to Tancredi, who jumped in a pack of players and nodded the ball home from close range. It was Canada’s only shot on goal in the whole second half and overtime, but good enough to send the game to penalties. Lloyd started the USA off in what was a series of extremely well taken kicks by both teams with a blast into the lower left corner. Then, Canadian captain Christine Sinclair converted her spot kick, as Barnhart got her whole hand on the ball but couldn’t turn it away. Substitute Angela Hucles scored the USA’s second kick before Canadian defender Martina Franko pinged her shot off the left post. The USA could have taken the lead, but McLeod dove to her left to push away Lori Chalupny’s chance and Tancredi then converted to tie the shootout at 2-2 after three kicks. Rampone, the U.S. captain, stepped up to coolly finish her kick before Clare Rustad did the same. On the USA’s fifth kick, Wambach came up big, blasting her shot home, and forcing Canada to convert to send the game into sudden death. Lang was up to the task and powered her shot into the left corner. Osborne then blasted her spot kick home before Rhian Wilkinson matched the effort to make it 5-5 after six kicks each. O’Reilly then slotted her chance into the net, setting the stage for Barnhart’s heroics. Timko hit her shot solid, but too close to Barnhart, who slapped the ball away, setting off a wild celebration from the U.S. players. “I had got my full hand on Sinclair’s shot, but wasn’t able to deflect it over the goal as I was going right and she hit it straight up the middle,” said Barnhart. “I read a few of them wrong and went the wrong way, but on Timko’s I had a feeling she was going left and kind of read her. She didn’t hit it that well so I was able to make the save.” Barnhart had also made two excellent saves early in the game, diving to save a sliding shot from Sinclair in the seventh minute and then tipping a driven effort from Jonelle Filigno over the crossbar in the 16th minute. The first half saw much of the same pattern as the USA would win the ball and maintain some good possession trying to find a way through or around Canada, but when the Canadians won it, they would look long for the powerful duo of Sinclair and Tancredi. Canada hit a steady stream of long balls at the U.S. backs, most of which were cleared by Osborne, Rampone and Kate Markgraf, but one got through in the 29th minute as Barnhart came out to smother the ball at the feet of Sinclair. The U.S. back line did extremely well to hold up against Canada’s barrage of long balls and Rampone had several magnificent recovery runs during the game to defuse dangerous Canadian attacks. Young U.S. forward Amy Rodriguez played all 120 minutes and had numerous good chances on the night, including one in stoppage time of the first half as Natasha Kai cut a pass back to her after penetrating into the penalty area on the right, but she fired it wide. In the 50th minute, Tarpley sent a great cross from the left wing that was headed down by Wambach, who was a halftime substitute, but this time Rodriguez sent her shot just wide left. In the 75th minute, O'Reilly crossed from the right and Rodriguez hit a hard volley on net, only to see McLeod dive to snag it with one hand. McLeod later saved a Rodriguez break-away as well. Canada had a chance to win the game six minutes from the end of regulation after Matheson won a tackle from Chalupny in the right side of the box, got up and played a ball back to Lang. But, with an open shot, Lang hit her chance just wide left of the post. The USA then had a chance to end it with just one minute left in regulation as Lloyd hit a screaming roller-coaster of a shot from 35 yards out that thundered off the crossbar at the upper left corner. Wambach was in on goal for the rebound, but couldn’t control the hard bounce and did not get off a shot before Canada was able to clear it way. McLeod made a brilliant kick-save on Wambach in the 105th minute and then in the 108th somehow got a hand to Wambach’s flick header off a bending free-kick from Lloyd, pushing it off the left post. Soon after, McLeod made another kick-save on Wambach as she dribbled all the way to the goal on the left side and tried to stuff her shot into the near post. A rare sight happened in the 116th minute as Markgraf scored during a goal mouth scramble after a corner kick, but the ball had hit her hand before she finished. It would have been Markgraf’s first career goal in 176 caps. The goal allowed by Barnhart was actually the first she’s let past her in eight career caps. Along with Barnhart, Sundhage started three other relatively inexperienced players in the championship game, giving Rodriguez her 15th cap, defender Rachel Buehler, who played extremely well at right back, her sixth, and White her fourth. The U.S. team, which has been on the road for 25 days, will now go on a much-deserved break before regrouping on April 22 in Cary, N.C., to prepare for its first domestic matches of the year against Australia <http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_5734400.html> on April 27 at WakeMed Park (7 p.m. ET) and on May 3 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. (5 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. local). The match in Birmingham will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel. For the match in Birmingham, tickets start at $18 and can be purchased through ussoccer.com <http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_5734401.html> , by calling 205-715-6000, and at all Birmingham-area Ticketmaster ticket centers (including Publix and FYE stores). For the game in Cary, tickets start at $18 and can be purchased through ussoccer.com <http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_5799939.html> , by phone at 919-834-4000, and at all Raleigh-Durham area Ticketmaster ticket centers (including Macy’s and FYE stores). - U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT - Match-up: USA vs. Canada Scoring Summary: 1 2 1OT 2OT F PK USA – Carli Lloyd (unassisted) 107 minute. Penalty Kicks Lineups: CAN: 18-Erin McLeod; 9-Candace Chapman, 10-Martina Franko, 11-Randee
Hermus (5-Robyn Gayle, 46), 4-Clare Rustad, 8-Diana Matheson (19-Alexandra
Marton, 100), 16-Jonelle Filigno (17-Brittany Timko, 70), 7-Rhian Wilkinson,
12-Christine Sinclair, 14-Melissa Tancredi, 15-Kara Lang. Statistical Summary: USA / CAN Misconduct Summary: Officials Sierra Mist Woman of the Match: Carli Lloyd Third-place Game Championship U.S. Women Play Costa Rica For Olympic Berth The U.S. Women’s National Team got two goals from Natasha Kai and one from Abby Wambach in a rousing 3-1 victory over Mexico in front of a sold-out crowd of 22,280 at the Estadio Olimpico Benito Juarez. The victory gave the USA first place in Group A at the 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament and a semifinal match against Group B runner-up Costa Rica on April 9 at 5 p.m. MT for a berth in the 2008 Olympics. Canada, which defeated Costa Rica, 1-0, earlier today in the final match of Group B will face Mexico in the other semifinal. The winner of that 7:30 p.m. MT match will earn CONCACAF’s second berth to the Olympics. The U.S. had opened the qualifying group competiton with a 6-0 win over Jamaica. The packed house and fanatical pro-Mexican crowd created an atmosphere not often experienced by the U.S. Women, which scored all three of its goals in the first half of a highly entertaining and well played game by both countries. It was the 15th largest crowd ever to watch the U.S. women outside of the United States and the largest ever outside the USA in the western hemisphere. "We saw Mexico play three days ago so we knew the formation, but they have a 12th player, and that's the crowd. It was absolutely wonderful," said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage. "This is my first time here in Mexico with the U.S. team and that kind of crowd, I appreciate it a lot. We knew there would be battles, a lot of one-v-one, and a technical Mexico team. So we needed to stay focused in defending and find the space outside their backs. We did a pretty good job at the end of the day." Sundhage made four changes to the lineup that defeated Jamaica, 6-0, last Friday, inserting Hope Solo in goal, Rachel Buehler at right back, Tobin Heath at left midfield and Kai up top with Wambach. It was Kai who silenced the crowd just 13 minutes into the game with her 11th career goal. Midfielder Carli Lloyd did well to win a challenge in midfield and struck a long ball to Heather O’Reilly on the right wing. The U.S. midfielder brought the ball down and set off on a long run toward goal before slipping a pass to Kai into the right side of the penalty box. Kai had time to pick her spot and rolled the ball into the left corner past Mexican goalkeeper Sophia Perez. Perez made the first of numerous tough saves during the match in the 17th minute after Wambach played a cross from the left wing on the ground to the near post. Kai sliced in to get a solid strike on the ball, but Perez managed to tip it away with a great reaction save. Spurred on by the home crowd, Mexico attacked with fervor in the first half and Evelyn Lopez hit the side-netting in the 27th minute after spinning free of a U.S. defender in the left of the penalty box. When the equalizer did come four minutes later, it was from forward Lupita Worbis, whose world-class strike from outside the penalty area on the right side caught the absolute upper left corner past a flying Solo. Worbis had controlled a U.S. clearance before hitting the 30-yard rocket that was certainly the best goal scored against the USA in recent memory. With the crowd in a frenzy, the USA struck back even before the celebration had subsided. Almost right off the kickoff, defender Kate Markgraf sent a long ball to Wambach down the left side. The U.S. forward pushed past two defenders into the penalty area, then eluded Perez to the outside before rolling the ball into the open net. It was the 92nd goal Wambach’s career and her third of the tournament. The rare assist for Markgraf was the eighth of her international career. Wambach’s goal instantly erased Mexico’s momentum, but an even more painful blow was dealt with just seconds left in regulation time of the first half. O’Reilly tried to loop a pass over the Mexican back line but defender Natalie Vinti got her head on the ball, sending it up in the air. As she tried to turn and chase the ball, she slipped and Kai swooped in to take possession for a one-one-one chance. Perez also slipped as she made her move to close down the U.S. forward, but then regained her feet only to be nut-megged by Kai, who simply rolled the ball through the Mexican ‘keepers’ legs and into the net from nine yards out. The goal was crushing for Mexico, as the halftime whistle blew seconds later. Mexico did come out from the break with renewed enthusiasm and Lulu Gordillo looped a long shot over Solo and off the crossbar in the 56th minute, but the Americans kept pushing and dominated the final 30 minutes even though the one goal which would have effectively ended the game never came. The fact that the U.S. did not score in the second half can be mostly attributed to Perez, who flew around her goal in the final half hour to make a half-dozen spectacular saves and difficult grabs off crosses in traffic. In the 65th minute, O'Reilly ran onto a cross at the right post sent by Wambach from the left wing, cut inside to beat a defender and drove a shot that was pushed off the right post by Perez. Five minutes later, substitute Lindsay Tarpley latched onto a ball in a penalty box scramble and lifted an arching shot that hit the right post. Right after that, O’Reilly hit a great bending service behind the retreating Mexican defense, but Wambach’s sliding shot squirted just wide left of the net at the far post. In the 77th minute, O'Reilly brought another ball down in right side of the penalty area and ripped a shot across the goal, only to see Perez push it away on the full stretch. Five minutes from time Tarpley’s cross from the left side just evaded a sliding Rodriguez. O’Reilly ran it down, turned toward goal and let loose a strike from 10 yards that was once again batted away by Perez. Seconds later, O’Reilly dribbled square across the top of the penalty area and sent a left-footed shot off the bottom of the left post. With three minutes left, Tarpley sprung O’Reilly down the right wing and she cut hard towards the net. O’Reilly played a pass into the slot for Rodriguez, who let it run through her legs to Wambach, but the U.S. forward couldn’t get her second goal of the game, firing high. Mexico still wasn’t done though as substitute Monica Ocampo shook free in the left side of the penalty area during the final minute of regulation and drove a shot to the near post. Solo was wrong-footed, but reached back to coolly palm the ball over the end line for a corner kick. The USA did well to possess the ball and kill the clock for the rest of the game, which included five minutes of stoppage time, and at the final whistle the fans gave both teams a huge round of applause. Overall, Mexico did well to make it an end-to-end game, committing numbers to the attack, but the Tricolores just could not punch through the rugged and speedy U.S. back line. Fans can follow the USA’s match against Costa Rica on Wednesday, April 9, live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker with a kickoff of 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time. In 2004, the USA also defeated Costa Rica for a berth to the Olympics, winning 4-0 in the semifinal of the Olympic qualifying competition in San Jose, Costa Rica. U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT Match-up: USA vs. Mexico Scoring Summary: USA – Natasha Kai (Heather O’Reilly) 13th minute. Lineups: MEX: 20-Sophia Perez; 4-Natalie Vinti, 5-Maria Castillo, 13-Lulu Gordillo
(19-Iris Mora, 67), 14-Isabel Valdez (2-Leticia Villalpando, 30), 6-Monica
Vergara, 7-Evelyn Lopez, 11-Patricia Perez (9-Monica Ocampo, 46), 17-Tania
Morales, 8-Carmen Padilla – Capt., 10-Lupita Worbis. Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: Officials Sierra Mist Woman of the Match: Natasha Kai 2008 CONCACAF WOMEN’S OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION SCHEDULE
& STANDINGS Date Match-up Group B Date Match-up Semifinals Kickoff (Local) / PT Final/Third-place Game Kickoff (Local) / PT Sundhage Picks Qualifying Roster U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Pia Sundhage has chosen the 20-player roster to travel to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, for 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying as the USA attempts to earn one of two berths to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. All 10 games of the qualifying competition will be held at the Estadio Olímpico Benito Juarez. The U.S. is in Group A and will open the tournament on April 4 vs. Jamaica at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time before facing Mexico on April 6 at 12:30 p.m. PT. The top two teams from Group A will advance to the semifinals, where they will cross over to face the top two teams from Group B, which features Canada, Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago. The winners of the April 9 semifinals will qualify for the 2008 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament in Beijing. Fans can follow all of the USA’s matches online with ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. Sundhage will be allowed to suit up 18 players for each match, but can rotate her active roster from game to game. “We’ve had a good week of training in Los Angeles and the team is excited about the challenge of playing important matches that represent our path to the Olympics,” said Sundhage. “It’s always a good thing for a team to play games that mean so much and that pressure will help us continue to develop the style we want to play. We’ve tried different things in China at the Four Nations Tournament and at the Algarve Cup, so now it’s about finding our best combinations of players for these qualifying matches.” The U.S. will be looking for a berth to its fourth consecutive Olympic Games. In 2004, the U.S. won the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Costa Rica, and went on to win gold at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. The U.S. qualified for the 1996 Atlanta Games as host, and for the 2000 Sydney Games as a top-seven finisher at the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Nine players named to the U.S. roster for qualifying in Mexico played in the last Olympic qualifying tournament in 2004. Eight teams have qualified thus far for the 12-team Olympic Football Tournament. Japan, North Korea and China (hosts) from Asia, Argentina from South America, Nigeria from Africa, and Germany, Norway and Sweden from Europe have already booked tickets. In addition to the two teams from CONCACAF, one team from Oceania has yet to qualify. Brazil, who finished second in South American qualifying will face African runner-up Ghana in a one-game playoff for the final Olympic berth on April 19 in Beijing, one day prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics Final Draw. U.S. Women's National Team Note: In Mexico, Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. local time on the first Sunday in April, which would be April 5, meaning the matches on April 2 and 4 are the same as Pacific Time while the matches on April 6, 9 and 12 will be played on Mountain Time. USA Olympic Qualification Schedule – Group A U.S. Women Play In Cary, Birmingham The U.S. Women’s National Team will play their first two domestic matches of 2008 against Australia, taking on the Matildas on April 27 in Cary, N.C., and on May 3 in Birmingham, Ala. The two games will be the first in the United States for new U.S. WNT head coach Pia Sundhage. The U.S. will face Australia first at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., kicking off at 7 p.m. ET before meeting the Matildas again at 5 p.m. ET (4 p.m. local) at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. The second match will be televised live from Legion Field on Fox Soccer Channel on Saturday. Fans can both matches online with ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. The matches come less than two weeks after the U.S. concludes CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico, and will hopefully be using the matches as preparation for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. Earlier this week, Sundhage invited in a 26-player roster for the team's final training camp before they leave for Mexico. The April 27 match at WakeMed Soccer Park will be the first visit to the Tar Heel state for the U.S. WNT in two years, since a July 30, 2006, victory against Canada. The USA has played nine matches in North Carolina since 1995, three in Cary, two in Charlotte, three in Davidson and one in Greensboro, winning eight of those games with one tie. The U.S. team has deep ties with North Carolina as numerous Women’s National Team players have played at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. At the 2008 Algarve Cup in Portugal, which the U.S. won on March 12 with a 2-1 victory against Denmark, there were five UNC alums with Cat Whitehill, Lindsay Tarpley, Lori Chalupny, Heather O’Reilly and current sophomore Tobin Heath, the youngest player on the roster. Australia is ranked 12th in the most recent FIFA Women’s World Rankings, and finished in the top eight at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Voted one of the most exciting teams in the tournament by fans, the Australian team pushed finalist Brazil to the limit before falling 3-2 in the quarterfinals. The U.S. is 16-0-2 vs. Australia, with the last meeting a 2-0 victory at the Peace Queen Cup in South Korea in October 2006. On May 3, the U.S. WNT will visit the hometown of defender Cat Whitehill for the third time, and the first time since a 5-1 victory vs. Brazil on April 24, 2004, at Legion Field. That match served as a warm-up on the U.S. WNT’s path to the gold medal at the Athens Games. U.S. Captures Algarve Cup Title The U.S. Women’s National Team got a first half goal on a header by Natasha Kai and a 49th minute game-winner from Abby Wambach to defeat Denmark, 2-1, and win the 2008 Algarve Cup. Coming into the championship game, the Danes had yet to allow a goal in the competition, but that changed in the 14th minute after Heather O’Reilly earned a corner kick with a darting run down the left side. Carli Lloyd sent a curving cross into the middle to an unmarked Kai, who met it solidly just outside the six-yard box, heading the ball down and through the legs of Denmark goalkeeper Heidi Johansen on the bounce. It was Kai’s second goal of the tournament and 10th of her international career. The Danes played in 4-3-3 formation and did well to stretch the U.S. defense with balls lofted over the top, but most of the services were expertly run down by centerbacks Christie Rampone and Kate Markgraf, who played 90 minutes together in the middle of the U.S. defense for the first time this tournament. “It was a great tournament for us, especially going into qualifying," said U.S. captain Christie Rampone. "We got better each and every game. We are playing with a ton of confidence and you can see it out there. We are pinging balls together, we are reading the game better, our defensive line is staying high. I think we are just trusting each other out there. The communications is just really good, better than it’s ever been Denmark had won its three group games by 1-0 scores and was not going
to be discouraged by the lone goal. They pushed forward in the first half,
aided at times by sloppy giveaways from the U.S. midfield, and then earned
the equalizer in the 30th minute. Wednesday’s match marked the United States’ sixth straight appearance in the Algarve Cup title game and earned its sixth Algarve Cup championship overall, winning in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and now 2008. For the fourth straight match at the Algarve Cup, U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage made all six of the allowed substitutions, also giving time to forwards Amy Rodriguez, Lauren Cheney and midfielder Angie Wozuk, who had a few cracks at goal in her 14 minutes of action. Leslie Osborne played an excellent 90 minutes in the center of the U.S. midfield in place of Shannon Boxx, who suffered a minor injury in the United States’ win over Norway. Seven different players scored the United States’ 12 goals in the tournament and the U.S. moved to 7-0-0 on the year under head coach Pia Sundhage, having scored 21 goals and allowed just two. The Algarve Cup title was the second tournament championship for Sundhage after having also won the Four Nations Tournament this past January in China. In the other placement matches, Norway took third place with a 2-0 win over Germany, handing the reigning FIFA Women’s World Cup champions their second loss of the tournament. Sweden defeated Italy, 3-0, for fifth place and Iceland finished an undefeated run in the tournament by downing Finland, 3-0, for seventh place. The games for ninth and eleventh places both went to penalty kicks. China and Portugal tied 1-1 before China took ninth, winning 5-4 in spot kicks. Ireland and Poland tied 2-2 before the Algarve-first-timer Poles pulled out a dramatic 6-5 win in penalties. The USA will now return home for a week-long break before regrouping on March 21 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. for a training camp prior to leaving for Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament, being held from April 2-12. The U.S. will face Jamaica and Mexico in first round play of the six-team tournament. The winners of the semifinal matches earn berths to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT Match-up: USA vs. Denmark Scoring Summary: USA – Natasha Kai (Carli Lloyd) 14th minute. Lineups: Subs not used: 4-Cat Whitehill, 7-Shannon Boxx, 24-Nicole Barnhart. Head Coach: Pia Sundhage DEN: 1-Heidi Johansen; 2-Mia Olsen (15-Marie Bjerg, 75), 3-Katrine Pederson, 4-Christina Ørntoft, 5-Bettina Hansen (12-Line Hansen, 75); 6-Mariann Knudsen, 7-Cathrine Sorensen, 10-Camilla Sand (19-Sine Hovesen, 75), 13-Johanna Rasmussen (18-Theresa Nielsen, 89); 9-Maiken Pape (8-Janne Madsen, 54), 11-Merete Pedersen. Subs not used: 14-Marie Herpig, 16-Tine Cederkvist, 17-Mette Jensen,
20-Sanne Troelsgaard. Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: Officials Sierra Mist Woman of the Match: Abby Wambach Placement Matches Results U.S. Women Roll Past Norway, 4-0 U.S. Women’s National Team got four second half goals from four different players in a 4-0 win over Norway, sending the USA to its sixth consecutive Algarve Cup final. The U.S. got goals from Natasha Kai, Abby Wambach and Heather O’Reilly in an 11-minute span before second-half sub Amy Rodriguez finished the scoring in the 90th minute. The win gave the U.S. Women a perfect nine points in Group B and they
will now face Group A winner Denmark for the championship on Wednesday,
March 12, at Municipal Stadium in Vila Real de San Antonio. Kickoff is
at 1:15 p.m. local / 9:15 a.m. ET and fans can follow live on ussoccer.com’s
MatchTracker. The U.S. started the match against Norway with a superior goal difference in the group from its first two matches and needed just a tie to make it to the title game. Still, Norway must have been satisfied with the 0-0 halftime score, especially after putting some intense pressure on the U.S. net in the first 15 minutes, highlighted by a thunderous 22-yard shot off the crossbar by Ingvild Stensland in the 11th minute. Making just her sixth appearance and surely her most important match thus far for the U.S. National Team, goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart played an excellent game, smoothly handling every ball that was served her way and also came up with a big save in the 43rd minute. Isabell Herlovsen got behind the U.S. defense down the left flank and raced toward the penalty box. Barnhart came out to challenge and when Herlovsen tried to loop her shot over the U.S. ‘keeper from the top of the box, she got a hand on the ball and deflected it wide left of the goal. The touch by Barnhart took enough speed off the ball so that Kate Markgraf could recover to run it down and clear it away. Norway certainly got high marks for efficiency in the match, taking five total shots, putting four on goal and one off the crossbar. While the chances for both Stensland and Herlovsen could have changed the match, the U.S. weathered the storm and started to assert themselves in the final 30 minutes before the break. The U.S. was fighting against stiff winds in the first half, but with the gusts at their back in the second half, they took over the game and started a four-goal outburst in the 55th minute. The first goal came on a play, and in a half, that Norway goalkeeper Ingrid Hjelmseth will surely try to forget quickly. Hjelmseth got the ball in her hands after sliding out to the top of the penalty box at the feet of Wambach. After gathering herself and letting almost all of the U.S. and Norwegian players jog up-field, Hjelmseth placed the ball down at the top of the penalty area in preparation to kick it off the ground. She didn’t however, see Kai lurking to her left. As Hjelmseth took a few steps backwards, Kai was sprinting to the ball, but the Norwegian goalkeeper saw her too late. Kai swooped in, won the ball off Hjelmseth’s desperate lunging tackle, knocking it forward with her leg, and then simply dribbled the ball into the open net. It was Kai’s first goal of 2008, and her ninth international goal, the first two of which were scored at the Algarve Cup in 2006. The goal rocked the Norwegians, who found themselves down 2-0 just two minutes later. That goal originated on the left side as Lori Chalupny slipped a short pass to Carli Lloyd who was making a run into the penalty area. Lloyd took a touch to beat her defender to the end line and was cut down on the tackle, but not before driving her left-footed cross into the middle. Wambach was crashing the goal with Gunhild Følstad draped all over her, but still had the strength to dive and bundle the ball into the net with her chest right on the goal line. The goal was Wambach’s second of the tournament and 88th of her career. The third goal came as the U.S. began to dominate and earned two successive corner kicks. The first corner came after substitute Lindsay Tarpley had her blistering shot from 12 yards pushed outside the right post by Hjelmseth. On the ensuing corner kick, Rodriguez got a crack at goal and her shot was deflected over the end line by a defender. Carli Lloyd then drove a long service that flew over the pack of players to Leslie Osborne who was standing a few yards from the right elbow of the goal box. She sent a perfect header back to the far post for O’Reilly, who jumped over two Norwegian defenders to head the ball home from close range. It was O’Reilly’s second goal of the tournament and 17th of her career. Norway kept fighting, but the Americans continued to knock the ball around with aplomb and were gifted a fluky goal in the final minute of regulation time. Stephanie Cox played a long ball down the left wing that Wambach got a light touch on, sending Rodriguez behind the defense. She raced in on goal from the left and hit a soft shot with the outside of her right foot. Somehow, the Norwegian goalkeeper miss-judged the spin on the ball, dove to corral it, but instead let it roll over her body and just over the goal line before she could recover. It was Rodriguez’ third international goal. The U.S. backs did well holding high on the restraining line, then dropping to win Norway’s long services. Anything that got over their heads was gobbled up or cleared by Barnhart. Markgraf played 90 minutes for the first time since the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup after recovering from an ankle injury and Christie Rampone had another stellar game, while also getting a rest for the first time in the tournament when she exited with 15 minutes remaining. The U.S. did have several good chances in the first half, including two shots from the top of the penalty box by Angie Woznuk, who made her first-ever start for the full Women’s National Team. Wambach also saw an excellent volley palmed away by Hjelmseth and O’Reilly had a near miss, skipping her shot just past the left post from 14 yards out. But in the end, the U.S. took their chances well after the break to put the game away. For the third straight match, U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage made all six of the allowed substitutions, also giving time to defender Cat Whitehill and midfielder Tobin Heath. In the other Group A match, Italy defeated China, 2-0, to relegate the
Chinese to the match for ninth place, where they will face Portugal, a
3-0 loser to Iceland in Group C. In Group A, Germany defeated Sweden,
2-0, to earn a spot in the third-place game against Norway. Sweden will
play Italy for fifth place. Iceland will play Finland for seventh place.
In the other Group C game, Ireland defeated Poland, 1-0, and the two countries
will play each other again for eleventh place. Match-up: USA vs. Norway Scoring Summary: USA – Natasha Kai (unassisted) 55th minute. Lineups: NOR: 12-Ingrid Hjelmseth: 2-Ane Horpestad, 3-Gunhild Følstad (15-Marita
Lund, 58), 5-Siri Nordby,18-Runa Vikestad; 4-Ingvild Stensland, 6-Marie
Knutsen, 7-Lene Storløkken, 9-Isabell Herlovsen, 10-Melissa Wiik,
11-Leni Kaurin (14-Guro Knutsen, 68). Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: Officials Sierra Mist Woman of the Match: Christie Rampone 2008 Algarve Cup Standings March 5 March 7 March 10 Group B March 5 March 7 March 10 Group C March 5 March 7 Placement Matches U.S. WNT Unbeaten In Algarve Cup The U.S. Women’s National Team has opened the 2008 Algarve Cup in Portugal with a pair of shutout victories. After beating China 4-0 in its first group game, the U.S. team shutout Italy 2-0 behind goals by former UNC Tar Heels Heather O’Reilly and Lindsay Tarpley. The 4-0 win over China marked the largest margin of victories ever in
39 meetings with China. Four different players, including Tarpley, scored
in that game. Another Tar Heel, Tobin Heath, the youngest
player on the roster, scored in her third international appearance, along
with Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd. The U.S. will close out group games on Monday with a game against Norway. Germany, expected to play the U.S. for the championships, is 1-1 in group play having lost 1-0 to Germany and winning 3-0 over Finland. U.S. WNT Draws Mexico & Jamaica The U.S. has been drawn into Group A along with Jamaica and Mexico for 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying from April 2-12 in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The U.S. will open the tournament on April 4 vs. Jamaica before facing Mexico on April 6. Both games will be played in the Estadio Olímpico Benito Juarez, which will host all 10 games during the qualifying tournament. The top two teams from Group A will advance to the semifinals, where they will cross over to face the top two teams from Group B, which includes Canada, Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago. The winners of the April 9 semifinals will qualify for the 2008 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament in Beijing. Fans can follow all of the USA’s match online with ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. The U.S. has only faced Jamaica once previously, a 10-0 victory 14 years ago in a FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying match in Montreal, Canada. Mexico is a more familiar opponent for the U.S., with the teams having faced each other 22 times previously. The U.S. has dominated the rivalry with the qualifying hosts, winning the first 21 meetings before Mexico earned a 1-1 tie on Oct. 20, 2007. The U.S. is preparing for qualifying at the 2008 Algarve Cup being held from March 5-12 in southern Portugal. Head coach Pia Sundhage has taken a 20-player roster to face China, Italy and Norway. The U.S. will look to qualify for a fourth consecutive Olympic Games and finish in first place at CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying for the second consecutive time. In 2004, the U.S. won the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Costa Rica, and went on to win gold at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. The U.S. qualified for the 1996 Atlanta Games as host, and for the 2000 Sydney Games as a top-seven finisher at the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Seven teams have already qualified for the 12-team Olympic Football Tournament. Japan, North Korea and China (hosts) from Asia, Argentina from COMNEBOL, and Germany, Norway and Sweden from UEFA have already booked tickets. In addition to the two teams from CONCACAF, one team from Oceania and one team from Africa have yet to qualify. Brazil will face the runner-up from Africa in a one-game playoff for the final Olympic berth on April 19 in Beijing. 2008 CONCACAF WOMEN’S OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION SCHEDULE Sundhage Names Algarve Cup Roster Following a 17-day training camp at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Pia Sundhage has named 20 players to the roster for the 2008 Algarve Cup, being held from March 5-12 in southern Portugal. The U.S. team, which has been placed into Group B at the prestigious tournament, will open play on March 5 against China, face Norway on March 7 and finish the first round against Italy on March 10. The USA will use this tournament as final preparation for 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying, which will be held April 2-13 in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. All three of Europe’s entrants in the 2008 Olympic Women’s Football Tournament will be competing at the 2008 Algarve Cup. In addition to Norway in the USA’s group, Olympic qualifiers Germany and Sweden are in Group A, along with Denmark and Finland. This year Group C features Portugal, Ireland, Iceland and first-time participant Poland. “The Algarve Cup is a very important tournament for several reasons,”
said Sundhage. “First, it is excellent preparation for the Olympic
qualification, especially playing four difficult matches in eight days.
That is a test of our fitness, our mental toughness and also our depth.
Since the expansion from eight to 12 teams seven years ago, the Algarve Cup format has been as follows: The teams in Group A and B will compete for the title as the group winners will play in the championship game on Wednesday, March 12, in Vila Real de San Antonio, which is on Portugal’s eastern border with Spain. This will be the 13th trip to the Algarve Cup for the U.S. women who from 2003-2005 won an unprecedented three straight championships at what has become one of the world’s most competitive women’s international events. At last year’s Algarve Cup, the USA defeated Denmark, 2-0, in the championship game on goals from Kristine Lilly and Carli Lloyd in the team’s fifth consecutive Algarve Cup final. The USA advanced to the championship game of the 2006 Algarve Cup but fell in penalty kicks to Germany. While the USA will be without Kristine Lilly, its all-time leading scorer in Algarve Cup matches (13 goals), several players on the USA’s roster have seen some great success at the Algarve Cup. Last year, midfielder Lloyd had a breakout tournament, scoring in all four matches to garner tournament MVP and top scorer honors. Forward Abby Wambach has scored nine goals in her tournament career, including a hat trick against Norway in the 2004 championship game. Midfielder Angela Hucles has scored three of her five career goals at the Algarve, all coming in 2004. Midfielder Shannon Boxx has twice been named MVP of the Algarve Cup (2004 and 2006). Fifteen of the players on the roster were on the USA’s 2007 FIFA
Women’s World Cup Team, and all of these 15 have played in multiple
Algarve Cups, including defenders Christie Rampone and Cat Whitehill,
who will be playing in their eighth Algarve Cup. But Sundhage has also
infused the roster with some young talent. Uncapped defender Rachel
Buehler makes her first-ever tournament roster with the WNT after
having played extensively with the U.S. U-21 Women’s National Team
as well as in two FIFA U-19 world championships (Canada ’02 and
Thailand ’04). Goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, who has just four caps,
was named to the roster and has the chance to play in her second Algarve
Cup after earning her first cap in goal for the USA at the 2005 Algarve
Cup in a 1-0 win over France. Barnhart joins Hope Solo
as one of the two goalkeepers on the roster. GOALKEEPERS (2): Nicole Barnhart (2) (Gilbertsville,
Pa.), Hope Solo (5) (Richland, Wash.); *Number of Algarve Cups attended, including 2008, in parenthesis. 15th Annual Algarve Cup MARCH 5 MARCH 7 MARCH 10 MARCH 12 – Placement Matches U.S. Women Win Four Nations Title The U.S. Women’s National Team scored a 77th minute goal off a header from midfielder Shannon Boxx to earn a 1-0 victory over China and win the 2008 Four Nations Tournament. It was the first tournament title for new U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage. The U.S. team swept almost all of the tournament awards as midfielder Lindsay Tarpley scored four times to earn the Top Scorer award, forward Heather O’Reilly was named Tournament MVP, Sundhage was named Best Coach and the USA also won the Fair Play Award, going three games without getting a yellow card. Chinese net-minder Zhang Yanru was named Best Goalkeeper. Boxx’s goal came after defender Lori Chalupny had burst past a defender outside the penalty box on the right side only to be been scythed down, earning a free kick. The USA came into the match needing just a draw to win the tournament, but it was China who played the more conservative game, dropping way back into a low-pressure defense, often getting all 11 players behind the halfway line when the U.S. defenders had the ball. The Steel Roses stayed in their 4-5-1 formation until late in the game when they finally tried to push some players forward in search of an equalizer. The USA out-shot China 12-2 for the match, but the boisterous crowd, seemingly all armed with bang sticks, created an electric atmosphere as they urged their team forward. The U.S. opened the tournament with a 4-0 win over Canada and followed that with a 4-1 victory over Finland. Tarpley, the former UNC Tar Heel, had a pair of goals in both of those games, and ‘Reilly had three assists against Canada Veteran U.S. defender Cat Whitehill did not see any action in the Four Nations due to an ankle injury suffered right before the tournament started. Becky Sauerbrunn and Ali Krieger shared minutes next to the ever-steady Rampone in the center of the defense and both performed admirably in their first-ever caps. Sauerbrunn played against China wearing a mask after breaking her nose against Canada in the first match. Rampone played all 270 minutes in the tournament, marshalling a defense that gave up just one goal over three matches. The U.S. team now returns to the United States and will reconvene at the beginning of February for a training camp at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The roster for that camp will be announced in the near future. U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT Scoring Summary: USA – Shannon Boxx (Becky Sauerbrunn) 77th minute. Lineups: CHN: 1-Zhang Yanru; 2-Yuan Fan, 3-Li Jie, 4-Wang Kun, 6-Zhang Ying; 20-Zhang
Tong, 7-Bi Yan, 8-Zhang Na, 11-Xie Caixia (17-Zhang Cheng, 80), 16-Liu
Yali (14-Guo Yue, 69); 9-Han Duan. Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: None. Officials: ussoccer.com Woman of the Match: Shannon Boxx 2008 Four Nations Tournament Final Standings Jan. 16 Jan. 18 Jan. 20 2008 Four Nations Tournament Awards U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said
that the decision on who would replace Greg Ryan as the
U.S. Women’s National Coach would come sooner than later, and he
was true to his word. |
