Sundhage, US Earn First Win

Solo Back In Net for Americans

January 17, 2008

GUANGZHOU, China – It took Pia Sundhage one game to get her first win with the United States women's soccer team -- and it took Hope Solo one game to win back her starting job.

The Americans scored four goals in a 28-minute span during the second half Wednesday to defeat Canada, 4-0, in the opening match of the 2008 Four Nations Tournament in Guangzhou, China. Solo saw her first action since being benched by former coach Greg Ryan in favor of veteran Briana Scurry before last year's disasterous World Cup loss to Brazil.

Solo responded with a two-save shutout, playing the full 90 minutes, and Amy Rodriguez and Lindsay Tarpley scored two goals each to lead the United States. Sundhage, hired in mid-November as the sixth head coach in program history, gave first career caps to defenders Becky Sauerbrunn and Ali Krieger, as well as a first-ever start to Rodriguez in what was the USA’s first match of 2008. The 20-year-old striker, who came into the game with five career caps and two FIFA youth world championships on her resume, rewarded her coach’s confidence with her first two goals at the senior level. Rodriguez broke open a scoreless game with goals in the 51st and 65th minutes.

“I’m very satisfied with the game today," said Sundhage. "It was a great battle in the first half. The talk at halftime as good, so it was nice for all of us to see the goals, and younger players scoring goals. For us, it was a good start. We tried to change the attack a little bit. We weren’t successful in the first half with the final pass, but the second half was much better and I am very happy about that.”

Canada started 10 players who were members of its 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team while the Sundhage sent out a lineup with eight players who represented the USA last September in China.

In the second half, playing at right midfield in a midfield consisting of Leslie Osborne, Shannon Boxx and Carli Lloyd, Heather O’Reilly was menacing all game, whether it was down the flank or drifting more into the middle.

On the first goal, a crisp series of passes found O’Reilly on the right wing and she spied Rodriguez sprinting into the penalty area. O’Reilly chipped the ball over the Canadian backs to Rodriguez, who held off a defender and as she tumbled to the ground, spun her shot into the net from 10 yards over sliding goalkeeper Erin McLeod.

Sauerbrunn had an eventful first cap, playing very well in the center of the defense next to new captain Christie Rampone, but her day ended in the 59th minute when she had to leave the game after breaking her nose on the back of a Canadian player’s head. Stephanie Cox had to rush to warm-up, coming on at right back in the 64th minute while pushing Krieger into the middle. One minute after the teams were even again, Rodriguez struck for her second of the match.

The goal came after Abby Wambach, who partnered with Rodriguez on the front line in the 4-4-2 formation for all 90 minutes, busted past a defender near the left side of the penalty area and was bundled to the ground. The Canadians paused for a moment, perhaps waiting for a whistle, but that gave O’Reilly a chance to sprint from the middle to the corner and take possession. She faced up a defender, and as she would do all day, flew by the Canadian back to the end line before cutting a bouncing cross back into the middle. Unmarked, Rodriguez took a big swing at the ball, but didn’t make precise contact as it spun off her foot. Still, she got enough pace on her first-time effort to direct the ball into the lower right corner from 12 yards out.

After yet another quality build up, Wambach brought the ball down about 15 yards from the net with her back to the goal and rolled a pass square to O’Reilly inside the penalty box. O’Reilly got a good head of steam before smacking a left-footed spinner on net that was well-saved, but not held, by the flying McLeod. Tarpley was first to the rebound, tapping the ball into the open net from eight yards out in the 71st minute.

Tarpley added her second goal of the game, and 19th of her career, seven minutes later. Once again O’Reilly was the catalyst, blazing down the right flank, leaving another Canadian defender in her wake, before sending a perfect chipped cross into the middle that found Rodriguez. This time the sparkplug forward caught it flush on the volley, sending towards frame. Tarpley, who was stationed right in the middle of the goal about eight yards out, deftly re-directed the ball into the lower right corner past the wrong-footed McLeod, who only could watch as the ball slowly rolled over the goal line.

Canada put two shots on goal during the match, but just one was dangerous, that coming off a corner kick in the second half. Solo had to make a reaction save to knock down the point-blank header, then smothered the ball before a Canadian attacker could react. Solo also did well handling three Canadian corner kicks in the final 15 minutes, punching two away in traffic and securing a third.

Canadian star forward Christine Sinclair did hit a screamer over the crossbar from a tough angle in the eighth minute, and had one dangerous cross that flew through the goal area, but for the majority of the game was well contained by collapsing U.S. defenders.

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