Wild Win for U.S. Women

Eke Out Win Over Australia in Stoppage Time

May 4, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – 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 to lead the Americans to a 5-4 victory over Australia.

The goal, the American’s second stoppage time game-winner in as many games, 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.

“There is something with this team that we refuse to lose,” said U.S. 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.”

After giving up an own goal in the 19th minute, the USA scored four times in a 17-minute stretch that included the end of the first half and the first minute of the second, only to let Australia score three consecutive goals in the second half to tie the match at 4-4.

Abby Wambach scored twice for the United States. (CHRIS ADUAMA/ aduama.com)

Carli Lloyd was the hero in last week’s game against Australia with a 91st minute goal. 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.

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.

The USA gave Australia a bit of a lift in the 19th minute after speedy forward Sarah 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.

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 when 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.

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.

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 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.

U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT

Scoring Summary:
AUS – Own Goal (Cat Whitehill) 19th
USA – Lindsay Tarpley (unassisted) 28th
USA – Abby Wambach (Natasha Kai) 29th
USA – Lindsay Tarpley (Natasha Kai) 42nd
USA – Abby Wambach (Shannon Boxx) 46th
AUS – Sarah Walsh (Collette McCallum) 49th
AUS – Lauren Colthorpe (Joanne Burgess) 64th
AUS – Own Goal (Christie Rampone) 69th
USA – Angela Hucles (Abby Wambach) 94th

Lineups:
USA: 18-Hope Solo (1-Briana Scurry, 46); 2-Heather Mitts (26-Rachel Buehler, 58), 3-Christie Rampone – Capt., 4-Cat Whitehill, 14-Stephanie Cox; 21-Kacey White (16-Angela Hucles, 46), 7-Shannon Boxx, 11-Carli Lloyd, 5-Lindsay Tarpley (9-Heather O’Reilly, 74); 6-Natasha Kai (8-Lauren Cheney, 80), 20-Abby Wambach

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)

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