US Women open with pair of wins at Algrave Cup
Published 3/7/2008 12:07:52 PM by staff from soccermogul
The US Womens National Team opened with a pair of impressive wins to start the Algrave Cup in Portugal. The women opened the Cup on Wednesday with a dominant 4-0 win over rivals China following it up with a solid 2-0 win over Italy. Norway awaits on Monday in the last group game.
US Women 4 China women 0
The five-time champion Americans got goals from Lindsay Tarpley, Tobin Heath, Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd in Group B.
"I'm very happy with the way we played," United States coach Pia Sundhage said. "Four goals is fun."
Tarpley put the United States in the lead in the fifth minute with a close-range volley. Heath, at 19 the youngest player on the team, came on at halftime and scored two minutes later with a chip over the goalkeeper for her first international goal. Wambach scored her 87th international goal in the 64th, and Lloyd sent a shot into the top left corner after a solo run.
Sundhage said the Algarve Cup would be a good rehearsal for the Beijing Olympics. "Women's soccer has become too predictable," Sundhage said. "We like to use all our midfielders and attack in many different ways."
US women 2 Italy women 0
Lindsay Tarpley and Heather O'Reilly scored to lead the United States over Italy 2-0 Friday for the Americans' second straight win at the Algarve Cup women's soccer tournament. Tarpley tapped in a rebound following Lauren Cheney's shot in the sixth minute. Tarpley also scored in the fifth minute of Wednesday's opening 4-0 victory over China. O'Reilly sprinted down the right, cut inside and scored from a tight angle in the 74th.
"It was a tense game for us," O'Reilly said.
The United States made three substitutions at halftime and began to dominate the match, though goalkeeper Hope Solo made a spectacular reflex save from Melania Gabbadini in the 60th.
"There were many situations where we were under pressure," United States coach Pia Sundhage said. "We need this kind of game to learn to deal with it."
The Americans play Norway on Monday in their final first-round match.
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