Wow, what a dogfight. The girls went up against a very talented Brazilian team this afternoon in Richmand, VA. This was the best competition the US had faced in the tournament. The Brazilians had beat Mexico (who the US beat 9-0) 11-0. Their star players Roseli had Pretinha did most of the scoring with 6 and 4 goals. The Brazilians put up a he...heck of a fight. The girls managed to hold out for a 3-0 win. Not without a lot of hardwork though. The Brazilians came very close to scoring many times. If it wasn't for some tough defensive play and a great assistant referee watching the offsides, it might have been a different game. The game was very physical. 3 yellows and 1 red were given out. Our own Kristine Lilly got a yellow for making a football tackle on one of her opponents. One of the Brazilians felt the need to continuously attack our Mia from all sides. After about 5 excessivly forceful tackles, she was finally sent off. Another Brazilian got sent off for desent. One of Brazil's best players, Roseli, had to be taken off the field on a stretcher for an injury to her left knee.
We eventually we able to pressure the other team enough to get ourselves some corner kicks and free kicks. The first goal came from a corner kick by Mia Hamm. The ball was vollied by Brandi Chastain to the far post where the head of Joy Fawcett was waiting. She put the ball into the back of the net to make it a 1-0 game. The next goal came off of a free kick once again by Hamm. Michelle Akers waiting at the edge of the goal area made a sliding volley and nut-megged the Brazilian goalkeeper. The girls went into the lockerroom leading 2-0.
The second half was a little slower. Chastain assisted on a Debbie Keller goal. There wasn't much else that went on.
Brandi Chastain, Joy Fawcett, and Carla Overbeck were my MVP's of the game. Joy was all over the field offensivly and defensivly. Carla saved our butts by making sure the Brazilians didn't get the chance to have a goal scoring opportunities. Brandi was EVERYWHERE! She had 2 assists and got to every 50/50 ball that she could.Tiffeny Milbrett and Mia Hamm were DEFINATELY the MVP's of the tournament. Mia with 4 goals (her 98th-101st) and 5 assists. Tiffeny had 3 goals and 5 assists. AWESOME!
The US obviously won the Cup with a record of 3-0. They shut out their opponents in every game. They out scored them 15-0. The cup (trophy) was presented to team captain Carla Overbeck. The girls do not play again til December. I will be patiently awaiting that game and the WWC in the summer of '99. SEE YA THEN!
9/18/98
The girls went up against Russia tonight in the second game of the Cup. This game was called the "Century Game" by some people. By that I mean 100. Mia Hamm was to score her 100th international goal. she would be only the 3rd player in the world to reach that feat. I'd like to add that the 2 others were also women. =) Tiffeny Milbrett also got a 100 of her own. She got her 100th cap (start) in her career. She got the honor of being captain for her special game.
The Russians came ready to play. They came off a 2-2 tie against Brazil. For the first 25 minutes neither team could produce offensivly. That would change quickly. Mia Hamm sent a cross into the box. Tiffeny one touched right into the lower left corner of the net. GOAL! What a way to celebrate her 100th game. But she wasn't finished. Not even 5 minutes later, she colected a cross from Joy Fawcett, turned and rocketed another shot into the same spot. GOAL! That put us up 2-0. Every player worked their but off. The Russian team was very physical. Mia and Michelle Akers were taken down hard several times. Well, now it was time for Mia to do her thing. Tiffeny collected a pass on the right wing and sent a cross into Mia. She took it off a bounce and killed it into the back of the net. GOAL #100! WOW, just awesome. The game was stopped so the game ball could be presented to her. She got many hugs from her teammates too of course. The game was then restarted and play continued. I think it's time for #101. Once again it was Tiff serving a great ball right to the awaiting head of Mia. Mia headed the ball with awesome power into the goal. GOAL! She immediately went over to thank Tiffeny. That would end the scoring in the first half and the game.
The second half was dominated by the US even though no scoring was done. The Russians never gave up though. Briana Scurry had her work cut out for her when the Russians were able to penetrate our defense. She lived up to her ability though. I don't really feel like typing out the events of the second half when there weren't really any. I will give you a summary though. Mia ended up with 2 goals and 1 assist. Joy Fawcett had 1 assist. And finally, last but certainly not least, our Tiffeny had 2 goals and 2 assists. AWESOME! Tiffeny and Mia were both named "Players of the Game". I centainly agree. =)
Well, we did our thing once again. I'll be watching when we hopefully (probably) do the same to Brazil on Sunday. Be sure to tune in to ESPN 2 at 3:00pm (ET). I cheer along like I'm right there in the stands, do you? Catch ya at the game!
9/12/98
The girls played their first game of the NIKE US Cup against Mexico. They played at Foxburo Stadium in Massachusetts. It was an awesome game if you got to watch it. The team at a slow start but eventually did their thing that they do best. The final score was USA 9 Mexico 0. Can I just say, WOW!
The games started out pretty slow. For the first 18 minutes neither team could produce offensively. This was to change dramatically. Forward Tiffeny Milbrett began running the ball down the line, each time eluding her opponents, and serving crosses in front of the net. On one that was poorly cleared by the Mexicans, Mia Hamm directed ball right into the net. Once again Tiffeny sent a cross in to Kristine Lilly who scored one for herself. Finally, Tiffeny would get one of her own. She collected a great ball from Michelle Akers, beat 2 Mexican players, and rocketted a shot in the lower left corner of the net. That made it 3 to 0. A few minutes later, Lilly made a pass to Hamm whose shot was blocked. But guess who was there? Yes, there was Tiffeny following up on the rebound. She made a sliding tackle at the ball which deflected (off the post) out to the waiting Hamm. Mia slotted the ball under the sprawling Mexican keeper into the net. Lilly ended the scoring in the first half with her second goal that was unassisted. The girls went into the lockerroom leading 5-0.
The US made some changes for the second half. Milbrett, Lilly, Carla Overbeck, and Akers were replaced by Debbie Keller, Sarah Whalen, Shannon MacMillan, and Tisha Venturini. Right off the bat the girls did their thing. Mia made a dish off to MacMillan who made the score 6. Then off a Hamm corner, Joy Fawcett headed in number 7. Once again Hamm made a cross that was directed in by Tisha Venturini. Finally, Mia passed the ball to Debbie Keller who finished the scoring at 9.
Tiffeny Milbret (the MVP of the first half in my opinion) ended up with 1 goal and 3 assists. The fenominal Mia Hamm had herself 2 goals (her 98th and 99th) and 4 assists. Kristine Lilly had 2 goals, and Michelle Akers had 1 assist. Tisha Venturini, Debbie Keller, Joy Fawcett, and Shannon MacMillan racked up 1 a piece. USA 9 - 0 Mexico
The girls go up against Russia on Friday at 8 p.m. You can catch the game LIVE on ESPN. I'll be tuning in, will you?
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