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O'Reilly, Wilson lead American 6-0 quarterfinal rout of
Denmark.
U.S. under-19 women Tarpley scores once, assists two Wilson goals in 4-1 comeback win over Germany in world semifinals.EDMONTON, Canada (Thursday, August 29, 2002) -- The United States conceded an early goal, but didn't trail for long, with Lindsay Tarpley scoring the tying goal and then assisting two tallies by fellow striker Kelly Wilson before intermission in a 4-1 triumph over Germany in a semifinal of the inaugural Under-19 Women's World Championships before 25,000 at Commonwealth Stadium tonight.
The U.S. women will play Canada in Sunday's championship game which will be televised live at 4 p.m. by Fox Sports World. Canada survived the second semifinal match with Brazil, prevailing 4-3 in penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw. "I couldn't relax until the final whistle," said U.S. coach Tracey Leone of the American match. "The game of soccer always shows that anything can happen during that 90 minutes and that's the beauty of the game. Against a team like Germany, you are never comfortable until the final whistle blows." The early-going featured some exciting end-to-end play with both teams having shots denied by the woodwork. In the 15th minute, Germany quickly turned a short goal kick by keeper Ashlyn Harris into Anja Mittag's run into the left side of the penalty area, but the striker's shot from a 45-degree angle solidly hit the near post. Less than a minute later, midfielder Leslie Tarpey touched the ball to Tarpley whose blast from inside the box hit the right post. Germany responded to that near miss by marching to the other end of the field and scoring.
Midfielder Annelie Brendel send a long ball up the left flank which U.S. defender Jill Oakes attempted to clear, but miskicked. Mittag pounced on the ball, steamed past Oakes and carried into the right side of the box before cutting a pass back into the middle. With defender Jessica Ballweg racing over in an attempt to shut down Mittag, striker Linda Bresonik was left totally intended near the penalty shot and her first touch sent a low drive into the right corner of the net for a 1-0 advantage in the 16th minute. The first American deficit in five games in this tournament lasted 12 minutes. Tarpley gathered a long U.S. clearing header a few yards above the top of the German box and sent a pass to forward Heather O'Reilly in the left side of the box. O'Reilly easily got around defender Jennifer Zietz and carried almost to the base line before finding Tarpley free for a seven-yard blast inside the near post and a 1-1 tie. Just two minutes later, the U.S. took a 2-1 lead when Tarpley slipped a through pass to Wilson in full stride behind the German defense. As Miriam Elling advanced, Wilson cleverly pushed the ball through the keeper's legs and into the net from 17 yards out. "It was great game even though we went down a goal," said Wilson who is second in this event with nine goals. "We did a great job of keeping our focus and playing to feet. We also did a good job slipping balls through and Tarp found me on that second goal and we got it rolling from there." Germany continued to present danger throughout the remainder of the first half before Wilson found net again just before intermission to give the Americans some breathing room. "Going down a goal in this environment, the first time we've played in this big, beautiful stadium, can be overwhelming," Leone said. "For our team to come back from a goal down against a team like Germany shows a great deal about this team. Although they are young, they are very experienced." A complete breakdown left Wilson and Oakes alone in the middle of the six-yard box and it was Wilson who snapped off a three-yard header off midfielder Lori Chalupny swerving corner kicks for a 3-1 margin in the 45th minute. After Tarpley beat the goalkeeper, but saw her shot denied by Alexandra Stegman's diving header in the 56th minute, Oakes iced the match in the 86th minute. She ran onto to Elling's punch of a Chalupny corner kick, touched the ball to her left foot and laced a 20-yard shot into the top left corner to make it 4-1. Oakes also had spectacular clearance in the 63rd minute when reserve striker Patrizia Barucha beat Harries to a bouncing ball and lobbed a shot over the U.S. keeper. Oakes raced back and, face to the goal, cleared the ball off the goal line with a volley over her head. "We're happy to be one of the last two teams standing," Leone said. "Some of the greatest qualities of this team are their mental toughness and their resiliency.
United States 4, Germany 1
Lineups: United States - Ashlyn Harris, Rachel Buehler, Jill Oakes, Jessica Ballweg (Keeley Dowling 46), Leslie Osborne, Kendall Fletcher, Lori Chalupny, Manya Makoski (Megan Kakadelas 65), Heather O'Reilly, Lindsay Tarpley (captain), Kelly Wilson. Germany - Miriam Elling, Alexandra Stegmann, Sarah Guenther, Viola Odebrecht (Andrea Richter, 82), Jennifer Zietz, Annelie Brendel, Anne-Kathrin Sabel (captain), Isabell Bachor (Barbara Mueller 46), Christina Krueger, Anja Mittag (Patrizia Barucha 46), Linda Bresonik.
Scoring:
Shots: United States 18, Germany 6.
Shots on goal: United States 7, Germany 3.
Saves: United States 1, Germany 2.
Corner kicks: United States 7, Germany 4.
Fouls: United States 11, Germany 8.
Offside: United States 2, Germany 1.
Yellow card caution: Germany - Mittag 43.
Referee: Krystyna Szokolai (Austria).
Assistant referees: Liu Hongjuan (China), Vibeke Larsen (Norway).
Attendance: 25,000 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Canada.
Weather: Sunny, clear, 75 degrees.
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