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- Tarpley scores once, assists two Wilson goals in
U.S. 4-1 comeback win over Germany in world semifinals.
- O'Reilly, Wilson lead American 6-0 quarterfinal rout of Denmark. U.S. under-19 women Dramatic Tarpley goal in sudden death defeats Canada 1-0 for first world championship.
EDMONTON, Canada (Sunday, September 1, 2002) -- In an exciting end-to-end match, striker Lindsay Tarpley finally was not to be denied. Her goal early in a second sudden-death overtime sent the United States to a 1-0 triumph over Canada to capture the inaugural Under-19 Women's World Championship before 47,784 at Commonwealth Stadium tonight. Reserve midfielder Megan Kakadelas, who entered four minutes earlier, made the pass to Tarpley for the winner as the Americans prevailed before a large crowd awash with Canadian flags, fans cheering for their opponent, a team which had been embraced by a nation over the past two weeks. "It was an incredible game," said U.S. coach Tracey Leone. "Canada came out so organized, together and tough. And of course, the crowd was amazing. It was a great opportunity for both teams to play in front of that kind of crowd. At midfield, Lori Chalupny touched the ball to her left to Lori Osborne for a run down the left flank. Forty yards out, Osborne cut the ball back to her right, shedding defender Brittany Timko, before smartly knocking the ball forward to Kakadelas just inside the top left corner of the penalty area. Rather than control, Kakadelas led the ball run, catching up to it six yards from the end line for a left-footed cross. Running to the near post, Heather O'Reilly was marked by two defenders, but managed to stick her leg out to get a foot on the ball, leaving it in front of the goal as she went tumbling. Defender Melanie Booth tried to clear the ball, but it spun away from her foot to Tarpley whose first blast was blocked by Booth. Tarpley chased the ball as it caromed to the right and, facing the right post, she drilled a six yard shot into the corner before goalkeeper Erin McLeod could get there for the 1-0 decision. "I really don't know what happened," said Tarpley who begins her collegiate career at North Carolina on Tuesday. "All I know is that all of sudden the ball popped in front of me. I saw the keeper moving to the near post, so I shot far post. Then we went crazy." Forward Christine Sinclair, who led the tournament with 10 goals, had the ball on her foot eight yards from the center of the goal in the 90th minute, but hammered her shot well high. The ball had been pushed to her by fellow striker Katie Thorlakson after the ball had spun to her feet off a deflected clearance. Tarpley's seventh goal of the tournament earned her the Bronze Boot as the third leading scorer behind teammate Kelly Wilson, the Silver Boot winner with nine goals and Sinclair who took the Golden Boot. Wilson played in one less match than Sinclair, sitting out the Americans' 6-0 group victory over Taiwan. Wilson also picked up the Bronze Ball as the third most valuable player in the competition. Sinclair was given the Golden Ball and Brazil's Marta the Silver Ball. In two years leading up to the first women's youth world championship, this U.S. under-19 squad went 21-1-1 in international competition. "The journey not only made us better players, but it showed us that great things can be accomplished through hard work, love and belief," Tarpley said. "Over the last two years, we've had some amazing times on the soccer field, but it's the friendships we'll carry forever." The U.S. had to deal with some early adversity after defender Rachel Buehler went down in the 13th minute, suffering what might have been a serious injury to her right knee. She will be evaluated tomorrow, but had to leave, replaced by Jessica Ballweg. After Ballweg came on, Osborne moved to left back and Kendall Fletcher moved into the midfield, where she contributed a strong effort, battling for loose balls, thus freeing up the middle for Chalupny. Chalupny repeatedly settled the team in midfield, changed the point of attack and probed the Canadian back line for openings. "For 109 minutes, Lori Chalupny was the best player on the field," said April Heinrichs, coach of the full U.S. women's side. "She was bringing the ball down under pressure, slipping out of pressure while players hacked at her ankles and winning balls from far bigger players than her. She was awesome." Both goalkeepers were implacable, controlling their boxes and making saves when needed. Canadian Erin McLeod was particularly aggressive, getting to numerous crosses sent into her penalty area. U.S. keeper Ashlyn Harris, who is 16, picked up her fourth shutout of the tournament and came up big on several occasions, none more important than when her diving save turned away a point-blank shot from Thorlakson after she split two defenders in the box in the 58th minute. Harris also came off her line in overtime to punch clear a dangerous bouncing ball. The Americans played a smart, sharp possession game to dominate the match territorially, only to repeatedly run into a Canadian defensive wall, led by center defender Sasha Andrews. Canada put pressure on the U.S. back line with a succession of long balls, but central defenders Keeley Dowling and Jill Oakes maintained their poise to diffuse the air attack. Thorlakson and Brittany Timko each slipped behind the U.S. defense on the right side in the first half, but the Americans were able to clear one shot away and watch another skip by the right post. Led by Andrews and McLeod, Canada did a tremendous job of limiting the U.S. scoring chances with the first quality opportunity coming in the 68th minute. Wilson got behind Andrews on the left flank and cut a short pass back to O'Reilly, but she shot high from 16 yards. Ballweg made a game-saving tackle on Sinclair in the 76th minute after Thorlakson sneaked past Dowling in right side of penalty area for a cross. O'Reilly, who scored four goals and had six assists in the tournament, took a knock in a collision with McLeod and a Canadian defender at the beginning of overtime, but gutted it out to become a factor in the winning sequence.
United States 1, Canada 0 (OT)
Lineups: United States - Ashlyn Harris, Rachel Buehler (Jessica Ballweg 13), Keeley
Dowling, Jill Oakes, Kendall Fletcher, Leslie Osborne, Lori Chalupny, Manya Makoski (Angie Woznuk 59, Megan Kakadelas 105), Heather O'Reilly, Lindsay Tarpley (captain), Kelly Wilson. Canada - Erin McLeod, Candace Chapman, Clare Rustad, Sasha Andrews, Melanie Booth, Amy Vermeulen, Carmelina Moscato, Brittany Timko, Kara Lang (Robyn Gayle 75), Katie Thorlakson, Christine Sinclair (captain).
Scoring:
United States 13, Canada 11.
Shots on goal: United States 5, Canada 6.
Referee: Dianne Ferreira-James (Guyana).
Assistant referees: Maria Isabel Tovar Diaz (Mexico), Katarzyna Nadolska (Poland).
Attendance: 47,784 ar Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Canada.
Weather: Sunny, clear, 75 degrees.
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