U.S. women

Wambach's bizarre goal defeats Japan 2-1; Germany is next in Olympic semifinals.

THESSALONIKI, Greece (Friday, August 20, 2004) -- The United States women have yet to play particularly well, but they are also two victories from capturing gold medals at the Summer Olympics.

Striker Abby Wambach scored as strange a goal as one will ever see early in the second half to give the U.S. a 2-1 decision last night over Japan in a quarterfinal match before a sparse 1,418 at Kaftanzolglio Stadium. The U.S. is now 14-0-3 against Japan, but snapped a streak of three straight draws in the series.

The time for the Americans to perform at peak performance would seem to have arrived with a Monday semifinal against 2003 Women's World Cup champion Germany. That 11 a.m. (ET) meeting in Heraklio on the island of Crete will be televised by MSNBC and Telemundo.

After winning two Group F games by a cumulative 10-0, Germany struggled in its 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Nigeria, falling behind on Mercy Akides' goal in the 49th minute before prevailing on strikes by midfielder Steffi Jones in the 76th minute and striker Connie Pohlers five minutes later.

Fresh in the American minds is the 3-0 loss to Germany in the World Cup semifinals, depriving the U.S. a repeat championship on home soil. "This is something we've all been thinking about," Wambach said. "I know I have."

"It's a match-up we are excited to have," U.S. coach April Heinrichs said. "It will be a match-up of some beautiful soccer. The last time we played was the semifinals of the World Cup and I feel to this day that it was one of the greatest games ever played in the women's game, so (Monday's semifinal) will meet all expectations."

The U.S. was better organized tonight than it had been in any of its outings while going 2-0-1 and winning Group G, but the Americans still seldom presented danger to the Japan.

Japan was done in by a failed offside trap. U.S. striker Mia Hamm sent a free kick from the left flank into the right side of the Japan penalty area. Japan's backline stepped up to leave three American attackers in an offside position. Shannon Boxx, however, held her ground, remaining onside. She ran onto Hamm's curling ball one yard above the top right of the six-yard-line, trapping the pass first with her right foot and then her left knee.

There were now four Americans in the penalty area with only Japan goalkeeper Nozomi Yamago to defend against them. As Yamago approached Boxx to block her potential shot, the U.S. midfielder touched the ball laterally to her left. As Yamago dove futilely to grab the ball, Wambach pushed the ball forward with her right foot and then poked the ball the final yard home with her left for a 2-1 lead.

"I definitely was in a good position and wanted to do something good with it," Boxx said. "I didn't really have a shot because the keeper had the positioning on me, so I'm glad that Abby was there. . . Abby had mentioned something right before, saying, "Watch the trap.' I stayed behind the line a little bit and watched and waited and I was definitely on(side). It was a little nerve-wracking when I got the ball, but I could hear Abby yelling at me telling me to settle as I had time, so I was glad that she was behind me and stayed onside so I could give her the ball."

According to a U.S. Soccer Federation official, whereas there was a time when the three Americans in offside position would not have been allowed to score, the current application of the "passive" offside rule put the players back onside once Boxx played the ball.

Japan did not protest the ruling.

Heinrichs could not definitively state the play was onside. "As the rules state, that is most likely going to be onside, but it's not a rule that I always agree (with)," she said. "Offside is a gray area in the game of soccer during the run of play, but on those particular types of plays, with the timing of the pass coming through and the passive player, my guess is that it was onside."

Wambach, who was suspended for Tuesday's 1-1 draw in the Group G finale with Australia because of yellow-card accumulation, returned to score her 17th goal in 18 games and the 31st of her international career.

"Shannon Boxx gets all the credit on that goal, for her to have the composure to be able to look up and hear me," Wambach said. "I was screaming my head off to tell her to stay composed and take her time because there was nobody around. I think (the Japanese defense) were probably still at the top of the 18 (yard-line) at that point.

The U.S. went ahead 1-0 in the 43rd minute on midfielder Kristine Lilly's second goal in as many games after winning the ball from one opponent, then splitting two others to forge into the left side of the box. A defender slid for a hard tackle on Lilly with another Japan player trying to head the ball away. Instead, the ball popped into the air, but as Yamago settled under it, U.S. striker Lindsay Tarpley charged in, distracting the keeper who missed the ball. It bounced once, but before the ball returned to the ground, Lilly pounded a right-footer just inside the left post for 97th career goal a 1-0 lead.

"The first goal was a result of Tarpley challenging the keeper," Hamm said. "If you don't challenge the keeper, it's an easy ball for her to pick up and then you had (Lilly) there just scraping."

It wasn't until four minutes earlier that the U.S. managed its first shot. Tarpley was the recipient of a long pass from left back Brandi Chastain, but she shot wide right.

Japan quickly equalized, scoring three minutes after intermission. Midfielder Emi Yamamoto sent a free kick from 28 yards up the right sideline. Striker Homare Sawa attempted a diving header at the near post while U.S. defender Christie Rampone stuck out her right foot, trying for a clearance. Both apparently missed, but evidently distracted goalkeeper Briana Scurry who never moved as the ball lazily settled in the far corner of the net to make it 1-1

Beyond the goals, neither side created much danger. One good U.S. scoring chance came with the score knotted at 1-1 in the 52nd minute when Wambach hit a low, skipping shot from 25 yards. Yamago dove to her right post to tip it away. Hamm was first to the loose ball, but without an angle to shoot, she tried a centering pass. There were no Americans in the area to receive it.

Heinrichs used no substitutes in the match.

In the other quarterfinal matches, Brazil hammered Mexico 5-0 while Sweden held off Australia, 2-1. Sweden meets Brazil in Monday's other semifinal.

Referee: Silvia de Oliveira (Brazil). Assistant referee: Ana da Silva Oliveira (Brazil), Aracely Castro (Bolivia). Attendance: 1,418 at Kaftanzolglio Stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. Weather: Sunny, blazing hot, 93 degrees.