US Wins Group A

The US Women made goal differential irrelevant in CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying, beating Mexico 3-1 on Sunday to take Group A.

CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO (Apr 6, 2008) USSF -- The US Women’s National Team got two goals from Natasha Kai and one from Abby Wambach in a 3-1 win over Mexico in front of a sold-out crowd of 22,280 at the Estadio Olimpico Benito Juarez.

The victory gave the USA first place in Group A at the 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament and a semifinal game against Group B runner-up Costa Rica on April 9 at 7pm ET for a slot in the 2008 Olympics.  Canada, 1-0 winners over Costa Rica, will face Mexico in the other semifinal.

"We saw Mexico play three days ago so we knew the formation, but they have a 12th player, and that's the crowd. It was absolutely wonderful," said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage. "This is my first time here in Mexico with the U.S. team and that kind of crowd, I appreciate it a lot. We knew there would be battles, a lot of one-v-one, and a technical Mexico team. So we needed to stay focused in defending and find the space outside their backs. We did a pretty good job at the end of the day."

Sundhage made four changes to the lineup that defeated Jamaica, 6-0, last Friday, inserting Hope Solo in goal, Rachel Buehler at right back, Tobin Heath at left midfield and Kai up top with Wambach.

Fans can follow the USA’s match against Costa Rica on Wednesday, April 9, live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker with a kickoff of 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time. In 2004, the USA also defeated Costa Rica for a berth to the Olympics, winning 4-0 in the semifinal of the Olympic qualifying competition in San Jose, Costa Rica.

-- GAME REPORT --

Match-up: USA vs. Mexico
Competition: 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying
Venue: Estadio Olimpico Benito Juarez; Juarez, Mexico
Date: April 6, 2008; Kickoff – 1:30 p.m. MT
Attendance: 22,280 (Sell-Out)
Weather: Sunny, hot – 74 degrees

Scoring Summary:
                            1    2    F
USA                    3    0    3
MEX                    1    0    1

USA – Natasha Kai (Heather O’Reilly) 13th minute.
MEX – Lupita Worbis (unassisted) 31.
USA -- Abby Wambach (Kate Markgraf) 32.
USA – Natasha Kai (unassisted) 45.

Lineups:
USA: 18-Hope Solo; 2-Rachel Buehler, 15-Kate Markgraf, 3-Christie Rampone – Capt., 17-Lori Chalupny; 9-Heather O’Reilly, 7-Shannon Boxx (12-Leslie Osborne, 66), 11-Carli Lloyd, 13-Tobin Heath (5-Lindsay Tarpley, 46); 6-Natasha Kai (19-Amy Rodriguez, 56), 20-Abby Wambach.
Subs not used: 4-Cat Whitehill, 14-Stephanie Cox, 16-Angela Hucles, 24-Nicole Barnhart.
Not Eligible: 8-Lauren Cheney, 10-Kacey White.
Head Coach: Pia Sundhage

MEX: 20-Sophia Perez; 4-Natalie Vinti, 5-Maria Castillo, 13-Lulu Gordillo (19-Iris Mora, 67), 14-Isabel Valdez (2-Leticia Villalpando, 30), 6-Monica Vergara, 7-Evelyn Lopez, 11-Patricia Perez (9-Monica Ocampo, 46), 17-Tania Morales, 8-Carmen Padilla – Capt., 10-Lupita Worbis.
Subs not used: 1-Pamela Tajonar, 3-Rubi Sandoval, 15-Luz Saucedo, 23-Rebecca Mendoza.
Not Eligible: 18-Charlyn Corral, 22-Angelica Figueroa.
Head Coach: Leo Cuellar

Statistical Summary:
USA / MEX
Shots: 20 / 10
Shots on Goal: 13 / 7
Saves: 6 / 8
Corner Kicks: 3 / 2
Fouls: 16 / 9
Offside: 1 / 0

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Abby Wambach (caution) 37th minute.

Officials
Referee: Erika Vargas (CRC)
Asst. Referee: Cindy Mohammed (TRI)
Asst. Referee: Lynda Bramble-Thompson (TRI)
4th Official: Carol Ann Chenard (CAN)

2008 CONCACAF WOMEN’S OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION SCHEDULE & STANDINGS
Group A
Team  W   L   T   Pts. GF  GA   GD
USA      2   0   0     6     9     1     +8
MEX      1   1   0     3     9     4     +5
JAM       0   2   0     0    1   14    -14

Date        Match-up
April 2     Mexico 8, Jamaica 1
April 4     USA 6, Jamaica 0
April 6     USA 3, Mexico 1

Group B
Team  W   L    T    Pts. GF GA GD
CAN     2    0    0     6     7    0    +7
CRC    0    1    1     1     2    3     -1
TRI       0    1    1     1     2    8     -6

Date       Match-up
April 2    Canada 6, Trinidad & Tobago 0
April 4    Costa Rica 2, Trinidad & Tobago 2
April 6    Canada 1, Costa Rica 0

Semifinals                                        Kickoff (Local) / PT
April 9     USA vs. Costa Rica        5 p.m. MT / 4 p.m. PT
April 9     Canada vs. Mexico         7:30 p.m. MT / 6:30 p.m. PT

Final/Third-place Game                 Kickoff (Local) / PT
April 12   Third-Place Game          5 p.m. MT / 4 p.m. PT
April 12   Championship                7:30 p.m. MT / 6:30 p.m. PT

Courtesy of USSF Communications