USA wins Pacific Cup 2000 win 1-0 win over Australia

USA 1 - Australia 0 Breakers Stadium -- Newcastle, Australia June 11, 2000 - Kickoff 2:30 p.m. Local/12:30 a.m. ET Attendance: 3,617 - Weather: Rain, windy, cold, wet 48 degrees F
Scoring Summary 1st 2nd Final USA 0 1 1 Australia 0 0 0	Scoring: USA -- MacMillan (Penalty Kick) 79th minute
USA 26 Mullinix 3 Pearce 14 Fawcett 20 Sobrero 6 Chastain (12 Parlow 59th) 13 Lilly 2 Fair(5 Serlenga, 83rd) 11 Foudy - Capt. 8 MacMillan 16 Milbrett (22 Welsh, 64th) 9 Hamm Head Coach: April Heinrichs	Australia 1 Wheeler 8 Salisbury 3 Starr 5 Alagich 6 Tann-Darby (14 Waiwright, 85th) 7 Foreman - Capt. 2 McShea 12 Duus (16 Wilson, 46th) 11 Black (4 Garriock, 68th) 10 Hughes 13 Ferguson (17 68th)   Misconduct Australia -- Foreman (caution) 45th minute. USA -- Parlow (caution) 82.
Officials Referee: Tammy Ogston (AUS) Referee Asst.: Bronwyn Calver (AUS) Referee Asst.: Jacquie Leleu (AUS)	Statistical USA AUSTRALIA Shots 19 4 Saves 2 4 Corner Kicks 12 1 Fouls 2 10 Offside 2 3

The game deteriorated a bit after the U.S. goal with the Australians taking several shots at U.S. players, including an off-the-ball shove from Matilda captain Alison Foreman that sent Nikki Serlenga sprawling. Seconds later, Foreman chopped down Hamm in the middle of the field, but already carrying an earlier yellow card, escaped with only a verbal warning from Ogston. Heavy showers and high winds pelted the field for 45 minutes before the match and continued throughout the game. The U.S. team dominated play with high-paced ball possession against the high-pressure defense of the Australians as strikers Tiffeny Milbrett and Mia Hamm, with great support from the midfield, repeatedly sliced wide gaps in the Matlidas' back line. The U.S. knocked the ball around with remarkable precision considering the conditions, as sheets of rain fell in the second half, and got a deserved goal when MacMillan converted her spot kick. Parlow finished as the competition's top scorer with seven goals. U.S. goalkeeper Siri Mullinix was rock solid as the Australians kept her active all game. In the 2nd minute, Mullinix was forced to punch away a free-kick, then dove at the feet of Sunni Hughes to snuff out a chance in the 13th minute. She came far out of her goal a half dozen times to clear away Australia through balls and defused the last dangerous Aussie chance when she pushed a troublesome flighted ball from Amy Wilson over the crossbar in the 66th minute. The U.S. back line was not troubled by Australia's steady stream of long balls, as Christie Pearce, Joy Fawcett and Kate Sobrero ran down everything that came their way.

The USA finally got its goal in the 79th minute when Parlow received a bouncing pass in the top of the penalty box and attempted to touch it over defender Cheryl Salisbury. The 5-foot-11 Salisbury, seeing herself beaten and with no one behind her, clearly stuck up a wing and knocked the ball down with her upper arm. Referee Tammy Ogston did not hesitate to award and penalty kick and MacMillan drilled her shot home for the winner.

Post game quotes

U.S. Head Coach Heinrichs
"We had every weather condition we could possibly have on this trip.We need to get used to playing on a slick surface. The footing was unbelievably difficult. All things considered, to win 1-0, to create as many chances as we did, and to pursue the kind of soccer we did, we have to be pleased. Anyone can tear a house down, we're trying to build one up."

This is a testing ground for us. If we can score goals and have confidence, as coaches, we can create an environment where they are happy, creative, enjoying themselves and playing with a lot of passion. Then we feel we can run at any team in the world. We're still pursuing the tournament championship. We know we will need some help from another team to beat China, but if China loses, we want to be in the best place to move from second to first."

U.S. Captain Foudy
We played very well under the conditions and especially against a very fired up Australia team on Australia soil. The weather plays into their game, which is a feisty, scrappy, direct type of game. In the first half, we could have easily walked into the locker room with two or three goals."

Shannon MacMillan
"The field was slick and sometimes it was hard to read the ball, but we still created a lot of chances. I had several chances in the first half, but the game is stingy and we couldn't put them away. On the penalty, Mia looked at me because she knew I wanted it. I wanted to bury it because I was frustrated for not finishing my chances earlier."

Other
The U.S. team returns to the United States on Monday and then has week break before regrouping in Hershey, Pa. on June 20 to prepare for its first match of the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup on June 23 against Trinidad & Tobago (8 p.m. ET).

2000 Pacific Cup Final Standings
Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	PTS
USA	5	4	1	0	19	3	+16	12
China	5	4	1	0	12	3	+9	12
Canada	5	4	1	0	12	13	-1	12
Australia	5	2	2	1	6	4	+2	6
Japan	5	1	4	0	4	13	-9	3
NZL	5	0	5	0	2	19	-17	0

Pacific Cup Leading Goal Scorers
Player	Team	Goals
Cindy Parlow	USA	7
Christine Sinclair	Canada	6
Sharon Black	Australia	3
Bai Jie	China	3
Shannon MacMillan	USA	3
Tiffeny Milbrett	USA	3
Sun Wen	China	3
Silvana Burtini	Canada	2
Amanda Crawford	New Zealand	2
Lorrie Fair	USA	2
Christy Welsh	USA	2
Liu Aling	China	1
Silvana Burtini	Canada	1
Brandi Chastain	USA	1
Bryony Duus	Australia	1
Heather Garriock	Australia	1
Sunni Hughes	Australia	1
Kristina Kiss	Canada	1
Christine Latham	Canada	1
Zhao Lihong	China	1
Kae Nishina	Japan	1
Harue Sato	Japan	1
Shui Qingxia	China	1
Aly Wagner	USA	1
Yasuyo Yamagishi	Japan	1
Own Goals	New Zealand	3
Own Goal	Japan	1

USA 4 Japan 1 as China loses to Canada on penalty kicks after 2-2 draw. USA can win title if they beat Australia on Sunday

China laid siege to the Canadian net in the second half, but goalkeeper Nicci Wright, who gave up nine goals to the USA in this tournament, was solid in holding them at bay. She could not stop the equalizer as Bai Jie dribbled through the Canadian defense to tie the game in the 81st minute. Mary Beth Bowie was first up in the shootout for Canada and buried her shot. Zhang Ouying then saw her shot tipped outside the right post on a spectacular save by Wright. Each team made their next three kicks before Isabelle Harvey stepped up to take the Canadians fifth and potential winning penalty. Chinese goalkeeper Han Wenxia saved it with her legs, but referee Tammy Ogston ruled that she have moved off her line early, and ordered the kick retaken. Harvey seized the second chance and tucked her shot into the left corner to give Canada the win. Ogston had correctly disallowed a Chinese goal in the first half as Wen struck an indirect free-kick directly into the net.

USA 4 - Japan 1 Breakers Stadium -- Newcastle, Australia June 8, 2000 - Kickoff 6:30 p.m. Local/4:30 a.m. ET Attendance: 1,100 - Weather: Clear, cold 45 degrees F
Scoring Summary 1st 2nd Final USA 1 3 4 Japan 1 0 1	Scoring: USA -- Parlow (Chastain) 16th minute Japan -- Obe (Unassisted) 22 USA -- MacMillan (Unassisted) 55. USA -- Chastain (Unassisted) 62. USA -- Wagner (Christie Welsh) 88.
USA 24 Branam 3 Pearce 14 Fawcett 20 Sobrero 6 Chastain (19 Slaton , 64th) 13 Lilly (5 Serlenga, 64th) 2 Fair 11 Foudy - Capt. (25 Wagner, 64th) 8 MacMillan 12 Parlow (7 Whalen, 64th) 16 Milbrett (22 Welsh, 64th) Head Coach: April Heinrichs	Japan 1 Yamago, Nozimi 2 Kimura, Rie 3 Isozaki,Hiromi 4 Obe, Yumi 5 Yamagashi, Yasuyo (17 Otani, Mio 85th) 6 Nishina, Kae (12 Sato,Harue 89th) 8 Fujimura,Tomomi 10 Hara, Ayumi -Capt. 11 Isaka, Mito (9-Kozue Ando, Kozue 86th) 13 Kasajima, Yoshie 16 Yamazaki, Yuka
Officials Referee: Bronwyn Calver (AUS) Referee Asst.: Karen Goss (AUS) Referee Asst.: Tammy Ogston (AUS)	Statistical USA JAPAN Shots 24 4 Saves 1 3 Corner Kicks 11 1 Fouls 1 7 Offside 1 1

Game report
The USA-Japan match started 35 minutes late due to the overtime and shootout in the China-Canada game as well as a power outage that rendered Breakers Stadium dark for 10 minutes at the end of the second overtime. The USA then struggled to find its rhythm against an inspired and scrappy Japanese team that featured just four players from its 1999 Women's World Cup Team. The U.S. didn't get off a shot until 13th minute when Milbrett volleyed past the left post. One minute later,Fair's drive was deflected off the left post by Parlow, and then two minutes a Japanese handball earned the Americans a free-kick 27 yards out. Chastain ran over the ball continuing her run as MacMillan played her through, Chastain caught up to the ball at the end line and played a perfect pass in the slot for Parlow to finish from three yards out. Japan took just four shots in the game, but Obe's equalizer was world class. In the 22nd minute she shot from 40 yards over the fully extended Branam and into the upper right corner. The USA went ahead in the 55th when Chastain crossed into the middle from the left flank and the ball was knocked down to the turf as several players challenged. MacMillan was the quickest to the loose ball as she slide to knock a rocket into the roof of the net from 10 yards out.

Chastain made it 3-1 in the 62nd minute when she scored off a direct free-kick stroking the ball into the upper right corner giving the keeperno chance. Heinrichs made all five of her allowed substitutes in the 64th minute and three of them combined for the last goal. Whalen whocame in as striker put Welsh through down the left flank. Welsh sent a cross on the ground to the cutting Aly Wagner who touched it in from four yards out.

Post game quotes

U.S. Head Coach Heinrichs
"The Japanese played very, very hard this evening. In the first 30, the Japanese initiated the speed of play and the physical presence. I was quite pleased with that, because with that sort of pressure, we have to respond and that makes us better. All 11 players were working very hard at every moment and when the substitutes came in, there was no let down. It was a high energy game, but the field was slick and cold and at times our service was difficult to handle. In the second half, we started wear them down and it was a great collective win. There were many, many players who played very, very well."

This is a testing ground for us. If we can score goals and have confidence, as coaches, we can create an environment where they are happy, creative, enjoying themselves and playing with a lot of passion. Then we feel we can run at any team in the world. We're still pursuing the tournament championship. We know we will need some help from another team to beat China, but if China loses, we want to be in the best place to move from second to first."

Brandy Chastain
"You always think so much about making it perfect, but I was thinking, just hit it on goal. I think the couple of free-kicks before that set up the goal because they were expecting someone to run over the ball, so I caught the goalkeeper standing."

Shannon MacMillan
"I was impressed with Japan. But we started off a little shaky and after they tied it up, we could have had a let down, but as a team we knew we just had to keep going at them and we would get chances."

Hamm was given the night off to rest a minor leg injury.

Hat-trick by Sharon Black leads Matildas to 4-0 win over arch rival New Zealand

Australia 4 - New Zealand 0
Hunter Region Athletics Centre, Newcastle
Wednesday, June 7, 2000

Scoring:
Sharon Black 7, 21, 30.
Sunni Hughes 25

Game report
Midfielder Sharon Black's first half hat-trick spurred the Matildas to a fantastic 4-0 win against old rivals New Zealand today in Newcastle in their Round Four match of the Pacific Cup, the team bouncing back from their disappointing loss to Canada. A solid performance against the Kiwis was a necessity to get the Matildas back on track leading into Sunday's big clash against world champions USA, and the side did not disappoint. The four-goal win is the all-time equal best scoreline for an Australia versus New Zealand encounter.

Black's triple, scored within a 23 minute period, is her fourth hattrick for Australia, and stretches her lead as the country's hat trick hero. The South Australian's previous triples were all scored during the Oceania World Cup Qualifiers in October 1998.

The Matildas took the lead inside the opening seven minutes, despite a fairly strong start by the All Whites on the narrow pitch. Striker Alicia Ferguson set up the opportunity, opening up the square Kiwi defence, Black coming in off the left flank with only the keeper to beat. The midfielder made the conversion look easy from just inside the 18-yard box.

Australia soon took control, and continued to pressure the New Zealand defence, opting to play the long ball forward on the spongy but very dry surface, combined with good movement off the ball in attack.

Black snatched her second in the 21st minute with strikers Ferguson and Sunni Hughes causing mayhem in the Kiwi backline. The ball was fed into the oncoming Black who found the back of the net from the left edge of the 18-yard.

New Zealand's Rachel Oliver put her side's first real opportunity over the bar, before Australia stretched the lead to 3-0 on the counterattack in the 25th minute. Newcastle's own Sunni Hughes gave the occasion a true hometown flavour, turning defender Terry McCahill and unleashing without hesitation a long range strike to lob goalkeeper Yvonne Vale. The goal makes Hughes Australia's all-time equal top scorer with teammate Cheryl Salisbury on 23 goals. Black claimed her hattrick on the half-hour mark, on the end of a scything long ball up the middle of the park from defender Dianne Alagich. With only the keeper to beat, Black slotted home from 12 metres inside the right post.

In the second half, New Zealand shut down the ball more effectively and put up a better organised defence. Meanwhile, the Australians eased off the pace and cruised through the remainder of the contest. The visitors almost pulled a goal back midway through the half, Amanda Crawford released with a great ball from deep. Matildas keeper Tracey Wheeler narrowed the angle and stood her ground against Crawford, making a brilliant low save to her left to deny the Kiwis.

Fewer opportunities on goal were then created by Australia, and the score remained at the 4-0 victory.

Post Game Quotes

Australian Head Coach Ian Murray
"We've shown we can bounce back. The first half, we were superb; the second half, we took the foot off the pedal. Plus I made a lot of changes to see how we would cope with that. I was pleased we went out today from the word go. Then in the second half, I suppose it was on everyone's minds with the big match on Sunday. When you're four goals up, it can be hard to go on and say score ten.

Other
Round Four continues tomorrow at Breakers Stadium in Newcastle, frontrunners China taking on Canada, and USA facing Japan.

Parlow has second consecutive hat trick as USA plays six reserves in 5-0 win over New Zealand

Australia 0 - Canada 2
Australia did not show the same magic they had in taking China to penalty kicks last Friday, falling to Canada, 2-0.

USA 5 - New Zealand 0 Campbelltown Sports Stadium -- Sydney, Australia June 4, 2000 - Kickoff 2:30 p.m. Local/12:30 a.m. ET Attendance: 3,947- Weather: Clear, cool 55 degrees F
Scoring Summary 1st 2nd Final USA 3 2 5 New Zealand 0 0 0	Scoring: USA - Welsh (Hamm) 11th minute USA - Welsh (Parlow) 29 USA - Parlow (Unassisted) 33 USA - Parlow (Unassisted) 52 USA - Parlow (Hamm) 56.
USA 26 Mullinix 6 Chastain 19 Slaton 3 Pearce 7 Whalen 5 Serlenga 25 Wagner 8 MacMillan 22 Welsh 12 Parlow 9 Hamm (Captain) Head Coach: April Heinrichs	New Zealand 1 Vaile, Yvonne 2 Simpson, Jane(4 McCahill, Terry 53) 3 Corner, Jill 5 Ruscoe, Melissa (6 Robertson, Alisse 63) 8 Smith, Nicky 9 Henderson, Wendy ,Captain (15-Tarah Cox, 80) 10 Ferrara, Simone 11 Crawford, Amanda 13 Oliver, Rachel (7 Jackman, Maia16) 14 Ormond, Vicky (12 Cogle, Zania 45th) 17 Oostdam, Marlies
Misconduct Summary: New Zealand -- Ruscoe (caution) 10th minute
Officials Referee: Sheena Storrie (AUS) Referee Asst.: Tracey Griffiths (AUS) Referee Asst.: Elizabeth Mast (AUS)	Statistical USA NEW ZEALAND Shots 36 0 Saves 0 11 Corner Kicks 15 1 Fouls 11 5 Offside 0 0

Game report
Heinrichs rested six of her regular starters playing Wagner, Serlenga, Slaton, Pearce, Whalen and Welsh instead, and going with her starting eleven for the entire game.

Hamm set up the first goal with a cross from the left side. Parlow jumped for the ball, but it flew over her and the defender's head, bouncing to the unmarked Welsh, who put her shot into the upper right corner of the net. New Zealand rarely crossed midfield in the game, and the U.S. keeper Mullinix handled the ball just three times. New Zealand's concentration on defense left little space, but the U.S. Team's quick passing and use of the width enabled them to exploit the Kiwi bunker.

Hamm struck the outside of the right post in the 20th minute and MacMillan rattled the cross bar in the 41st. Chastain just missed when her quickly taken free-kick from 35 yards out in the 26th minute flew just inches over. In the 29th minute, after playing a one-two with Parlow at the top of the penalty box, Welsh went through defender Jackman and shot through the legs of the charging keeper Vale to make it 2-0. In the 33rd minute Wagner played a ball to Parlow at the top of the box, a New Zealand player played the ball back to her and she hit a dipping ball across the keeper and into the net.

Two minutes into the second half Welsh had a point-blank shot cleared by Cogle. Parlow got her second of the match 5 minutes later when Slaton's cross found Parlow cutting to the near post Her but her first shot was saved by Vale, but the ball bounced back to Parlow and she put the rebound away.

Four minutes later Hamm dribbled straight down the end line almost to the goal post before playing a short pass to Parlow put into the roof of the net from four yards out to complete her hat trick.

Post game quotes

U.S. Head Coach Heinrichs
"We've been working really hard on possessing the ball, playing quickly and making chances appear rather than forcing them. I was very pleased to score nine goals against Canada and five tonight. What was most impressive after the Canada game was that all nine goals were assisted, which was indicative of unselfish and thoughtful play. We saw that against New Zealand as well.

This is a testing ground for us. If we can score goals and have confidence, as coaches, we can create an environment where they are happy, creative, enjoying themselves and playing with a lot of passion. Then we feel we can run at any team in the world. We're still pursuing the tournament championship. We know we will need some help from another team to beat China, but if China loses, we want to be in the best place to move from second to first."

Cindy Parlow
"All three of my goals came from team play. People made great runs, we had great buildup and tremendous passes into me. Some were harder to miss than to make. Sometimes the game is very generous and sometimes the game is very stingy. It's being generous to me right now and not so generous to Mia, but obviously that can change at any moment and I can be the one hitting the post or the goalkeeper. I just want to step on the field and control what I can control. If the goals come, great, if not, I know someone else will score."

They face Japan on Thursday, June 8, at Breakers Stadium (6:00 p.m. local/4:00 a.m. ET).

Pacific Cup Leading Goal Scorers
Player	Team	Goals
Cindy Parlow	USA	6
Tiffeny Milbrett	USA	3
Christine Sinclair	Canada	3
Amanda Crawford	New Zealand	2
Lorrie Fair	USA	2
Christy Welsh	USA	2
Sun Wen	China	2
Silvana Burtini	Canada	1
Bryony Duus	Australia	1
Heather Garriock	Australia	1
Bai Jie	China	1
Kristina Kiss	Canada	1
Shannon MacMillan	USA	1
Kae Nishina	Japan	1
Shui Qingxia	China	1
Yasuyo Yamagishi	Japan	1

Hat-tricks for Milbrett and Parlow as MacMillan scores goal in her 100th international appearance during USA's 9-1 defeat of Canada

Japan 2 New Zealand 1 (in Overtime)
Japan came from behind to defeat New Zealand in overtime, 2-1, on a "golden goal" as the Kiwis squandered their second straight one-goal lead.

USA 9 - Canada 1 Sydney Football Stadium -- Sydney, Australia June 2, 2000 - Kickoff 5:30 p.m. Local/3:30 a.m. ET Attendance: 10,049 (Record for women's soccer match in Australia) - Weather: Wet, cold 49 degrees F
Scoring Summary 1st 2nd Final USA 4 5 9 Canada 0 1 1	Scoring: USA -- Milbrett (Hamm) 17. USA -- MacMillan (Parlow) 19. USA -- Parlow (Fawcett) 37. USA -- Milbrett (Hamm) 40. USA -- Fair (MacMillan) 49. USA -- Fair (Milbrett) 51. USA -- Milbrett (Whalen) 58. USA -- Parlow (Hamm) 69 USA -- Parlow (Whalen) 77. CAN -- C Sinclair (Latham) 81.
USA 24 Branam 6 Chastain (19 Slaton, 46th) 20 Sobrero (3 Pearce, 46th) 14 Fawcett 13 Lilly (7 Whalen, 46th) 2 Fair 11 Foudy (5 (Serlenga, 46th) 8 MacMillan 12 Parlow 9 Hamm (5 , 81st) 16 Milbrett Head Coach: April Heinrichs	Canada 1 Wright, Nicole 6 Walsh, Cindy (4 Smith, Liz 55th) 7 Morneau, Isabelle (17 Burtini, Silvana 68th) 8 Dion, Marie-Claude 3 Boyd, Breanna 5 Neil, Andrea (11 Hermus,Rendee 59) 13 Walsh,Amy 10 Sinclair, Christine 12 Harvey, Isabelle 15 Latham, Christine 18 Kiss, Kristina
Misconduct Summary: Canada -- Andrea Neil (caution) 57th minute. Canada -- Marie-Claude Dion (caution) 68.
Officials Referee: Tammy Ogston (AUS) Referee Asst.: Krystina Szokolai (AUS) Referee Asst.: Jacquie Leleu (AUS)	Statistical USA CANADA Shots 30 5 Saves 2 8 Corner Kicks 5 3 Fouls 7 7 Offside 5 4

Game report
The USA picked apart the Canadian defense with ball possession through quick connections and dynamic runs, producing 30 shots and a shell-shocked night for goalkeeper Wright. The U.S. ran at Canada with a 3-4-3 lineup that featured the 1999 Women's World Cup striking trio of Milbrett, Hamm and Parlow, who put on a display of playmaking and finishing from the forward line.

The USA's first goal came in the 17th minute when Milbrett one-touched a pass back to Hamm in the midfield and took off running. Hamm chipped a pass over the Canadian defense and Milbrett out-ran her mark to score from 19 yards off the left post.

Just two minutes later Parlow shook free a defender in midfield and Canada's offside trap betrayed them as it would all game, and she put MacMillan clear behind the defense to race in from an angle and bend her seven-yard shot just inside the left post. MacMillan captained the team for the first time to honor her entry into the century club and the goal was her 27th internationally.

Parlow scored in the 37th minute as MacMillan put Joy Fawcett free down the right flank. In a play reminiscent of Fawcett's assist to Tiffeny Milbrett in the 1996 Olympic gold medal game, she streaked down the wing and cut hard to the net, gluing Wright to the left post, before passing back to a trailing Parlow, who finished from six yards out into an open net. Milbrett capped the first half scoring as she took a short corner from Hamm, squared up on Christine Sinclair juking the 16-year-old and then whipping her 16-yard shot over Wright.

Fair got her first goal four minutes into the second half as a Wright save off a Hamm breakaway produced a corner kick. Hamm played it short to MacMillan, who crossed from the right and Fair out-jumped Andrea Neil, a player five inches taller, to redirect the ball over Wright. Hamm provided the service two minutes later when she chipped a pass into the middle. Milbrett flicked the ball with her head over the defense to Fair, who brought the it down beautifully on the instep of her fight foot and then blasted her shot through Wright's legs from eight yards out. Milbrett added her third in the 58th minute when she redirected Whalen's cross into the right corner for her 73rd international goal.

Hamm terrorized the Canadian defense all night but three of her solo chances were spectacularly saved by Wright, and a fourth hit the left post for the trailing Parlow to put away from eight yards. The final U.S. goal came as Whalen streaking down the right flank fed Parlow with a perfect ball behind the defense and Parlow spun a shot that Wright got a solid hand onto but could only watch as it rolled slowly over the goal line. It was Parlow's 33rd career goal.

Canada avoided the shutout when Sinclair finished a rebound off a Latham shot that had been smartly pushed away the diving Branam. The 19-year-old Branam picked up her second cap for the USA as well as a bloodied mouth and a sore back when she dove at the feet of a Canadian player to make a spectacular save in the 79th minute. With the ball cradled in her arms, she then took the full brunt of the falling Latham's knee in her back and lay motionless on the field for a few moments before rising and finishing the game.

Post game quotes

Head Coach April Heinrichs
"Our team was working together and pursuing excellence tonight. In no way does it make up for the loss (to China last Wednesday), but I thought we played well in both games. Sometimes the ball goes in and sometimes it doesn't, but I thought our team came out tonight to be assertive, but also with the goal of keeping it simple. In a game like this, it may happen that players take too many touches and that slows down the play. They never slowed down tonight. The ball was moving quickly the whole time. We want to be able to play out of several systems. We don't want to be predictable and we want to be able to make adjustments based on what we feel is good option for our team. We don't want to limit ourselves, but there is a lot of soccer left for us before the Olympics. We don't have a league yet, so although we are going to play about 30 matches this year, that's the only games our players get. They don't get a 90-minute game unless they are with the national team so we feel the amount of games we have is tremendous. It helps us get connected and it helps us as year-round players."

Tiffeny Milbrett
"We all played for each other, there was never a lack of support or options. Sometimes you had four players running for you that you could have passed to. It helped create a lot of opportunities, a good rhythm, and quick play. I know we all felt connected out there. I think all the games we play are great. We get sick and tired of playing against the same people every day in practice. I think the real test, and the real show for the coaches to see how we are progressing, is in the games. Seeing how we respond to game pressure helps us improve and helps the coaches in their evaluation. We love to play in the enclosed stadiums. There wasn't a huge crowd out there by any means, but they were still loud. If you sell this place out it will be a rocking stadium."

Mia Hamm
"Sometimes you can't buy a goal. But what I have to concentrate on is that the team is playing well. There are players out there who can carry me, and have carried me, and it's just fun to watch. Maybe that's why I couldn't score, I was having too much fun watching my team tonight."

Other
The U.S. team will attend the Olympic Draw tomorrow at Sydney Town Hall where they will find out who they will face in the first round of the tournament. The USA then faces New Zealand on Sunday, June 4, at Campbelltown Sports Stadium (2:30 p.m. local/12:30 a.m. ET) as the Pacific Cup continues.

Pacific Cup 2000 May 31 results

Australia 1, Japan 0
Host Australia used a second half goal to defeat Japan. More...

USA 0 - China 1 Bruce Stadium, Canberra, ACT -- Australia May 31, 2000 - Kickoff 5:00 p.m. Local/3 a.m. ET Attendance: 550 - Weather: Cold, clear -- 34 degrees F
Scorers: China -- Sun Wen (Penalty Kick) 86th minute.
USA 26 Mullinix 6 Chastain (19 Slaton, 46th) 14 Fawcett 2 Fair 20 Sobrero 3 Pearce 13 Lilly 11 Foudy 8 MacMillan (12 Parlow, 56th) 9 Hamm (5 (Serlenga, , 81st) 16 Milbrett Head Coach: April Heinrichs	China 1 Han Wenxia 3 Fan Yunjie 12 Wen Lirong 14 Bai Jie 2 Wang Liping 6 Zhao Lihong 10 Liu Ailing 13 Liu Ying (5 Shui Gingxia, 30th) 7 Zhang Ouying (16 Fan Chunling, 39th) 8 Jin Yan (15 Qiu Haiyan, 60th) 9 Sun Wen Head Coach: Ma Yuanan
Misconduct Summary: China -- Zhao Lihong (caution) 23rd China -- Qui Haiyan (caution) 79. USA -- Danielle Slaton (caution) 85.
Officials Referee: Tammy Ogston (AUS) Referee Asst.: Bronwyn Calver (AUS) Referee Asst.: Jacquie Leleu (AUS)	Statistical USA CHINA Shots 10 5 Saves 2 4 Corner Kicks 1 5 Fouls 5 12 Offside 4 6

Game report
The Pacific Cup opener for both teams was played with the thermometer touching 0 degrees Celsius, on a field made choppy by rugby league matches and in front of a crowd of approximately 550 fans.

Still, those fans were treated to a classic USA-China chess match as each team attacked and defended in numbers. The Americans got the better of the game, out-shooting China, 10-5, while clearly producing the more dangerous chances. The USA played effective pressuring defense the entire match with center-midfielders Julie Foudy and Lorrie Fair proving dynamic ball-winners. While the skillful Chinese did put together several sequences of quick passes that had the U.S. defense chasing, the Women's World Cup runners-up could not find a way behind the U.S. back line.

It was Milbrett that got the game's first chance when she picked off a Chinese square pass in just the 10th minute and raced in on a breakaway. Her driven shot was well-saved by Wenxia with a dive to her left. China's only other true dangerous chance besides the goal game in the 28th minute when Zhao Lihong penetrated U.S. defense on left side and hit a screamer over the crossbar.

U.S. substitutes Slaton and Parlow added a spark to the U.S. attack in the second half. In the 61st minute, Slaton streaked down the left flank and crossed to Parlow, but her bullet header went straight to Wenxia. One minute later Slaton ran down a cleared ball on the left side and played a precise cross the far post, but Fair slammed her half-volley wide of the goal.

With captain Carla Overbeck back in the United States recovering from knee surgery, April Heinrichs moved Joy Fawcett into the middle of the defense with Kate Sobrero and inserted Christie Pearce at Fawcett's usual right back slot. All three repeatedly ran down China through balls with tremendous closing speed while U.S. goalkeeper Siri Mullinix came off her line to clear away several long services. The USA kept Wen, the 1999 Women's World Cup MVP, in front of them and under wraps for the entire match, perhaps too much so on the sequence that resulted in what surely was a dubious penalty kick call.

It was a momentary lapse that led to China's goal as the U.S. defense let a ball bounce in the penalty box. Wen darted after the ball, but was screened by Danielle Slaton and then both went down in a heap as Mullinix charged out to slide and corral the ball. Australian referee Tammy Ogston ruled that Slaton had wrapped her arms around Wen and pulled her to the ground, then pointed to the penalty spot and gave Slaton a yellow card.

Wen calmly stuck her shot into the right corner past the wrong-footed Mullinix, much like she had done in the Women's World Cup Final past Briana Scurry on China's fifth kick, before Brandi Chastain ended the game with her famous shot.

The USA attacked furiously during the time remaining, but even four minutes of stoppage time were not enough in which to manufacture an equalizer. Still, the USA came painfully close as Cindy Parlow put Tiffeny Milbrett through alone in the 90th minute, but while Milbrett's shot from an angle in the left side of the penalty box beat goalkeeper Han Wenxia, it slipped just inches wide of the right post.

Post game quotes

U.S. Head Coach Heinrichs
"I'm not pleased with the result, but I am pleased with the way we played," said U.S. head coach April Heinrichs. "I thought we played well enough to score at least three goals, which on another day, we might have converted. But when you lose, there are always things to learn and build on. The U.S. team is always disappointed when we lose," added Heinrichs. "But China is a terrific team and they always have been. Even under high pressure, they are difficult to dispossess."

China Head Coach Ma Yuanan
"Neither China or the United States was at their best," said China Head Coach Ma Yuanan. "But we must be happy with the result."

U.S. Captain Julie Foudy
"I thought it was a bit of a sloppy game offensively with the field and the cold," said U.S. captain Julie Foudy. "But China is always good and it always seems to come down to the last minutes with them. Unfortunately we were on the wrong side tonight." USA Faces Canada Next on June 2 at Sydney Football Stadium, Site of Olympic Gold Medal Match

Mia Hamm
"China is one of those teams that is going to technically dominate play," said U.S. forward Mia Hamm. "You have to try not to get frustrated and make the most of your opportunities. We had some great chances, but China got the penalty kick. Of course, we are frustrated, but we have another game in two days and we just have to learn from this one and move onto Canada. We're going to play China again, probably more times than we want, but you have to play the best teams in the world to prepare yourself for a tournament like the Olympics."

The USA may return to Bruce Stadium as it will be the site of the Olympic semifinal should the U.S. women win its first-round group in the Sydney Olympics . The U.S. team travels to Sydney tomorrow and will face Canada at the Sydney Football Stadium on Friday, June 2. The SFS is the site of the women's soccer gold medal game for the 2000 Olympics.

A view from New Zealand

Pacific Cup 2000 schedule released