from MVN Soccer,
As was the case in the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, the Women's Soccer Final at the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be a meeting between the traditional power USA and the recently-on-the-rise Brazil. The U.S. Women now maintain their perfect record of reaching the Gold Medal match in every Olympics where Women's Soccer has been contested...
On Monday night, the USA defeated Japan 4-2 in their semifinal, a match that saw Japan in control for much of the first half. They were first to score with a goal from Shinobu Ohno (16'). After falling behind, and seeing Japan so dominant, the Americans regrouped and put more pressure on the opposing defense with an aggressive plan of attack. It worked...
Late in the first half, USA's strategy paid off, breaking through with two goals - Angela Hucles scored in the 41st minute, and Lori Chalupny at 44'. This obviously stunned Japan as they went into the locker room at the halftime break, because they were never able to recover in the second 45.
Heather O'Reilly, who had fed the ball to Hucles for their first goal. then scored one of her own at 70', this time with an assist from Heather Mitts. Hucles and O'Reilly combined again in the 80th minute for a goal in the same way they had done at 41' ; now with the score 4-1 in favor of the USA, there was no stopping them...
Japan did manage a second goal (in stoppage time), but as the final ticks of the clock ran down, they had to console themselves with their chance for Bronze, to concentrate on making the most of that when they meet up with Germany later this week.
This was the second meeting of the USA and Japan in this tournament; in the group stage, the USA won 1-0, in the second match for both teams. Brazil had defeated Germany 4-1 in the other semifinal, and the 4-2 victory over Japan gives the USA a great psychological boost for Thursday's final match in these Olympics.
The U.S. Women won Gold the very first time the event was at the Games (in 1996), and they defeated Brazil for the Gold in 2004. Their 2000 Final ended with Silver, at the hands of Norway, who were coincidentally, the only team they lost to at these Olympics. That loss was the first of 2008 in any competition for the USA, but it looks as though the Americans have found their way through, even without the previously expected help from their injured top-scorer Abby Wambach.
Several different players have been able to step into her shoes in this tournament, and with her two goals tonight, Angela Hucles is certainly an important part of the revised equation. Goalkeeper Hope Solo was also a key in tonight's victory as much as anyone.
There were over 50,000 on hand Monday night at the Worker's Stadium, making it the largest crowd for Women's Soccer at the Olympics since 2000, and one of the biggest-ever attendances for any women's soccer match ever held outside of the USA.
The Gold Medal Match takes place Thursday night at 9 pm local time (9 am EDT), with U.S. TV live telecasts including USA Network and NBC Olympic Soccer Channel...
ENJOY =) ... and GO USA !
Read the official US Soccer Match Report here
More...
( http://mvn.com/soccer/2008/08/18/usa-will-meet-brazil-in-gold-medal-match/ )
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