WOMEN’S SOCCER: U.S. 1, Brazil 0
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Abby Wambach made her usual offensive contribution. Kate Markgraf and Christie Rampone again paced a blistering defense. Hope Solo excelled in goal with that same chip on her shoulder. The U.S. women’s soccer team passed its second-to-last test before the Olympics, downing Brazil 1-0 in an international friendly Sunday in front of an announced crowd of 15,071 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Amy Rodriguez scored the game’s only goal on a cross from Wambach that went through Brazilian defender Tania’s legs in the 71st minute. Solo and Nicole Barnhart combined for the team’s sixth consecutive shutout. “We are ready to go,” said U.S. coach Pia Sundhage, whose top-ranked team is favored entering the Beijing Games. The U.S. extended its domestic unbeaten streak to 30 games and improved to 20-0-1 under Sundhage, who took over as coach in November after Colorado Springs resident Greg Ryan was fired for benching Solo at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup. It will play No. 4 Brazil on Wednesday in San Diego in its final pre-Olympic match. In Beijing, it begins defense of its Olympic gold medal Aug. 6 against No. 5 Norway, then awaits No. 10 Japan and No. 24 New Zealand. A full roster would have helped Brazil, which suffered a 2-1 overtime loss to the U.S. in the gold-medal match of the 2004 Athens Games and beat the Americans 4-0 in the 2007 World Cup semifinals. Brazil was outshot 19-10 minus injured captain Aline and three players who are fulfilling commitments to Swedish clubs, most notably Marta, the 2007 Women’s World Player of the Year. “Any time we go out on the Olympic or national level, it’s important,” said Rodriguez, a 21-year-old forward who will be a senior at USC in the fall. “Every win counts. With every game, we want to get better.” Added Rampone, “With training and changing our formation, it’s building our confidence. One more game and a little more fine-tuning to go. We’re almost there. We don’t want to peak until we get there.” Save for a 1-1 tie against Canada in April, the U.S. hardly has been tested this year in winning four tournaments. It outscored opponents 9-1 at the Four Nations Tournament in China and 12-1 at the Algarve Cup in Portugal. Solo and Barnhart have dominated with aid from Markgraf and Rampone. And Wambach, Natasha Kai and Lindsay Tarpley have combined for 34 of the team’s 60 goals, atoning for the loss of Kristine Lilly, who is on maternity leave. “We’re looking for the gold,” Solo said. “I could care less about rankings. We are ranked No. 1. Of course, we’re aware of that. But we were ranked No. 1 going into the World Cup, and look where it got us.”
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