July 24, 2005
KARLSKOGA, Sweden – Lindsay Tarpley scored twice and her North Carolina teammate Heather O’Reilly added another goal as the U.S. Under-21 Women’s National Team continued its run at the annual Nordic Cup, the world’s premier event for U-21 women, rolling to a 3-1 victory on Sunday over Germany to claim the top spot in Group B and a berth in Tuesday’s championship game. Notre Dame rising junior midfielder Jen Buczkowski again played the full 90 minutes while helping the U.S. post a 14-5 edge in shots, 7-2 in shots on goal and 5-3 in corner kicks.
The USA will face long-time rival Norway for the title on Tuesday, July 26. It will be the ninth consecutive Nordic Cup title game for the U.S. women, who have won an unprecedented six Nordic Cups in a row and seven out of the past eight. This is the 15th annual Nordic Cup that is held in northern Europe every summer.
The Americans rolled up an 11-1 scoring edge in their three Group-B games and actually totaled as many goals as opponents shots allowed. The U.S. enters the gold-medal game with an 81-11 shot edge during the tournament, plus 35-4 in shots on goal and 22-4 in corner kicks.
Norway also allowed just one goal in winning Group A but the Norwegians scored just five goals in their three games (3-1 vs. Sweden and 1-0 vs. both England and Finland). Notre Dame rising sophomore forward/midfielder Jannica Tjeder and her Finland teammates will play in Tuesday’s fifth-place game, vs. an Iceland team that lost a 4-0 game vs. the United States earlier in the tournament.
The USA played Norway in a Nordic Cup Final in three consecutive years from 1997-1999, winning twice and losing in ’98.
Notre Dame rising senior goalkeeper Erika Bohn has yet to play in the Nordic Cup, with former Stanford All-American playing the full 90 minutes in each of the Group-B games.
In other international soccer action on Sunday, the USA Women’s National Team defeated Iceland, 3-0, in a game telecast live on ESPN2 (from The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif). The Americans were playing without five of their younger players (who are competing in the Nordic Cup) but continued to be led by two Notre Dame alums, central defender Kate Sobrero Markgraf and defensive midfielder Shannon Boxx (who assisted on the first goal and scored the third).
Former Notre Dame player Gudrun Gunnarsdottir – one of just two starters lost from the 2004 national championship team – played the entire game for her native Iceland, decked out in her familiar No. 2 jersey and patrolling her typical central defender spot. Iceland held the U.S. scoreless for the game’s first 64 minutes before the Americans erupted for all three of their goals in a five-minute span.
Back in Sweden, Indianapolis-area forward Lauren Cheney (Ben Davis HS) had the 27th-minute pass that sprung O’Reilly for a 1-on-1 chance with the German goalkeeper, leading to the game’s first goal. O’Reilly dribbled around the `keeper before sending the ball into the vacated net for the 1-0 lead.
German forward Shelley Thompson came into the game with eight goals but could not find a way past the USA defense.
The Germans picked up a little steam at the end of the first half but the USA maintained its cushion entering the intermission. Tarpley added to the lead in the 64th minute on a goal that originated from a left-side free kick. Stephanie Lopez switched the ball across the field to fellow defender Kendall Fletcher, who saw Tarpley making a far-post run. Fletcher lofted a perfect cross back to the left side and Tarpley trapped the ball off her chest before hitting a half-volley shot from 12 yards out that sailed into the right corner of the net.
Tarpley sealed the game five minutes later, dribbling at the German defense before firing a 22-yard shot into the lower left corner.
The Germans added a consolation goal in the 85th minute, on one of their two shots on goal during the entire game.
In the other Group-B match, Iceland defeated Denmark (4-2) while England defeated Sweden (2-1) to take second place in Group A. (Note: U.S. Soccer earlier had improperly reported the Group-A results/standings, at first indicating that Norway had lost its opening game vs. Sweden … even after the corrected standings, Finland still could have qualified for the gold-medal game if it had defeated Norway by at least two goals).
USA 1 2 – 3
GER 0 1 – 1
USA – Heather O’Reilly (Lauren Cheney) 27th minute.
USA — Lindsay Tarpley (Kendall Fletcher) 64.
USA – Lindsay Tarpley (unassisted) 69.
GER – Lydia Neumann (n/a) 85.
Lineups:
USA: 1-Nicole Barnhart; 4-Kendall Fletcher (3-Mary Castelanelli, 75), 21-Rachel Buehler, 19-Jill Oakes, 11-Stephanie Lopez; 22-Jen Buczkowski, 10-Carli Lloyd (12-Amy Rodriguez, 58), 6-Lori Chalupny (8-Sarah Huffman, 75), 5-Lindsay Tarpley; 9-Heather O’Reilly (2-Manya Makoski, 75), 7-Lauren Cheney (13-Megan Rapinoe, 71). Subs not used: 1-Erika Bohn, 15-Jessica Maxwell.
GER: 1-Ursula Holl, 2-Anne Bonn, 5-Annike Krahn, 4-Bianca Rach, 3-Jennifer Zietz, 8-Saskia Bartusiak, 6-Janine Partzsch (13-Marina Himmighofen 77), 11-Anna Laue (17-Karolin Thomas, 46), 10-Melanie Behringer, 7-Aferdita Kameraj (16-Lydia Neumann, 77), 9-Shelley Thompson.
Shots – USA 14, GER 5
Shots on goal – USA 7, GER 2
Saves – USA 1, GER 4
Corner Kicks – USA 5, GER 3
Fouls – USA 10, GER 15
Offside – USA 6, GER 1
Misconduct Summary: GER – Janine Partzsch (caution) 55th minute.
Officials – Referee: Eva Odlund (Sweden), Ref. Asst.: Linda Bengtstrom (Sweden), Ref. Asst.: Fredrik Carlsson (Sweden)
Group A
Teams (W-L-T … Pts … GF-GA/GD)
Norway (3-0-0 … 9 … 5-1/+4)
England (2-1-0 … 6 … 4-2/+2)
Finland (1-2-0 … 3 … 3-3/0)
Sweden (0-3-0 … 0 … 3-8/-5)
Group B
Teams (W-L-T … Pts … GF-GA/GD)
USA (3-0-0 … 9 … 11-1/+10)
Germany (2-1-0 … 6 … 11-4/+7)
Iceland (1-2-0 … 3 … 5-10/-5)
Denmark (0-3-0 … 0 … 2-14/-12)
Nordic Cup Results
Wednesday, July 20 – England 2, Finland 0 … Norway 3, Sweden 1 … USA 4, Iceland 0 … Germany 6, Denmark 0
Friday, July 22 – Finland 3, Sweden 1 … Norway 1, England 0 … Germany 4, Iceland 1 … USA 4, Denmark 0
Sunday, July 24 – Norway 1, Finland 0 … England 2, Sweden 1 … Iceland 4, Denmark 2 … USA 3, Germany 1
Placement Matches (Tuesday, July 26) – 7th-Place Game (Sweden vs. Denmark), 5th-Place Game (Finland vs. Iceland) , Bronze-Medal Game (Germany vs. England), Championship (USA vs. Norway)