July 22, 2005
SAFFLE, Sweden – Notre Dame midfielder Jen Buczkowski started and played the full 90 minutes as the United States Under-21 Women’s National Team rolled to its second straight 4-0 win at the 2005 Nordic Cup, defeating Denmark on Friday night in their second of three Group-B matches. A former BIG EAST Conference rival, Rutgers forward Carli Lloyd, scored the first two goals for the USA while Portland forward Megan Rapinoe and Indianapolis high-school player Lauren Cheney added late goals off the bench.
The USA – which has posted six straight shutouts in Nordic Cup play – next will face Germany in their final Group B match on Sunday, July 24, with a berth in the championship game on the line. The USA must win, as a tie would send Germany to the title game by virtue of a larger goal difference. The Germans downed Iceland, 4-1 in the other Group B match and have a plus-9 goal difference while the USA is at plus-8. Only the group winner advances to the title game on July 26 in what has become the world’s premier event for U-21 women’s national teams.
Sunday’s game will feature the top teams in the tournament, with all four teams in Group A splitting their first two games. Notre Dame rising sophomore midfielder/forward and her Finland teammates defeated their rival Sweden, 3-1, and could advance to the gold-medal game with a win on Sunday over Norway (England has a +1 goal differential, Finland and Sweden are even and Norway is -1). Friday’s other Group-A game saw Norway defeat England, 1-0.
Notre Dame rising goalkeeper Erika Bohn again did not play, with former Stanford All-American Nicole Barnhart picking up her second shutout despite not having to make a save.
The U.S. rolled up a 40-1 shot edge in Friday’s action at Sporthalla Stadium but the Americans struggled with their finishing, placing 18 shots on goal (Denmark had none). The U.S. also had all seven of the game’s corner kicks while the physical Denmark side had 19 fouls to 8 for the U.S.
Denmark goalkeeper Susan Graversen made 14 saves in the game and kept the USA off the board until just late in the first half. North Carolina midfielder Lori Chalupny pushed a pass to her right for the cutting Lloyd, who one-timed a shot from 18 yards out into the left corner of the net.
It took the USA 40 minutes to get another goal, again created by Chalupny as she raced down the flank and crossed the ball back into the middle. Lloyd once again hit the ball first time, slotting the ball into the right corner from 12 yards out.
Similar to the opening game against Iceland, the USA again scored twice in the final moments of the game. Cheney beat a defender to get deep in the penalty box before slipping a pass across the six-yard box. Rapinoe tried to bend the ball into the right corner with her right foot but she ended up knocking the ball between the goalkeeper’s legs.
The final goal came when Cheney cracked a shot from the top of the penalty box. The ball deflected off the foot of a defender and lobbed over the goalkeeper from 15 yards out for the 4-0 final.
The USA did suffer some bad knew as Stanford defender Rachel Buehler broke her nose just minutes after coming on at halftime and is questionable for the Germany match. UNC defender Jessica Maxwell suffered a serious knee injury in the 60th minute and is doubtful for the Germany game.
USA 1 3 – 4
Denmark 0 0 – 0
USA 1. – Carli Lloyd (Lori Chalupny) 40th minute.
USA 2. – Carli Lloyd (Lori Chalupny) 80.
USA 3. – Megan Rapinoe (Lauren Cheney) 89.
USA 4. – Lauren Cheney (unassisted) 91+
Lineups:
USA: 1-Nicole Barnhart; 4-Kendall Fletcher (21-Rachel Buehler, 46, 3-Mary Castelanelli, 50), 15-Jessica Maxwell (8-Sarah Huffman, 60), 19-Jill Oakes, 11-Stephanie Lopez; 22-Jen Buczkowski, 10-Carli Lloyd, 5-Lindsay Tarpley (13-Megan Rapinoe, 80), 6-Lori Chalupny; 9-Heather O’Reilly, 12-Amy Rodriguez (7-Lauren Cheney, 46). Subs not used: 1-Erika Bohn, 2-Manya Makoski.
DEN: 16-Susan Graversen; 4-Pil Pedersen, 6-Helle Nielsen, 7-Louise Pedersen, 3-Karen Haastrup; 14-Stine Jorgensen (15-Kristine Pedersen, 73), 2-Camilla Andersen, 5-Ditte Larsen, 10-Nanna Johansen; 17-Louise Kristensen (11-Eva Vester, 66), 9-Tanja Christensen.
Shots: USA 40, DEN 1
Shots on goal: USA 18, DEN 0
Saves: USA 14, DEN 0
Corner Kicks: USA 7, DEN 0
Fouls: USA 8, DEN 19
Offside: USA 3, DEN 1
Misconduct Summary: DEN – Tanja Christensen (caution) 91+.
Officials – Referee Eva Odlund (Sweden), Referee Asst. Alicia Westman (Sweden), Referee Asst. Helen Hakansson (Sweden)
Group A (W-L-T … Pts … GF-GA, Goal Diff.)
England (1-1-0 … 3 … 2-1, +1)
Sweden (1-1-0 … 3 … 4-4, 0)
Finland (1-1-0 … 3 … 3-3, 0)
Norway (1-1-0 … 3 … 2-3, -1)
Group B (W-L-T … Pts … GF-GA, Goal Diff.)
Germany (2-0-0) … 6 … 10-1, +9)
USA (2-0-0 … 6 … 8-0, +8)
Iceland (0-2-0 … 0 … 1-8, -7)
Denmark (0-2-0 … 0 … 0-10, -10)
Nordic Cup Results
Wednesday, July 20 – England 2, Finland 0; Sweden 3, Norway 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 vs. Finland; Sweden vs. England; Iceland vs. Denmark; German vs. USA
Placement Matches on Tuesday, July 26