Aug. 26, 2006
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Notre Dame sophomores Brittany Bock and Carrie Dew helped the United States?Under-20 National Team go undefeated (3-0) in winning Group D at the 2006?Under-20 World Championship, during games during the past week in Russia. The USA won the group with Thursday’s 1-0 victory over France at Dynamo Stadium, following wins earlier in the week over Congo (2-1) and Argentina (4-1). Next up for the Americans is a quarterfinal showdown with Germany, on Sunday, Aug. 27, at Petrovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg (7:00 p.m. local time/11:00 a.m. EDT; follow live on the matchtracker at ussoccer.com).?
Dew was forced to sit out the opener versus Congo (due to receiving two yellow cards in the final game of CONCACAF qualifying) but she played all 90 minutes in the games with Argentina and France while establishing herself as one of the top defenders in the entire tournament. Bock also was held out of the Congo game (due to a lingering ankle injury) before playing the entire first half of the Argentina game and the first 58 minutes versus France, serving primarily as an attacking midfielder.?
Carrie Dew (left) and Brittany Bock pose outside the ballet in Moscow.
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Notre Dame joins three other schools (UCLA, Virginia and Santa Clara) with?multiple veterans on the 21-player Under-20 roster, which includes a handful of incoming collegiate freshmen. Bock and Dew are missing this weekend’s season-opening games with the Irish and likely will miss?the following weekend’s big games versus USC and Santa Clara, during the Inn at Saint Mary’s Classic. They could rejoin their Notre Dame teammates in time for the USC and SCU games, if the USA were to lose to Germany (Santa Clara also has two players on the USA U-20 squad while USC has one player on the elite youth team).
If the USA defeats Germany, that will set up a semifinal game back in Moscow on Aug. 31, versus China (which beat Russia, 4-0, in one of Saturday’s quarterfinals). The championship game and third-place match (both on Sept. 3) also will be played at Moscow’s Lokomotiv Stadium – with Saturday’s quarterfinals also seeing Brazil beat Nigeria (2-1), with Brazil now set to play the North Korea-France winner.
It’s been an event and noteworthy 2006 calendar for Bock and Dew, whose extensive training with the U.S. U-20 Team has included (see diary #1, linked below) numerous training camps at the Home Depot Center in southern California, plus an east-coast training camp that featured an appearance on “Good Morning America” (plus several other NYC-area excursions) and trips to Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Finland and now Russia.
Another edition of the “Dew-Bock Diaries” follows below, as Brittany checks in prior to the showdown with Germany. Dew then will provide the next diary entry, followed by a final overview of the U-20 experience from both players.
Here are links to other offerings from the U-20 World Championship (the most recent diary entry follows below, as do short recaps of the Group D games):
Dew-Bock Diary #1 (Aug. 19)
http://und.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/082006aai.html
Brittany Bock – US Soccer Podcast?(Aug. 14)
http://centercircle.ussoccer.com/fullStory.jsp_50-281263.html
All-access videos
http://www.ussoccer.com/sights/video/index.jsp.html
Germany game preview (Aug. 26)
http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_281306.html
Blog (Aug. 25)
http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_281254.html
France game recap (Aug. 24)
http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_281298.html
France game preview (Aug. 23)
http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_281296.html
Argentina game recap (Aug. 21)
http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_281282.html
Argentina game preview (Aug. 20)
http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_281279.html
Congo game recap (Aug. 18)
http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_281277.html
Congo game preview (Aug. 17)
http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_281273.html
Team arrival in Russia (Aug. 14)
http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_281256.html
DEW-BOCK DIARY #2 (Aug. 26; Brittany Bock) – “For the first game here in Russia, Carrie could not play because she had two yellow cars in our final CONCACAF qualifying game (way back in January), so she had to sit in the stands and that was tough for me. Our coach told me before the game that I was not going to play in the first game versus Congo because he wanted my ankle to rest a few more days before I played – and looking back at it, that was good, because the more time we give my ankle, the better.
Notre Dame’s Carrie Dew (right) and Portland’s Stephanie Lopez (left) have been two of the top defenders for the U.S. U-20 squad.
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“I wasn’t really that upset because I knew that more rest would be the?best option for me. We beat Congo 2-1 but had many more chances. But in the?end, a win is a win and it got us three points. It was probably good that I didn’t play in that game because the Congo team would go really hard into the tackles and sometimes come in late. Knowing me, I probably would have gone into some hard tackle and hurt myself.
“We had two days in between the two games. For the second game versus Argentina, Carrie was back on the field and I was told that I would play one half and that was it. Our coach doesn’t want me to try and come back playing the full 90 minutes – he wants me to ease myself back into the flow of the game. Carrie played the whole game and had a solid game.
“For the first half that I played, I kept it simple, not trying to do?everything at once. I did get a head on a corner kick at the end of the half that went just wide of the post. That was probably my best chance on goal for the game. We ended up winning 4-1. We didn’t have our best game, but again it was good enough to get a win. We were a little upset with our performance because we know that we can play so much better. But we then had six points for the bracket and knew that we had advanced to the quarterfinals.
Brittany Bock (#10, lower left) and Carrie Dew (#15, upper right) were in the starting 11 for the key win over France.
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“For our third group game, we played France. Both teams had two wins and were advancing to the quarterfinals, but we wanted to make sure that we would come out of our group on top. Carrie and I both started again. Our coach told me before the game that he was going to give me 15 more minutes, pushing me a little more each game. I had a shot that went over and a free kick about 22 yards out. The free kick was a solid shot, but nothing spectacular and the ‘keeper got it. Allie Long subbed in for me around the 60th minute. I wasn’t thrilled with my performance but I can tell my game is coming back to me.
“Carrie finished out the whole game versus France with another good performance. Jessica Rostedt came in off the bench and got our lone goal off a great individual effort. We beat France 1-0, which means we are now facing Germany in the quarterfinals and France will play North Korea on Sunday.
“I was really excited about the win over France because our team is?starting to play better soccer. My parents came in on the 23rd but I didn’t see them until lunchtime on the 24th. It was their first time overseas and about everything that could have gone wrong, did. There were problems with passengers on their flight out to Frankfurt, then they missed their connecting flight to Moscow because of the delays. They had troubles at customs and many more incidents. But they made it to me safely, so I’m happy.
“It’s nice to have my parents here to watch me at such an exciting event. This is really the first big national team setting I’ve been in that they got to watch. They did come out to California when we played the full Women’s National Team but this is the first `real’ big game. The small group of our parents all had national team shirts on with their kids?names on the back and all the moms had American flags.?
Brittany Bock (right) shares a lighter moment with U.S. U-20 teammte Jordan Angeli, who plays for one of Notre Dame’s top rivals (Santa Clara).
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“The journey so far has been really fun. We’ve visited Red Square, went on a?boat tour of Moscow, went into an art gallery, went to a ballet (The?Nutcracker) and just went sightseeing around. The weather has been really?nice, usually 75 degrees with a cool breeze.
“The night of our France game, we took a seven-hour (which turned into an 11-hour) train ride. There were rooms with four small beds in them, so that’s where we slept – that was a very interesting trip I must say. I’m glad we took the train though instead of the charter plane because it was much more interesting.
“It’s a bit cooler here in St. Petersburg and it was raining the day we came in. I’d have to say I like the weather better here for soccer because I don’t get too hot. I also love playing in the rain, so that’s a plus.
“Our first day here, we had training in the morning and plan to go on a bus tour and later go to some huge art gallery (I forget the name but it’s one of the biggest and most famous in the world). Hopefully, I can find my parents to visit with them since they are in a different hotel.
The U.S. players prepare for a boat ride in the Moscow area.
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“Well – best of luck to our teammates at Notre Dame. Wish us luck and we will see you soon.
– Brittany
USA-GERMANY PREVIEW (Aug. 26) – The two previous winners of the U-19 Women’s World Championship will meet Aug. 27, in the final of four intriguing quarterfinals … the USA and Germany are arguably the two finest women’s soccer nations in the world, as Germany has climbed on several levels in the past few years (Germany’s U-21 team just beat the U.S. U-21s, featuring ND’s Amanda Cinalli, in the 2006 Nordic Cup title game, 2-0, and Germany also beat the USA in the 2003 Women’s World Cup semifinals) … Petrovsky Stadium is one of the oldest sports facilities in Russia, first opening in 1915, “modernized” in 1980, ’94 and finally again in 2006 … the stadium’s location is very unique – on an island in the heart of St. Petersburg (it seats 22,000 fans) … Germany dropped its opener (2-0 vs. North Korea) before a 9-1 win over Mexico and 6-0 victory over Switzerland … Anna Blasse (4 goals) and Fatmire Bajramaj (3) lead seven German goalscorers in the tournament while Jess Rostedt (2) is the only U.S. player with multiple goals … the USA squad is close to 100% healthy while German defenders Caroline Schiewe and Monique Kerschowski will sit out after accumulating their second yellow cards of group play in the Switzerland game … the team is coached by former German star Maren Meinart (who played in the WUSA with the Boston Breakers) … the USA beat Germany in the 1999 World Cup quarterfinals (3-2) and in the 2004 Olympic semifinal (2-1) … the teams met in the two Under-19 World Championships, with the USA winning 4-1 in the 2002 semifinals while Germany won, 3-1, in the 2004 semifinals (ND’s Kerri Hanks was a member of both of those U.S. U-19 squads) … USA coach Tim Schulz pre-game quotes: “(Fatmire Bajramaj) has some very dangerous qualities and (Celia Okoyino Da Mbabi) is an attacking mid in a 4-3-3, and she is in and out of the senior team. She has a soccer intelligence about her. To nullify these two, I am not going to go out of my way other than to make our back line very aware of seven and let our defensive midfield know that one needs to stay home while the other pushes forward. As far as attack, we need to get behind them. The ball possession needs to get cleaner while we are going forward. We have a very deep group of players and their attitudes have been great. Their willingness not to be satisfied with their play makes this a special group. We played so many players purely just to get all the players’ nerves out, keep the team unity going. This is something we have done in the past six months so they were comfortable with that. Looking at players who haven’t been in this environment before is something I was watching very closely. Yes, there have been some surprises, there are some introverts and some of our younger players have stepped up and invited this `pressure’ and have thrived.” … ?
Brittany Bock was held out of the opener vs. Congo, due to a lingering ankle injury, before being eased back into action as a starter vs. Argentina and France.
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USA DEFEATS FRANCE, 1-0 (Aug. 24) – Rostedt scored the gamewinner in the 61st minute, as the USA joined China and North Korea as the teams that went unbeaten in group play … the goal came after a quick throw-in from the left flank … UCLA midfielder Tina DiMartino found Rostedt and the Virginia forward spun to the goal, took a few touches across the top of the penalty area and then ripped a dipping shot from 20 yards under goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi and into the lower left corner … the USA out shot France 17-14, but the young Americans put just four shots on goal while France had nine … UCLA’s Val Henderson saved all nine shots she faced while catching some tough balls in traffic … USC forward Amy Rodriguez had two strong chances in the first half, the first on a run up the middle off a counterattack as UNC’s Lauren Cheney found her with a pass (her leftfooted shot went just wide right of the goal from 17 yards), followed by a 19-yard shot that went wide right 9after a pass from DiMartino) … almost all of France’s attack came from the speed of forward Elodie Thomis, who got behind the U.S. defense in the 17th minute before UVa defender Nikki Krzysik got a toe to the ball, and forced Thomis to strike her shot wide left … in the 30th minute, UNC defender Tobin Heath got free in the right side and cut a cross that was overrun by charging Cheney … the French countered on that missed chance and Thomis got free behind Krzysik again, but Henderson made a brilliant reaction save of the shot from 17 yards (flipping up her right arm to deflect the ball) … in stoppage time of the first half, Heath went on an impressive dribbling run, eluding three players as Emilie Hullier took her down at the top of the penalty area and was cautioned (Brittany Bock put a good strike on the free kick but sent it right at the `keeper) … Henderson’s punt in the 54th minute sprung Rostedt but her looping dropped just over the crossbar … Dew played centrally in the defensive with Krzysik, with Heath and Portland’s Stephanie Lopez at the outside back spots.
Group D – Game 3 (Aug. 24, 2006; Dynamo Stadium; Moscow, Russia)
United States 0 1 – 1
France 0 0 – 0
USA 1. Jessica Rostedt (Tina DiMartino) 61st minute.
Shots: USA 17, France 13
Corner Kicks: USA 7, France 7
Saves: USA 9 (Val Henderson), France 3 (Sarah Bouhaddi)
Fouls: USA 15, France 18
Offside: USA 2, France 1
Yellow Cards: Tobin Heath (USA) 16th; Caroline Pizzala (France) 27; Emilie Hullier (France) 47+; Amanda Poach (USA) 85
Lineups:
USA – 1-Val Henderson; 11-Tobin Heath, 15-Carrie Dew, 4-Nikki Krzysik, 6-Stephanie Lopez – C; 13-Tina DiMartino, 5-Sarah Wagenfuhr (7-Amanda Poach, 46), 10-Brittany Bock (14-Allie Long, 58); 2-Jordan Angeli, 8-Lauren Cheney, 12-Amy Rodriguez (17-Jessica Rostedt, 46).
FRANCE – 16-Sarah Bouhaddi; 2-Sabrina Delannoy, 3-Laure Boulleau – C (14-Ines Dhaou, 74), 5-Coralie Ducher (13-Elodie Cordier, 42), 11-Melodie Coudray; 15-Emilie Huillier, 6-Caroline Pizzala, 8-Meriame Ben Abdelwahab, 10-Louisa Necib, 20-Amandine Henry (18-Marie-Laure Delie, 63), 9-Elodie Thomis.
Officials: referee: Hong Eun Ah (Korea), assistant referees Liu Hisu Mei (Taiwan) and Sarah Ho (Austria), fourth official Tammy Ogston (Austria)
Carrie Dew and her U.S. teammates donated soccer clothes and gear to youngsters during their time in Moscow.
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USA DEFEATS ARGENTINA, 4-1 (Aug. 21) – The USA clinched their quarterfinal berth after outshooting Argentina 14-7 … UCLA forward Danesha Adams set up Rostedt for the first goal after 13 minutes before scoring in the 38th minute … Penn State midfielder Allie Long added a header in the 62nd minute and UNC forward Casey Nogueira closed the scoring on a nice finish … the USA starting-11 included seven different players from the opener vs. Congo … the USA scored in the 13th minute after Adams sidestepped a defender, made a hard run at the defense and sent a pass to Rostedt, who took the ball in stride at the right side of the penalty area and slammed her shot over sliding Argentine goalkeeper Elisabeth Minnig from 13 yards out … Adams scored seven minutes before halftime, after Santa Clara midfielder Amanda Poach escaped midfield pressure and chipped a pass over the restraining line … Adams streaked in and lifted the bouncing ball over Ruth Leiva and the charging Minnig, and then met the falling ball, side-footing her six-yard volley into the open net from a sharp angle … Long later rose above the pack to head home a free kick from Florida State defender Sarah Wagenfuhr, bouncing the ball low into the right corner from 10 yards out … Argentina had cut the lead in half in the 53rd minute off a mistake from UCLA goalkeeper Kelsey Davis, who flew through the air to grab a dipping cross from the right flank, but then dropped the ball as she hit the ground and it rolled directly to Mercedes Pereyra, who sent home the goal from seven yards … in stoppage time, Nogueira ran onto a long ball over the back line from UCLA defender Erin Hardy, dribbling around the ‘keeper and slotting the ball into an open net from eight yards out .. quotes from USA coach Tim Schulz: “The first goal from Jess Rostedt was world-class, a great building out of the back with a flick and a dummy and then she beat the defender and the goalkeeper. (Danesha Adams’) goal was a classic. I am pleased with the goals, which we didn’t get the first game.. The improvement that Argentina has made is phenomenal … Rostedt on her goal: “As Bock played the ball to Danesha, I dummied it and spun out to my left. I continued my run and I could see `D’ looking at me out of the corner of her eye and it was wide open. I saw the goalkeeper come sliding out, so I knew I had to shoot and managed to get it over her. It was a great feeling to get us started with the first goal.”
Group D – Game 3 (Aug. 21, 2006; Torpedo Stadium; Moscow, Russia)
United States 2 2 – 4
Argentina 0 1 – 1
USA 1. Jessica Rostedt (Danesha Adams) 13th minute; USA 2. Adams (Amanda Poach) 38; ARG 1. Mercedes Pereyra (-) 53; USA 2. Allie Long (Sarah Wagenfuhr) 62; USA 4. Casey Nogueira (Erin Hardy) 91+
Shots: USA 14, Argentina 7
Corner Kicks: USA 3, Argentina 3
Saves: USA 2 (Kelsey Davis), Argentina 4 (Elisabeth Minnig)
Fouls: USA 20, Argentina 15
Offside: USA 1, Argentina 4
Yellow Cards: Nikki Krzysik (USA) 6th minute; Florencia Mandrille (ARG) 11; USA – Kelley O’Hara (USA) 51.; USA – Allie Long (USA) 51; USA – Sarah Wagenfuhr (USA) 65; USA – Kelley O’Hara (USA) 73.
Lineups:
USA: 18-Kelsey Davis; 3-Stephanie Logterman, 15-Carrie Dew, 4-Nikki Krzysik, 16-Erin Hardy; 5-Sarah Wagenfuhr, 7-Amanda Poach (14-Allie Long, 46), 10-Brittany Bock (19-Kelly O’Hara, 46, Sent Off, 73); 17-Jessica Rostedt, 2-Jordan Angeli (20-Casey Nogueira, 76), 9-Danesha Adams.
ARG: 1-Elisabeth Minnig; 2-Eva Gonzalez, 4-Ruth Leiva (3-Catalina Perez, 46), 6-Marisa Farina, 16-Gabriela Chavez; 5-Florencia Quinones, 8-Florencia Mandrile, 11-Mercedes Pereyra; 7-Ludmila Manicler, 9-Maria Potassa (20-Amancay Urban, 76), 10-Analia Hirmbruchner (19-Maria Blanco, 67).
Officials: referee: Fatou Gaye (Senegal), assistant referees Souad Oulhaj (MAR) and Tempa Ndah (BEN), fourth 4th official Bentla D Coth (India)
Carrie Dew (right) and Amy Rodriguez (left) will have opposing, strong rooting interests in next week’s ND-USC soccer game and each may play in that game, if the U.S. loses to Germany.
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USA DEFEATS CONGO, 2-1 (Aug. 18) – The USA had a tough opening game versus the physical and highly motivated Democratic Republic of Congo … both U.S. forwards scored as UNC’s Kelley O’Hara sent home a drive from distance in the 41st minute while Rodriguez converted a penalty kick 20 minutes into the second half … the young U.S. team wasted a slew of chances during the match, smacking four shots off the crossbar and failing to convert at least three breakaways …the USA outshot Congo, 22-9 … Congo’s only danger early on came from two misplays off the feet of Louisville goalkeeper Joanna Haig and an opportunistic 40-yard shot from Odile Kuyangisa that forced Haig to scramble back into her net as it flew over the crossbar … Rodriguez volleyed one over the goal from 10 yards out after a poor Congo clearance before she was miraculously denied in the 18th minute, taking a touch pass from Heath after a scramble and slamming a seven-yard shot that hit goalkeeper Mamie Buazo in the leg and then was pinned on the goal line by a sliding defender before Buazo jumped on it … the USA finally broke through in the 33rd minute … O’Hara took a pass from Long and whirled to goal before smacking a dipping drive from 28 yards out that flew into the lower left corner (she also had a 1-on-1 chance at the end of the half) … early in the second half, Poach fired a dipping volley off the top of the crossbar, Long fired a shot over the goal a minute later and, nine minutes after that, O’Hara rocked the posts with a drive from 23 yards out … the pressure paid off in the 65th minute as the Americans earned a throw-in deep in the Congo half on the left side … the throw was taken quickly by DiMartino, who plowed into the left side of the penalty area and sent a cross into the middle … Long won the bouncing ball but was knocked over as Nanouche Lumbu ran up her back … Rodriguez then drilled the PK straight up the middle as Buazo moved to her right away from the ball … seconds after the Congo kickoff, Rodriguez had her breakaway saved by Buazo … one minute later, Poach had a breakaway but hit it wide left … Nogueira then had two strong chances, the first straight at Buazo and second off the crossbar from just inside the penalty area … Congo cut the score to 2-1 in the 70th minute, after a mistake in the back by Texas defender Stephanie Logterman … Logterman passed the ball straight to an African midfielder, who quickly played Tresorine Nzuzi behind the defense … Lopez and Hardy almost recovered to deny the shot, but Nzuzi dribbled free and bent a ball past Haig into the lower left corner from 17 yards out (Nzuzi celebrated the goal with a cartwheel flip) … Haig came up with a key save in the 76th minute, pushing a 25-yard Congo free-kick from Kuyangisa over the crossbar to preserve the victory … earlier, after Nogueira hit the crossbar in the 74th minute, DiMartino shot an open volley wide left from 10 yards out, and O’Hara sent a dipping volley over the crossbar in the 82nd … it was the first meeting between a U.S. Women’s National Team and the Congo at any level … Torpedo Stadium was built in 1959 and is home to the professional club FC Moscow … coach Tim Schulz: “I thought it was very difficult to play soccer against the Congo, if there was a 50/50 ball or even a 60/40 ball, Congo won it and they were very strong, very powerful with their tackles and I think it upset us a little bit. This team likes to pass the ball around and Congo was always disrupting our play, so very good tactics from Congo. A lot of our young players are going to have to learn how to play quicker. We got in behind, but we have to finish our chances. We didn’t finish five or six or seven good chances. And I think we need to relax on the ball. We were expecting a physical and combative match from Congo. The key was to keep players behind the ball at all times, perfectly positioned and with players ready to cover.”
Group D – Game 1 (Aug. 18, 2006; Torpedo Stadium; Moscow, Russia)
United States 1 1 – 2
Congo 0 1 – 1
USA 1. Kelley O’Hara (Allie Long) 33rd minute; USA 2. Amy Rodriguez (PK) 65; Congo 1. Tresorine Nzuzi 70.
Shots: USA 22, Congo 9
Corner Kicks: USA 5, Congo 3
Saves: USA 2, Congo 6
Fouls: USA 18, Congo 12
Offside: USA 6, Congo 5
Yellow Cards (all Congo): Tresorine Nzuzi 41st minute; Nanouche Lumbu 64; Odile Kuyangisa 77; Olga Wadio 89.
Lineups:
USA: 21-Joanna Haig; 3-Stephanie Logterman, 4-Nikki Krzysik (16-Erin Hardy, 46), 6-Stephanie Lopez, 11-Tobin Heath; 13-Tina DiMartino, 7-Amanda Poach, 14-Allie Long (5-Sara Wagenfuhr, 84), 2-Jordan Angeli (20-Casey Nogueira, 46); 19-Kelley O’Hara, 12-Amy Rodriguez.
CONGO: 1-Mamie Buazo; 2-Pitshou Tezi, 5-Guyssie Kiuvu, 6-Nanu Mafuala, 7-Oliva Amani (8-Olga Wadio, 86), 14-Odile Kuyangisa; 11-Nanouche Lumbu, 15-Christine Bongo, 4-Tresorine Nzuzi, 9-Annette Nshimire, 12-Mify Zenga (17-Yvonne Malembo, 51).
Officials: referee: Claudine Brohet (Belgium), assistant referees Maria Luisa Villa Gutierrez (Spain) and Katarzyna Nadolska (Poland), fourth official Shereen Arafa (Egypt)