July 22, 2006
STAVENGER, Norway – Germany scored in the 32nd minute and added the clincher in the closing minutes of the game for a 2-0 victory over the United States Under-21 National Team in Saturday’s championshiup game at the annual Nordic Cup, the world’s most prestigious women’s soccer tournament on the youth level. It marked the first time since 1998 that the Americans had not emerged with the Nordic Cup championship trophy and added another chapter to the growing rivalry between the world’s top two women’s soccer nations.
Notre Dame rising junior forward Amanda Cinalli played the final 25 minutes in Sunday’s action at Viking Stadium, after entering te game for former Penn State standout Tiffany Weimer. Germany finished with a 13-9 shot edge (5-2 in shots on goal) while the USA held a slim 5-4 margin in corner kicks.
Cinalli appeared in all four of the USA’s games at the Nordic Cup, totaling 121 minutes of game time while being on the field for five of the team’s eight goals – including her role in setting up the penalty kick that yielded a key score (for goal-differential purposes) in the 4-0 win over Norway. The United States – which earlier had defeated Denmark (3-0) and tied Iceland (1-1) – entered the title game after dominating the run of play in its three Group-B games (52-19 combined shot edge, 19-12 in shots on goal, 23-4 in corners).
The American’s final stats from the Nordic Cup include an 8-3 scoring margin, a 61-28 shot edge (but just 21-17 in shots on goal) and a 28-8 advantage in CKs.
Amanda Cinalli is one of five current Notre Dame women’s soccer players who recently have played for USA youth national teams on the under-21 or U-20 level (also Jen Buczkowski and Kerri Hanks with the U-21s and Brittany Bock and Carrie Dew on the U-20s).
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Both teams attacked with purpose throughout the game but Germany cashed in on U.S. miscues to score both goals. The first came in the 32nd minute when defender Rachel Buehler slipped while trying to clear a ball from the six-yard box, with Lydia Neumann taking advantage for the finish and the 1-0 lead. The final goal sequence saw Lauren Wilmoth miss-clear a ball that set up a score by Simone Laudeher.
Germany claimed its second Nordic Cup title while avenging two previous losses to the USA in the championship game (in 2000 and ’02).
In the other placement matches, Sweden beat Iceland for third place (1-0), Norway topped England in the fifth-place game (3-2) and Finland finished seventh after a 1-0 win over Denmark.
U.S. HEAD COACH JILLIAN ELLIS – “Overall on the day, [Germany] deserved to win. We had good possession and pressured them a lot in the second half, but we couldn’t finish. We were pushing for a tying goal and it was unlucky to give up that last one. They were a good, very strong, physical steam and kept possession very well. The best thing for our team was watching the maturing of these players, as these games have been great for their development. A lot of these players haven’t seen this caliber of teams. We’re disappointed for sure because we battled so hard [in the previous game] against Norway to get that result, so to get here and not have it go our way is disappointing, but I am very proud of their effort.”
2006 Nordic Cup Championship Game – USA vs. Germany (July 22; Viking Stadium/Stavenger, Norway)
USA 0-0 – 0
Germany 1-1 – 2
GER 1. Lydia Neumann (-) 32nd minute; GER 2. Simone Laudeher (-) 86th.
Shots: USA 9, GER 13
Corner Kicks: USA 5, GER 4
Saves: USA (Val Henderson) 3, GER (Ursala Holl) 2
Fouls: USA 4, GER 10
Offside: USA 1, GER 0
Misconduct Summary: None.
Lineups:
USA: 18-Val Henderson; 13-Lauren Wilmoth, 12-Rachel Buehler, 4-Kendall Fletcher – Capt., 5-Brittany Taylor; 10-Sarah Huffman (2-Sheree Gray, 46), 19-Noelle Keselica, 22-Angie Woznuk; 9-Danesha Adams (13-Katie Griffin, 89), 21-India Trotter (6-Bristyn Davis, 77), 16-Tiffany Weimer (15-Amanda Cinalli, 65).
Germany: 1-Ursula Holl, 3-Anne Vanbonn (13-Corinna Schroder, 68), 4-Jennifer Zeitz, 5-Annike Krahn, 6-Simone Laudeher (7-Jennifer Oster, 89), 8-Saskia Bartusiak, 10-Melanie Behringer, 11-Isabel Bachor (18-Katrin Schmidt, 89), 14-Janina Haye, 15-Lena Gosling, 17-Lydia Neumann (9-Shelly Thompson, 80.
Officials – referee Wendy Thoms (England), referee asst. Marianne Braathen (Norway) and referee asst. Monica Lokkeberg (Norway)
Group A
Germany – 9 pts (3-0-0; +6 goal differential)
England – 4 pts (1-1-1; +1)
Sweden – 4 pts (1-1-1; +1)
Finland – 0 pts (0-3-0; -8)
Group B
USA – 7 pts (2-0-1; +7)
Iceland – 7 pts (2-0-1; +6)
Norway – 3 pts (1-2-0; -1)
Denmark – 0 pts (0-3-0; -12)
Sunday, July 16 – USA 3, Denmark 0 … Iceland 3, Norway 2 … Germany 2, Sweden 0 … England 3, Finland 1
Tuesday, July 18 – USA 1, Iceland 1 … Norway 4, Denmark 0 … England 1, Sweden 1 … Germany 3, Finland 0
Thursday, July 20 – Iceland 6, Denmark 1 … USA 4, Norway 0 … Sweden 3, Finland 0 … Germany 3, England 2
Saturday, July 22 – 7th-Place Match (Finland 1, Denmark 0) … 5th-Place Match (Norway 3, Engand 2) … 3rd-Place Match (Sweden 1, Iceland 0) … Championship Game (Germany 2, USA 0)