What a Kick for U.S. Women

Poor Aly Wagner. The Santa Clara University freshman picked the wrong game to score her first international goal.

In a game in which the U.S. women’s soccer team couldn’t put a foot wrong in a 9-0 thrashing of Japan on Thursday night, Wagner’s goal was almost lost amid the barrage of scoring.

Almost but not quite.

“She’s a rookie and when she gets that first goal, that’s special,” said veteran Tiffeny Milbrett, who scored four goals of her own and assisted on two others.

On a wet and unseasonably cold night at Ericsson Stadium, the American team overwhelmed the Japanese in front of 10,119 chilled fans.

The Japanese, whose World Cup opponents in the June 19-July 10 tournament are world champion Norway, Canada and Russia, did not get a single shot on goal or a single corner kick.

“The Japanese team is not that bad,” U.S. Coach Tony DiCicco said. “Our team played with incredible incentive today. I think they [the players] were disappointed with the result Sunday [a 2-1 loss to China at Giants Stadium] and unfortunately Japan was the next game.

“There was tremendous commitment on both ends of the field to win balls, to tackle hard, to make runs, to get into the penalty area and to finish shots. There were some good executions.”

Japan certainly felt cut down to size, with Mia Hamm being the executioner. Although she did not score--hitting the post and the crossbar with shots--Hamm did assist on three goals.

In addition to Milbrett and Wagner, the U.S. got goals from Michelle Akers (her 102nd in a 14-year career), Kristine Lilly, Cindy Parlow and Tisha Venturini.

Milbrett, the former University of Portland standout who scored the gold medal-winning goal in the 1996 Olympic final, admitted that she had enjoyed herself.

“It was kinda fun,” she said. “In the first half, to be quite honest, I didn’t play very well. I was a little lethargic. In the second half I got a little more energy. Sometimes it just takes a little longer to warm up.”

DiCicco had another explanation.

“Tiff has been hammering me that she wants to play 90 minutes more often,” he said. “When Tiff is hot, when she feels it, she’s like a basketball player who just feels that anything she shoots is going to go in. She’s a streak player, and today she scored some goals and almost got a couple of others.”

DiCicco substituted freely in the second half, bringing in younger players, including Wagner, an 18-year-old from San Jose who is one of a handful of next-generation players trying to crack the U.S. lineup in time for the World Cup.

“It [Wagner’s goal] was a very nice goal . . . and she’s in the hunt [for a spot on the roster], along with Sarah Whalen and Danielle Fotopoulos and Lorrie Fair,” DiCicco said. “A bunch of them are in the hunt.”

It was the biggest margin of victory for the U.S. since a 9-0 demolition of Mexico in September, but DiCicco made no apologies for the lopsided result.

“It was setting our own standard and playing to that standard for 90 minutes,” he said.

Japan has a chance to make amends on Sunday, when the teams play again in Atlanta.