U.S. Left Germany Aching in ’91
Tonight’s game is not the first time the United States has played Germany in a women’s world championship; the teams met in the semifinals of the inaugural tournament in 1991.
That year, the U.S. was coming off a 7-0 rout of Chinese Taipei in a quarterfinal game in which Michelle Akers scored a world championship-record five goals.
Her devastating performance caused the Germans to make a tactical error in the next match, according to then-U.S. coach Anson Dorrance. They keyed their defense to stop Akers.
And Carin Jennings, the ponytailed winger from Palos Verdes, tore the Germans to shreds in a convincing 5-2 U.S. victory that represented the team’s best and most attractive offensive performance of the championship.
Jennings, now Carin Jennings Gabarra, the coach of Navy, scored the first three goals, her dribbling and finishing skills clinching the tournament’s most-valuable-player award in the process. Team captain April Heinrichs scored the last two goals. Germany never stood a chance.
U.S. assistant coach Lauren Gregg still regards Jennings’ play that night as the best performance by an American player.
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United States vs. Germany
Though the United States has a winning record (8-3-1) against Germany and has outscored the Germans, 32-14, the results have not always gone in the Americans’ favor. A look at the series:
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Date Site Result May 30, 1991 Kaiserslautern, Germany U.S. 4, Germany 2 Nov. 27, 1991 Guangzhou, China U.S. 5, Germany 2 ** March 14, 1993 Agai, Cyprus Germany 1, U.S. 0 April 7, 1993 Oakford, Pa. Germany 2, U.S. 1 April 10, 1993 Atlanta U.S. 3, Germany 0 July 31, 1994 Fairfax, Va. U.S. 2, Germany 1 March 14, 1996 Decatur, Ga. U.S. 6, Germany 0 March 16, 1996 Davidson, N.C. U.S. 2, Germany 0 Oct. 9, 1997 Duisburg, Germany Germany 3, U.S. 1 Oct. 12, 1997 Salzgitter, Germany U.S. 3, Germany 0 June 25, 1998 St. Louis U.S. 1, Germany 1 June 28, 1998 Chicago U.S. 4, Germany 2
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** 1991 Women’s World Championship semifinal
