Scoring Touch Returns in a Hurry

There’s nothing like a feel-good game to open the final tour before the Olympics.

Tiffeny Milbrett had two goals and an assist, and Cindy Parlow also scored twice as the U.S. women’s soccer team defeated Russia, 7-1, Sunday in front of 21,278 at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, in the first game of a three-game tour before of the Sydney Games.

“It’s the perfect tune-up match for an Olympics,” U.S. Coach April Heinrichs said. “You don’t want to play a China or a Norway this close to the games because it’s too physical. You get to work on the attacking side of the game, you get to work on little intricacies of the team, and you get to play everybody.”

Everybody means all 18 players chosen to the Olympic team, including three veterans who have spent most of the year on the sideline.

Michelle Akers, who had shoulder surgery in April, scored her first goal since July 4, 1999. Captain Carla Overbeck played for the first time since April knee surgery, receiving a standing ovation when she entered the game with 27 minutes to play. Even goalkeeper Briana Scurry, relegated to a backup role because of a shin injury, played the final nine minutes.

“It’s going to be painful, unfortunately, for the next six months,” Overbeck said. “But once you get out there, you forget about it.”

Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm also scored as the U.S. ended a streak of five consecutive games--all during a wearying trip to Europe--in which it had scored only one goal a match.

“We’ve been a bit frustrated,” said Parlow, who leads the Americans with 17 goals this year, “because we haven’t been able to score the way we wanted to.”

Granted, the competition Sunday wasn’t on the level of the European trip, which included games against Olympic medal favorites China and Norway. The Russians didn’t qualify for the Olympics, and their tired play was indicative of a team that had arrived after a transatlantic journey only three days earlier.

“The reality of soccer and . . . the Olympic competition we’re going to have, one goal per game is going to be a possibility,” Heinrichs said. “We’ve showed that we can win under that sort of pressure.”

The teams will meet again Tuesday at College Park, Md., in a scrimmage closed to the public. The tour continues with a game against Canada at Kansas City, Mo., Sunday and ends with a match against Brazil at San Jose, Sept. 1.

The Americans, 21-4-5 this year, will open Olympic play Sept. 14 against Norway at Melbourne, Australia.