Norway Slips Past U.S. Women
The shocks came early and late Sunday at Lockhart Stadium.
The first was delivered by April Heinrichs, who was making her debut as coach of the U.S. women’s national soccer team, which captured the nation’s imagination last summer by winning the Women’s World Cup.
Heinrichs dropped nine of the world champions from her roster for the first of two games against Norway and brought five teenagers into the squad. That raised eyebrows right away.
So did the final result. The Norwegians, who were losing, 2-1, with nine minutes to play, managed to pull off a 3-2 victory in front of a stunned crowd of 12,031.
First, Carla Overbeck accidentally redirected a left-wing cross from Norway’s Anita Rapp into the U.S. net for an own goal in the 81st minute. Then, Norwegian midfielder Dagny Mellgren unleashed a 23-yard shot from the right that flew past goalkeeper Saskia Webber in the final minute.
“Learning [about the younger players] and giving players an opportunity to play was a priority for me, far more than the result or anything to do with kicking my career off with a [victory],” Heinrichs said.
The American starting lineup featured nine World Cup veterans and two 17-year-olds--Aleisha Cramer of Colorado playing defensive midfield in place of Michelle Akers and Nandi Pryce of Florida playing in central defense in place of Overbeck.
A miscue by Pryce in the 20th minute gave Norway its opening goal. Under pressure, Pryce passed the ball back to Webber but did not hit it strongly enough.
Norwegian forward Marianne Pettersen darted in to intercept the pass and Webber was forced to foul her. Hege Riise scored on the resulting penalty kick.
Five minutes later, the U.S. tied the score.
Kate Sobrero passed to Shannon MacMillan on the right wing. MacMillan left defender Brit Sandaune stranded with a nifty backheel and then sent a perfect cross into the Norwegian goal area.
Mia Hamm flung herself at the ball and her sharp header beat goalkeeper Bente Nordby. It was Hamm’s 115th international goal, extending her world record.
In the second half, Heinrichs, who was captain of the U.S. team that won the world championship in 1991 when Hamm, Julie Foudy and Kristine Lilly were teenage starters, went to her bench.
She sent Christy Welsh, 18, on in place of Tiffeny Milbrett and later sent two 19-year-olds, Susan Bush and Aly Wagner, on in place of MacMillan and Cramer, respectively.
Bush had an immediate impact. She danced past Norway’s Anne Tonnesen on the end line before cutting a pass back to Wagner. The ball ricocheted off Wagner’s shin but rolled into Lilly’s path. The veteran made no mistake with her close-range shot in the 71st minute. Her 82nd international goal gave the U.S. the lead.
Six minutes later, Heinrichs took Foudy off and sent in Overbeck, setting the stage for the own goal and Norway’s improbable comeback.
The Norwegians, world champions in 1995, are the only team with a winning record (12-10-1) against the U.S. The teams play each other again Wednesday, when Heinrichs’ rebuilding is likely to continue.
The Norwegians, too, are reshaping their team, which finished fourth in the 1999 World Cup.
“It’s very important for the young players to see that we could beat the United States,” Norway Coach Per Hogmo said. “We have done it before, but for a lot of players today it was the first time. That is good for our self-confidence [looking toward] the Olympics in Sydney.”
