With Juggled Lineup, U.S. Women Drop Ball

Two losses in a row.

That’s the grim statistic staring the new-look U.S. women’s national soccer team in the face this morning. It’s not a pretty sight.

For the first time in seven years, the U.S. women, the reigning world and Olympic champions, suffered back-to-back losses.

On Wednesday afternoon, Norway repeated what it had done Sunday at Fort Lauderdale, outplaying the U.S. team on both ends of the field while recording a 2-1 victory in a closed-door match at Florida Atlantic University.

That, combined with Sunday’s 3-2 U.S. loss to Norway, means the U.S. squad has been beaten in successive games for the first time since March 1993.

The wind that raked the playing field made conditions difficult, but the Norwegians seemed to cope without problem. Two superb goals, one by Marianne Pettersen in the 16th minute when she beat goalkeeper Briana Scurry with a near-post shot and the other by Hege Riise, who volleyed in a shot in the 51st minute, were all it took.

The U.S., with Coach April Heinrichs again using an experimental lineup filled with inexperienced players, was no match for the team that finished fourth in last summer’s Women’s World Cup.

“It was hard,” U.S. captain Carla Overbeck said. “Playing soccer in the wind is not a lot of fun. We knew that if we got it in the air, the ball would hang up there. We did the best we can. There were a lot of new faces.”

In the two Norway games, Heinrichs used a total of 32 players, working to establish which of the next generation of U.S. players are up to international standard.

There has been sentiment expressed that the new coach is moving a little too fast in changing the team--fixing something that isn’t broken, some claim--but Heinrichs disputed that, saying an overhaul is needed if the United States is to compete for Olympic gold this year.

“The slower you do it, the longer you’re prolonging decisions,” she said Wednesday. “We experimented very quickly and we will continue to do that. It’ll give us the chance to make decisions and be decisive, because I think there’s value in that.

“The fact that we have a goal in mind and a tournament that we’re pursuing and a gold medal, that gives us all urgency, and urgency is a quality we’d really like to have.”

The U.S. starting lineup featured only six World Cup ’99 starters and included one player--20-year-old midfielder Jena Kluegel of Minnesota--who was making her international debut. Kluegel might have had the best game of the Americans. She provided the pass that allowed Christie Welsh to score the opening goal in the 13th minute, and she cleared the ball off the goal line with a heads-up defensive play.

“I thought she did marvelously,” Heinrichs said. “She’s very confident with the ball at her feet.”