U.S. Women Pay Penalty in a 1-0 Loss to China

Once again, the margin of victory was a penalty kick. Only this time, China got the better of the United States.

The U.S. women lost, 1-0, Wednesday on Chinese captain Sun Wen’s spot kick with five minutes left in the teams’ first match since the United States won the World Cup final on a penalty shootout last summer.

“China is always good and it always seems to come down to the last minutes with them,” U.S. captain Julie Foudy said.

The game was the opener for both countries at the Pacific Cup, a six-country, round-robin tournament. The United States plays Canada (1-0) in Sydney on Friday.

Wen, the Asian player of the year and World Cup most valuable player, was brought down in the penalty area by Danielle Slaton. Wen then beat goalie Siri Mullinix on the ensuing kick.