Overbeck Powers Courage
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Carla Overbeck scored on a rebound 1:20 into overtime Saturday as the Carolina Courage advanced to the Women’s United Soccer Assn. title game with a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Beat in front of 5,583 at Cary, N.C.
The Courage (13-5-4) needed a late rally to secure its date in the Founders Cup next Saturday against Washington, a 1-0 winner over Philadelphia in the other semifinal.
Danielle Fotopoulos scored on a penalty kick in the 89th minute to tie the game after Atlanta’s Marci Miller tripped Hege Riise inside the penalty area. Fotopoulos sent the ball past a diving Briana Scurry for her 12th goal of the year.
Early in the overtime, Scurry got a glove on a shot from Birgit Prinz inside the penalty box. Overbeck ran in unmarked and knocked in the loose ball for her first points of the year.
Atlanta finishes 11-10-1.
Washington 1, Philadelphia 0--Monica Gerardo scored in the 80th minute to send the Freedom (12-5-5) to the WUSA title game with a victory over the Charge (11-5-6) in front of 6,547 at Villanova, Pa.
Gerardo, a second-half substitute, was unmarked in the penalty area when she took a pass from Jacqui Little and sent a left-footed shot into the net for her first goal of the playoffs.
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In Major League Soccer games:
Washington 2, San Jose 2--Ronnie Ekelund scored his second goal of the game in the 63rd minute as the Earthquakes (12-7-3) tied D.C. United (6-11-5) in front of 11,177 at San Jose to end a two-game losing streak. Eliseo Quintanilla scored twice for United.
Dallas 3, New York/New Jersey 1--Antonio Martinez had two goals and an assist in the second half as the Burn (10-5-7) defeated the MetroStars (9-11-2) in front of 12,471 at East Rutherford, N.J.
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Kelly Wilson scored two goals and Heather O’Reilly had three assists as the U.S. under-19 women’s national team defeated England, 5-1, in the opening game of the FIFA World Championship at Victoria, Canada.
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