England Is No Match for U.S.

Cindy Parlow scored four goals in 14 minutes on either side of halftime Saturday as the United States women’s national team routed England, 6-0, in front of 12,102 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.

The Atlanta Beat forward scored two with her right foot, one with her left and one with her head to bring her total to 61 goals in international competition.

Despite being unaccustomed to the 82-degree heat and high humidity, England managed to keep the game scoreless for the first half hour, thanks to solid defending and goalkeeper Pauline Cope’s penalty kick save on Joy Fawcett.

But Mia Hamm opened the scoring in the 30th minute, side-footing a pass from Shannon MacMillan into the net and increasing her world-record total to 139 goals.

Parlow then grabbed two goals in the last four minutes of the first half and added two more in the first 10 minutes of the second half as the English team wilted under near-constant U.S. pressure. The U.S. outshot England, 19-5.

Tiffeny Milbrett scored the sixth goal for the Americans, bringing her international total to 97 and putting her within striking distance of joining Hamm and Michelle Akers as the only U.S. players to score 100 or more goals.

“That was so much fun out there today,” Parlow said. “On the first goal, Mia put it on a platter for me. On the second one, Julie [Foudy] just kept it alive for me, and on the third one I took on a defender and saw an opening at the far post. On the fourth goal, it was Kristine [Lilly] keeping the ball alive and I was just able to finish.”

The victory improved the U.S. team’s unbeaten streak at home to 20 games (18-0-2) entering its next outing, against Ireland in Salt Lake City on June 14.

Arsenal’s Cup

Arsenal, thwarted by Manchester United in its attempt to win consecutive English Premier League titles, Saturday managed to retain the English F.A. Cup when it edged Southampton, 1-0, on a goal by Robert Pires in front of 73,726 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

The Gunners thus became the first team in 21 years to win the Cup two years in a row. It was their 16th appearance in the final and their ninth victory.

More historic, however, was the fact that it was the first final in the Cup’s 131-year history to be played indoors, heavy rain having forced organizers to close the stadium’s retractable roof.

The relief at the outcome was evident among Arsenal coaches and players.

“The team was under pressure today because we were scared to finish [the season] without a trophy,” Coach Arsene Wenger said. “The last few weeks have been difficult, I suppose. We got the trophy we wanted today.”

Pires’ goal, seven minutes before halftime, came at the end of a build-up involving Ray Parlour, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Freddie Ljungberg, with Pires knocking in the rebound of Ljungberg’s shot.

Arsenal dominated but could not add to its advantage, however, and Southampton, with only one victory in four final appearances, was unlucky not to tie the score in the closing stages.

Brett Ormerod’s shot in the 83rd minute was blocked by Arsenal’s 39-year-old goalkeeper, David Seaman, playing in what might have been his final game, and a header by James Beattie was cleared off the line in injury time by defender Ashley Cole.

“We’re not delighted at getting beat,” Southampton captain Chris Marsden said. “It’s hitting us now, walking around seeing all our fans and seeing Arsenal pick the Cup up. It’s quite a sobering moment.”

For Henry, who has scored 112 goals in 179 games for Arsenal and had his contract extended to 2007, the feeling was a mix of delight and relief.

“To win nothing would’ve been a massive disappointment,” he said.

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Associated Press contributed to this report.