Second-half substitute Lauren Cheney scored twice as the United
States beat Sweden 2-0 Monday to claim a place in the women's
Algarve Cup final.
Cheney got her second goal of the tournament after 56 minutes
when she ran onto a pass from Casey Nogueira, rounded the
goalkeeper and slotted the ball home from a tight angle.
With three minutes left to play Cheney fired a powerful shot
into the top left corner.
The result gave the Americans three wins from three in Group
B and secured a place in their eighth consecutive final in southern
Portugal.
In the other group match, Norway overcame Iceland 3-2.
The U.S. will meet the top team from Group A in Wednesday's
championship game.
In that group, two-time Algarve champion China was facing
two-time world champion Germany and Denmark was taking on Finland
in late games.
The U.S. has won the title in southern Portugal six times in
the past nine years.
The Americans struggled to get an upper hand against Sweden
in the first half but were sharper after Cheney, Carli Lloyd and
Casey Nogueira came on at halftime.
Cheney "brought us some fire," U.S. captain Shannon Boxx
said. "She took her chances very well."
