Alex Morgan scored twice in the first half as the U.S. defeated Germany 2-0 Wednesday night in the final of the Algarve Cup at Faro, Portugal. The Americans won the tournament for the ninth time in 18 appearances.
''It's great to continue the winning tradition that the U.S. team has,'' said Tom Sermanni, who took over this year after Pia Sundhage left to coach her native Sweden. ''At least I haven't been a jinx in the short term.''
The Americans have won the last three Olympic gold medals, including two under Sundhage, but have not won the Women's World Cup since 1999.
''It was such a good foundation for us. Now we just need to work off that,'' defender Ali Krieger said. ''Tom has done such a great job with us, and he has a lot of knowledge of the game and we need to let it all soak in.''
Backup goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart protected the lead with some strong saves in the second half.
Morgan started the scoring in the 13th minute. Sydney Leroux sent a cross that Germany central defender Josephine Henning tried to clear with a header. But the ball fell to Morgan just inside the area and she scored with her left foot.
Morgan connected again 12 minutes later. A mix-up between goalkeeper Almuth Schult and the German defenders let Morgan steal possession and she rolled a shot into the empty net from the edge of the box.
