The United States beat Germany 3-2 Wednesday to capture the women's
Algarve Cup for the seventh time.
Germany goalkeeper Nadine Angerer fumbled the ball in the
70th minute and Lauren Cheney tapped it in for the winner.
"That was the only way I was scoring today, I had a few bad
touches, but the goalie bounced it off my face," Cheney said. "I
even looked around me to make sure no one was by me so I couldn't
mess it up."
U.S. coach Pia Sundhage said the team did a fantastic job
after winning all three of its group games to reach the 12-nation
tournament final, and then beat Germany on a muddy pitch.
"I am impressed. We play against Germany, one of the best
teams in the world, we play on a bad pitch, it's a bit muddy and we
play in a final, but we performed in such a way that's nice to see
that kind of attacking soccer with solid defending," Sundhage said.
The Americans dominated in the first half of their eighth
straight Algarve final, taking a 2-0 lead when Carli Lloyd and Abby
Wambach scored within a five-minute span.
"I did some sort of move to beat the defender and fortunately
it wasn't a defender's game today, it was more of an attacker's
game because of the surface," Wambach said of her goal. "As soon as
I got in behind my defender, the ball was already in the air and my
eyes must have gotten pretty huge. I knew I was going to get on the
end of it just as long as I hit it well - and I hit it pretty
well."
Lloyd's low drive from outside the area was deflected into
the net in the 18th minute, then Wambach headed in her 104th
international goal after a cross from Heather O'Reilly.
"I am very happy today about Carli Lloyd's performance. I
think it's one of the best games I've ever seen her play," Sundhage
said.
Lloyd was happy to contribute to the win.
"It?s been a while (since scoring a goal), so it felt good,
but this is what you play for," Lloyd said. "You play to play great
teams in the final and we came up big today. We had some up and
down moments throughout the tournament, but I think the team gave
it their all and everyone who came off the bench really
contributed."
Two-time world champion Germany, looking for its second
Algarve title, pulled one back through Inka Grings just before
halftime when she netted on a tight angle to beat Hope Solo.
With 15 minutes left, Grings scored her second goal of the
match, poking the ball beneath the outstretched American goalkeeper
from close range.
Germany, which scored 16 goals without reply in its three
group games before the final, was stronger in the second half but
the sodden pitch foiled efforts by the world's two top-ranked
women's teams.
Sweden took third place in the tournament with a 2-0 win over
China.
