Shannon MacMillan scored in the 18th minute to put the U.S. ahead 1-0 in the gold-medal match.
At midfield, Michelle Akers fed Kristine Lilly along the left flank. Lilly proceeded along the left side of the box and crossed to a streaking Mia Hamm in the middle of the area. Hamm shot to her left, but Gao Hong, the Chinese keeper, deflected the ball off of the left post. MacMillan pounced on the rebound and knocked it home from nine yards out.