Shannon MacMillan was a one-woman show for the Unites States, scoring a hat trick to lead it past Denmark, 3-2, in the fifth-place game at the Algarve Cup. MacMillan, who notched her second career hat trick, scored seven of the eight U.S. goals in the tournament, upping her 2002 total to 10 and her career international goals to 45. She has now scored in five consecutive matches, dating back to the final game of the Four Nations Tournament in China. “We saw a lot of good things out there,” said U.S. head coach April Heinrichs. “It was a very, very small field and that doesn’t favor the U.S. team. But the bright spots were that Joy Fawcett is stepping up her leadership for us, and we were able to play some younger player and invest in their development. We were able to play some players to help us evaluate them for the long term and find out which ones will be able to help us in 2003 and which ones are continuing to grow.” “Without [Cindy] Parlow and [Mia] Hamm, it is difficult for us to score and Mac stepped up to score seven goals in the tournament. That boosts her confidence and she is reaching a new level for us where she is scoring, making space for us, holding possession and creating chances.” “The most important thing is that individuals get playing time and experience and grow. Our Norway loss really exposed a lot of our weaknesses, and they don’t get exposed as much back in the WUSA, or playing for their college team or their U-21 team or when we are playing a team that isn’t in the top-5 in the world as we don’t get stretched as much. We did a lot of self-evaluation and players know where they stand and what they need to work on over the next two to three months. The big picture is that it’s more important to build on these performances and how to play out of multiple formations against different conditions to develop players and the team over the long haul.” China won the Algarve Cup with a 1-0 win over Norway. Sweden defeated Germany, 2-1, in the third-place game. USA-DENMARK SUMMARY March 7 in Albufeira, Portugal USA 3 Denmark 2. Goals: MacMillan 29, 33, 64; Jensen 47, Terp 74. USA — Solo, Staples (Bivens, 46), Fawcett, Sobrero, Kluegel, Wagner, Fair, Hawkins, Wilson, Fotopoulos (O’Reilly, 59), MacMillan. Denmark — Cederkvist, G.Andersen (Moller, 67), Terp. K.Pedersen, Paaske Sorensen, L.Hansen (S.H. Andersen, 53), Bonde (Madsen, 46), Jorgensen, M.Pedersen, Rydahl Bukh (Jokumsen, 57), Jensen. Att.: 250.