U.S. women beat China, 2-0, to take third place

The United States broke out of a two-game scoring slump, striking twice in the first nine minutes to beat host China, 2-0, on the final day of the Four Nations Women’s Tournament in Guangzhou. Shannon MacMillan and Tiffeny Milbrett scored for the United States, which had been shut out by Norway and Germany in the first two games. The win was the 200th in the history of the U.S. women’s program and U.S. coach April Heinrichs’ first over China. The Americans snapped a seven-game winless streak against China in regulation. The United States finished third behind tournament champion Norway and Germany. The Germans beat Norway, 3-1, to take second place. “The USA has some growing to do,” said Heinrichs. “We are trying to blend some younger players with the experienced ones and that takes time, but I like the way the team progressed and grew together in this tournament and played better in each successive game.” CHINA-USA SUMMARY: Jan. 27 in Guangzhou China 0 USA 2. Goals: MacMillan 3 Milbrett 9. USA — Beene, Sobrero (Bryan, 46), Reddick, Fawcett, Slaton, Lilly (Bivens, 73), Fair, Foudy, MacMillan (Wagner, 46), Parlow (Chastain, 65), Milbrett. China — Geng Xiaoyan, Fan Yunjie, Bai Jie (Liu Yali, 90), Lie Jie, Zhou Xiaoxia (Wang Liping, 22), Pu Wei, Qu Feifei, Pan Lina (Ren Liping, 14), Zhou Lihong, Zhang Ouying (Chi Yi, 46), Bai Lili, Referee: Christine Frai (Germany).