A 65th-minute goal from 17-year-old forward Susan Bush propelled the U.S. girls’ U-20 national team to a 1-0 victory over Finland Aug. 3 in both teams’ opening Group B match at the 1998 Nordic Cup in the Netherlands. The U.S. is looking to defend its title, as the Americans edged Norway 1-0 in overtime in last year’s championship. The Americans controlled the match against a Finnish team that sat back and looked to counterattack, but the Finns weren’t able to break down the U.S. defense. The U.S. outshot Finland 9-2 and earned 10 corner kicks to Finland’s one. Still, the Americans were shut out until Bush, who will be a high school senior in the fall and plays for the Houston Challenge club in Houston, Texas, hit the gamewinner in the 65th minute. U.S. forward Mandy Clemens fed Bush behind the Finnish defense on the left flank. Bush cut towards the goal and toe-poked the ball at the net from a steep angle. The ball bounced off Finnish keeper Satu Kunnas and rolled into the lower left corner. The U.S. came close to scoring again ten minutes later when former North Carolina star Robin Confer’s shot hit the crossbar. “This game was a good early test for the U.S.,” said U-20 head coach Lauren Gregg. “Finland is a very combative, well-organized team. We worked hard for the goal and the win.” The U.S. is next scheduled to face host Netherlands on Aug. 5 and will conclude group play Aug. 7 against Sweden, which opened play with a 2-0 win over the hosts. In Group A, Norway thrashed Denmark 7-1 and Germany crushed Iceland 5-1. Aug. 3 in Roden, Netherlands USA 1 Finland 0. Goal: Bush 65. USA — Beene, Grubb, R.Fair (Baggett, 66), L.Fair, Roberts (Bush, 46), Whelchel (McDonald 52, Aldama 87), McDowell, Confer, Clemens, Parlow, Streiffer (Schwoy, 65). Finland — Kunnas, Mustonen, Julin (Sibelius, 78), Lind (Simonen, 76), Rasanen, Lappi-Seppala (Savonen, 73), Heikari (Virolainen, 60), Kalmari, Uusmalmi, Ranta, Volkonen. Att.: 100.
Nordic Cup Scoreboard
Group A
Aug. 3 — Norway 7 Denmark 1, Germany 5 Iceland 1.| TEAM | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | P |
| Norway | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 3 |
| Germany | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 |
| Iceland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Denmark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
Group B
Aug. 3 — USA 1 Finland 0, Netherlands 0 Sweden 2.| TEAM | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | P |
| Sweden | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| USA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Finland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |