Looking a lot like the U.S. squad that captured the first Women's World Cup title 11 years ago, a new generation of Americans claimed the first U-19 title with a golden triumph over its host.
It was eerie, once Tracey Leone and April Heinrichs began to look closer.
So much of the U.S. under-19 women's team's experiences leading to its riveting triumph in FIFA's first U-19 World Championship mirrored what they'd gone through with the American squad that captured the first Women's World Cup 11 years earlier.
There was the obvious similarity – the historical significance of their victories – and the intentional, in how high-scoring forwards Lindsay Tarpley, Heather O'Reilly and Kelly Wilson were dubbed the ''Triple-Edged Sword'' in homage to the '91 squad's attacking trio.
They held in common sensational camaraderie and chemistry, strong and varied leadership, talent all over the field. They toiled in relative anonymity, unknown to all but a select few of their countrymen.
Both teams ran unbeaten through their competition, winning the trophy with end-of-game goals – literally, for the U-19s – in difficult finals witnessed by the largest crowds they'd ever faced.
That's not all. Think Lincoln-Kennedy.
''There's some spooky comparisons at the end of the day,'' says Heinrichs, the U.S. women's national team coach and part of the original ''Triple-Edged Sword.''
''We had 19 players, with Megan McCarthy, who injured her knee [before the tournament] but came with us,'' says Leone, the U-19 head coach and a '91 backup.
It was the same for the U-19s, who brought injured Annie Schefter to the first-stage games in Victoria; their roster officially reached 19 when Stephanie Ebner arrived after Amy Steadman tore knee ligaments in the opener.
''Our team coordinator in '91 was named Heather, and so was the team coordinator with the 19s,'' Heinrichs says. ''One of our trainers [with the U-19s] was Sue; our trainer in '91 was Sue.''
Both teams played Germany in the semifinal; both won by three goals.
''We wore white in the '91 final,'' Heinrichs adds, ''white [shirts], white [shorts], white [socks] – as did the U-19s. In the final, we played a team in red-red-red, as did the U-19s.''
The '91 team scored 25 goals. The U-19s scored 25 – before Tarpley's 109th-minute golden goal finished the final.
They were similarly skilled, dynamic attacking teams that played superb defense. The rosters were similar: For every Jennings there was an O'Reilly, for every Higgins a Chalupny, for every Werden an Oakes. Michelle Akers scored 10 goals in 91; Kelly Wilson had nine in '02. Both team's goalkeepers' last names began ''H-A.''
''I think Tracey recreated the '91 team,'' says Heinrichs, who captained the first world champions. ''Not intentionally, but that's her experience, her knowledge, her view of what is a good team.''
ONE-SIDED ROMPS. This one, like that one, was pretty sensational. The U-19s' first five victories, over England (5-1), Australia (4-0), Chinese Taipei (6-0), Denmark (6-0) and the Germans (4-1), were – by every account except theirs – one-sided romps defined by clinical defending and that scything attack.
And then, at the climax, they weathered a strong opponent with a sensational game plan playing for a huge, rapturous audience; they worked patiently to solve the host Canadians' defensive maze, finally penetrating for a decisive strike as penalty kicks loomed.
The 1-0 victory Sept. 1 in Edmonton, with Tarpley firing home after her first shot was blocked by a defender, was every bit as brilliant as the 91s' 2-1 triumph, secured by a late Michelle Akers goal, over Norway in China.
''I think this places right there with the '91, '96 [Olympic] and '99 world championships,'' Heinrichs declares. ''It's one of the top four most important moments in our history.''
It was two years and nearly 70 players in the making, and by the time the Americans arrived in British Columbia to start on their path, there seemed little doubt they'd be the last team standing. Canada, Brazil and Germany – the other semifinalists – brought strong, technically and tactically gifted squads, but the difference in class was apparent from the start.
''Any of the four could have won on any given day …,'' Heinrichs says. ''I don't think it's one thing that separated the U.S. Their preparation for two years, their maturity and commitment, the coaching staff's experience, addressing every single scenario they might face. I think their approach, in terms of tactical approach: They were as comfortable in a 3-4-3 as in a 4-3-3.''
Says Leone: ''By the time we got to Canada, the team had gone through everything it possibly could go through. Nothing surprised the players. They'd played in physical wars, they'd been down, they'd been in the lead, they'd played against so many different styles and systems: Nothing was a surprise to them. Plus the quality of human being and committed athlete was amazing. You could tell on their faces they were on a mission. Nothing was going to distract them from the goal they'd had such a long time.''
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM. From the start, they impressed, scoring goals in bunches to turn tight clashes into routs. Three quick goals at the end of the first half put away a physical England side, and three late in the second half finished off an even more physical Australian team.
Chinese Taipei, facing mostly U.S. reserves, quickly crumbled, and the Americans netted four before halftime to do away with the Danes. After falling behind Germany in the semifinal, they scored three in rapid succession to take control by halftime.
''It was boom-boom-boom [against Germany],'' notes goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris. ''That's just the mentality these girls have. It's American pride, American mentality – that's what's great about our country. We don't want two goals, we want six or seven goals; we go after [opponents]. That's the problem with other teams: After a couple goals, they fold. We keep going after them.''
Much of the credit went to the ''Triple-Edged Sword'': Tarpley, Wilson and O'Reilly – the organizer, finisher and speedster, respectively – combined for 19 goals and 13 assists in six tournament games.
''Tracey and I were kind of lukewarm about'' giving the moniker to the three forwards, Heinrichs says. ''We felt in put pressure on their players to be someone other than themselves. [Tracey] didn't want this to be the '91 team. She wanted them to be like the '91 team.''
Like the '91 team, the U-19s also benefited from a potent midfield, with Lori Chalupny and Manya Makoski fueling a dominant possession game, Leslie Osborne playmaking as a defensive midfielder or outside back, and versatile Kendall Fletcher making critical contributions from a variety of roles. Harris, only 16, was practically unbeatable in the nets – when foes could get behind a back line of Jill Oakes, Rachel Buehler and one or more among Osborne, Fletcher, Steadman, Jessica Ballweg and Keeley Dowling.
Ebner and Kerri Hanks scored goals when pressed into service, and Megan Kakadelas sparked the winning sequence in the final, taking a deft through ball from Osborne and crossing it into the goalmouth where Tarpley waited.
CANADIAN WALL. To get to that point, the Americans had to battle more than the defensive scheme the Canadians threw their way in the title clash. The hosts, also impressive in advancing to the final, had beguiled all of Canada, and they fed off the energy the huge, flag-waving crowds produced. The 11 Yanks would have to face nearly 48,000 Canadians.
''It was unbelievable,'' says Fletcher. ''And they were all cheering for Canada – well, all except our parents. We turned it around, pretended they were cheering for us.''
They knew otherwise from other encounters. The Canadian fans hadn't been shy about demonstrating their support, no matter the situation.
''We'd get booed walking down the street,'' Tarpley reports.
''They did not like us at all,'' says Harris. ''They'd tell us they were rooting against us and if we played Canada that we were going to lose. We showed up for dinner one night, and the chef laughs at us. He said, 'You will be crying on your way home.'
''We'd be signing autographs, and some people did not want our autographs. … They did not like us.''
Respect was another matter. The Canadian team, built around a seasoned core of players, most of whom play collegiately in the United States, so respected the Americans (especially the forwards) that it devised a new system – a 5-3-2, with all three midfielders sitting right on top of the back line – to prevent Tarpley, Wilson and O'Reilly from wreaking their usual havoc.
Coach Ian Bridge implemented the system in his team's final training session, then watched it bear fruit throughout the final.
Both teams had chances and with better fortune could have scored one or two or more in regulation. Canada's chances, off an effective counterattack, were scarier.
Katie Thorlakson incessantly probed the U.S. defense, creating a good half-dozen opportunities and striking the woodwork twice. Carmelina Moscato curled a corner kick off the crossbar. And Christine Sinclair, the Golden Ball winner (as MVP) and Golden Boot winner (with 10 goals), fired high in the 90th minute when presented an 8-yard shot and only Harris to beat.
''My heart,'' Leone said, ''definitely stopped.''
Sinclair said she got under it. ''Throughout the tournament I didn't miss many,'' she said. ''It just happened at a very, very bad time.''
The Americans, who lost Buehler to a torn ACL just 10 minutes in, struggled to penetrate the Canadian wall. They might break through three or four defenders, but that left another three or four to beat. The space O'Reilly and Wilson so expertly exploited the first five games didn't exist, and every offensive foray seemed to finish with the Canadians booming the ball upfield to Sinclair or Thorlakson on another counter. Ballweg, Dowling and Fletcher made critical defensive plays.
'THE BELIEF.' Chalupny was key for the Yanks, sorting things out in midfield and finding crevices through which to attack the Canadian fortress. The Americans continued to play its game – possess, look for openings, attack – with great patience.
''Julie Foudy talked to the team [before the tournament],'' Leone says, ''and she said the one thing that separates American women's soccer from other countries is 'The Belief.' Our team had it.''
Sinclair saw that, too. ''It's their mentality,'' she says when asked what she most admires about the U.S. squad. ''They don't know how to lose. They find a way to win the game whether they've been outplayed or not.''
It came down to a scramble at the left post, with O'Reilly trying to get a shot off, and then the heroics by Tarpley. The ball skirted her way, defender Melanie Booth got in front of her first shot, but the second found its way past goalkeeper Erin McLeod.
And then the U-19s, like the '91 team before it, erupted in delirium.
''For two years, that was the moment we'd all dreamed about,'' Tarpley says. ''We worked so hard, sacrificed so many things. I've never felt that way before – it was the best feeling I've ever had. To accomplish something with people I've grown to love and care about so much, to have them as best friends, and to win the first-ever World Cup – I can't even describe it.''
by Soccer America Senior Editor Scott French