The U.S. women returned to action with a drubbing of Chinese Taipei in U.S. Women’s Cup ’95 to celebrate coach Tony DiCicco’s return to his hometown.

It was Tony DiCicco Night in his home state, so his women’s national team supplied the fireworks in the form of a 9-0 romp past overmatched Chinese Taipei July 30 before nearly 4,000 fans at Memorial Stadium, about 15 minutes away from Wethersfield where DiCicco grew up and played his first soccer.

“It’s always special to be back home,”DiCicco said, “but more important, this is the start of a real test period for us. I have to find out about several of our players before we make decisions about the residential training camp next January. I’m impressed by the talent I saw at the Olympic Sports Festival, so the decisions are going to be tough ones when they have to be made.”

There was nothing difficult about the match against Chinese Taipei, however. The game was never competitive, the young visitors no match in speed, strength or skill. Tisha Venturini wound up with three goals while Michelle Akers, Mia Hamm and Carla Overbeck each got two.

It was 6-0 after 36 minutes before the Americans slowed the pace and took it easy against an outgunned rival.

“It wasn’t a classic international,” DiCicco admitted, “but you always learn some things. One of the signs of a good team is to be able to play well against an opponent that is tentative and can’t really come out to play against you. I thought we were patient, moved the ball well and created some very good goals.”

Venturini, who said that she had taken some time off from soccer after the Women’s World Cup, looked like taking the first steps toward regaining a commanding presence in midfield. Her 35-yard strike in the 36th minute rivaled Hamm’s blistering 35-yard free kick in the 10th minute for the goal of the game, but it was her willingness to take a lead role in the center of the field that was markedly different from the matches in Sweden.

Akers’ return to action for 55 minutes was also a plus. Her first goal came when Hamm went on a 50-yard solo run and then dished off to her after drawing out the keeper. Akers scored again 31 minutes later, but the big superstar clearly isn’t ready to resume full-time, hard-hitting action.

“My main goal in this tournament is to enjoy myself, help the team win, score some goals if I can and stay healthy,” she said. “I pushed myself to the limit to get ready for the World Cup and then got hurt. My knee still bothers me, so I won’t take any chances now.”

In fact, Akers will follow U.S. Cup with a four-week vacation, a combination of some rest time in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest and some scuba diving off the East Coast. She says she won’t get back to intensive training until late in the year.

Looking toward ’96

For DiCicco, the game offered no real clues about the areas of the team he must seriously address before the Olympics next year in Atlanta.

“I want to find out if Mary Harvey can challenge again to be the No. 1 keeper,” the coach said before the match, “because if not then I think it will be time to bring in a younger player to challenge at that position. I also want to find a solid marking back before the Olympics.”

Regular keeper Briana Scurry suffered shoulder and back injuries in an auto accident before the Olympic Festival and so was ruled out of U.S. Cup, opening the way for Harvey, who was the No. 3 keeper in Sweden, and Saskia Webber, Scurry’s backup, to get matches. DiCicco also says that Jen Meade, headed for a season in Japan, remains in contention for a shot.

Joy Fawcett wasn’t available for U.S. Cup either, due to her coaching duties at UCLA. She would not have been able to play anyway after fracturing a fibula at the Sports Festival. Coaching commitments also kept Navy’s Carin Gabarra from U.S. Cup.

DiCicco gave a first cap to 17-year-old Illinois high schooler Jenny Grubb in the game, but he found out nothing about Harvey’s form or the backline. Chinese Taipei simply never challenged, outshot 39-3. The game was hardly anything more than a bump in the road for an American team that cantered along at about half pace.

The rest of U.S. Cup will likely get tougher, especially the final match against Norway — a 2-0 winner over Australia in the other U.S. Cup opener — Aug. 6 at RFK Stadium, but DiCicco is thinking well beyond this tournament. He is impressed enough with Tammy Pearman, the former George Mason forward, to think about giving her a run as a defender.

“She is a terrific athlete,” DiCicco said. “I would like to find out if she can be coached into becoming a good defensive player. That’s something we’ll look at in the months ahead.”

While the U.S. Cup opener was hardly challenging, it did afford Akers the chance to raise her goal haul to 84 in 90 international appearances and saw Hamm move within one match of Kristine Lilly as the most-capped U.S. woman. It was Hamm’s 95th match, while Lilly missed the game in her home state because she was a member of Julie Foudy’s wedding party in California the same day.

“Will we work it so that they both hit 100 at the same?” DiCicco asked. “That’s the kind of question you media people raise. I don’t know how I’m supposed to tell Kristine to wait a game so that they can get level.”

It’s a nice little problem for the coach to worry about. His bigger ones won’t get solved until the opposition is much tougher than it was this time.

by Soccer America correspondent Jerry Trecker

July 30 in New Britain, Conn.

United State 9, Chinese Taipei 0. Goals: Overbeck (13, pen. 31), Hamm (18, 34), Venturini (20, 35, 76), Akers (72, 81).

U.S. — Harvey, Overbeck, Hamilton (Grubb, 63), Staples, Roberts, Cromwell (Lalor, 46), Manthei, Venturini, Hamm, Keller (Akers, 34), Milbrett (Rafanelli, 46).

Chinese Taipei — Hui Fang Lin, Ya Ching Yang, Hui Chen Yeh, Shih Wan Chang, Chih Ping Yen, Hui Shu Wu, Chih I Lin, Shu Cin Chen (Chia Lun Li, 72), Lan Fen Lan, Yuh Chuan Huang, Ying Wan Liao (Ching Hsin Hsu, 46).

Ref.: Reed (U.S.).

Att.: 3,782.