[OLYMPIC COUNTDOWN] The USA continued its domination of Norway with a 4-0 victory on Wednesday in Fredrikstad — the 10th straight win by the Americans over the Norwegians.
U.S. forward Abby Wambach capped the scoring in the 87th minute with her 99th career goal. Lindsay Tarpley put the USA ahead in the 4th minute with her 10th goal of the year, and the Americans pulled away with goals by Carli Lloyd, Angela Hucles and Wambach in the second half.
“It’s hard to play against us,” said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage. “You can keep up for 45 minutes, but after a while, because you have to run so much and stay so focused in defending, at the end of the day, so many times we look stronger at the end of the game.”
The U.S. team, now 18-0-1 under Sundhage, will leave Norway early on Thursday morning and travel to northern Sweden to prepare for its match against the Swedes on Saturday at Norrvalla Stadium in Skelleftea. The game will mark the return of Sundhage, who finished sixth in the voting for FIFA Player of the Century in 2000, to her home country against which she will be coaching the USA for the first time.
GAME SUMMARY:
July 2 in Fredrikstad
Norway 0 USA 4. Goals: Tarpley 4, Lloyd 52, Hucles 84, Wambach 87.
Norway — Skarbo, Stangeland Horpestad (Nordby, 46), Folstad, Skammelsrud Lund, Christensen, Stensland, M.Knutsen (Ronning, 81), Storlokken, Gulbrandsen, Mykjaland (G.Knutsen, 70), Herlovsen (Kaurin, 60).
USA — Solo, Mitts, Markgraf, Rampone, Chalupny (Heath, 88), O’Reilly (Hucles, 67), Boxx, Lloyd,Tarpley (Rodriguez, 81), Kai, Wambach.
Referee: Claudine Brohlet (Belgium).
Att.: 1,900.