Mia Hamm set up an early goal and scored one late as the U.S. women's national team opened the Olympics with a dominating performance against Greece in Heraklio, Crete.

Shannon Boxx and Abby Wambach also scored goals in the Americans' 3-0 Group G victory at Pankritio Stadium over a Greek side that emphasized defense and got a tremendous performance from former University of Connecticut goalkeeper Maria Yatrakis.

Hamm set up Boxx's 14th-minute goal with a rolling cross from the left wing and scored in the 82nd minute with a shot that Yatrakis got her fingers to but couldn't keep from the net.

Both teams had reason to be pleased: The Americans dominated the game from start to finish, and Greece kept things close in a match its opponent was expected to win by six goals or more.

''Winning the Olympic Games takes enormous commitment'' U.S. coach April Heinrichs said. ''These girls have been working flat-out since January, and we saw the fruit of those efforts tonight. They attacked non-stop for the entire 90 minutes.''

Yatrakis — Giatrakis to the Greeks — was superb, making five saves and controlling her box on a seemingly endless stream of U.S. crosses. She was among seven Americans who started for the hosts, with defenders Beba Stratakis, Eleni Benson and Sophia Smith also contributing strongly to the defensive effort.

Greece never challenged the Americans up top, although it had the game's first shot, a second-minute header by Greek-American Tanya Kalivas that was off-target and no problem for goalkeeper Briana Scurry to gather.

That was Greece's only shot of the match — the Americans had 26, 10 of them on target.

The United States, winners of gold in 1996 and silver four years ago, might have scored three goals in the first seven minutes, but Aly Wagner's blast hit the top of the crossbar in the fifth minute, Yatrakis tipped a Kristine Lilly shot over the bar two minutes later, and Boxx headed into the right post on the subsequent corner kick.

The Americans got their first strike after Hamm shimmied defender Angeliki Lagoumtzi to the ground, then sent a low cross to the center of the box. Wambach dummied it at the near post, and Boxx — at the spot — drilled the ball first-time to the left side of the goal, well out of Yatrakis' reach.

The goal marked the second time in two major events Boxx has scored in the opener. She netted a header against Sweden in last year's Women's World Cup.

The second goal, in the 30th minute, also came from a cross from the left, with Wambach stepping backward — and escaping Eleni Benson's mark — to get her head to Kate Markgraf's cross. Hamm had tried a run inside from the left wing and the ball was knocked away to Markgraf. Wambach's header looped high over Yatrakis and into the net.

Hamm made it 3-0 with a fine individual goal. She took a deflected ball outside the box, dribbled in against Konstantina Katsaiti, cut back to the right as Lagoumtzi arrived in defensive support, and curled the ball toward the left post. Yatrakis, the goalkeeper coach at Columbia University, leapt and got a piece of the ball, pushing it against the post and into the net.

Brazil also won in Group G, beating Australia, 1-0, in Thessaloniki on Marta's first-half goal. The Americans head to Thessaloniki to meet Brazil on Saturday.

In other games, Japan upset Sweden, 1-0, in Group E on Eriko Arakawa's first-half goal, and Women's World Cup champion Germany hammered China, 8-0, in Group F as Birgit Prinz scored four goals, her 73rd, 74th,. 75th and 76th in international play.

The Japan-Sweden result was the most important because it could lead to a Germany-Sweden matchup in the quarterfinals. Japan, Asia's rising power, would receive a favorable draw toward the final by winning Group E.

U.S. SUMMARY
Wednesday, Aug. 11 at Heraklio, Crete

Greece 0 United States 3. Goals: Boxx 14, Wambach 30, Hamm 82.

Greece — Yatrakis; Lagoumtzi, Stratakis, Katsaiti, Benson, Smith; Loseno, Kalivas (Chatzigiannidou, 46), Michailidou, Kavadas (Papadopoulou, 59); Panteleiadou (Soupiadou, 76).

United States — Scurry; Rampone, Fawcett, Reddick, Markgraf; Boxx; Foudy (Hucles, 71), Wagner (Tarpley, 62), Lilly; Wambach (Parlow, 79), Hamm.

Yellow card: U.S. — Wambach 49.

Referee: Jenny Palmqvist (Sweden).

Att.: 16,000 (est.).

2004 ATHENS OLYMPICS
WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

Group E
W L T GF-GA Pts
Japan 1 0 0 1-0 3
Nigeria 0 0 0 0-0 0
Sweden 0 1 0 0-1 0

Wednesday, Aug. 11
Sweden 0 Japan 1 (Arakawa 24)

Saturday, Aug. 14
Japan vs. Nigeria at Athens

Tuesday, Aug. 17
Sweden vs. Nigeria at Volos

Group F
W L T GF-GA Pts
Germany 1 0 0 8-0 3
Mexico 0 0 0 0-0 0
China 0 1 0 0-8 0

Wednesday, Aug. 11
Germany 8 (Prinz 13, 21, 73, 88, Wunderlich 64, Lingor pen. 76, Pohlers 81, Mueller 90) China 0

Saturday, Aug. 14
China vs. Mexico at Patras

Tuesday, Aug. 17
Germany vs. Mexico at Athens

Group G W L T GF-GA Pts
United States 1 0 0 3-0 3
Brazil 1 0 0 1-0 3
Australia 0 1 0 0-1 0
Greece 0 1 0 0-3 0

Wednesday, Aug. 11
Greece 0 United States 3 (Boxx 14, Wambach 30, Hamm 82)
Brazil 1 (Marta 36) Australia 0

Saturday, Aug. 14
Greece vs. Australia at Heraklio
United States vs. Brazil at Thessaloniki

Tuesday, Aug. 17
Greece vs. Brazil at Patras
United States vs. Austalia at Thessaloniki

Quarterfinals
Friday, Aug. 20
F1 vs. E2 at Patras
G1 vs. E3/F3 at Thessaloniki
F2 vs. G2 at Heraklio
E1 vs. G3 at Volos

Semifinals
Monday, Aug. 23
Patras winner vs. Thessaloniki winner at Heraklio
Volos winner vs. Heraklio winner at Patras

Bronze Medal
Thursday, Aug. 26
Semifinal losers at Athens

Gold Medal
Thursday, Aug. 26
Semifinal winners at Athens

Goalscorers
Birgit Prinz (Germany) 4
Eriko Arakawa (Japan) 1
Shannon Boxx (U.S.) 1
Mia Hamm (U.S.) 1
Renate Lingor (Germany) 1
Marta (Brazil) 1
Martina Mueller (Germany) 1
Conny Pohlers (Germany) 1
Abby Wambach (U.S.) 1
Pia Wunderlich (Germany) 1