The U.S. women’s national team drew the largest soccer crowd in Kansas City history for its 6-0 win over Finland in the nightcap of the Nike U.S. Women’s Cup ’99 at Arrowhead Stadium. The crowd of 36,405 fans was the largest soccer crowd in Kansas City history. In the first match of the evening, Brazil defeated South Korea, 4-0, to set up a clash of unbeatens on Sunday, Oct. 10, at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Ky., for the championship. The match will be broadcast live on espn2 at 1 p.m. ET as the Americans go for their sixth consecutive U.S. Women’s Cup triumph. Goals The USA got the festivities going early and Mia Hamm was the catalyst, setting up the first three scores. In the 9th minute, she collected a ball in the right side of the box, shook free of a defender and cut a perfect pass back to Tiffeny Milbrett, who slammed the ball into the roof of the net with her left foot from 12 yards out. The goal was the 67th of Milbrett’s international career and her 21st of the year, the second most in a year for any U.S. player in history. Michelle Akers scored 39 goals in 1991. (1-0) Just four minutes later, it was Hamm finding a teammate again, this time from the left flank. Hamm crossed on the ground and Milbrett let the ball run through her legs to a streaking Joy Fawcett, who hit the ball in full stride with her instep and stretched the right side of the net for her 21st international goal. Fawcett is the highest scoring defender in U.S. women’s national team history. (2-0) The third goal came in the 36th minute when Sara Whalen took a short pass from Hamm in the right side of the penalty box. Whalen beat her defender to the inside and fired a shot that deflected off the hip of a Finnish defender and scooted into the right corner past the wrong-footed Finnish goalkeeper Satu Kunnas. It was the third goal of Whalen’s international career. (3-0) U.S. coach Tony DiCicco made four changes at halftime, and Kristine Lilly scored both of her goals in the second half through passes from substitutes. The first came in the 54th minute when Danielle Fotopoulos ran down a ball on the left wing and crossed on the ground to the near post, where the darting Lilly slammed the ball into the net from three yards out. (4-0) In the 63rd minute, Brandi Chastain bobbed and weaved through defensive traffic in the penalty box before finding Lilly, who bent her shot over Kunnas and into the left corner for her 79th international goal.(5-0) The USA added a sixth score just two minutes from the end of the match when Shannon MacMillan’s cross from the left side was converted into an own goal by Finland defender Terhi Uusi-Luomalahti. The 5-foot-11 Fotopoulos was bearing down on her as she re-directed her flailing clear into her own net. (6-0)

Quotes

Kristine Lilly “It’s great to put together such a sharp performance in what is basically our offseason. We are celebrating the World Cup win right now, but our Olympic preparation will pick up next year, and the coaches are working on getting all the players into the game in different positions. Everyone contributed tonight.” Brandi Chastain “We all know we probably didn’t play our best soccer in the World Cup. But those games are so pressure packed and all the teams so good that the situation doesn’t always lend itself to wide open games. So to come out here and play attacking soccer in front of such an appreciative crowd is a great feeling.”

Summaries

Oct. 7 in Kansas City USA 6 Finland 0. Goals: Milbrett 9, Fawcett 13, Whalen 36, Lilly 54, 63, own goal 88. USA Scurry, Overbeck (Venturini, 46), Whalen, Pearce, Fawcett, Foudy, Lilly, MacMillan, Parlow (Fotopoulos, 46), Milbrett (Chastain, 46), Hamm (Roberts, 46). Finland — Kunnas, Julin, Lalne (Lappi-Seppala, 74), Rasanen, Seppanen (Uusmalmi, 74), Forssell, Uusi-Luomalahti, Ranta, Valkonen (Tuominen, 83), Ylitalo, Heikari (Kackur, 60). Att.: 36,405. Brazil 4 South Korea 0. Goals: Roseli (pen.) 39, 53, Raquel 54, 74. Brazil — Andreia (Cristina, 87), Cris (Sissi, 56), Juliana, Fanta, Suzana, Fabiana (Jaqueline, 76), Deva, Daniela (Robertina, 85), Raquel, Roseli, Maicon (Nildinha, 46). South Korea — Ho Jung Jung, Yu Jin Kim, Suk Hee Jin, Young Sil Soo, Kyul Sil Kim, Myung Hwa Lee (Eun Hyang Kim, 66), Yun Hee Choi, Sung Mi Cha, Sun Mi Kang (Min Joo Kwon, 75), Kyung Suk Park, 16-Ju Hee Song (Mi Yeon Lee, 41). Att.: 36,405.