The U.S. U-21 and U-18 national teams each completed a two-game sweep of their tour of Europe yesterday, defeating their Danish counterparts in Copenhagen. With temperatures below freezing outside, the matches against Denmark were played inside on a field comprised of artificial turf and sand. The U-21s went down a goal just four minutes into the match, but tied the game through Jen Streiffer (Notre Dame) five minutes later. The USA then lost the lead, but equalized on a goal by Meredith Florance (North Carolina) and the half ended at 2-2. Mary Francis Monroe (Connecticut) finally pushed the U.S. into the lead with a goal early in the second half. Denmark equalized the see-saw battle on a brilliant free-kick, before the Americans finally put the game away on goals by Mandy Clemens (Santa Clara) and Beth Keller (Clemson). It was the second goal in as many matches for both Monroe and Keller, who both scored against Germany on March 10. “Overall, our play was representative of the winning mentality seen throughout all our U.S. women’s national team programs,” said U.S. U-21 coach Lauren Gregg. “We had great attacking personalities in both games and a tremendous resolve to win.” The U.S. U-18s downed Denmark 2-0 on goals from Christie Welsh (Massapeaqua Park, N.Y.) and Andrea Velasco (Robbinsville, N.J.). The match was the last for U.S. U-18 coach Shannon Cirovski, who leaves the post to take a position as head women’s soccer coach at the University of Maryland. The U-21s return to action at Maryland in April in a tournament to benefit breast cancer research that will feature a match against North Carolina. The squad is gearing up for the Nordic Cup, which they won in 1997 in Denmark, defeating Norway 2-1 in sudden death overtime, but lost in Holland last year, falling by the same 2-1 score to Norway. “I was very pleased to win both matches on the tour,” added Gregg. “The quality of the games and the unique challenges these countries pose to us are invaluable experience for our young players. The games also provided us with important information for training and preparation to regain the Nordic Cup this summer.” March 13 in Copenhagen Denmark U-21s 3 USA U-21s 5. Goals: Druedahl 5, Kjaeldgaard 30, scorer n/a; Streiffer 13, Florance 26, Monroe 61, Clemans 65, Keller n/a. Denmark — Hoeg, G.Pedersen, Guldhammer, Jensen, A.Moeller, Hvenczuk, Sorensen, Druedhal, A.Nielsen, Andersen. Subs: Linda Nielsen, M.Moeller, Ebbesen, Madsen, USA — Beene, Fair (Mitts, 12), French, Slaton (Borgman, 75), Wagner (Monroe, 38), Schwoy, Grubb (Kamholz, 46), Streiffer, Clemens, Florance, Bush (Keller, 46). Att.: 60. March 13 in Copenhagen Denmark U-18s 0 USA U-18s 2. Goals: Welsh 30, Velasco 86. Denmark — Lilli Nielsen, S.Jorgensen, M.Pedersen, Tanja Rasmussen, Lyng, Stoumann (Bekker, 54), Kruger, Falk, Munch, M.Jorgensen, Tina Rasmussen. USA — Solo (Barnhart, 46), Marquand (Spilger, 65), Pryce, Orlandos, Reddick, Hawkins, Cramer, Lindsey (Lewis, 46), Patrick (Wallis, 65), Zepeda (Velasco, 85), Welsh (Myers, 67). Att.: 60