US defeat Iceland, earn spot on championship match

Friday, 06 March 09, 10:01 PM · Comments(1)

After 90 minutes of struggling against a determined and organized Iceland team, and strong winds in the small stadium, Parque Deportiva da Nora in Ferreiras, Portugal, the US Women got the 90th-minute game winner from Natasha Kai to earn a berth in the championship match of the Algarve Cup.

The game was off to a slow start for the US, maybe because of the fact that they were playing against the wind in the first half. Iceland had several chances to score in the first 45 minutes as they took advantage of several bad passes, caused by swilrling winds, by the US players.

In the second half, Pia Sundhage added Heather O'Reilly to the line up on the right wing, and added Lindsay Tarpley to the left, moving Megan Rapinoe up to play a withdrawn forward position behind Amy Rodriguez. The US started to find its rhythm and used the width of the field to create numerous chances, including 7 corner kicks.

Iceland played a mostly defensive second half, refusing to get scored on. They finally started attacking more, and in the 72nd minute, Dora Maria Larusdottir blasted a shot from the right side of the box, forcing US goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart to tip the ball over the crossbar, which made for 2 consecutive corner kicks for the Icelanders.

Shannon Boxx and Heather Mitts did what they do best in the last 15 minutes of the match. They made several tackles in the box and cleared off long passes from Iceland defenders, keeping the US in the game.

In the 87th minute, Barnhart came off her line to challenge a bouncing ball and collided with Rakel Honnudottir, who was able to get a touch on the ball, but the shot went wide right.

In the 90th minute, Christie Rampone passed a long ball to Kai, who trapped it it with her chest, let the ball bounce, flicked it over a defender, let it bounce once more, and hit a left-footed half-volley to the back of the net.

The US is now in the championship match with one match still left in group play, regardless the result of their match against Norway. The result will have no effect on group B standings as Norway lost to Iceland and Denmark, and Iceland and Denmark lost to the USA. The US will prepare for a championship match against Germany or Sweden, who play each other on March 9 at 9 am ET. Germany needs a win or tie, and Norway must win in order to have a chance at winning the Algarve Cup.

The US will play Norway on March 9 at 10 a.m. ET, 7 a.m. PT.

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