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Going Solo Goalkeeper helps U.S. women earn 1-1 draw vs. China
BEIJING (AP) -- The United States battled to a 1-1 draw with China on Sunday in an international women's soccer friendly that featured a stunning performance by U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo. The United States struck first when, in the 17th minute, Jennifer Lalor drove a pass from Tiffeny Milbrett over Chinese goalkeeper Han Wenxia and into the right corner of the box at the new Dragon Sports Center Stadium in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. China answered just four minutes later when defender Fan Yunjie zoomed in on a penalty shot to punch a header into the upper left corner of the American goal. Both sides continued to battle through the second half in near-freezing temperatures while 30,000 vocal fans screamed support for China. Solo made several spectacular saves, including a dive at full stretch to turn away a hard shot by Chinese striker Bai Jie. China beat the visitors 1-0 in an earlier match on Friday, but the United States' performance was much improved in Sunday's meeting. Both sides were missing veterans and fielded younger players for the games. "Our players love to play China and love to play in this kind of an environment. It makes us play quicker and in the end, makes us better," said U.S. head coach April Heinrichs. "The crowds for these two games were like the World Cup in 1999, only we weren't on the receiving end of the support," said U.S. head coach April Heinrichs, whose team helped inaugurate the state-of-the-art stadium that features a roof over all the stands, keeping the crowd noise right on top of the players. "Every time China touched the ball in their attacking half, the crowd was deafening and it surely inspired their players. In 2000, we really only played two matches before the Olympics in which the players couldn't hear each other on the field. We've already played two this year." "Many of players had never seen China other than on TV and in that respect, it was important for these players to get a feel for the pressure, rivalry and crowd noise of a U.S.-China game," added Heinrichs. "We had several new players emerge over these two games that may very well compete for a place on the 2003 World Cup Team," said Heinrichs. "What pleases me the most is that we got better from one game to the next. "China was tremendous, but our last half of the second game was our best half, and as a coach, you have to be pleased with that." Lineups: China: Han Wenxia; Ye Shimin (Zhang Ouying, 57th); Fan Yunjie; Li Jie; Xie Huilin (Wang Liping, 66th); Zhao Lihong; Liu Ying; Pan Lina (Shi Mengyu, 61st); Xie Caixia; Bai Jie; Pu Wei. United States: Hope Solo; Thori Bryan (Keri Raygor, 46th); Kate Sobrero; Lauren Orlandos (Christie Pearce, 28th); Michelle French; Lorrie Fair; Nikki Serlenga; Jennifer Lalor (Mary-Frances Monroe, 59th); Jena Kluegel (Aleisha Cramer, 78th); Meredith Florance (Stephanie Rigamat, 59th); Tiffeny Milbrett.
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