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Up-and-down night Milbrett ties mark in U.S. women's 9-0 rout, injures kneePosted: Sunday November 03, 2002 9:47 AMUpdated: Sunday November 03, 2002 10:06 AM
SEATTLE (AP) -- A second half knee injury didn't keep Tiffeny Milbrett from tying a United States women's national team scoring record. Milbrett scored five goals in the first 34 minutes to equal a U.S. record as the United States beat Panama 9-0 Saturday night in the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup. Tiffeny Milbrett scored five goals in the first 34 minutes to tie a U.S. women's soccer record as the United States beat Panama 9-0 Saturday night in the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup. Milbrett scored three times in the first 9 minutes, added her fourth in the 22nd minute and scored again in the 34th. She left the game with a right knee injury in the 56th minute, but it was not considered serious. "I absolutely panicked when I saw her go down with the knee injury," coach April Heinrichs said. "I thought it was the ACL [anterior cruciate ligament]. It could have been a tragedy for this team." The American star tied the U.S. record of five goals set by Brandi Chastain against Mexico in the 1991 CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament and matched by Michelle Akers against Taiwan in the 1991 Women's World Cup. Milbrett was flattered to share a record with Chastain and Akers, but said she shouldn't be compared to them. "I would like to do some of the things that Akers has accomplished, but by no means does what I did tonight make me near the legend that she is," she said. Milbrett has 94 goals in 181 international games, third in U.S. history behind Mia Hamm (135) and Akers (104), and holds the U.S. record for assists in a match with five against Australia in 1997. "I was surprised that we found the space that we did," Milbrett said. "We expected Panama to pack it in on defense, but we got through pretty well. It was a lot of fun to finish tonight." The United States finished Group 1 play 3-0 to advance to the semifinals Wednesday night at Safeco Field. The U.S. team will play the loser of Sunday's Group B game between Canada and Costa Rica in Victoria, British Columbia. Earlier Saturday, Monica Gerardo scored two goals as Mexico beat Trinidad & Tobago 2-0 in Group 1 to earn a semifinal spot against the Canada-Costa Rica winner. The top two teams in the tournament will advance to the 2003 Women's World Cup in China. Shannon MacMillan added two goals, and Tiffany Roberts and Abby Wambach also scored for the United States. LaKeysia Beene faced only two shots in the match, one in each half. "We're pleased with how we played," Heinrichs said. "It was great to play in front of this crowd because they appreciated every touch of the ball. The atmosphere was electrifying." The Safeco Field crowd of 21,522 was the largest to watch a U.S. women's match since Sept. 1, 2000. Panama coach Roberto Sala was upset that his team gave up so many goals, but felt it was a good learning experience. "We were young and nervous," Sala said through an interpreter. "We've never played in a place like this. But I am happy, however, that we contained the U.S. in the second half." The U.S. led 8-0 at the half. Wambach scored the lone goal of the second half in the 85th minute. Lineups: USA: 18-LaKeysia Beene; 4-Cat Reddick, 6-Brandi Chastain (5-Tiffany Roberts, 24), 14-Joy Fawcett-C (15-Kate Sobrero, 28), 17-Jenny Benson; 2-Lorrie Fair, 3-Angela Hucles, 10-Aly Wagner (11-Julie Foudy, 46); 8-Shannon MacMillan, 16-Tiffeny Milbrett, 22-Abby Wambach. Subs not used: 1-Briana Scurry, 9-Mia Hamm, 12-Cindy Parlow, 13-Kristine Lilly. PAN: Monica Franco, 2-Tricia Arosemena, 5-Lucresia Bustamente, 6-Raiza Gutierrez, 7-Yoraidil Perez (14-Steffany Aguilar, 58), 9-Amarelis DeMera-C, 10-Yanilka Gonzalez, 11-Diana Valderrama, 13-Maritzenia Bedoya, 15-Ruth Romero (8-Maxima Gonzalez, 31), 17-Natalia Perea (4-Elizabeth Louis, 78). Subs Not Used: 12-Josselyn Montilla, 16-Caroline Gaytan, 18-Lisbeth Davis, 20-Dilian Alvarado.
Mexico defeats Trinidad & Tobago 2-0SEATTLE (AP) -- Monica Gerardo scored both goals as Mexico topped Trinidad & Tobago 2-0 in the final Group 1 match of the 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup. The action on Saturday night was dominated by Mexico, which played almost the entire time in the Trinidad & Tobago half. Mexico outshot its opponent 8-2 in the first half and 16-5 for the match. Trinidad & Tobago struggled offensively in the tournament, outscored 2-9 in three losses. Mexico went 2-1, including a 3-0 loss to the United States on Oct. 27. Mexico opened the scoring in the sixth minute. After receiving Monica Vergara's cross from the corner of the 18-yard box, Gerardo beat goalkeeper Lisa Jo Ramkissoon to the left with a sliding one touch into the net. In the 60th minute, Mexico upped the score to 2-0 on Gerardo's second netter of the match. Yanet Antunez did all the work, streaking down the right side before crossing the ball to a wide open Gerardo, who tapped it in from six yards out. The score could have been more lopsided, but Ramkissoon played very well in goal and three of Mexico's shots hit the cross bar. Mexico goaltender Jennifer Molina had her first shutout of the tournament. With the victory, Mexico put itself in position to advance to the semifinals, which will be played Wednesday at Safeco Field.
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