ROAD TO THE 99 WOMEN'S WORLD CUP

TAUBAT╔, Sπo Paulo -- BRAZIL (Thursday, December 11, 1997) û Midfielder Julie FoudyÆs head goal in the last minute of the game gave the U.S. WomenÆs National Team a hard fought 2-1 victory over Brazil in front of 2,200 fans at Joaquinzπo Stadium in TaubatΘ, Brazil, about an hour and a half from Sπo Paulo.

The winning goal originated on the right wing, where Sara Whalen fed a pass to Kristine Lilly above the right corner of the penalty box. Lilly took a touch inside and then drove a left-footed cross to the far post. Foudy rose above her defender and redirected the ball with her head into the right corner from six yards out, past sprawling Brazilian goalkeeper Maravilha.

"Brazil has joined the elite in womenÆs international soccer," said U.S. Head Coach Tony DiCicco. "Every team must be concerned with their rapid development. But once again, the pride and character of the U.S. team showed through, battling back to win the game in the final minute."

On a previous U.S. tour of Brazil in January of 1996, the American fell behind Brazil in two games before coming back to win both matches. Brazil struck first once again when U.S. goalkeeper Tracy Ducar misplayed a through ball and it skidded by her into the right corner of the penalty box. Brazilian forward Pretinha chased the ball down and sent a delicate chip into the net from a sharp angle to give her team the lead.

The U.S. took only three shots in the first half, two of which were headers by Tiffeny Milbrett, against an extremely skillful and quick Brazil team which showed that its fourth-place finish at the 1996 Olympics was no fluke. The Brazilians took five shots in the first half, but four came off free kicks. The fifth shot was saved by Ducar, who did well to hold the 15-yard blast from Sissi after a slick Brazilian combination had put her behind the U.S. defense. Jen Mead replaced Ducar in goal at halftime and had solid performance, with each U.S. goalkeeper making two saves.

The USA got the equalizer in the 58th minute when sweeper Carla Overbeck found Milbrett with a long pass on the ground about 10 yards past midfield. Milbrett turned and slipped a pass through two defenders to a streaking Mia Hamm on left side. Hamm cut sharply inside, splitting the same two defenders on the dribble, before calmly slotting her shot into the left corner from 19 yards out. It was HammÆs 81st international goal in 135 matches.

The match was played on a hard and choppy field, with the grass made slick by evening rains, and the U.S. defense did well to contain the elusive Brazilians who attacked with speed and their trademark flair. The Americans almost got the winner in the 63rd minute, but HammÆs spinning free kick from deep on the left wing hit the cross bar.

With the U.S. pushing for the winning goal, Brazilian captain Roseli had two dazzling solo dribbling runs in the 74th and 75th minutes, but her first shot went just wide left and her second was smothered by Mead. RoseliÆs two chances were the last of the game for Brazil, which seemed content to play for the draw with the 1996 Olympic champions during the last 15 minutes, until FoudyÆs heroics decided the match.

"Brazil is for real," said Foudy. "But itÆs a sign of the tremendous fighting spirit of this team to come back and win in the last seconds."

S├O PAULO, Brazil (Saturday, December 13, 1997) û Brazil got a 20th minute goal from forward Roseli and held off a furious late-game rally by the Americans to defeat the U.S. WomenÆs National Team, 1-0, at CanindΘ Stadium.

A visibly fatigued U.S. team was victimized by a festival of one-touch passes and artful dribbles from the skillful Brazilians, who out-shot the USA 10-3 in the first half, on a field wet from pre-game showers.

"Today, Brazil defeated the United States for the first time ever," said U.S. Head Coach Tony DiCicco. "Now, they know it can be done. And thatÆs dangerous for the future."

It was the first victory ever for Brazil over the United States in eight games dating back to 1986. The over 3,000 fans were delighted by the Brazilian team which consistently beat the U.S. midfield one-on-one in the first half, as Roseli and Pretinha danced their way through the American defense to create chances. Brazil started with a flurry of four dangerous shots in the first seven minutes, all from Roseli, who broke the deadlock in the 20th minute when she ran onto a long pass from Nene and volleyed the bouncing ball past U.S. goalkeeper Tracy Ducar from 15 yards out. It was the fourth consecutive match in which Brazil had taken a lead on the U.S., but the first time that the South Americans were able to hold on to it.

The U.S. also went down a goal on Thursday in TaubatΘ, but scored twice in the second half to win the first game of the two-game series, 2-1. The U.S. also rallied twice during games in Campinas, Brazil, in 1996.

DiCicco began pulling his tired starters in the 57th minute when midfielder Kristi Devert and Thori Staples entered the game for Mia Hamm and Tiffeny Milbrett, as outside midfielders Kristine Lilly and Shannon MacMillan moved to the forward positions and gave the Americans a spark. The U.S. dominated the game territorially in the final 45 minutes, with Lilly taking half of the USAÆs 12 second-half shots.

"The U.S. played very poor first halves in both games," said DiCicco. "We pulled out the first one, but you canÆt come out flat and expect to win all the time, especially against a team as talented as Brazil. We played better in the second half, and weÆre unlucky not to tie the game, or even win, but we didnÆt display even close to our best game today."

The U.S. had five great chances to tie the match in the last 10 minutes, the first of which came in the 80th minute when sweeper Carla Overbeck got behind the defense from a wall-pass, but shot right at Brazilian goalkeeper Maravilha.

The U.S. came close to the equalizer on two corner kicks when substitute Amanda CromwellÆs bullet header was saved well by Maravilha in the 82nd minute and Brandi ChastainÆs header sailed over the cross bar in the 86th minute. Forward Danielle Fotopoulos, who entered the game in the 78th minute for Sara Whalen, barely missed tying the game twice in the waning moments. In the 88th minute, her hard shot from the top of the penalty box deflected off a defender and caught Maravilha wrong-footed, but the ball rolled just past the left post. Her 90th minute strike off a pivot from 16 yards slid just wide.

The game marked the first time the U.S. has gone without scoring since a 0-0 tie with China on July 23, 1996, in Miami at the Olympics, a span of 20 games. The game in Sπo Paulo was the final match of 1997 for the U.S. WomenÆs National Team, which compiled a record of 16-2 during the year, losing only to Brazil and Germany.