2000 Olympic Articles

"No matter who the doubters are," said Hamm, her voice quivering. "Or who says certain things, these people for the 14 years I've been on this team have never doubted each other. There is no better feeling than putting on a USA jersey. It has been an honor. And I hope it continues to be an honor. We played our hearts out, and that in a nutshell is what our team is all about. We left everything out there on the field, and you can't do anything more."
Unable to continue, Hamm bounced the microphone in her lap.
When Hamm said she hoped the honor would continue, she looked at coach April Heinrichs, who took over the team this year. Heinrichs wasn't a part of last year's emotional World Cup run, but she played on the team that won the World Cup in 1991 back when no one was paying attention.
"This year was not the storybook; '99 was the storybook. But the year 2000 was a journey. And maybe the silver will always have us bonded together," said Heinrichs, hitting the emotional wall. "Pass the tissues."

Heinrichs has the burden of deciding how much to overhaul this popular team by the time the next major competition, the 2003 World Cup, comes around. Only Overbeck has said for sure she's retiring, and Heinrichs said it wouldn't make sense to purge all the veterans.
"You hear players talk about possible retirement," Heinrichs said. "You just don't know if somebody has it in them now, will they have it in three years? You just want to let the dust settle."
Heinrichs said the loss to Norway will live with the team for "four or five years." The Americans dominated the first half with smooth, flowing soccer but were tied 1-1 at the break. The winning overtime goal perhaps should have been disallowed by the referee because the ball touched the arm of the Norwegian scorer.
"You know the lesson here? Life ain't fair." Heinrichs said. "I watched 102 minutes of soccer last night. The sheer excellence with which we played, the chances we had, the flurry that we had in front of their goal. They had three shots on goal, and they had three goals. It's not `Oh, bummer, it hit her arm.' It's multiple things."

Players on both sides agreed it was one of the greatest women's soccer games ever, a very rare occurrence for a championship game, when play is usually tense and defensive. The Americans tied it 2-2 in the dying seconds of the second half to force overtime. They did what they do best -- control the ball on the ground -- and the Norwegians did what they do best -- send it long toward the net and hope someone puts it in.
Fans of the game can only hope that the new U.S. league, the eight-team WUSA, will produce the same kind of drama when it debuts in April. The league will be a new test of the sport's popularity. Will the same fans who pack stadiums when the national team comes to town be willing to show up every week to watch a club team with only a couple of stars? 
"The myth of the female athletics garnering attention only once every four years has been blown out of the water," co-captain Julie Foudy said.
The league will also create some awkward rivalries and bedfellows. Having played together for so many years, these players will be kicking and fouling and trying to beat each other when, say, Mia Hamm's Washington franchise visits Brandi Chastain's team in the Bay Area.

Also, foreign players will be in the league. At least four players from Norway, that longtime nemesis that stole the Americans' gold, are expected to sign with the WUSA and become teammates with their rivals.
"You hate the entity. You hate with a passion the entity," midfielder Lorrie Fair. "Obviously, I don't know them, but we'll get to know them. The Norway team, sure we hate them, but I'm sure they're very nice people."
AP NEWS The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2000, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved

SYDNEY, Australia -- As the U.S. women's soccer team assembled behind the silver medal podium, Mia Hamm left her place in line to talk to her teammates. Some were smiling, some were crying, some looked dazed.
"She said, 'Hold your head high -- and be proud.' And we were," defender Brandi Chastain said. "I think you could see that in everybody's eyes. We're very, very proud of what we accomplished. And I hope everybody who watches the game understands it wasn't easy."
And it wasn't the finish the team or its fans wanted.
In the 12th minute of sudden death overtime, substitute Dagny Mellgren scored to give Norway a 3-2 victory Thursday over the Americans and an Olympic gold medal. It also gave it the right to claim a spot next to the United States as the top team of the past decade in major international women's soccer. 
"Maybe we are the best team in the world now," said Norway coach Per-Matthias Hagmo. "We have beaten the United States four times this year, China three times."
With the victory, Norway adds the 2000 Olympic title to its 1995 World Cup championship. The United States can claim the 1991 and last year's thrilling World Cup triumph in front of U.S. fans at the Rose Bowl, as well as the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

The victory also means Norway is still the only nation with an all-time winning record (15-13-2) against the United States. The Norwegians are also the only team to beat the Americans in a World Cup or Olympic tournament, the other victory coming in the 1995 World Cup semifinals.
"Norway did what they had to do," coach April Heinrichs said. "They kept their game plan very simple and they never gave up."
The game was by far the best of the Olympic tournament. The U.S. team took an early lead, lost it just before halftime, then fell behind in the second half before forcing overtime with Tiffeny Milbrett's goal seconds before the end of regulation.
"When the U.S. team scored very early I thought 'No, not again. Why should they win again and again and again?' " said Gro Espeseth, who scored Norway's first goal. "It was terrible when Tiffy scored the goal when they were a few seconds from the end. But we came back. Dagna scored a wonderful goal and it was a magic moment."
Although these Olympics weren't a cumulative last hurrah for the stars of the U.S. team, it's likely that the lineup will change substantially before the next major tournament, the 2003 World Cup.

Carla Overbeck is the only player definitely retiring from international play this year, but it's inevitable that younger players will start to challenge longtime veterans such as Kristine Lilly, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett, Chastain and Hamm.
The loss is a tough one for Heinrichs, who has been under pressure to match predecessor Tony DiCicco's success. Heinrichs' aggressive style and unusual tactics have drawn critics, but her team won every tournament it entered this year before the Olympics.
"They won the silver medal but their game was golden tonight," Heinrichs said. "I'm incredibly proud of each one and incredibly proud of their achievements. ... We couldn't have started better and it was a coach's dream to push the ball around the way we did and have as much possession as we did." 
The winning goal came when Mellgren took a deflection off defender Fawcett's head as they played a long ball from Hege Riise. The ball hit Mellgren's shoulder and landed at her feet before she pushed it to the left of goalkeeper Siri Mullinix from 7 yards.

Foudy appealed to referee for a hand ball, but referee Sonia Denoncourt replied: "Don't do this to me, Jules."
Norway nearly had it won in regulation, but Milbrett's second goal with seconds left in second-half injury time tied the game. Milbrett outleaped defender Goeril Kringen to knock home Hamm's long cross from the right wing. There was literally no time left -- when the ball was returned to the center circle for the kickoff, Denoncourt signaled the end of the second half.
An interesting moment occurred with the score tied 1-1 in the 60th minute, when Lilly's drive was headed off the line at the post in a great defensive play by Kringen. A year ago, in the World Cup final at the Rose Bowl, it was Lilly's header on the line in overtime that prevented a China victory and sent the game to penalty kicks.

Hamm did almost all the work, and Milbrett scored the goal as the Americans took a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute. Hamm took Foudy's pass and fought off Kringen in the left side of the box, drew the goalkeeper out and passed to Milbrett, who one-touched the ball into the open net from 8 yards.
The Americans put on a clinic of smooth passing to dominate possession in the first half, while Norway unsuccessfully tried to work the long ball. But the Norwegians kept at it -- scoring all three goals using the set pieces and long balls at which they excel.
AP NEWS The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2000, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved