Wambach Leads U.S. To Two Draws With Germany

The U.S. Women’s National Team tied Germany for the second time in four days, playing to a 2-2 draw in front of 18,870 rain-soaked spectators at Rentschler Field in the Fan Tribute Tour, presented by Panasonic. It was the largest crowd ever to watch the U.S. Women in the state of Connecticut.

Abby Wambach moved to within 10 goals of the U.S. WNT all-time scoring record held by Mia Hamm when she notched her 148th career goal late in the first half and second-half sub Tobin Heath tallied a 67th-minute goal, but Germany was able to create an equalizer both times to hold the U.S. to back-to-back draws for the first time this year. The USA moved to 3-0-2 in the Fan Tribute Tour, a celebration of the team’s run to a fourth gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

The Fan Tribute Tour resumes with two matches against the Republic of Ireland at 7 p.m. PT on Nov. 28 at JELD-WEN Field in Portland, Ore., and at 7:30 p.m. MT on Dec. 1 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz
Wambach had the U.S. goal in the first game against Germany, which ended in a 1-1 draw at Toyoto Park outside of Chicago. Alex Morgan assisted on the goal.

With slick conditions on the field, it appeared the first half would be scoreless between the top two teams in the current FIFA Women’s World Rankings, but the U.S. was able to find the back of the net in the 44th minute. Wambach dashed in front of Germany defender Babett Peter and headed the ball into the back of the net on the dive for a 1-0 lead just before halftime.

Germany took advantage of a defensive miscue in 48th minute when U.S. captain and center back Christie Rampone slipped while trying to send the ball up-field near the edge of the center circle. Second-half sub Dzenifer Marozsan, the MVP of the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, took advantage almost half field one-on-one against USA goalkeeper Hope Solo and slipped the ball underneath her to tie the score at 1-1.

After Solo came up with tremendous back-to-back saves in the 65th and 67th minutes, the U.S. responded on the offensive end when Morgan dribbled all the way to the left end line before made a sliding pass back into the middle toward Lloyd. The pass was a bit behind Lloyd, but then rolled through to Heath who slotted it into the right side of the net for a 2-1 lead in the 67th minute.

The USA held strong despite Germany’s bevvy of shots for nearly a 20-minute stretch, but Marozsan once again had an answer as she blasted a left-footed shot from distance just inside the left post past Solo in the 85th minute to tie the score at 2-2.

Additional Notes:

• Alex Morgan’s 17th and 18th assists move her into a tie for fourth all-time for a U.S. WNT player in a calendar year. Mia Hamm twice had 18 assists (1995 and 1996). Hamm has the record with 22 assists in 2004, followed by Carin Gabarra’s 21 assists in 1991 and Hamm’s 20 assists in 1998.

• Christie Rampone played in her 271st career match. She now sits one cap behind third-place Julie Foudy (272) on the all-time list and could potentially tie that mark when the U.S. faces the Republic of Ireland on Nov. 28 at JELD-WEN Field in Portland, Ore.

• Forward Abby Wambach moved into sole possession of eighth place on the U.S. WNT all-time caps list with her 193rd appearance, passing Brandi Chastain (192).

• U.S. WNT interim head coach Jill Ellis made four changes to her starting lineup from the team’s 1-1 draw against Germany last Saturday in front of 19,522 spectators Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. Defenders Amy LePeilbet and Becky Sauerbrunn started over Rachel Buehler and Heather Mitts and midfielders Carli Lloyd and Heather O’Reilly started instead of Lauren Cheney and Tobin Heath.

• Heath had started in the previous seven matches dating back to the USA’s 1-0 quarterfinal victory against New Zealand on Aug. 3 in the 2012 London Olympics.

• O’Reilly and Shannon Boxx both played in their 175th career game on Tuesday. They are one appearance away from matching the career total of Shannon MacMillan (176), who is 10th on the all-time list.

• Sydney Leroux, who has scored a USA record 10 goals off the bench this year, entered the match late in the second half to play right back after Heather Mitts took a hard fall in a collision with a German player.

• The U.S. moved to 23-1-3 this year and 6-0-4 all-time in games pitting the # 1 and # 2 FIFA-ranked teams. The USA extended its unbeaten streak to 18 games. The USA is now 17-4-6 all-time against Germany.

-U.S. Women’s National Team Match Report-

Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Germany
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012
Venue: Rentschler Field; East Hartford, Conn.
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Attendance: 18,870
Weather: 56 degrees, rain

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F

USA 1 1 2
GER 0 2 2

USA – Abby Wambach (Alex Morgan) 44th minute
GER – Dzenifer Marozsan 48
USA – Tobin Heath (Alex Morgan) 67
GER – Dzenifer Marozsan (Linda Bresonik) 85

Lineups:

USA: 1-Hope Solo; 6-Amy LePeilbet (2-Heather Mitts, 57) (11-Sydney Leroux, 84), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 3-Christie Rampone (capt.), 5-Kelley O’Hara (16-Rachel Buehler, 57); 9-Heather O’Reilly (17-Tobin Heath, 63), 7-Shannon Boxx, 10-Carli Lloyd, 15-Megan Rapinoe (12-Lauren Cheney, 46); 13-Alex Morgan, 14-Abby Wambach
Subs Not Used: 18-Nicole Barnhart, 21-Jill Loyden, 8-Amy Rodriguez
Head coach: Jill Ellis
GER: 1-Nadine Angerer (capt.); 3-Saskia Bartusiak, 4-Babett Peter, 5-Annike Krahn, 15-Verena Faisst, 22-Luisa Wensing; 6-Simone Laudehr (17-Viola Odebrecht, 46), 10-Linda Bresonik, 20-Lena Goessling; 9-Alexandra Popp (14-Dzenifer Marozsan, 46), 11-Anja Mittag (24-Lena Lotzen, 78)
Subs Not Used: 2-Bianca Schmidt, 7-Melanie Behringer, 12-Almuth Schult, 16-Martina Muller, 18-Svenja Huth, 21-Laura Benkarth, 23-Leonie Maier
Head coach: Silvia Neid

Stats Summary: USA / GER

Shots: 14 / 25
Shots on Goal: 5 / 9
Saves: 6 / 3
Corner Kicks: 3 / 7
Fouls: 6 / 8
Offside: 5 / 2

Misconduct Summary:

GER – Lena Goessling (caution) 55th minute
USA – Heather Mitts (caution) 74

Budweiser Woman of the Match: Carli Lloyd