U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team downs China 2-1 in friendly at The Home Depot Center
The U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team defeated the China Under-17 Women’s National Team 2-1 in the first of two friendlies between the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup-bound nations as Toni Payne and Summer Green scored for the Americans in a come-from-behind victory.
U.S. head coach Albertin Montoya shuffled his lineup for the match and ended up using 16 players overall in the game. China opened the scoring just before halftime through Zhang Chen and held the lead until the 58th minute when Payne equalized with her fourth international goal at the U-17 level.
Payne received the ball in the middle of the field just before entering the attacking third and played a give-and-go combination with midfielder Lauren Kaskie before slotting her shot past the goalkeeper from 18 yards into the lower right corner.
The winning goal came in the 81st minute on a penalty kick after substitute Amber Munerlyn cut into the left side of the penalty area and was taken down just outside the six-yard box. Green converted the spot kick for her 16th international goal in 20 U-17 appearances.
The two teams will meet again at The Home Depot Center on Saturday, Aug. 25, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. PT. Fans are invited to attend and admission is free.
The U.S. team is in its last stages of preparation for the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup being held in Azerbaijan from Sept. 22-Oct. 13. The Republic of Azerbaijan, which is slightly smaller than the state of Maine and has a population of almost nine million, is located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe and is bound by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west and Iran to the south. Five of the tournament’s six venues are in Baku with one stadium located about 175 miles south in Lankaran.
The U.S. plays its first Group B match at Lankaran Stadium in Lankaran, opening its tournament on Sept. 22 against France (1 p.m. local / 4 a.m. ET) before facing Gambia on Sept. 25 (5 p.m. local / 8 a.m. ET) at Dalga Arena in Baku. The USA will finish group play on Sept. 29 against Korea DPR (5 p.m. local / 8 a.m. ET) at Bayil Stadium in Baku. Lankaran Stadium features a grass field, but both Dalga Arena and Bayil Stadium have artificial surfaces.
– U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team Match Report –
Match: United States U-17 WNT vs. China U-17 WNT
Date: August 22, 2012
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: The Home Depot Center – Field #3; Carson, Calif.
Weather: 75 degrees, sunny
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 0 2 2
CHINA 1 0 1
CHN – Zhang Chen 43rd minute
USA – Toni Payne Lauren Kaskie) 58
USA – Summer Green 81
Lineups:
USA: 1-Cassie Miller; 2-Morgan Reid, 5-Maddie Bauer, 6-Mandy Freeman (13-Lizzy Raben, 45), 3-Brittany Basinger; 15-Andi Sullivan, 10-Morgan Andrews (7-Lauren Kaskie, 45), 12-Joanna Boyles (11-Toni Payne, 45), 14-Margaret Purce (4-Amber Munerlyn, 56), 8-Summer Green, 21-Darian Jenkins (9-Emily Bruder, 67)
Subs Not Used: 16-Gabbi Miranda, 17-Morgan Stanton, 18-Morgan Stearns, 19-Arielle Ship, 22-Claire Wagner, 24-Claire Wheatley, 24-Jane Campbell
Head Coach: Albertin Montoya
CHINA: 18-Lu Feifei; 13-Li Mengwen, 19-Wang Xi, 21-Jiang Tingting, 5-Song Yuqing; 11-Zhang Zhu (10-Song Duan, 67), 20-Lv Yueyun, 8-Lei Jiahui (23-Ji Xinyi, 67), 15-Miao Siwen; 19-Wang Xi, 16-Tang Jiaji
Subs Not Used: 1-Li Mengyu, 2-Zhang Xin, 3-He Huiping, 4-Dai Bingyue, 6-Xiao Yuyi, 7-Liu Yanqiu, 12-Zhao Minqian, 14-Wang Xuan, 17-Dong Jiabao, 22-Wang Xin
Head Coach: Zhang Chonglai
Stats Summary: USA / CHINA
Shots: 8 / 15
Shots on Goal: 4 / 7
Saves: 6 / 2
Corner Kicks: 0 / 3
Fouls: 5 / 2
Offside: 7 / 10
Misconduct Summary:
USA – Summer Green (caution) 35th minute
