U.S. Women's National Team defeats China 2-0, wins Four Nations Tournament

The U.S. Women’s National Team won the Four Nations Tournament on Tuesday after defeating China 2-0 in Chongqing, China.

Carli Lloyd scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 31st minute off an assist from forward Amy Rodriguez.  The goal was Lloyd’s second of the tournament after scoring on Friday in a 2-1 loss to Sweden.

Rodriguez would then secure the victory for the United States in 67th minute when she ran onto midfielder Tobin Heath’s ball over the top and struck the ball past China goalkeeper Zhang Yue.  With the 2-0 victory, the United States won the Four Nations Tournament, edging out Canada on a head-to-head tiebreaker.

Canada had beaten Sweden 1-0 earlier in the day, meaning both the U.S. and Canada ended the tournament with six points (Sweden and China both ended with three points.  However, the U.S. beat Canada 2-1 on Sunday, giving it the advantage in the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Box Score:

Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. China
Date: Jan. 25, 2011
Competition: 2011 Four Nations Tournament
Venue: Yongchuan Sports Centre Stadium; Chongqing, China
Kickoff: 6:35 p.m. local / 5:35 a.m. ET
Attendance: 12,000
Weather: Cold, haze – 39 degrees

Scoring Summary:    1          2          F
USA                            1          1          2
CHN                           0          0          0

USA – Carli Lloyd (Amy Rodriguez)             31^st minute
USA – Amy Rodriguez (Tobin Heath)           67

Lineups:
USA: 18-Nicole Barnhart; 22-Becky Sauerbrunn, 6-Amy LePeilbet (14-Stephanie Cox, 42), 3-Christie Rampone (capt.), 19-Rachel Buehler (27-Meghan Klingenberg, 82); 11-Tobin Heath, 7-Shannon Boxx (4-Yael Averbuch, 46), 10-Carli Lloyd, 9-Heather O’Reilly; 12-Lauren Cheney (15-Megan Rapinoe, 46), 8-Amy Rodriguez (13-Alex Morgan, 71)
Subs not used: 5-Lindsay Tarpley, 21-Kelley O’Hara, 24-Ashlyn Harris, 25-Brittany Taylor
Head Coach: Pia Sundhage

CHN: 13-Zhang Yue; 2-Liu Huana (19-Li Wen, 46), 3-Zhou Goaping, 5-Yuan Fan, 4-Li Danyang, 11-Gu Yasha (14-Wang Lingling, 46), 16-Zhang Na, 17-Pang Fengyue (25-Xu Wenjia, 82), 18-Qu Shanshan (capt.) (24-Zhang Jieli, 54), 23-You Jia, 9-Ma Jun
Subs not used: 1-Huang Luna, 10-Zhou Feifei, 20-Wang Dongni, 21-Zhang Nan
Head Coach:  Li Xiaopeng

Statistical Summary: USA / CHN
Shots: 11 / 4
Shots on Goal: 3 / 2
Saves: 2 / 1
Corner Kicks: 6 / 1
Fouls: 11 / 7
Offside: 6 / 1

Misconduct Summary:
CHN – Liu Huana (caution)             26^th minute
USA – Heather O’Reilly (caution)     58

Officials:
Referee: Wang Jia (CHN)
Assistant Referee 1: Fang Yan (CHN)
Assistant Referee 2: Cui Yongmei (CHN)
Fourth Official: Margaret Domka (USA)