Germans knock U.S. out of Cup title chase

PORTLAND, Ore. -- There will be no World Cup repeat for the American women, no triumph before a raucous home crowd.

Spectacular goalkeeping by Silke Rottenberg, a brilliantly executed corner kick and two late goals gave Germany a 3-0 semifinal victory over the defending World Cup champion United States on Sunday.

Kerstin Garefrekes' header off Renate Lingor's corner kick glanced off the crossbar and into the net in the 15th minute, then the Germans withstood one U.S. threat after another.

Maren Meinert, the MVP of the WUSA last year in its final season of existence, scored in the match's final minute, then German star Birgit Prinz punctuated the win with a goal just before the end of extra time.

Germany will play the winner of Sunday night's Sweden-Canada match for the World Cup title next Sunday in Carson, Calif. The United States will face the other semifinal loser for third place.

"We brought our 'A' game in terms of the attacking," U.S. coach April Heinrichs said. "That's a great team we played.

"I've got to think that maybe this was the greatest game ever played in women's soccer."

It was the second World Cup loss ever for the United States and first since it was beaten by Norway in the 1995 semifinals. The Norwegians went on to beat Germany for the championship.

The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in China, but was moved to the United States because of a SARS epidemic. The stage seemed set for a U.S. repeat as the Americans advanced through a tough group and a difficult 1-0 quarterfinal victory over Norway.

Germany, meanwhile, rolled through its preliminary competition, outscoring its opponents 20-3 going into the semis.

Mia Hamm, the American superstar who will retire after next year's Olympics, repeatedly set up potential scores, only to have them fall apart in front of the German net.

She sent a perfect feed to Tiffeny Milbrett in the 74th minute, leaving the American forward one-on-one with the German goalkeeper. But her shot sailed high over the net.

The last gasp came on Hamm's corner kick in the 89th minute. It fell harmlessly to the ground and the Germans kicked the ball out of danger.

When it was over, Hamm and her teammates could not hold back the tears. She pulled her shirt over her face, then later hugged teammate Joy Fawcett and finally clapped her hands over her head in appreciation of the capacity crowd at PGE Park.

"You know the margin is so slim, it's so slim in this game," Heinrichs said. "I thought we had some chances."

Brandi Chastain, who became the symbol of the 1999 U.S. World Cup victory when she ripped off her shirt after scoring the winning goal, came onto the field to console her teammates. She broke her foot last month in the opening-game win over Sweden.

The Germans seemed stunned by their victory, jumping on each other's backs with joy. Rottenberg held her head in disbelief.

So much was written about Germany's potent offense, but its defense can claim credit for the semifinal triumph.

The United States had an 8-1 advantage in shots and 3-1 in shots on goal in the first half but trailed 1-0 on Germany's brilliantly executed corner kick in the 15th minute.

Germany nearly spoiled the U.S. World Cup triumph in 1999, twice leading its quarterfinal match before the Americans rallied to win 3-2. There would be no comeback this time.

Garefrekes, the 24-year-old midfielder who scored two goals in the 7-1 quarterfinal rout of Russia, could not have headed Lingor's corner kick into a better spot. The ball was hit so high that there was no way goalkeeper Briana Scurry could reach it.

It was only the second goal allowed by the United States in the Cup and the first time the Americans had trailed in five matches.

Late in the 43rd minute, Abby Wambach drilled a shot from the right side, but Rottenberg made a diving save, this time to her left.

Lingor was carried off on a stretcher in the 54th minute with an apparent shoulder injury. Prinz also was hurting but stayed in the match after Scurry deflected two point-blank shots by Germany in the 53rd minute of the match.

Two naked women ran onto the field in the 57th minute with signs which read, "Boycott Adidas" and "Adidas Kills."

Both were taken off the field by security. Adidas is the World Cup sponsor and the protest was aimed at the company's use of labor in Third World countries.