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After winning for the U.S., defenseman Brandi Chastain admitted she lost.
Brandi Chastain jumps into the arms of teammate Carla Overbeck after scoring the deciding penalty against China in the Women's World Cup final. (Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY)
This article was published in U.S. Women's Soccer Magazine and Soccer New York about the Women's World Cup Final on July 10, 1999 and is used with permission.
michael lewis
PASADENA, Calif. – Defender Brandi Chastain admitted defeat after winning for the United States.
Seconds after scoring the winning goal in a penalty shootout against China, Chastain ripped off his shirt and waved it around in celebration.
“It's a moment of madness,” she said after frolicking around the field in a black sports bra and game shorts.
Her blunder can be forgiven, considering the United States won the Women's World Cup on July 12, putting an exclamation point on an incredible and unforgettable three weeks.
Chastain and his U.S. teammates overcame a tenacious Chinese team through 120 minutes of scoreless soccer in regulation, a brutal overtime game and the loss of defensive midfielder Michelle Akers to heatstroke, and a 5-4 tiebreaker. won.
She turned out to be one of several heroes who gathered at the Rose Bowl in front of President Clinton and a crowd of 90,185, the largest ever for a women's sporting event in the world.
The decisive moment was the presence of goalie Brianna Scully, who stopped Liu Ying's penalty attempt in the tiebreak.
Kara Overbeck, Joy Fawcett, Christine Lilley, Mia Hamm and others all connected with their strengths to ensure victory.
And then there was Lily again. In stoppage time, he saved Chinese defender Fan Yunjie's 7-yard shot with his head, later giving the Americans a chance to win.
“She finds and invents ways to win games,” coach Tony DiCicco said.
The match, billed as a showdown between attacking sides, fell short of expectations, but as the game progressed the tension and drama were no match.
“The game was back and forth,” DiCicco said. “At times we had the advantage. In overtime, I thought they were going to score one against us. . . . It's just that they didn't allow us to lose. This is the story of the end of a historic team.”
No one would argue against that. The Americans won three of the four major women's international tournaments of this decade. These include the first Women's World Cup in China in 1991, the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics, and now the Games. The only anomaly was finishing third in the 1995 Cup in Sweden.
In fact, the United States became the first team to regain the title and the first country to hold Olympic and World Cup crowns at the same time.
Scully, a member of the 1996 team that defeated China in the final, had another chance to frustrate the Asians.
Xie Hullin, who took the lead in the tie-break, fired a shot to Scully's left, giving China a 1-0 lead. But Overbeck tied it up, placing her attempt to Gao Hong's left. Qiu Haiyan fired a shot to the top left, but Fawcett tied it.
In China, Mr. Liu has stepped up.
“When she was walking in, I felt like I could call it that,” Scully said. It was a relatively easy game until the penalty kick. “It was in her body language. I acted completely on instinct.”
Her guess was correct, and she dove to her left, knocking the ball away. Lily then fired a shot into the top left corner, giving the U.S. a 3-2 lead on her.
Zhang Ouying defeated Scully in the bottom right. But with the Americans still leading 4-3 after four rounds, Hamm hit a shot into the bottom right corner.
In the fifth and final round, China's best player, Sun Yat-sen, pushed his shot into the right corner.
Chastain, who has been under pressure in the tournament so far, went from goat to hero (an own goal and a goal for the U.S.) in a 3-2 quarterfinal win over Germany.
Unlike Scully, Chastain acted on his coach's instructions rather than instinct.
“Tony told me about switching to his left foot,” Chastain said. Chastain missed his right-footed penalty against Hong in an earlier loss. “She wasn't looking at Gao. Sometimes she likes to smile at you to make you uncomfortable.”
She calmly made her way to the penalty spot and fired a left-footed shot into the top right corner that set the world of women's sports on fire.
Then all hell broke loose.
“Oh my god, this is the best moment of my life on the soccer field,” she said. “I think I just lost control.”