On to Auckland

The U.S. team will leave for Auckland tomorrow morning after getting its first win of the tournament this afternoon, coming back from a goal down to defeat Paraguay, 3-1. The Americans dominated the game, but not the scoreboard, and were 12 minutes away from a draw before Vicki DiMartino scored the winning goal off a fantastic assist/touch from Olivia Klei. Courtney Verloo got her first goal of the tournament with a bomb from outside the box for the final margin and the U.S. then went back to the hotel to root for Japan against France. If the French had defeated Japan, the scenarios for quarterfinal qualification for the U.S. would not have been pretty. The game was never really in doubt, though. Japan scored early against the French, which then equalized, but the Japanese then proceeded to put on a show, blowing the French off the field on the way to a 7-1 victory. The result puts the USA's 3-2 loss to the talented Japanese a bit more perspective, but more importantly sets up a winner take all game against the French at North Harbour Stadium on Nov. 5.