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Centre-back Saki Kumagai broke many local hearts Sunday when her penalty shoot-out attempt beat American goalkeeper Hope Solo and gave Japan the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The loss, however, did not leave Tonia Russo with a languid lump.
“The U.S. played great,” the resident of the 800 block of Pierce Street and recent graduate of Ss. Neumann-Goretti High School, 1736 S. 10th St., said Monday at the Southeast Youth Athletic Association Sports Complex, Seventh and Bigler streets. “The players have inspired so many girls to see how much they can get out of soccer.”
Russo and her SEYAA U-19 teammates have proven they could one day find themselves chasing international glory. Many of the 10 athletes have made the 17-year-old facility their sporting home for more than a decade. Tenacious towards opponents yet tender towards one another, they are a formidable mix of ruthlessness and camaraderie.
“Teams come at us harder because we have a bit of South Philly swagger and they really want to beat us,” Joann McAfee, SEYAA’s four-year treasurer, said as the young ladies practiced.
The resident of 12th and Wolf streets watched with glee as daughter Nicole, a soon-to-be senior sweeper/back for Neumann-Goretti, and the others made it seem they need not wait until September to begin competing in their numerous leagues. This year has yielded enough stellar achievements to cause them to develop big heads, but they would rather use their domes for scoring goals and stopping shots than for carrying about large egos.
“We’ve grown up together, so we realize we have to have fun,” Alaina Zepp, a senior-to-be Neumann-Goretti star, said.
The resident of 16th and Porter streets sports a dollar sign on the back of her jersey because her teammates deemed her “money in the net.” With her goal-tending skills, the squad captured this year’s U-19 Philadelphia Department of Recreation Indoor Soccer Championship.
Fishtown’s Daniel Shissler Recreation Center served as the site for their 12 contests, all victories, and enabled the girls to show off their penchant for tactical play and speed. Indoor play uses only four players and a goalie, so action can be intense.
“Let’s just say there’s no waiting around,” Russo said.
A forward for SEYAA, she will become the starting left midfielder for Neumann University. Her final appearances before her collegiate career commences came in June at the ninth annual Cape Express Beach Blast in Wildwood, N.J.
“We do the Beach Blast for fun, but we always expect something crazy,” Nicole McAfee said.
With 1,000 teams competing on 100 fields in one weekend, craziness can certainly ensue. The competition is open to teams from all over the country and involves pool play. Three 12-minute periods quicken the pace, but patience must be a good friend of all participants.
The local bunch lost last year’s final and desired to build on its second consecutive City title with another impressive march. It again finished as the runner-up, but nobody left The Garden State gloomy.
“With so many teams, there’s nothing wrong with finishing where we did,” Russo said.
The same sentiment likely would not win the favor of many of the national team’s supporters. Many had expected the United States, winners of the 1991 and ’99 tournaments, to become the first country to triumph three times.
The American nearly missed an opportunity even to make the trip to Germany, as their third-place finish in last year’s CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup required them to face Italy in November playoffs. A pair of 1-0 wins allowed the women to grab the World Cup’s 16th and final spot.
They dumped fellow Group C members North Korea, 2-0, June 28 and blanked Colombia, 3-0, July 2. A 2-1 loss to Sweden July 6 kept them from a perfect pool play record, but they still secured a quarterfinal spot. They met Brazil, the 2007 runners-up and silver medalist from the last two Olympic Games, July 10 in what many experts and fans later hailed as the tournament’s best clash.
The South-American squad, featuring four-time FIFA World Player of the Year Marta Vieira da Silva, was moments away from eliminating the Americans. Centre forward Abby Wambach, the four-time U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year, netted the equalizer to necessitate a penalty shoot-out. The Americans outpaced Brazil, 5-3, to claim a semifinal berth.
“The Brazil game was intense,” Russo said. “It really showed how much women around the world have advanced athletically.”
Wambach, the SEYAA girls’ favorite player, scored the game-winning goal in the Americans’ 3-1 win over France July 13. Later that day, Japan shocked Sweden by the same score to join the 1999 Chinese squad as Asian participants in the championship.
In 25 prior meetings, the Americans had amassed 22 wins, including a 3-0 triumph in the ’91 tournament and a 1-0 win in the ’95 edition, and three draws against the Japanese. Having stunned host Germany, the two-time defending champions, 1-0 in a July 9 quarterfinal, the underdogs seemed poised to earn two firsts, a win over the Americans and a major world title.
Forward Alex Morgan scored in the 69th minute, but Japanese left wing Aya Miyama responded in the 81st. Wambach, who would win the Bronze Boot for scoring, notched her fourth goal of the tournament in the 104th minute, but 13 minutes later Solo could not stop a shot from centre midfielder Homare Sawa.
The Americans missed their first three shoot-out tries, while the Japanese scored twice. Wambach buried her shot to give the Americans life, but Kumagai beat Solo with a well-placed kick to earn her team the championship.
“That’s the game,” the SEYAA girls said in unison over the decision to end the contest in a shoot-out rather than to continue playing until someone scored a goal.
“Japan played well,” Nicole McAfee said, adding nobody should say the Americans choked.
The run has directly helped her mother, who said registration for the fall season has increased.
“That always happens with the World Cup and the Olympics,” Joann McAfee said.
The Americans will face their next big test at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where they will attempt to win their third-straight gold. The ’15 World Cup will occur in Canada.
Big tournaments involving the Americans do not increase the enthusiasm of the SEYAA girls, who admitted to having an eternal interest in their sport. The ’19 World Cup site remains undetermined, but they would love to fill the national team’s roster.
“You never know,” Russo said. “A couple of us might be there.” SPR
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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