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U.S. wins Pan Am women's soccer gold

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Posted: Friday August 06, 1999 07:22 AM

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) -- Catherine Reddick watched the World Cup like millions of others, and she felt closer than most. Some day, she hopes, she'll be part of the greatest soccer tournament on earth.

On Thursday, though, the present was plenty satisfying for Reddick, a 17-year-old high school senior from Birmingham, Ala.

She made an uncanny series of moves to score the lone goal as the United States beat Mexico 1-0 for the Pan American Games gold medal.

"The Pan Ams is the biggest game of our lives right now," Reddick said. "It's just so special, right after the World Cup to live up to what they did. It's such a great experience."

Reddick, a striker in high school but a defender with the 18-and-under national team, chest-trapped the ball near midfield. Then she took off, dribbling about 40 yards, faking two defenders in front of the penalty area and then driving a right-footed shot high over Mexican goalie Linny Quinones in the 26th minute.

"I have some striker skills. I saw I had a shot and I said, `Please go in.' And it did," she said.

Goalie Hope Solo, who plays at the University of Washington, had 11 blocks. Her fully extended block of a shot by Iris Mora in the 53rd minute and her diving stop of a shot in the penalty area by Fatima Leyva in the 87th preserved the U.S. lead.

"I just laid my body down in front of the shot, just like we do in drills," Solo said.

And yes, she also watched the U.S. World Cup team win the gold.

"We had our own expectations, because we are a different team," Solo said. "We are not the USA team, not the World Cup team. So we had to establish our own expectations and distinguish ourselves. And it wasn't just because they won.

"But they intrigued us and they inspired us."

The Americans' victory wasn't as dramatic as the one by their World Cup sisters. No nerve-fraying penalty kick in the championship, no shirt-ripping celebration, either.

Oh, the American women did have a good time after their victory over Mexico. They danced on the field, bowed to the crowd in a chorus line and then took a victory lap after receiving their gold medals.

Except for a 1-1 tie with Mexico in the opening round, the United States dominated the tournament, outscoring opponents 22-2.

"Two weeks after they won the World Cup gold, people were asking us if we were the World Cup team," Reddick said. "We said, `No, we are their understudies, and that's where we like to be.' We want to grow and become like a Brandi Chastain or a Mia Hamm."

 

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