U.S. Women's Soccer Squad Faces Tough Teams in CISM

By Tim HippsOctober 18, 2007

CISM Women's Soccer Match
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CISM Soccer against North Korean Women
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HYDERABAD, India (Army News Service, Oct. 18, 2007) -- The U.S. Armed Forces women's soccer team lost 4-0 to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's powerful squad that features 11 players from its national team in Sunday's opening match of the 4th CISM Military World Games in Hyderabad, India.

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Several of the players were on a Korea DPR squad that won the FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship in 2006. They also captured crowns in 2003 and 2001. Last month, Korea DPR advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2007 Women's World Cup.

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"I think we played our hearts out and left it on the field," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Anna Fischer, a navigator at Hurlburt Field Air Force Base near Fort Walton Beach, Fla. "We did the best we could, but they were technically very sound."

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Senior Capt. Kim Yong A tallied goals in the 61st and 87th minutes to cap the scoring for the speedy North Koreans, who led 2-0 at halftime.

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Squaring off against one of the world's strongest military women's football teams was a tough task for the U.S. squad, which had never played together before this summer.

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"I was really pleased with the team, especially with the caliber of team we were up against," said goalkeeper Capt. Stacie Bortz, an electronic warfare officer from Perrysburg, Ohio, who is stationed at Hurlburt Field. "They got a few people in behind us, but we learned from it. And they didn't get any more in. We only get a chance to come together twice a year, but I felt that we jelled really well."

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Despite trailing by four goals, the U.S. team played with determination in the waning minutes of the match.

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"The best part of our team is that we didn't give up," said Army Capt. Laura Schroeder of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency at Fort Belvoir, Va. "We could have said it is two-nothing and just gave up. Instead, we played until the last minute. Our halftime talk was positive and supportive. We really are a close team."

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Following the completion of regulation time, the teams waged a shootout as part of the tiebreaker formula for the remainder of the tournament. North Korea prevailed 5-4 in the shootout.

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On Monday, Team USA lost 1-0 to Germany on a goal scored in the 25th minute.

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Despite breaking her left wrist during the second half against North Korea, Army Capt. Emily Nay returned to the pitch the next day to face the Germans.

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Capt. Nay, a 1999 graduate of Centreville (Va.) High School, serves as an executive officer to the director of intelligence at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo.

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The U.S. women's final match of the tournament is scheduled for Thursday against Canada for fifth place in the Military World Games.

(Tim Hipps writes for FMWRC Public Affairs)