China Ties with US in Women's Soccer Preliminaries

China Ties with US in Women's Soccer Preliminaries

Immensely gifted Sun Wen lived up to her tag as world footballer as she scored on a spectacular free-kick to salvage a 1-1 tie with title defender the United States in Melbourne on Sunday.

China enjoyed another savior in goalkeeper Gao Hong, who blocked out a penalty by American midfielder Kristine Lilly in the 68th minute.

The Americans were awarded a penalty kick when China's central defender Fan Yunjie handled the ball as she tried to interject an attack by Cindy Parlow.

US head coach April Heinrichs, though happy with her players' performance, said: "If we had performed better, we could have won the game."

The Americans got off to a good start when they took the lead in the 38th minute through a header by skipper Julie Foudy.

China never found the chance to hit the equalizer until the 67th minute when they earned a freekick right to the top of the box.. Then Sun, who scored an freekick in the last game against Nigeria, displayed her flair of scoring as she curved the ball into the top left corner of the goal.

The Chinese captain attributed her talent of goal-busting to hard work. "It's no secret, I found the touch in countless practice," she said, "after every workout, I always practice free-kicking."

China's head coach Ma Yuanan was very pleased with the hard-won draw. He said: "I am very satisfied with my players' performance as well as their never-say-die spirit. They proved they are better than their opponents in technique and teamwork."