THESSALONIKI, Greece (August 20, 2004) – The U.S. Women’s National Team put together its best overall match of the 2004 Olympics so far, earning a 2-1 quarterfinal win over Japan behind goals from Kristine Lilly and Abby Wambach.

With the win, the U.S. advances to meet 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Germany in the semifinal on Monday, August 23, in match that will be televised live on MSNBC and Telemundo at 6 p.m. (local) / 11 a.m. ET.

In their quarterfinal match, Germany came back from a 1-0 deficit to score twice in the final 20 minutes, including the game-winner in the 81st minute, and beat Nigeria 2-1. In the other quarterfinal matches, Brazil hammered Mexico, 5-0, while Sweden downed Australia, 2-1. Sweden will meet Brazil in the other semifinal on Aug. 23 in Patra at 9 p.m. (local) / 2 p.m. ET in a rematch of the 2003 Women’s World Cup quarterfinal won by Sweden.

U.S. head coach April Heinrichs made four changes from the lineup that faced Australia in the USA’s final group match, inserting Brandi Chastain (who saw her first action of the tournament) at left back and moving Kate Markgraf into the middle of the defense with Joy Fawcett. Christie Rampone returned to her right back spot, while 20-year-old midfielder Lindsay Tarpley got her first start of the tournament. Wambach returned from suspension to start alongside Hamm and Lilly up top in an attacking-minded 4-3-3 formation and the trio put pressure on the Japanese back line for the entire match.

The USA played with a sharpness and rhythm seen only in spurts during the first three matches and were dominant on air balls, as well as pressuring the skillful Japanese in the midfield, limiting their time and space to create. The match was played in front of a crowd of only 1,418, but the vocal, drum-beating fans from both countries created some exciting atmosphere in the large stadium.

The U.S. played with confidence and crispness over the first half hour, but neither team could produce any dangerous chances in the early going. Japan began to find their rhythm as the half wore on, but only registered one shot in the first half, a long attempt from midfielder Homare Sawa that U.S. goalkeeper Briana Scurry easily saved in the 17th minute.

The U.S. didn’t have its first shot on goal until the 39th minute, when a Tarpley cross from the left found Wambach in the middle of the box with a defender on her back. The 5-11 forward was able to snap a header on goal, but Japanese goalkeeper Nozomi Yamago dove to save the ball at the left post.

The USA got a huge goal just two minutes before halftime thanks to a never-say-die dribbling run from Lilly. She won the ball outside the penalty area on the left side and sprinted into the box, where she pushed through a tackle from a Japanese defender. The ball popped up in the air and Japan’s Homare Sawa came flying back toward her own goal trying to clear the ball, but kicked it straight up in the air. Tarpley kept the ball alive by challenging in the air with Yamago about 10 yards from the goal, and when the ball hit the ground, Lilly struck a half volley with her right foot just inside the left post. It was Lilly’s second goal in as many games and the 97th of her career.

Japan wasted no time getting an equalizer, answering back just three minutes after the break. On a bit of a fluke goal, Emi Yamamoto sent in a free kick from the right side that flew past the diving Sawa, and a lunging Rampone and skipped into the left side of the net to make it 1-1.

In the 52nd minute, the U.S. almost went ahead when Yamago gave up a rebound off a long, driven shot from Wambach and the ball squirted out in front of the Japanese ‘keeper. Hamm quickly pounced on the loose ball and tried to dribble around Yamago, but could only muster a cross that tantalizingly rolled through the penalty area before being cleared.

The U.S. grabbed the lead back in the 58th minute on one of the most unusual goals of the tournament as the USA beat a Japan offside trap from a free kick by Hamm. As the ball was sent into the Japanese penalty area, the defensive line rushed forward, but the Americans had players coming from behind and four U.S. attackers raced in all alone on Yamago. The ball fell to midfielder Shannon Boxx, who collected the ball smoothly and had almost too much time as she dribbled toward Yamago, who cut off her angle. Boxx unselfishly laid the ball across to Wambach, who took a touch and practically walked the ball over the goal line. It was Wambach’s team-leading third goal of the tournament and 31st of her career.

In the 65th minute, Hamm broke free for a moment in the right side of the penalty area after a great U.S. build-up, but with a player hanging all over her, she couldn’t get enough pace on her shot and it went right into the hands of Yamago.

Hamm got Lilly and Wambach into dangerous positions with her passing in the latter part of the match, but both were shutdown by Japanese defenders before they could unleash shots.

The U.S. survived a scare in the 69th minute when they couldn’t clear a loose ball in a crowded penalty area after several attempts. The ball was played back to the top of the box to second-half sub Miyuki Yanagita, who fired a low shot wide left of the goal.

Tarpley had a good chance in the 76th minute, but her soft shot was right at Yamago. U.S. captain Julie Foudy almost delivered a huge insurance goal in the 78th minute, but her header back across the goal from a corner kick was cleared off the line by Yanagita.

The U.S. escaped one final flurry in the penalty area in the 90th minute, as a corner kick eluded Scurry and bounced around in the box, with a pair of shots being blocked before the ball was cleared.

Heinrichs made no subs in the match, going with the same 11 for the entire 90 minutes. Tarpley played an inspired match in the midfield for the USA, while all the American midfielders put in a hard night of running. The U.S. back line of Rampone, Joy Fawcett, Markgraf and Chastain also did extremely well to keep the crafty Japanese in front of them for the entire game. Japan took just seven shots during the match, with just three on goal, and one started as a cross off the free kick that found its way into the net.

The USA-Germany semifinal sets up a dramatic rematch of the 2003 Women’s World Cup semifinal when Germany downed the USA, 3-0, at PGE Park in Portland, Ore., scoring twice in stoppage time of the second half to make the final margin. The U.S. team will travel tomorrow to Heraklio on the island of Crete, site of their opening match against Greece back on Aug. 11.

USA: 1-Briana Scurry; 3-Christie Rampone, 15-Kate Markgraf, 14-Joy Fawcett, 6-Brandi Chastain; 7-Shannon Boxx 5-Lindsay Tarpley, 11-Julie Foudy (C), 13-Kristine Lilly; 16-Abby Wambach, 9-Mia Hamm.

Subs Not Used: 2-Heather Mitts, 4-Cat Reddick, 8-Angela Hucles, 10-Aly Wagner, 12-Cindy Parlow, 17-Heather O'Reilly, 18-Kristin Luckenbill.

Head Coach: April Heinrichs.

JPN: 1-Nozomi Yamago; 2-Yano Kyoko (12-Yasuyo Yamagishi, 46), 3-Hiromi Isozaki (C), 5-Naoko Kawakami (14-Karina Maruyama, 77), 13-Aya Shimokozuru; 6-Tomoe Sakai, 8-Tomomi Miyamoto, 7-Emi Yamamoto (15-Miyuki Yangita, 68); 9-Eriko Arakawa, 10-Homare Sawa, 11-Mio Otani.

Subs Not Used: 4-Yumi Obe, 16-Yayoi Kobayashi, 17-Kozue Ando, 18-Shiho Onodera.

Head Coach: Eiji Ueda.

Referee: Silvia de Oliveira (Brazil)

Asst. Referees: Ana da Silva Oliveira (Brazil), Aracely Castro (Bolivia)

4th Official: Diana Krystyna Szokolai (Australia)

"We're excited to be going to the semifinals. You saw that it was a tight game and Japan has made remarkable improvement since the World Cup and since the last time we played them. This was a breakout game for the U.S. as we played all the players for the full 90 minutes, which is statement of our confidence in them and in our fitness moving forward to the semifinals."

"Playing Japan on two days rest as they had five days rest and coming out with a win in a commanding fashion is a good lift for our team right now. We played with an aggressive attacking and defensive mentality and the best thing is that we sustained that for 90 minutes."

"After the first free kick, we noticed that Japan would pull a very aggressive trap. So we told our forward to go with their back line and let our midfielders run through. It was great execution on Shannon Boxx and Abby Wambach's part because they were almost in so easily that you could have lost their concentration expecting a whistle or a flag or miss-hit the ball trying to make it perfect. So I'm really proud that Boxxy cleaned it up and pushed it very selflessly over to Abby Wambach."

"As the rules state, that is most likely going to be onside, but it's not a rule that I always agree. Offside is a gray area in the game of soccer during the run of play, but on those particular types of plays, with the timing of the pass coming through and the passive player, my guess is that it was onside."

"We tell our players that it's only a foul if the referee blows the whistle and it's only offside if the referee makes the call, so they really did well to play through it."

"It's a match-up we are excited to have. It's will be a matchup of some beautiful soccer. The last time we played was the semifinals of the (2003) World Cup and I feel to this day that it was one of the greatest games ever played in the women's game, so it will meet all expectations."

"We've seen our younger players get better every day this year and Lindsay Tarpley is a shining example of that. Every game she has played for this team, she has done extremely well."

"We decided that in a 4-3-3 we could put some pressure on Japan, that Kristine Lilly could give us some flank play, that Lindsay Tarpley could dig out second balls for us and play make against a very athletic team, and that Brandi Chastain could help compose us in the back. It's the old mantra, that the best defense is a good offensive and that helped us get forward and play in Japan's end."

"Abby had mentioned something right before, saying 'watch the trap.' I stayed behind the line a little bit and watched and waited and I was definitely on. It was a little nerve-wracking when I got the ball, but I could hear Abby yelling at me telling me to settle as I had time, so I was glad that she was behind me and stayed onside so I could give her the ball."

"I definitely was in a good position and wanted to do something good with it. I didn't really have a shot because the 'keeper had the positioning on me, so I'm glad that Abby was there."

"I just wanted to focus on Japan and our play and take it one game at a time, that's all you really can to do in the quarterfinals for sure, because if you don't win, you go home without anything."

"(Chastain) has the intangible of experience and her soccer mind is incredible, so it was great to have her out there again. Moving (Kate Makgraf) to the inside was a good move on our part because of her speed, trying to manage a fast Japanese team that comes down the middle a lot of times."

"Shannon Boxx gets all the credit on that goal. For her to have the composure to be able to look up and hear me, I was screaming my head off to tell her to stay composed and take her time because there was nobody around. I think (the Japanese defense) were probably still at the top of the 18 at that point. Our coaches told us that they like to pull that trap. Shannon stayed onside and took a great touch and had the composure to look up and see that we had a bunch of the people on the back post and all we had to do to stay onsides. It's probably the easiest goal I'll ever score in a world event."

"I feel about 23, plus or minus a decade."

"I think we did some really good things. We probably possessed the ball better than we have, especially in the first 20 minutes and we got behind them when we could. The first goal was a result of Tarpley challenging the 'keeper. If you don't challenge the 'keeper, it's an easy ball for her to pick up and then you had (Lilly) their just scraping."