Kai does not play as U.S. women beat Italy in soccer
Associated Press
ALVOR, Portugal — Lindsay Tarpley and Heather O'Reilly scored to lead the United States over Italy 2-0 today for the Americans' second straight win at the Algarve Cup women's soccer tournament.
U.S. team member Natasha Kai, a Kahuku High and University of Hawai'i alum, did not play today.
Tarpley tapped in a rebound following Lauren Cheney's shot in the sixth minute. Tarpley also scored in the fifth minute of Wednesday's opening 4-0 victory over China.
O'Reilly sprinted down the right, cut inside and scored from a tight angle in the 74th.
"It was a tense game for us," O'Reilly said.
The United States made three substitutions at halftime and began to dominate the match, though goalkeeper Hope Solo made a spectacular reflex save from Melania Gabbadini in the 60th.
"There were many situations where we were under pressure," United States coach Pia Sundhage said. "We need this kind of game to learn to deal with it."
The Americans play Norway on Monday in their final first-round match.
In other games, Birgit Prinz scored twice and Renata Lingar once to lead World Cup champion Germany over Finland 3-0 and Denmark defeated Sweden 1-0 on a sixth-minute goal by Cathrine Sorensen.
