Dec. 2, 2008
TEMUCO, Chile (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF women's soccer head coach Amanda Cromwell and the United States Under-20 Team remains in the hunt for its second FIFA World Cup as the Americans will take on Germany in the semifinals Thursday at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN360.com. The event is being held in Chile, with the finals set for Dec. 7 at 4:30 p.m. in Santiago.
"We are excited about playing Germany in the semifinals," said Cromwell, who just completed her 10th season at UCF and led the Knights to their 13th NCAA Tournament. "There is a lot of history between the USA and Germany and we know it will be a hard-fought game. We played a much better second half against England and scored three great goals in the quarterfinals. We hope to carry that momentum into the semifinals."
Cromwell, who is serving as an assistant coach under Tony DiCicco, helped the U.S. claim the top spot in Group B by defeating Argentina and France. Although they lost to China in the last game of group play, the U.S. bounced back to shutout England, 3-0, in the quarterfinals.
The U.S. and Germany met in the semifinals in 2002 with the Germans coming away with the victory, but the Americans responded with a quarterfinal win two years later.
The appearance in the semifinals ensures that the United States has advanced to the semis all five times the World Cup has taken place. They secured the trophy in 2002 when it topped host Canada.
With a victory over Germany, the U.S. squad will met either France or Korea DPR in the finals.
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