TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 USA WINS FIRST WOMEN'S GOLD 4 CHAPTER 2 POLAND COMPLETES A LONG JOURNEY 8 CHAPTER 3 NIGERIA WINS FIRST SOCCER GOLD FOR AFRICA 12 CHAPTER 4 CAMEROON WINS GOLD 18 CHAPTER 5 NORWAY TAKES GOLD FROM USA 22 CHAPTER 6 TEAM USA DEFEATS NEW RIVAL FOR GOLD 26 GLOSSARY MORE INFORMATION ONLINE RESOURCES INDEX 30 31 31 32 32 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHAPTER 1 USA WINS FIRST WOMEN'S GOLD A young Team USA just survived the group stage of the first ever women's Olympic soccer tournament They advanced to play Norway in a tense semifinal match Norway took the lead 18 minutes into the match The Americans couldn't manage to score in the game until Michele Akers's goal in the 76th minute Time ran out with the countries still tied 1-1 but a US midfielder burned the Norwegian goalkeeper in extra time for the 2-1 win The eight countries that competed in soccer in the 1996 Olympics included the United States and China Team USA had won 2-0 over China in the 1995 Women's World Cup to finish third At the 1996 Olympics the teams played to a scoreless tie in their group game China went on to finish atop the group Mia Hamm fights for the ball versus Norway's Gro Espeseth in the 1996 Olympic semifinal
