CHICAGO (Oct. 4, 2012) – U.S. Soccer has added has added two more matches to the U.S. Women’s National Team Fan Tribute Tour, presented by Panasonic, with games against Ireland on Nov. 28 in Portland, Ore., and Dec. 1 in Glendale, Ariz.
The 2012 London Olympics gold medalists will host their sixth leg of the tour in Portland at JELD-WEN Field, the home of Major League Soccer’s Portland Timbers, and then face Ireland at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.
Kickoff for the Nov. 28 match in Portland is 7 p.m. PT and the Dec. 1 game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. MT. Ticket information for the game at JELD-WEN Field will be announced shortly. Fans can follow all U.S. WNT matches through ussoccer.com’s Match Tracker and via Twitter @ussoccer_wnt.
The USA is 8-0-0 all-time against Ireland, with its most recent meeting resulting in a 2-0 win on Sept. 20, 2008, at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. Five of the USA’s previous matches against Ireland came on tours after winning Olympic gold medals – two games in 2004 and three in 2008. During the second match in 2004 played in Houston, the two teams were tied 0-0 at halftime before Abby Wambach scored five consecutive goals in the second half to tie a U.S. record for most goals in a game as the USA won 5-0.
The U.S. WNT’s next stop on the Fan Tribute Tour will be at Toyota Park as the USA prepares for two October matches against Germany. The top-ranked U.S. hosts FIFA No. 2-ranked Germany at 5:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Oct. 20, at the home of MLS club Chicago Fire (TICKETS). On Tuesday, Oct. 23, the USA and Germany square off again at 7:30 p.m. ET at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. (TICKETS). More than 13,000 tickets have already been sold for each game.
The USA is 3-0 so far on its Fan Tribute Tour, opening with an 8-0 victory against Costa Rica on Sept. 1 at a sold-out Sahlen’s Stadium in Rochester, N.Y., the hometown of star striker Abby Wambach. The U.S. then won back-to-back matches against Australia – a 2-1 victory on Sept. 16 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., followed by a 6-2 win on Sept. 19 at sold-out Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., in Pia Sundhage’s final game as U.S. WNT head coach.
The U.S. won its third straight gold medal (and fourth gold medal overall) at the 2012 London Olympics. The USA went undefeated at 6-0-0 for the first time at an Olympic tournament, which included a thrilling come-from-behind overtime victory in the semifinal against Canada on Aug. 6 and Carli Lloyd’s two-goal performance to lead the U.S. to a 2-1 win against 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Japan in the gold medal match on Aug. 9.
