SOCCER : U.S. Women Win Easily, Even When It Gets Rough

Mia Hamm scored four goals as the U.S. women’s national soccer team trounced Trinidad & Tobago, 11-1, in Montreal Wednesday night in a regional qualifying match for the 1995 FIFA Women’s World Championship in Sweden.

The game was a rough affair in which three players and Tony DiCicco, the U.S. assistant coach, were ejected. Afterward, DiCicco blamed Jamaican referee Charles Barrett for allowing the game to get out of control.

“It was kind of a frustrating game,” DiCicco said. “It just got more and more nasty as the game wore on. The official was totally oblivious to what was going on out there.

“Our kids never retaliated. They were angry, (so) they didn’t want to stop scoring on them. They felt they were hitting us with cheap shots. The referee never took control of it.”

The United States opened the scoring in the fourth minute on a right-foot shot by Hamm off a pass from Tisha Venturini and was ahead, 5-0, after 34 minutes.

Trinidad & Tobago then entered the record books by scoring the first goal against the United States in world championship qualifying play when Delia DeSilva beat goalkeeper Briana Scurry. In the first CONCACAF tournament in Haiti in 1991, the Americans outscored their opponents, 49-0, and had scored 14 goals without reply in Montreal before DeSilva’s strike.

Midway through the second half, DeSilva took a swing at U.S. winger Carin Gabarra and a brawl erupted. Trinidad & Tobago defender Margaret Andem had been red-carded in the first half, and DeSilva and U.S. defender Thori Staples were ejected after the brawl.

DiCicco was tossed out shortly afterward for letting the referee know what he thought of him in a rather colorful way.

The U.S. team also got two goals apiece from Gabarra and Venturini and one each from Michelle Akers-Stahl, Christine Lilly and Amanda Cromwell.