Norway Rolls Over US, 2-0

Norway jumped on the United States from the opening whistle, getting two goals in the first four minutes today to beat the US women's soccer team, 2-0, at the Beijing Olympics. The US occassionally looked dangerous, but seemed to miss injured leading scorer Abby Wambach. It was America's first loss under new coach Pia Sundhage. "My glass is always half full," said Sundhage, "so for us it's a new experience to lose a game."

Leni Laursen Kaurin outmuscled US defender Lori Chalupny to head the ball over charging goalkeeper Hope Solo and into an open net in the second minute. Two minutes later, the US lost the ball in midfield, and Melissa Wiik curled a right-footed shot just inside the far post. "We are satisfied," Norway coach Bjarne Berntsen said. "We are very grateful for the tremendous start we had in this game." (More 2008 Beijing Olympics stories.)