Sep 14, 2008 - 12:26 AM
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She also assisted on the first goal, setting up Natasha Kai in the 32nd minute for the Americans, who improved to 27-1-1 in 2008.
O'Reilly raced down the right wing before sending a centering feed to Kai, who out-jumped several defenders and headed home a shot from six yards out. It was Kai's team-leading 14th goal of the year and the 22nd of her career.
Despite enjoying a pronounced 20-4 edge in shots, the Americans didn't seal the victory until O'Reilly scored in the contest's waning moments.
O'Reilly unleashed a left-footed blast from just outside the penalty area that sailed over Irish goalkeeper Emma Byrne, clanked off the underside of the crossbar at the upper left corner and bounced down over the goal line. It was her seventh goal of 2008 and also her 22nd international score.
"I think they did a great job. They kept the ball and kept possession," United States coach Pia Sundhage said.
"We'll talk about going into the attacking third. We talked about switching the point of attack, which will be a key in the future of the women's game. I think we could speed up the a little bit, but we're trying and it will be better and better."
Carli Lloyd, who scored the game-winning goal in the Americans' gold-medal victory over Brazil, had a homecoming of sorts. She is from Delran, New Jersey - approximately 25 minutes from downtown Philadelphia.
"It was awesome. A great atmosphere," Lloyd said. "Good to have a lot of my family and friends here, so I enjoyed it."
The Americans will face Ireland on Wednesday in East Rutherford, New Jersey and again on Saturday in Bridgeview, Illinois. The three-match series starts off the "Achieve Your Gold" Tour, celebrating the gold medal performance at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
O'Reilly earned her 100th cap by competing in the gold-medal match against Brazil on August 21. She became the 23rd woman in U.S. Soccer history to achieve the feat.
"Honestly, every game with this team is an honor so the fact that I have 100 is truly amazing," O'Reilly said. "I think I have the best job in the world, doing what we love every day. I'm definitely very, very fortunate."
"This is a special moment for her, and for me to be part of her 100th cap and that kind of goal," Sundhage said. "Just before she scored the goal, we changed to a 4-3-3 to get her higher and get her more involved in the game. We scored two really nice goals and I'm really happy that Heather got the goal because today we talked about what we should be working on - shooting and finishing. It was great for all of us to see that goal."
