Turning up the intensity level

By Heather Mitts
Special to ESPN.com

Appearances can be deceiving. On the surface, the U.S. women's team may have appeared to have won its two most recent games with ease. A combined score of 10-0 and the extension of our shutout streak to seven games would attest to that, However, that's not to say the games weren't stressful to a degree.

Entering the July 11 game against Ukraine the team was nervous. It'd been a long time since we last played them and we didn't have much in terms of an advance scouting report. For the first 5-10 minutes of the game, we basically were trying to get a feel for the Ukraine players and figure out they liked to do tactically. The match against the Ukraine itself was frustrating initially. Although we dominated possession (15 shots in the first half alone), we couldn't break through early. To some extent, the first goal in the 31st minute took a lot of the pressure off, and opened the floodgates.

On paper Iceland were also no walkover. They'd played us tough last September during our Olympic victory tour. During the game, we had jumped out to a 3-0 first-half lead in that one, but Iceland came back to tie with three goals in a six-minute span in the second half before I was able to tap in the winner in stoppage time. In hindsight, we probably weren't as intense against Iceland as we normally are, probably attributable to the fact that it was the victory tour. Recognizing that we were lackadaisical in our last meeting against Iceland was a good wake-up call for this game.

Entering the game this time, we were much better prepared. We had a healthy respect for their ability and a good idea of who their key players were and what they liked to do offensively. This time around we wanted to show that we are indeed the better team. We had a good week of practice leading up the game and turned up the intensity even more once the game started. We kept them out of our end and limited their chances while dominating on the offensive end, giving the outside backs a chance to get in the mix, which was an especially good feeling after the close call last year. We would have liked to put the ball in the back of the net a few more times on 27 shots, but it was still a very solid win for us.

The win was even more gratifying considering that that five of our regulars  Nicole Barnhart, Lori Chalupny, Kristine Lilly, Heather O'Reilly and Lindsay Tarpley  were out of the lineup. We missed them, but some new faces got playing time and it was nice to get more of the player pool involved. They got a taste of the action and have something to look forward to as their careers progress. And they helped us continue that shutout streak, which is something special we are very proud of.

So now the down time begins, with only two tentative October matches on the horizon. Some team members will be taking part in the W-League championship and everyone else will try to stay involved and stay in shape. I just concluded a soccer camp here in Florida and have one upcoming in Philadelphia, but other than that the next couple of months are all about staying in shape.

Milbrett's 100th career goal

Tiffeny Milbrett rejoined the women's team for our most recent matches and netted her 100th career national team goal against Ukraine, a truly special accomplishment for her and one made more special by the fact she scored it on her former collegiate home field in Portland. It was a beautiful goal, running under a long ball and lifting the ball over the charging keeper, and a terrific way to get the next chapter of her career kick-started.

It was nice to be there, even if I had already been taken out of the game, and it got me thinking about my goal of getting 100 caps with the national team. I won't score 100 goals as a defender, but playing 100 matches would be special for me. I can remember sitting around early in my career talking with Jenny Benson about Lorrie Fair's 100th game, thinking how far we had to go to reach that milestone, but I'm almost halfway there now and it's amazing how fast it's all happened.

Heather Mitts covers women's soccer for ESPN Soccernet.com and is also a member of the U.S. women's national team and former WUSA All-Star.