page_title: History of soccer in the United States
section_title: 1997–1998
hierarchical_section_title: History of soccer in the United States / Women's soccer / Women's National Team / 1997–1998
caption_attribution_description: English: Mia Hamm VS Germany in St.Louis 1997
context_page_description: The history of soccer in the United States has numerous different roots. Recent research has shown that the modern game entered America in the 1850s through New Orleans when Scottish, Irish, German and Italian immigrants brought the game with them. It was in New Orleans that some of the first organized games that used modern English rules were held.
context_section_description: The U.S. women's national team played 18 games in 1997, mostly international friendlies. The only major tournament was the 1997 USA Women's Cup held in May, which the U.S. once again won. The team ended the season with 16 wins and 2 losses.
  The team started off 1998 with the Guangzhou International Tournament in China with two wins against Sweden and Norway and a draw against China. They participated in the 1998 Algarve Cup in March and started off well with two wins in the group stage, but lost to Norway, leading to third place. A series of friendlies followed the Algarve until July, when women's soccer was added to the Goodwill Games for the first time. Only four teams competed and the U.S. took the gold, beating Denmark 5–0 and China 2–0. They ended off the year with the 1998 USA Women's Cup, winning every match they played. It was during that tournament that Mia Hamm scored her 100th goal.
caption: Mia Hamm during a match against Germany, 1997
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