HOUSTON, Texas (Thursday, August 1, 2002) - The U.S. Under-16 Girls’ National Team topped Region IV 2-0 on Wednesday night at Carl Lewis Stadium in Houston, Texas, in their first match of the 2002 U.S. Amateur Soccer Festival. The win was the fifth straight for the Under-16s. Amy Berend scored in the 33rd minute and Megan Rapinoe doubled the USA’s lead in the 77th minute.

In other action on Wednesday, Mexico’s Under-19 WNT came back from one-goal deficits twice to tie the Region II side 2-2.  The USASA South side topped the USASA East 2-1.

Tomorrow the U.S. Under-20 Men square off with their Canadian counterparts in a rematch of the USA’s 1-0 win in January. The U.S. Men posted a win in their opening match in Houston, topping the USASA East squad 2-1. U.S. goalkeeper Ford Williams posted a shutout in the team's second match, a scoreless draw with USASA South.

The U.S. Amateur Soccer Festival was originally conceived when the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) discontinued the staging their annual U.S. Sports Festival in 1995. The U.S. Amateur Soccer Festival, which is sponsored and organized by the USASA, has incorporated the concept used in the U.S. Sports Festival and has expanded it to also include several U.S. National Teams, and for the fourth consecutive year, and international teams. For more information on the U.S. Amateur Soccer Festival see: http://www.usasa.com/.