A developmental Australian U-17 squad proved no match for their USA counterparts on North Harbour Stadium's outer oval on January 29, with the exploits of Junior Matildas goalkeeper and captain, Casey Dumont, restricting the Americans to a 6-0 triumph in the opening match of the Future Stars Invitational Tournament. But for Dumont's bravery and agility, the USA would have comfortably amassed a double-figure victory over opponents who are building towards the 2010 U-17 Women's World Cup Finals, Australia having already been eliminated from contention for the inaugural finals New Zealand will host later this year. The Americans have yet to contest their 2008 qualifying series, but on this display alone they will be thereabouts come the November 16 final, their accomplished, polished performance far too much for their young Australian counterparts to cope with, despite the presence of three Matildas in the Junior Matildas' combination. Despite early American pressure, it was the Junior Matildas who fired the first shots in anger in this encounter, Samantha Kerr volleying wide in the ninth minute before USA goalkeeper Taylor Vancil raced off her line to clear as one of the Matildas, Jenna Kingsley, turned Cloee Colohan on receipt of a through ball from Emily Van Egmond, one of five fourteen-year-olds in the Australian squad. These threats roused the USA into a series of more purposeful attacks, and they soon began to test the reflexes of Dumont. On the quarter hour, Julia Roberts - why does that name sound familiar? - and the outstanding Zakiya Bywaters combined to present Victoria Di Martino with an opening. She scooted past three defenders before forcing Dumont to parry her shot. Alesha Clifford hooked the ball clear, but only as far as Tani Costa, who, like Di Martino seconds later, was denied by the defiant Dumont. Australia's goalkeeper made a terrific reflex save three minutes later to keep out a Jenna Richmond shot, after Bywaters had made in-roads down the right. But Dumont's best denial was a further three minutes away, Richmond's deft chip thwarted by a `keeper who was back-pedalling furiously before flinging herself backwards to keep the USA at bay once more with a brilliant one-handed save. After Bywaters had again opened up Australia's left flank, only to find no-one in a white shirt suitably stationed to take advantage of her inviting low cross, the Americans took the lead in the 32nd minute, with the fleet-footed Bywaters at the heart of the game's opening goal. The speedster swept past a couple of opponents before threading the ball into the path of Costa, whose low cross was turned home on the far post by Kristen Mewis, the older of two sisters in the squad, and an extremely talented playmaker to boot. Having been beaten once, Dumont was determined to ensure that would be the USA's limit for the half, and over the course of the next seven minutes, one-on-one denials of Costa and Bywaters - she should have scored - supplemented further saves which prevented Di Martino and Costa from adding to the USA's tally. But two goals in a ninety-second burst killed off Australia's hopes of holding their more experienced rivals to a one-goal advantage at the break. Mewis slipped Di Martino in on the left five minutes before half-time, and the striker slalomed through the

defence before slipping her effort beyond Dumont's despairing dive. While Australia reeled from that setback, they were dealt a further blow when Dumon parried a Costa drive, only for the ball to arrive at the feet of incoming striker Samantha Mewis - 3-0. No prizes for guessing who prevented Bywaters from adding to that scoreline before the interval, that one-on-one stop matching one she made seven minutes into the second half to again foil Costa, after Kristen Mewis' shot through a crowded goalmouth had ricocheted to the striker off a defender. It just wasn't Costa's day. Two minutes later, she scooped a shot on the turn over the crossbar after Richmond and Samantha Mewis had prised open Australia's defence, something which the Mewis sisters did for Di Martino's benefit in the 58th minute. Her shot warmed Dumont's gloves. The `keeper was afforded no chance in the 59th minute, as the USA made it 4-0. Roberts got in behind the Australian rearguard before pulling the ball back to Kristen Mewis, whose accomplished finish left the hard-working Dumont clutching at air. Both Costa and Di Martino were denied by the defiant Dumont over the course of the next five minutes, before substitute Mary Wagner and the tireless Di Martino combined to set up the game's fifth goal, Samantha Mewis steering the ball across the `keeper into the far corner of the net in the 67th minute. The latest scorer and Costa were both thwarted by Dumont soon after, although the `keeper required the assistance of Vedrana Popovic to clear this threat, while Roberts and Wagner combined on the right to present Costa with another chance in the 73rd minute. You know who produced another one-on-one save of high quality, a feat she repeated thirteen minutes from time to foil Samantha Mewis, after she and her sister had combined to unlock Australia's rearguard, the solidity of which looked decidedly fragile throughout the team. With substitutions an increasingly common aspect of the game in the last ten minutes, the final goal of the game, eleven minutes from time, was also its last act of note. It was worth the wait, too - a top drawer set-piece move featuring Kristen Mewis, whose corner met the head of one of the recent arrivals, Courtney Verloo. That made it 6-0 to the USA, a result which didn't truly reflect their performance, the defiant efforts of Dumont ensuring this young Australian team weren't dealt the ignominy of a double-figure hiding which would have more accurately reflected the Americans' superiority. Hard-working defenders Crystal Dunn (USA) and Ella Mastrantonio (Australia) were others to catch the eye in this display, with the former's combination with Kristen Mewis on the left flank particularly eye-catching. Australia:     Dumont; Popover (Wynne, 75), Mastrantonio, Clifford, Tabain; Kerr (Allen, 81), Simon (Butt, 42), Van Egmond, O'Neill, Hogben (Andrews, 87); Kingsley (Bolger, 74) USA:          Vancil; Brooks (booked, 25), Colohan, Dunn (Harris, 89); Bywaters (Wagner, 63), Roberts, Richmond (Tymrak, 83), K. Mewis (Klei, 89); Costa (Ohai, 74), S. Mewis, Di Martino (Verloo, 69) Referee:     Peter O'Leary