June 27, 1999 – Largest crowd (50,484) for women’s sporting event in New England

Shannon MacMillan opened the scoring in the 56^th minute and Tisha Venturini converted twice as the U.S. blanked North Korea, 3-0, to finish in first place in Group A of the 1999 Women’s World Cup.

The U.S. then edged Germany (3-2) in Landover, Md., and defeated Brazil (2-0) in Palo Alto, Calif., before capturing the title with a penalty kicks victory over China after a 0-0 draw before 90,185 at the Rose Bowl July 10, 1999.

June 27, 1999 – U.S. 3:0 North Korea; Italy 2:0 Mexico, WWC at Foxboro Stadium (Att.: 50,484)

There was a strong New England influence on the U.S. team, including coach Tony DiCicco and assistant Lauren Gregg, who played at Wellesley High School and Harvard and was an assistant coach at Harvard.

The starting lineup included Connecticut’s Kristine Lilly and Sarah Whalen, plus former UMass goalkeeper Briana Scurry, the reserves counting goalkeeper Tracy Ducar.

Patrizia Panico (now coaching the Italy U-16 men’s national team) and Paola Zanni scored for Italy in a 2-0 victory over Mexico.

TODAY NEW ENGLAND SOCCER HISTORY