The USA had some trepidation meeting Mexico, who had been playing internationally since 1971, in the tournament’s opening game.
"They were what we thought would be a threat," Heinrichs said. "I think of it as a little bit like taking a teenager to travel to a different country. They don't know what they don't know. We didn't know what we didn't know before that tournament started."
One of the best things about the tournament was the fans. They were raucous and engaged. A festive crowd of 40,000 crammed into Sylvio Cator Stadium in Port-au-Prince to witness history in the tournament’s opening match. Cheerleaders clad in blue shirts and matching pants, presumably from Haiti, danced in the stands.
After taking a team photo minutes before kickoff, the American players ran to the stands and tossed flowers to the spectators in a gesture of goodwill "to get the Haitians to embrace us," Heinrichs said.
"They threw them back!" Heinrichs said with a laugh. "It's like, 'Hey, you can't buy our loyalty. The Haitians were having nothing to do with it."
The team found another way get the locals to embrace the team, by entertaining them with goals galore. By the end of the tournament, the U.S. players were beloved by the fans.
This is how the USWNT lined up for the first game on opening night:
In goal was Kim Maslin-Kammerdeiner, in the three-woman back line as Debbie Belkin, Joy Biefeld (later Fawcett), and Carla Werden (later Overbeck), in the midfield were Shannon Higgins, Kristine Lilly, Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm and up top were Michelle Akers, Heinrichs and Carin Jennings (later Gabarra).
Overbeck and Fawcett were in the Starting XI together for the seventh time. Little did they realize they were on the cusp of beginning a 13-year defensive partnership.
Others who played in the tournament were goalkeeper Amy Allmann, defenders Lori Henry, Linda Hamilton, Amanda Cromwell, Megan McCarthy, Keri Raygor Sanchez, midfielder Tracey Bates and forwards Wendy Gebauer and Brandi Chastain.
The average age of the roster was just 23.3 years. The average age of USWNT rosters nowadays usually hover around 28 or 29 years old.
On the opening kickoff, Akers tapped the ball to Heinrichs, who sent a back-pass to a teammate, and the history of the USA qualifying for World Cups had begun. Fast forward to 2021, and USA has a record of 32-1-0 in World Cup qualifying.
In that match against Mexico, the Americans were relentless, holding possession for sizable amounts of time while testing the goalkeeper constantly. In the 11th minute, they hit paydirt. Akers fed the 19-year-old Hamm, who powered a left-footed a shot from the right side of the penalty area to the far side to give the USA a 1-0 lead.
In the 13th minute, Foudy found Akers, who scored for a two-goal advantage. Heinrichs made it 3-0 off a Lilly feed in the 23rd minute and the rout was on.
"We were so nervous going into the game that when we got to the field we just exploded," Dorrance said at the time. "We know how important this qualifying tournament is, and we just keyed up."
With his team enjoying a 6-0 halftime advantage, Dorrance replaced Akers with Chastain. The 22-year-old Santa Clara University senior became the first USWNT player to tally five goals in a match during an astounding 34-minute span. Amazingly, the five goals came consecutively.
"We had so many different players capable of so many different things that different players stepped up with big moments," Gabarra said. "That's what made that team really special."
The USA ended up outshooting Mexico by an 37-0 margin.
It was more of the same against Martinique two days later, although Hamm didn't wait as long to score, finding the net in the opening minute in a 12-0 triumph. Heinrichs netted a hat-trick and Akers added another two goals.
In the third group game, Hamm once again drew first blood, this time against Trinidad & Tobago, although she had to wait until the second minute as the USWNT rolled to a 10-0 win on April 22. Gebauer, Jennings, Akers and Hamm had braces.
In the 10-0 semifinal victory over Haiti on April 25, Lilly broke Hamm's first-goal streak by connecting in the seventh minute. Bates, Jennings, Heinrichs and Akers produced two goals each.
Every game followed a similar path. The USA attacked from the opening kickoff, scored early and never looked back. Against Canada in the April 28 final, Akers recorded the first goal of her hat-trick in the second minute of a 5-0 win to clinch a berth at the upcoming World Cup in China.
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