FOXBOROUGH - Last night's 3-0 win over North Korea was particularly special for midfielder Sara Whalen and goalkeeper Briana Scurry. Whalen, from Natick, got her first start in the World Cup, and her family and friends were on hand for the occasion.
Whalen played the second half of Thursday's match against Nigeria, then told her family that she was unsure whether she would start against North Korea.
''It was awesome because they haven't been able to come and see too many games,'' she said. ''They had no idea what they were in for. I looked up and I saw them and I think there were tears coming from their eyes. I didn't tell them [she was starting] because I wanted it to be a surprise. It was such a big deal, and I knew they would be excited so I didn't tell them.''
From 1990-93, Scurry attended the University of Massachusetts, where she was the national goalkeeper of the year as a senior. She had five saves in her return to Massachusetts. ''It's great,'' she said. ''Coming to the airport I felt like I always feel coming back here. The people really get behind me here, I went to school here for 4 1/2 years. It's great to have the game I had today in front of the Boston crowd.''
Not a full house
Though the Foxboro Stadium crowd (50,484) was the sixth-largest ever to watch the US women play in the States, it was the first time the Americans haven't played before a full house during the Cup. ''Hey, 50,000 is nothing to shake a stick at,'' said Scurry. ''You don't get that every day. And they were just as loud as the 78,000 we had at Giants Stadium.'' ... Because the Australians failed to advance, only seven of the eight quarterfinalists will get berths for next summer's Olympics in Sydney. Since the Matildas are automatic as hosts, one team will be bumped. It'll be the loser with the worst result ... The US team will leave Boston this afternoon for Virginia, where it will train at George Mason University for Thursday night's match against Germany at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium in Landover, Md.
Venturini tested
Despite being one of the stars, American Tisha Venturini was delayed coming out after the game because of mandatory drug testing, for which players are selected randomly ... Asked if Venturini had been practicing her backflips, Shannon MacMillan replied: ''She's got to practice it somewhere along the line. You don't just pull that one out.''
Name game
The often secretive North Koreans were not playing tricks on the Foxboro Stadium crowd. A few letters simply got lost in the translation.
When the visitors from Pyongyang spelled their names for placement on the back of their jerseys, local club coaches were in charge of changing the symbols of the Korean alphabet into English. The club coaches tried their best despite the fact that many have only a passing familiarity with English.
The result was a bit confusing.
In some cases, the names that appeared on the back of the Koreans' jerseys bore little resemblance to the names on the roster sheets, which had the correct transliteration. The most common errors occurred when ''L'' was chosen instead of ''R.''
Galloping gourmets
The North Koreans have been together almost continuously since March. They held a two-month training camp in their homeland, then on June 1 they left for New Jersey and more intense World Cup preparations. However, despite spending nearly a month in the US, they haven't taken to American-style food. The players prefer a regular diet of rice and kimchee, described as a ''hot, spicy cabbage-pickle.'' ... With training camp in New Jersey, two first-round matches on the West Coast, and their first-round finale at Foxboro Stadium, the North Koreans have passed more time in airports than they care to remember. They voiced complaints about the schedule of their matches that had them criss-crossing the country. Songil said the team's travel problems are in the past and that it was best to ''move on.''
Reaching her goal
Mexican goalkeeper Lenny Quinones suffered a deep bruise on her left arm in Thursday's loss to Germany when an opposing player kicked, then stepped on her. Coach Leonardo Cuellar held Quinones out of Saturday's practice while Quinones had a muscle stimulator called a ''tunz'' taped to the injured area. The rest and treatment must have worked. Quinones, a keeper at San Diego State, showed no ill effects, notching 11 saves in Mexico's 2-0 loss to Italy ... For the second time in three games, midfielder Laurie Hill did not start for Mexico. She played 35 minutes in the second half and has seen limited playing time in the Women's World Cup. Thought to be one of Mexico's best players, Hill, a former three-time All-American at the University of California-Santa Barbara, was said to have complained about the team's training and living facilities, allegedly prompting Cuellar to take her out of the starting lineup. Cuellar dismissed those rumors after yesterday's match. ''We all respect Laurie,'' he said. ''Some players came and played better than her. I don't take revenge against anybody.''
John Powers and Barbara Huebner of the Globe Staff and Globe correspondent Shira Springer contributed to this report.
