LANDOVER, Md. -- Maybe, to make it even more interesting next time, the US women's soccer team should use just nine people. Or play with their bootlaces tied together. Or show up 10 minutes after the opening whistle.
''Gotta keep people glued to the set; gotta keep them on the edge of their seats,'' shrugged keeper Briana Scurry, after a teammate had scored on her and the Americans trailed twice before knocking stubborn Germany out of the World Cup, 3-2, last night before a crowd of 54,642 (including the First Family) at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium.
The victory, which was sealed by Mama Joy Fawcett's header off a Shannon MacMillan corner kick in the 66th minute, earned the US not only a Sunday semifinal date with Brazil (which defeated Nigeria, 4-3, in overtime here last night) but also a trip to next summer's Olympics in Sydney.
''America now sees why they're attracted to this team,'' said US coach Tony DiCicco, after President Clinton had congratulated his ponytailed countrywomen in the locker room. ''They played on pure guts. They refused to be beaten. It just came down to the women on this team just having to win.''
Though the US could have nailed down an Olympic berth even if it had lost by a goal, that would have been cold comfort. Going out in the quarterfinals would have been a disaster for a team that has always won a medal at the world level and expects to reclaim the Cup in the Rose Bowl a week from tomorrow.
So even though the Yanks gave up an own goal in the fifth minute after a miscommunication between Scurry and defender Brandi Chastain and fell behind again moments before halftime, they believed they would find a way to survive. ''Lift your heads up,'' DiCicco told them during intermission. ''This is not over.''
The US had conceded a goal to the Nigerians on the first shot and still won, 7-1, but they hadn't put it in their own net. Chastain, under pressure, had played the ball routinely back to Scurry, not realizing she had left her line.
''I called `keeper,' but I guess Brandi didn't hear me,'' Scurry said. ''So she played it back to where she thought I was. The ball was going slow, but too fast for me to get it. It never happens, but it happened. We were in shock.''
It was the sort of goofy error that happens in 10-and-under tournaments, not on the global stage. But the Americans shrugged it off and drew even in the 16th minute. With German midfielder Bettina Wiegmann off having a split lip repaired, Michelle Akers fired a shot that bounced off two defenders and came loose to Tiffeny Milbrett, who popped the ball past keeper Silke Rottenberg from 8 yards.
Just before intermission, though, playing in added time, the US defenders let Wiegmann have too much time and space, and she wheeled and fired a leftfooted cannon that beat Scurry from 20 yards and put the Germans up, 2-1. ''We really believed we could win,'' said German coach Christina Theune-Meyer.
Though the Americans had beaten the Germans eight times and tied them once in their previous dozen meetings, they hadn't trailed this late in a Cup match. ''You've got 45 minutes,'' DiCicco told them. ''It's your choice whether you want to go home or go out and play your game.''
The US had been a second-half side all year, and it took only four minutes to draw even. This time it was Chastain scoring her second `goal' off a Mia Hamm corner that defender Steffi Jones headed her way, with Chastain side-volleying a roofer that bounced off the bar and in.
''Thank God for Tony's trust in me and my teammates' respect for what I've done over the years,'' said Chastain. ''And thank God I was in the right spot.''
Now, as the clock ticked with the match in a deadlock, DiCicco wanted a terminator. So he tapped MacMillan, the supersub who'd had a hand in all three goals against the North Koreans in Foxborough, Mass. ''Get us a goal,'' DiCicco told her.
MacMillan sprinted to the far corner where Milbrett was lining up a kick. ''It's all yours,'' Milbrett told her. So MacMillan launched a laser aimed right for Fawcett's forehead - and the US was up for good.
And the Germans were facing a dilemma. If they tried to draw even, they risked going down two goals and possibly missing the Olympics. If they sat back, packed the box and lost only by one, they could pack for Sydney.
So the Germans played it safe and went home with an Olympic invite. And their hosts went on - and, they hope, on. ''No team has a bigger heart than we do,'' Scurry said. ''Many teams would have fallen over dead at halftime. But we weren't going to let our dream die.''
