ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Abby Wambach scored her 100th international goal Sunday in the United States' 1-0 win over Canada in her hometown, where Mia Hamm reached the century mark in 1998.
The goal in an exhibition before a crowd of 8,433 at the home of the minor-league Rochester Raging Rhinos was a Wambach classic. Shannon Boxx picked up a loose ball in midfield from a goal kick in the 79th minute, Lauren Cheney fed a pass through the defense and Wambach darted through and slotted her shot inside the far post from nine yards.
It was Wambach's second international game since she broke her leg last July in the final pre-Olympic match. She joins eight other players, including Americans Mia Hamm (158), Kristine Lilly (129), Michelle Akers (105) and Tiffeny Milbrett (100), in the 100-goal club.
"After this year I've had, the heartbreak of not going to the Olympics, all of that pain is worth it," she said. "There's nothing more you can ask for than play in front of your home crowd and come through with a milestone like I did today.
"I couldn't dream of a more picture perfect ending," she added. "I would give any Olympic gold to do that."
Hamm is the most prolific goal-scorer in international soccer, scoring 158 times before retiring at the end of 2004, when the U.S. team won gold at the Athens Olympics. She scored her 100th goal in Rochester during the U.S. Women's Cup in 1998 but that game was played at Frontier Field, a converted baseball park a mile from the Rhinos' stadium.
"Evidently Rochester is the place to come if you want to score your 100th goal," said Wambach, a close friend of Hamm's.
"My teammates really made it happen for me today. I don't believe in coincidences any longer. It was meant to happen that way."
The United States is 39-3-4 all-time against Canada and outshot the visiting team 21-3. Wambach had a half-dozen chances on goal and just failed to connect on a diving header from Amy Rodriguez's cross in the 51st minute. Throughout the second half, young fans cheered her on with chants of "Let's Go, Abby."
It was Wambach's 129th international game. Canada's captain, Christine Sinclair, who has scored 99 times in 131 international starts, came closest to getting a goal when her header went wide off a corner kick in the 44th minute.
U.S. team mainstay Cat Whitehill played the first half before being substituted. She and Leslie Osborne, an unused substitute, rejoined the squad this month after being sidelined from national team duties by knee injuries since before the 2008 Olympics.
