By Dustin Dow
Enquirer staff writer

USA women's soccer players (l-r) Abby Wambach #16, Kristine Lilly #13, and Mia Hamm #9, embrace after Kristine Lilly scored a goal. (Steven M. Herppich/The Enquirer) • More photos from the game

There were undoubtedly more meaningful sporting events going on Sunday than the women's soccer exhibition match between the United States and New Zealand at Paul Brown Stadium.

After all, it was an NFL Sunday in the middle of the Major League Baseball playoffs.

But in terms of sporting icons, few events could measure up to the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team farewell tour.

The Olympic gold-medal team isn't going away, but the players who made it what it is today are retiring after this 10-city jaunt, which stopped in Cincinnati on Sunday and produced a 6-0 win for legions of adoring fans, many of them girls 8 to 18.

The team played its fourth match of the tour in front of 18,806 fans Sunday, the team's largest crowd of 2004 (including the Olympics), which could bode well for Cincinnati should women's professional soccer make a comeback.

"It says a lot about Cincinnati being a hotbed for soccer," said U.S. defender Heather Mitts, a St. Ursula Academy graduate. "I think if we do get a WUSA team back here, that this is a good place to have it. Hopefully, if we don't have a WUSA team, the national team will come here to play again."

Mia Hamm, the most celebrated women's soccer player, is calling it quits at age 32 after this series, dubbed the "Fan Appreciation Tour."

Team captain Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett are joining her in retirement after winning two World Cups and two Olympic gold medals.

"It's a way to say 'Thank you,' " Hamm said. "We're competitive, but it's a little less stressful of an environment than the Olympics to really enjoy ourselves."

"... At every stop along the way people are coming up and sharing experiences, saying they didn't pay attention to soccer in this country until they saw this team play. That means a lot to all of us," Hamm said.

The world's all-time leading goal-scorer in international play, Hamm recorded her 157th career goal in the 25th minute on a strike from 15 yards on the left side of the boxThe next minute, she assisted Kristine Lilly on a goal from the edge of the box, giving the United States an early 2-0 lead.

Afterward, Hamm not only signed autographs for screaming fans, but also for New Zealand players.

"Heather (Mitts) had been talking to us that the reception was going to be great," Hamm said. "To see the response from this crowd was tremendous. This would be a great environment for a WUSA franchise."

Foudy kicked the most unlikely goal of the match, a 27-yard, left-footed straight-on shot that ricocheted off the post and into the goal in the 55th minute, extending the lead to 4-0.

Cindy Parlow scored the final two goals in the 66th and 77th minutes, earning the player of the game award.

The match doubled as a homecoming event for Mitts, 26, who is becoming a more prominent part of the team's future. She didn't score a goal despite her best efforts to reward the home crowd.

She did, however, remain on the field for 40 minutes after the game to sign autographs.

"I was trying to get in there as much as I could," Mitts said. "I had been really successful the last couple games. I was really hoping to score here tonight, but you know what, my teammates took care of that."

E-mail ddow@enquirer.com