Following are our player ratings for the U.S. U20 Women’s National Team from its match with Germany Saturday at the FIFA World Cup in Japan (On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being perfect, 6 being average).

Bryane Heaberlin, Goalkeeper: 7 – Steady as she goes between the sticks, handling a number of long-range efforts in the closing minutes.

Crystal Dunn, Defender: 7 – Smart run with the ball and a good grounded cross that took a deflection and led to the opening goal. Her defending was solid although she gave the ball away a couple of times in the opening half. Defended resolutely all tournament.

Mollie Pathman, Defender: 6 – Worked hard to defend at left back but struggled for accuracy with her distribution in the opening half.

Cari Roccaro, Defender: 7 – A couple of shaky moments both in marking and possession, but also provided some important instances of closing down German attackers and marked well in the 2nd half.

Julie Johnston, Defender: 7 – Once again a dynamic force in the back with good steps to the ball and distribution. Just a warrior at the end of the game and a player the U.S. truly would not have achieved this result without.

Sarah Killion, Midfielder: 7 – Played the vital linking role in defensive midfield and worked tirelessly, putting in some very good tackles to go with her simple and effective passing game.

Morgan Brian, Midfielder: 7 – Also contributed to the team defensive effort with some good work in marking back and in the air.

Vanessa DiBernardo, Midfielder: 7 – Worked very hard in the middle, dropping back to help with defending and possession. She also hit some quality medium-length passes in attack during the opening half. Also served some dangerous corners.

Katie Stengel, Forward: 6 – Worked hard in the forward third to help hold the ball and create space before being subbed in the 60th minute.

Maya Hayes, Forward: 7 – Much more dangerous on the right than in recent games, using her pace to create dangerous moments in the opening half.

Kealia Ohai, Forward: 8 – Player of the game for the champions. Again showed strong work rate on the left and made an intelligent run and a quality strike on the opening goal. Never stopped working in the second half, dropping back all the way to her goalline at times to help thwart the German attack.

Substitutes

Chioma Ubogagu, Forward: 6 – Gave the Germans something to think about regarding her speed in the counterattack.

Samantha Mewis,  Midfielder: 6 – Deployed as a forward in place of Hayes.

Mandy Laddish, Midfielder: NR – On for the a few minutes at the end. Stepped up to make a vital clearance in the closing seconds.

Some match observations: A stirring team performance by the U.S., reversing a lopsided loss to the previously undefeated and unscored upon Germans in the group stage and winning the World Cup title.

Compared to the first match, the U.S. seemed much more composed and while Germany again put them under early pressure, the entire starting 11 seemed more suited to weather than and even start creating some chances of their own, including the opening goal near the end of the first half. When they had the lead, the U.S. team managed to avoid just dumping the ball up the park but did well to keep playing out of the back.

As the match wore on, the team seemed to have the superior fitness. Credit coach Steve Swanson and staff for this and also getting the tactics right today, especially in light of the difficulties the first time the teams played.