24 February 2004 - The US Women Go Boxxing

On 24 February 2004, the US women opened their Olympic qualification campaign by beating Trinidad and Tobago 7-0. They went on to win their second gold medal.

After winning the competition in 1996, they finished in a relatively disappointing second place in 2000, losing 3-2 to Norway in the final. That was followed by a third-place finish at the 2003 World Cup, creating questions whether the once-dominant US women would be able to regain their former standing in the sport they helped popularize.

Kicking off their Olympic campaign against Trinidad and Tobago in Costa Rica, the Yanks rolled to a comfortable 7-0 victory thanks in part to Shannon Boxx's first international hat-trick (22', 37', 81'), a brace from two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Mia Hamm (41', 44'), and goals from Kristine Lilly (25') and Abby Wambach (42').

They kept up the pace through qualification, going undefeated and outscoring their opponents 19-0, then sailed undefeated through the tournament itself.