U.S. women rout Costa Rica in CONCACAF final

That'll teach U.S. women's national team coach Jill Ellis to start a game with Abby Wambach on the bench.

The 34-year-old forward and all-time leading goal scorer in international play was not in the starting lineup for Friday's CONCACAF soccer semifinal.

Instead she came on as a substitute, replacing Sydney Leroux in the 62d minute.

But Wambach returned to the starting 11 in Sunday's CONCACAF final, and her impact was felt immediately as the veteran netted four goals en route to a 6-0 win over Costa Rica.

Wambach was back, and the crowd of 11,625 at PPL Park in Chester couldn't have been more appreciative.

"Ab-by Wam-bach," the fans yelled when a Wambach header found its way past the Costa Rican goalkeeper.

"Ab-by hat trick" was the refrain as the Americans took a four-goal lead.

The U.S. team came out flying early, and for the second game in a row it scored within the first six minutes.

Wambach's first goal came in the fourth minute as she headed home a ball from Morgan Brian.

Her second came in the 35th minute and her third in the 41st. Like the first, Wambach scored the next two with her head, too, as the 5-foot-11 player towered over the Costa Rican defenders.

For her fourth tally, Wambach used her right foot, placing a shot perfectly inside the far post.

Wambach has 177 career international goals and has scored the most goals in U.S. World Cup qualifying history with 18. She broke Michelle Akers' record of 17.

"Opportunities that I've had over the last, maybe, five to 10 games, with my head I'm just whiffing, I'm thinking too hard about it," Wambach said. "Thankfully today, my teammates put me in positions where I couldn't think. I was set up to be successful."

In the third-place game, Mexico defeated Trinidad and Tobago, 4-2, in overtime to earn a World Cup berth.

The top three finishers earned berths, but Trinidad and Tobago will still have a chance to earn a spot with a two-leg series against Ecuador starting next month.

Carli Lloyd, a Delran native, finished the game with one goal and two assists. The Rutgers graduate also was the only member of the team to play every minute of the tournament and earned the Golden Ball Award for most outstanding player of the tournament. Lloyd tallied five goals and four assists.

Lloyd said she "was just having fun this tournament. I just played freely. Jill's been giving me the role to kind of roam, and it's great, and to do it in front of my home crowd is awesome."

Goalie Hope Solo, who posted four shutouts, was awarded the Golden Glove.

It was the fifth time the United States captured the CONCACAF title, and this championship was won in resounding fashion as the team outscored its opponents by 21-0 over five games.

Costa Rica, the first Central American team to qualify for the World Cup, had not dropped a match in the qualifying tournament either until the final against the United States.

After the game, while the players assembled for the awards ceremony, Wambach's name was announced again as a recipient of the Golden Boot award for most goals - seven in four games - during the tournament.

For one last time, the crowd went wild.