SANDY, Utah (June 7, 2018) – The U.S. Women’s National Team scored the lone
goal of the match in the second half and came out victorious in a tough
contest against China PR in front of 13,230 fans at Rio Tinto Stadium on
Thursday evening.
The teams got off to a slow start, with the USA creating more opportunities
than its rival but none presented a major threat. China PR played
low-pressure defense, with a compact midfield and backline that resulted in
a 5-3 shot advantage for the USA in the first half. China PR managed to get
two shots on goal to the USA’s none, but both were magnificently handled by
U.S. WNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. [WATCH]
The USA made two substitutions to start the second half, with Samantha
Mewis and Sofia Huerta coming on, and both helped reinvigorate the attack.
The USA finally broke through in the 57th minute, when Alex Morgan headed
home a beautiful cross off a Megan Rapinoe free kick. The goal was Morgan’s
team-leading sixth of the year.
Next, the U.S. WNT will travel to Cleveland, Ohio, tomorrow in advance of
its second of two friendlies vs. China PR on June 12 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
& UDN) at FirstEnergy Stadium.
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Goal
Scoring
Rundown:
USA
– Alex Morgan (Megan Rapinoe), 57th minute:
Megan Rapinoe took a free kick from the right side and sent the ball
straight to the middle of the six-yard box where a perfectly placed Morgan
waited to head the ball over the China PR’s ‘keeper reach and into the back
of the net.
USA 1, CHN 0. FINAL.
WATCH
.
Additional
Notes
:
- The USA is 6-0-1 so far in 2018, with wins over Denmark, Germany,
England, Mexico (twice) and China PR, along with a tie against France.
- The USA is unbeaten in its last 15 matches (13-0-2). The USA has
outscored its opponents 47-12 over those 15 matches, and has scored in all
15 games.
- Alyssa Naeher earned her 29th cap tonight and 15th career shutout. She
is the seventh goalkeeper in U.S. history to earn 25 or more caps.
She’s allowed 14 goals in her 29 caps, but six came over two games, a
3-0 loss to France at the 2017 SheBelieves Cup and vs. Brazil in the
4-3 win at the 2017 Tournament of Nations.
-
Alex Morgan scored her 86th international goal tonight in her 141st
cap. At age 28, she sits in sole possession of seventh place on the
USA's all-time goal scoring list. She’s scored 13 goals over her last
14 WNT matches. This was Morgan's third consecutive game with a goal.
It was also her fourth goal against China, and first since a brace on
May 27, 2012.
-
Megan Rapinoe made her 136th international appearance today. She has 36 career goals and has moved ahead of April Heinrichs and
Sydney Leroux into sole possession of 15th on the all-time goals list.
She leads the USA with six assists on the year, including tonight’s,
and now has 50 for her career, tying Carli Lloyd and Shannon McMillan
for seventh in U.S. history. Rapinoe’s 50 assists in 136 caps is the
best assist to games ratio of anyone ahead of her on the all-time list
except for Mia Hamm, who had a remarkable 145 assists in her 276 caps.
-
In the 46th minute, Sofia Huerta went on for Lindsey Horan and Samantha
Mewis for Savannah McCaskill. This was the first U.S. WNT action for
Mewis since she last played against Canada on Nov. 12, 2017.
-
Ellis made three more subs in the 66th minute, Carli Lloyd for Megan
Rapinoe, Allie Long for Julie Ertz and Christen Press for Abby
Dahlkemper. Press earned cap No. 99 tonight and is now one away from
becoming the 37th woman in U.S. WNT history to reach the century mark.
-
Amy Rodriguez came in for Alex Morgan in the 76th minute, making her
first appearance for the WNT since April 6, 2017. Rodriguez made her
NWSL debut this year on April 14, 2018 after missing almost two full
club seasons due to coming back from the birth of her second son in
2016 and then tearing her ACL in the NWSL opener in 2017. She has 30
goals in her 131 caps, which include several notable scores in U.S.
history.
-
McCall Zerboni earned her second cap tonight and played all 90 minutes,
while Savannah McCaskill earned her sixth and played the first 45. They
both made their first U.S. WNT career starts tonight.
-
Tierna Davidson, Lindsey Horan, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe are the
only four players on the U.S. roster to start every game so far in
2018.
-
Nineteen-year-old Davidson made her seventh consecutive start in as
many international appearances. On Jan. 21 in San Diego, she became the
21st woman to make a WNT debut under Jill Ellis. She earned her first
career assist on that game. She is the third teenager since 2013 to
earn a first cap for the U.S. WNT. Mallory Pugh (17 in 2016) and
Lindsey Horan (19 in 2013) are the most recent teenagers to debut for
the WNT.
-
Not dressing tonight were Casey Murphy (GK), Tobin Heath (F), Ashlyn
Harris (GK) and Rose Lavelle (MF).
– U.S. Women’s National Team Match Report –
Match:
U.S. Women’s National Team vs. China PR
Date:
June 7, 2018
Competition:
International Friendly
Venue:
Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Kickoff:
7 p.m. MT
Attendance:
13,230
Weather:
88 degrees; Sunny
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 0 1 1
CHN 0 0 0
USA – Alex Morgan (Megan Rapinoe) 57th minute
Lineups:
USA:
1-Alyssa Naeher; 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 7-Abby Dahlkemper (23-Christen Press,
66), 12-Tierna Davidson, 19-Crystal Dunn; 2-Julie Ertz (20-Allie Long, 66),
9-Lindsey Horan (3-Samantha Mewis, 46), 25-McCall Zerboni; 26-Savannah
McCaskill (14-Sofia Huerta, 46), 13-Alex Morgan (capt.) (8-Amy Rodriguez,
76), 15-Megan Rapinoe (10-Carli Lloyd, 66)
Substitutes:
21-Abby Smith, 6-Morgan Brian, 27-Merritt Mathias
Head coach: Jill Ellis
CHN:
12-Peng Shimeng; 25-Lou Jiahui (18-Han Peng, 85), 5-Wu Haiyan,
6-Lin Yuping, 2-Liu Shanshan (4-Li Danyang, 46); 11-Wang Shanshan
(30-Yang Li, 46), 27-Yao Wei, 20-Zhang Rui, 23-Ren Guixin ( 16-Yan Jinjin, 68), 7-Wang Shuang (29-Li Tingting, 85);
10-Li Ying (21-Xiao Yuyi, 90)
Substitutes: 9-Tang Jiali, 13-Lu Yueyun, 14-Xu Yanlu, 19-Tan Ruyin,
24-Yang Yan, 26-Wang Yan, 28-Miao Siwen
Head coach: Jia Xiuquan
Stats Summary: USA / CHN
Shots: 11 / 3
Shots on Goal: 3 / 2
Saves: 2 / 2
Corner Kicks: 12 / 1
Fouls: 12 / 11
Offside: 5 / 6
Misconduct Summary:
CHN – Wu Haiyan (caution) 71st minute
Officials:
Referee: Lucila Venegas (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Stephanie Dale Yee Sing (JAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Jennifer Garner (USA)
4th Official: Cardella Samuels (JAM)
Budweiser Woman of the Match:
McCall Zerboni