Beach WNT Rallies to Earn Comeback 4-2 Win vs. England at Mundialito Finale

AYAMONTE, Spain (Oct. 15, 2023) – The U.S. Women’s Beach National Soccer Team rode a brace from Lauren Leslie and a strike from Hannah Adler to a 4-2 comeback win against World No. 2-ranked England in the finale of the 2023 Women’s Mundialito Beach Soccer Tournament on Sunday.

With the two goals, Leslie took her career total to 16 all-time, moving past Kilee Quigley into sole possession of the USBWNT’s all-time scoring lead. Her four goals at the tournament also saw her win the 2023 Women's Mundialito Golden Boot as top scorer.

With the win, the USBWNT finishes 2023 setting team records in a calendar year with six wins, nine matches played, and 41 goals scored. The result was also the Beach WNT’s third comeback win all-time, last overcoming a deficit in the 4-2 win against Argentina on April 14, 2022 at the El Salvador Cup.

In what was a de-facto third-place match after both teams had tough outings against Spain and Portugal, England was the dangerous side early on, threatening with two good chances about six minutes in. Sarah Kempson ripped a 30-yard effort that Gabby Batmani dived to her left to stop. About 40 seconds later, Wendy Martin nodded her header off the crossbar.

Those two chances led to the Lionesses finding the opening goal eight minutes into the first period, when Nicole Evans hit a hard left-footed shot to the right side, beating the diving Batmani.

The U.S. hung tough and got an equalizer with just 38 seconds left in the first. Rachel Hunter played a short pass from the left for Lauren Leslie who quickly set up her shot and sent a dipping effort from 25 yards over ‘keeper Chloe Traves.

The second period began with Melissa Lowder replacing Batmani in the U.S. goal, and England got the first good chance just over a minute in as Rebecca Baron broke through, only to have Leslie track back and block the shot.

The USA took the lead at 4:40 of the second period. Immediately after subbing in, Ali Hall quickly took a corner kick from the left, serving to Hannah Adler (pictured above) at the far post who nodded through traffic and inside the right upright to give the USA the 2-1 lead. The goal was Adler’s joint team-leading ninth of 2023.

Playing in her first competition since giving birth to her son in March, Ashley Triplett helped give the USA a 3-1 lead with just over a minute remaining in the second period. The veteran collected the ball on the right and swung a cross looking for Rachel Hunter near the left post, but Kempson’s attempt to chest the ball away saw it trickle past Traves and into the back of the net.

Holding a two-goal advantage at the start of the third period, the USA did well to spread possession around the sand, making England chase the game and preventing few chances on goal through the first eight minutes. Things got tight with less than four minutes left, as Triplett ripped a shot from distance off the post, and the ball pinged back to midfield where England’s Wendy Martin power a low blast into the left corner to make it 3-2.

Leslie (pictured above) nearly restored the two-goal lead with just three minutes left, but her flick-on header from 10 yards came back off the cross bar. The USA did enough through the final minutes to see off England’s pressure, but iced the match with five seconds remaining as Lowder’s long throw found Leslie who beat a defender before finishing inside the right post.

The last-second goal was Leslie’s second of the match and took her career total to 16, moving her past Kilee Quigley for sole possession of first on the USBWNT’s all-time scoring list. It was also Leslie’s fourth of the tournament, putting her atop the Women’s Mundialito Golden Boot chart ahead of the tournament finale between Spain and Portugal later on Sunday.

With the result, the USA finishes third on three points with a 1-2-0 record. Spain and Portugal will play for the tournament title in the finale later Sunday.

ADDITIONAL NOTES AND 2023 HIGHLIGHTS:

• The USBWNT finishes 2023 with a 6-3-0 record and moves to 12-12-0 in 24 all-time matches since the program launched in 2019.
• The six wins, nine matches played and 41 goals scored in 2023 are all new Beach WNT team highs in a calendar year.
• Lauren Leslie’s third-career brace took her to 16 career goals, moving her past Kilee Quigley (15 goals) into sole possession of the USBWNT’s all-time scoring lead. Leslie's four goals at the tournament saw her win the 2023 Women's Mundialito Golden Boot as top scorer. 
• Having tallied both goals on Saturday vs. Spain, this was also the first time Leslie scored multiple goals in back-to-back matches.
• In her first year with the Beach WNT, Hannah Adler joined Kilee Quigley, who was unable to play on Sunday due to injury, as the team’s scoring leaders in 2023. The duo finished the year with nine goals each, jointly setting a new high mark for goals in a calendar year.
• Six players appeared in all nine matches this year: Hannah Adler, Makenzie Chronopoulos, Kelly Garzon, Ali Hall, Rachel Hunter, and Jeané Sunseri-Warp.
• Veteran defender Jeané Sunseri-Warp has played in all 24 USBWNT matches.
• The USBWNT claimed its second tournament title earlier in 2023, winning the Acapulco Cup played last April in Acapulco, Mexico.
• The USA remains an unbeaten 2-0-0 against England, with the previous victory coming in a 7-2 defeat of the Lionesses at the Acapulco Cup.
• The win was the Beach WNT’s third comeback victory, previously overcoming a two-goal deficit in the 9-6 win vs. El Salvador on Aug. 4, 2019 and a one-goal deficit in the 4-2 win vs. Argentina on April 14, 2022.

- U.S. WOMEN’S BEACH SOCCER NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT -

Match: United States Beach Soccer Women’s National Team vs. England
Date: October 15, 2023
Competition: Mundialito Beach Soccer 2023
Venue: Isla Canela Beach Stadium; Ayamonte, Spain
Attendance: 150
Kickoff: 8 a.m. ET (2 p.m. local time)
Weather: 75 degrees, sunny

Scoring Summary:                1          2          3          F
USA                                          1          2          1          4
ENG                                          1          0          1          2

ENG – Sarah Kempson                                     3:56 (1^st period)
USA – Lauren Leslie (Rachel Hunter)           0:38 (1^st)
USA – Hannah Adler (Ali Hall)                        4:37 (2^nd)
USA – Own Goal (Sarah Kempson)                1:11 (2^nd)
ENG – Wendy Martin                                        3:38 (3^rd)
USA – Lauren Leslie (Melissa Lowder)           :05 (3^rd)

Lineups:
USA: 1-Gabriella Batmani, 3-Hannah Adler, 7-Lauren Leslie, 10-Ali Hall (capt.), 11-Rachel Hunter
Substitutes: 12-Melissa Lowder,, 2-Nikki Haimes, 4-Kelly Garzon, 5-Makenzie Chronopoulos, 6-Jeané Sunseri-Warp, 8-Ashley Triplett
Not dressed: 9-Kilee Quigley
Head coach: Morgan Church

ENG 1-Chloe Traves, 6-Wendy Martin, 7-Sarah Kempson, 8-Rebecca Barron, 16-Nicole Evans
Substitutes: 3-Chloe Andrews, 4-Alicia Povey
Head coach: Steven Black

Misconduct Summary:
none

Officials:
1st Referee: Patricia Gomez Gomez (ESP)
2nd Referee: Jordy Vermeire  (BEL)
3rd Referee: Matthieu Dor (FRA)
Timekeeper: Fiammetta Susanna (ITA)