SYDNEY, Australia (Oct. 17, 2023) – The U.S. Power Soccer National Team put in two comprehensive performances to earn matching 2-0 wins against the Republic of Ireland and Japan on Matchday Three of the 2023 FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup. The USA utilized goals from Pete Winslow and Lexi Heer to get the win against Ireland, while Peyton Sefick scored his first of the tournament to go along with Heer’s third in the 2-0 victory against Japan.
With the wins, the USA (4-1-0; 12 pts.) sits in second place, tied on points with England and Denmark, but ahead on the goal difference tiebreaker. The trio trails defending World Cup champions France, who are a perfect 5-0-0 through three matchdays.
The top four finishers in the round-robin tournament advance to the semifinals, and with matches lined up on Wednesday against England and Denmark, the USA could book its knockout round ticket, as well as make progress toward a top-two group finish.
| TEAM | W | L | D | Pts. | GF/GA | GD |
| France | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 27/1 | 26 |
| USA | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 13/3 | 10 |
| England | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 14/5 | 9 |
| Denmark | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 5/6 | -1 |
| Uruguay | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6/6 | 0 |
| Australia | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5/14 | -9 |
| Argentina | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7/12 | -5 |
| Japan | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3/12 | -9 |
| Northern Ireland | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3/15 | -12 |
| Republic of Ireland | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0/9 | -9 |
| Top four teams advance to semifinals | ||||||
Oct. 14 5-0 W vs. Australia
Oct. 15 1-3 L vs. France
Oct. 15 3-0 W vs. Northern Ireland
Oct. 16 2-0 W vs. Republic of Ireland
Oct. 16 2-0 W vs. France
Oct. 17 vs. England (10 p.m. ET)
Oct. 18 vs. Denmark (1 a.m. ET)
Oct. 18 vs. Uruguay (8:30 p.m. ET)
Oct. 18 vs. Argentina (11:30 p.m. ET)
With co-captain Jordan Dickey suspended after receiving a red card in the previous match against Northern Ireland, head coach Tracey Mayer made two changes to the Starting IV with Pete Winslow and Lexi Heer receiving their first starts of the tournament.
The two newcomers provided the goals within less than a minute during the first half.
After his initial kick-in closer to midcourt was turned out by Ireland, Winslow got another opportunity about three yards from the end line in the eighth minute. With Ireland lining three players up across the goal box, Riley Johnson wheeled next to Winslow, before charging toward goal as a decoy, disorganizing the Irish wall and allowing Winslow’s spin kick to sneak just inside the right post for the 1-0 advantage.
The goal was Winslow’s first of the tournament, but he’d get back to dishing assists less than a minute later. After Ireland misplayed a ball at mid-court, Heer charged down the left and was able to win a kick-in. On the ensuing take, Winslow centered the ball looking for Johnson, but he again played decoy, swinging his chair away from the ball to allow it to roll for Heer who hit her effort back across goal as Ireland goalkeeper Sean Donogher anticipated the shot at the right post.
The goal was Heer’s second of the tournament, after finding the back of the net on Monday night against Northern Ireland. The assist was Winslow’s sixth in four matches – all from set plays.
Later on in the half, Natalie Russo-Dickey (pictured below), who missed the first two matchdays due to illness, made her first appearance of the tournament.
The USA continued to dominate in the second half and came close twice more.
After a good spell of play on the left in the 24th minute, Zach Dickey hit a clear effort on goal that was saved at the left post by Donogher. Ten minutes later, a Winslow corner kick from the right found Johnson at the near post, but his shot came back off the upright.
A minute later, Johnson was shown a yellow card for a collision in the corner. Johnson, who was also cautioned in Monday’s match against France, is on caution watch as he would be suspended a match if he receives another yellow card.
While the USA outshot Ireland 10-1, the second half goals were all that were required in the 2-0 win.
Match: U.S. Power Soccer National Team vs. Republic of Ireland
Date: October 16, 2023 (October 17, 2023 locally)
Competition: 2023 FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup
Venue: Quaycentre; Sydney, Australia
Attendance: 470
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET (10 a.m. local time on October 17, 2023)
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
IRL 0 0 0
USA 2 0 2
USA – Pete Winslow 8th minute
USA – Lexi Heer (Pete Winslow) 9
Lineups:
USA: 2-Nathan Mayer, 5-Lexi Heer, 9-Pete Winslow, 10-Riley Johnson (Capt.)
Substitutes: 4-Natalie Russo-Dickey, 8-Peyton Sefick, 11-Zach Dickey
Suspended: 3-Jordan Dickey
Head coach: Tracy Mayer
IRL: 6-Sean Donogher; 4-Conor Troy, 7-Thomas Donogher, 10-Aoife McNicholl
Substitutes: 3-Emer O’Sullivan, 9-Michael Crowley, 11-Naglis Montvilas 12-Liam Lynch
Head coach: John Moore
Stats Summary: IRL / USA
Shots: 1 / 10
Saves: 1 / 0
Corner Kicks: 1 / 3
Misconduct Summary:
USA – Riley Johnson (Caution) 35
IRL – Naglis Montvilas (Caution) 40
Officials:
Referee: Nico Balin (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: David Wieber (AUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Mark-Simon Green (AUS)
4th Official: Nurdin Sabovic (AUT)
Tracy Mayer continued to rotate his lineup, making three changes in the day’s second match against Japan. Jordan Dickey returned from his one-match suspension to captain the team, while younger brother Zach also came back into the Starting IV, and Peyton Sefick earned his first start of the tournament.
The USA controlled things throughout, creating a number of first half opportunities, but had trouble solving very active Japan goalkeeper Kesiuke Ikeda.
The game’s first big opportunity came in the seventh minute when Zach Dickey’s driven corner from the right found Sefick at the top corner of the penalty box. Sefick smashed a one-time effort destined for goal, only to have Ikeda parry it away at the left post.
A minute later, the USA’s front trio combined on a great passing pattern from open play. After Japan had trouble clearing danger in the box, Zach Dickey recycled the play back to Sefick, who found Jordan Dickey open on the left. Jordan pushed the ball to his brother on the right whose quick effort was once again turned away at the post by Ikeda.
After Japan’s Shinya Shiori was whistled for a contact foul just outside the area, substitute Pete Winslow lined up above the ball for direct free kick, right in front of goal. Winslow’s powerful spin kick was saved on the line by Kazuto Hiranishi, and Jordan Dickey was there for the rebound but Ikeda turned away the follow-up keeping things scoreless in the 13th minute.
With Ikeda continuing to play high outside of his goal box, the USA nearly punished Japan in the 15th minute when the ‘keeper came out to meet Jordan Dickey at the midfield line. Dickey alertly swung a pass across the court to Winslow on the left, whose spin kick from distance trickled just past the right post.
The USA continued to knock on the door three minutes later as Jordan Dickey latched onto a loose ball and drove to goal, nearly poking it home at the right post before Ikeda got across to put it out for the corner kick.
The goal finally came on the ensuing take in the 18th minute when Winslow’s corner from the right whipped through the box and found Sefick (pictured above) who punched the ball home at the back post for his first of the tournament. Meanwhile, Winslow collected his tournament-leading seventh assist in five matches.
The USA’s second goal came just three minutes into the second half and again from a well-executed play by the team’s front three. It started as Zach Dickey (pictured below) won a kick-in at midcourt and immediately signaled for Sefick to come take it. On the restart, Sefick hit a ball down the left flank for Dickey who threaded a pass through two Japan defenders to find substitute Lexi Heer open at the back post where she powered home her third of the tournament to make it 2-0.
The rest of the second half saw much more of the play occur at midcourt, as the USA strung together a number of good passing sequences, but couldn’t find a third goal, closing out the day with another 2-0 victory.
Match: U.S. Power Soccer National Team vs. Japan
Date: October 17, 2023 locally
Competition: 2023 FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup
Venue: Quaycentre; Sydney, Australia
Attendance: 525
Kickoff: 1 a.m. ET (4 p.m. local time)
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
JPN 0 0 0
USA 1 1 2
USA – Peyton Sefick (Pete Winslow) 18th minute
USA – Lexi Heer (Zach Dickey) 23
Lineups:
USA: 2-Nathan Mayer, 3-Jordan Dickey (Capt.), 9-Peyton Sefick, 11-Zach Dickey
Substitutes: 4-Natalie Russo-Dickey, 5-Lexi Heer, 9-Pete Winslow
Did Not Play: 10-Riley Johnson
Head coach: Tracy Mayer
JPN: 2-Keisuke Ikeda; 8-Shinya Shioiri (Capt.), 9-Tamaki Nakayama, 17-Kazuto Hiranishi
Substitutes: 7-Yuki Mikami, 77-Kyohei Utsumi
Not Dressed: 10-Taiki Miyakawa, 11-Takahiro Yamada
Head coach: Kiminori Kondo
Stats Summary: JPN / USA
Shots: 1 / 10
Saves: 6 / 0
Corner Kicks: 0 / 6
Misconduct Summary:
JPN - Shinya Shioiri (Caution) 32
Officials:
Referee: Rebecca Gullé (AUS)
Assistant Referee 1: Ellie Smithers (AUS)
Assistant Referee 2: Mika Whalslten (FIN)
4th Official: Carolyn Bean (ENG)
NEXT UP: The USA continues the 2023 Powerchair Football World Cup with two more crucial matches on Tuesday night in the U.S. and Wednesday in Australia. The team first faces third-place England in a rematch of the 2011 World Cup Final at 10 p.m. ET (1 p.m. AEDT) on the Official FIPFA YouTube Channel before facing fourth-place Denmark at 1 a.m. ET (4 p.m. AEDT) on the 2023 FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup YouTube Channel.
The U.S. Power Soccer National Team features male and female athletes with disabilities that include quadriplegia, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and cerebral palsy, among others. The game is played in a gymnasium on a regulation basketball court with four players who attack, defend, and spin-kick a 13-inch soccer ball in a skilled and challenging game similar to mainstream soccer.
Power Soccer is the first competitive team sport developed specifically for power wheelchair users and has been played internationally since 2006. Thie 2023 FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup marks the first world championship event for the U.S. Power Soccer National Team under U.S. Soccer supervision. The team officially became part of the Extended National Teams program in 2022 as part of U.S. Soccer's effort to build out programming for soccer in all of its forms.
For more information on the sport or to inquire about athlete eligibility, please contact U.S. Soccer's Extended National Teams Department via email at extendednt@ussoccer.org.