SALOU, Spain (November 18, 2024) – The U.S. Women’s Cerebral Palsy (CP) National Team utilized first-half hat tricks from Cassidy Leake and Kaia Spencer as part of an offensive onslaught in the opening frame to roll to a 12-0 win against Japan and book its place in the 2024 IFCPF Women’s World Cup Final. After finishing second in the five-team group stage, the USA (3W-1L-0D) will now face Australia (4W-0L-0D) in a rematch of the 2022 World Cup Final, which the CP WNT won 4-2 in extra time, on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 8:30 a.m. ET (IFCPF YouTube).
Continuing to show some rotation throughout the group stage, head coach Tricia Taliaferro made two changes from the Starting V that began Sunday’s 16-0 win against Denmark, inserting Leake and Michelle Cross back into the lineup.
Needing only a draw to book its final ticket, it took just two minutes for the USA to get on the scoreboard with a nice build-up toward goal. Leake rolled the ball in for Leah Glaser, who returned the pass and the U.S. captain immediately drove through midfield, drawing in a defender. Leake slid the ball to Spencer on the left who took one touch before slotting past Japan goalkeeper Mai Ohta.
From there, Leake put the hammer down, netting her hat trick in just a five-minute span. In the sixth minute, she powered through midfield and into the box, where a Japan defender briefly touched the ball away, but Leake won it back and fired home to give the USA a 2-0 lead. After more sustained U.S. pressure, two minutes later, Spencer cut the ball back for Leake who stepped up just inside the midfield stripe and ripped a shot inside the left post to make it 3-0. On the quarter-hour mark, Glaser rolled the ball in for Spencer on the right who cut back for Leake outside the box before the U.S. captain drove a right-footed effort inside the left post to make it 4-0. It was Leake’s second hat trick of the tournament after scoring three in the 9-2 win against Ireland to open the World Cup and took her to a team-leading eight World Cup goals.
Good combination play on the left led to the fifth goal as Spencer collected the ball and centered a pass for Glaser to poke home at the right post. It was Glaser’s third goal in two matches, after playing as goalkeeper for the opening two contests.
A day after scoring five goals against Denmark, it was Spencer’s turn to complete her hat trick. In the 14th minute, a long ball out of the back by goalkeeper Rebecca Ostrander was held up by Glaser. She slid it for Leake who took it in stride as she beat her defender down the right and centered for an unmarked Spencer to fire home from close range. Eleven minutes later, substitute Annie Wickett dug the ball out of the left corner and cut back for Spencer, who hit a curling, left-footed effort that clanged off of the top of the crossbar. Just a minute later, Spencer got her third as she redirected Glaser’s corner kick from the left to make it 7-0 and tie Leake with a team-leading eight goals at the 2024 World Cup.
Into stoppage time, the USA had one more goal left in it as Cross received a misplayed pass at midfield and alertly looped the ball right back at goal, tucking it just underneath the crossbar to give the USA an 8-0 halftime advantage.
Taliaferro made two substitutions to start the second half, inserting Isabella Stankunas and Joey Martin for Wickett and Spencer, respectively. She also swapped goalkeepers, pushing Glaser back into goal and putting Ostrander up top as a forward.
The changes brought four more goals, beginning in the 29th minute when Martin won the ball on the right and put it across for Stankunas at the top of the box. There, she took a touch before belting a right-footed shot that Ohta got a hand to, before hitting the crossbar and going over the line.
On the half-hour mark, Cross went on a nice run through midfield before taking the space and finessing home her second of the match to make it 10-0.
Ostrander got the game’s final two goals with some fancy footwork up top. In the 32nd minute, Cross beat two Japan defenders down the left and centered for Ostrander whose clever right-footed touch helped the ball evade Ohta coming of her line and curl just inside the left post. Then in the 40th minute, Stankunas received a ball out of the back and strolled unmarked through midfield where her low-placed effort was redirected by Ostrander and over the goal line to close the scoring at 12-0.
The USA finishes group play in second place with a 3W-1L-1D record and moves to 9W-1L-1D in 11 all-time matches. The CP WNT is 2W-1L-0D in three meetings against Tuesday’s World Cup Final opponent Australia, with the Paramatildas handing the USA its only loss, a 3-1 defeat in group stage play on Saturday.
Cassidy Leake and Kaia Spencer jointly lead the USA with eight goals apiece at the 2024 IFCPF World Cup.
Spencer also leads the USA with eight assists and 16 overall goal contributions.
With Rebecca Ostrander’s two second-half goals, all 10 players have now tallied for the U.S. at the 2024 IFCPF Women’s World Cup.
USA 2024 World Cup Caps/Goals Totals: Cassidy Leake 3/8, Kaia Spencer 4/8, Joey Martin 4/5, Michelle Cross 3/4, Leah Glaser 3/4, Annie Wickett 3/4, Catarina Guimaraes 2/2, Jesslyn Kuhnel 2/2, Isabella Stankunas 2/2, Rebecca Ostrander 2/3
USA Group Stage Results: 9-2 W vs. Republic of Ireland (Nov. 15); 1-3 L vs. Australia (Nov. 16); 16-0 W vs. Denmark (Nov. 17); 12-0 W vs. Japan (Nov. 18)
Match: United States Women’s CP National Team vs. Japan
Date: Nov. 18, 2024
Competition: 2024 IFCPF World Cup
Venue: Mediterranean Sport Village; Salou, Spain
Attendance: 100
Kickoff: 11:00 local (5 a.m. ET)
Weather: 65 degrees, sunny
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
| JPN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| USA | 8 | 4 | 12 |
| USA - Kaia Spencer (Cassidy Leake) | 2nd minute |
| USA - Cassidy Leake | 6 |
| USA - Cassidy Leake (Kaia Spencer) | 8 |
| USA - Cassidy Leake (Kaia Spencer) | 11 |
| USA - Leah Glaser (Kaia Spencer) | 13 |
| USA - Kaia Spencer (Cassidy Leake | 14 |
| USA - Kaia Spencer (Leah Glaser) | 25 |
| USA - Michelle Cross | 25+1 |
| USA - Isabella Stankunas (Joey Martin) | 29 |
| USA - Michelle Cross | 30 |
| USA - Rebecca Ostrander (Michelle Cross) | 32 |
| USA - Rebecca Ostrander (Isabella Stankunas) | 40 |
Lineups:
USA: 1-Rebecca Ostrander; 2-Cassidy Leake (Capt.), (3-Annie Wickett, 15, 6-Isabella Stankunas, 26), 4-Michelle Cross, 8-Kaia Spencer (5-Joey Martin, 26), 9-Leah Glaser
Substitutes not used: 7-Catarina Guimaraes, 10-Jesslyn Kuhnel
Head coach: Tricia Taliaferro
JPN: 6-Mai Ohta; 3-Ayumi Takemura, 5-Rie Ishihara, 8-Mayuko Kaiga (7-Miyabi Hamad, 26), 9-Kona Kumura
Substitutes not used: 2-Saki Kuroki, 4-Mirai Toyoda
Head coach: Yukio Jin
Misconduct Summary:
None
Stats Summary USA / JPN:
Shots: 24 / 4
Saves: 4 / 9
Corner Kicks: 4 / 2
Officials:
Referee: Dario Rojas (ARG)
AR1: N/A
AR2: N/A
Launched in 2022 as part of U.S. Soccer’s Extended National Teams program, the U.S. Women’s Cerebral Palsy (CP) National Team is for eligible qualifying players with Cerebral Palsy, stroke or traumatic brain injury. If you or someone you know qualifies for the Women’s CP National Team and plays at a high level, you can contact us via email at ExtendedNT@ussoccer.org for more information on potential playing opportunities.