U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM UPDATE
After their defeat in France, the United States Women’s National Soccer Team took on England and was victorious – and it was important that our WNT capped off their European trip with 1-0 victory.
Alex Morgan Scored her 50th-Career goal, and become the 10th player to accomplish this feat. Now, looking ahead, the USA will start to prepare for the next challenge – the Algarve Cup in Portugal. The USA will opens against Norway on March 4. The first time our Women’s team will be playing at home will be April 4 against New Zealand at Busch Stadium in St. Louis (live on FOX Sports 1), and more than 28,000 tickets have already been sold.
Fun Facts:
- The U.S. improved to 8-3-1 all-time against England. Seven of those eight wins have come by shutout.
- England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley had a strong performance that included five saves.
Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA – Alex Morgan (Lauren Holiday), 25th minute: Morgan Brian started the sequence with a quick pass from the right flank to Holiday, who then crossed left-footed to Alex Morgan in the middle of the box. Morgan rose over England captain Steph Houghton and headed the ball toward the left of the frame. Goalkeeper Karen Bardley got her right glove on the shot, but it was not enough to prevent the ball from crossing the goal line as the USA scored the only goal it would need. USA 1, ENG 0
Key Saves and Defensive Stops:
ENG – Steph Houghton, 21st minute: In one of the USA’s first attacking sequences in the first half, Morgan Brian collected the ball at the edge of the box and ripped a shot. However, England’s captain Houghton lunged in for the block and denied the opportunity.
ENG – Karen Bardsley, 40th minute: USA right back Ali Krieger received the ball from Abby Wambach at the edge of the box and tried to sneak a shot past Bardsley at the near right post, only to see Bardsley cover the space well for the save.
ENG – Steph Houghton, 45th minute, +1: Left back Meghan Klingenberg crossed a dangerous ball into the box with Abby Wambach lurking in front of the goal. Instead, Houghton positioned herself in between to deflect the cross just wide right of the frame.
USA – Ashlyn Harris, 56th minute: Until this point, England was without a shot on frame, but Fran Kirby ended that stretch with a pacey strike from well outside the box. Harris stretched for the clutch save, parrying the ball just enough to push it off the crossbar. That left a rebound opportunity, which Jodie Taylor got on the end of and placed into the back of the net. However, the assistant referee ruled that Taylor was offside, nullifying the goal.
ENG – Karen Bardsley, 62nd minute: Alex Morgan looked to add to her goals total, escaping some contact from Laura Bassett and finding enough space to let off a left-footed shot toward the right post. Morgan did not quite get everything behind it, and Bardsley collected with the save to her left.
USA – Ali Krieger, 90th minute, +4: England had one final moment to squeeze out an equalizer, but on Eniola Aluko’s cross from the right side into the six-yard box, Krieger headed clear to maintain the shutout.
Milestone Watch:
- With her 50th goal, Alex Morgan is now the 10th WNT player to reach that milestone. Morgan is now three goals behind ninth-place Carin Gabarra (53 goals from 1987-1996).
- Abby Wambach became the sixth WNT player to earn 200 starts, joining Kristine Lilly (330), Christie Rampone (270), Julie Foudy (260), Mia Hamm (247) and Joy Fawcett (234). Wambach has now earned 234 caps, which also ranks sixth all-time.
Next on the Schedule:
The U.S. WNT returns to action at the 2015 Algarve Cup in Portugal, starting against Norway on Wednesday, March 4. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. ET at Vila Real de San Antonio.
Broadcast information: FOX Sports 1
Additional Notes:
- Head coach Jill Ellis made two starting lineup changes from the USA’s previous match against No. 3-ranked France.
- Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris earned her second straight cap and appeared for the sixth time in her career.
- The back line included the center back pairing of Becky Sauerbrunn and Whitney Engen, Meghan Klingenberg on the left and Ali Krieger on the right. Krieger earns her first start of the year after coming off the bench against France.
- The midfield in the USA’s 4-4-2 included Lauren Holiday and Morgan Brian in the center, Carli Lloyd on the left and Christen Press on the right.
- Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach were paired up top. Wambach, who was a second-half sub against France, wore the captain’s armband.
- Defender Crystal Dunn made her first appearance of the year and collected the 24th cap of her career, replacing Klingenberg in the 79th minute.
- In the waning moments, Amy Rodriguez entered for Morgan in the 90th minute and Kelley O’Hara replaced Press in the second minute of stoppage time.
– U.S. Women’s National Team Match Report –
Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. England
Date: Feb. 13, 2015
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: stadiummk; Milton Keynes, England
Kickoff: 3 p.m. ET
Attendance: 14,369
Weather: 41 degrees; Scattered clouds
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 1 0 1
ENG 0 0 0
USA – Alex Morgan (Lauren Holiday) 25th minute
Lineups:
USA: 24-Ashlyn Harris; 11-Ali Krieger, 6-Whitney Engen, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 25-Meghan Klingenberg (22-Crystal Dunn, 79); 23-Christen Press (5-Kelley O’Hara, 90+2), 15-Morgan Brian, 12-Lauren Holiday, 10-Carli Lloyd; 13-Alex Morgan (8-Amy Rodriguez, 90), 20-Abby Wambach (capt.)
Subs Not Used: 7-Shannon Boxx, 9-Heather O’Reilly, 14-Julie Johnston, 16-Lori Chalupny, 17-Tobin Heath, 19-Rachel Van Hollebeke, 21-Alyssa Naeher, 26-Tori Huster
Head coach: Jill Ellis
ENG: 1-Karen Bardsley; 2-Alex Scott, 5-Steph Houghton (capt.), 6-Laura Bassett (19-Jessica Clarke, 90), 3-Demi Stokes (14-Alex Greenwood, 70); 7-Jordan Nobbs (16-Fara Williams, 81), 8-Jill Scott, 4-Jo Potter (20-Eni Aliko, 79), 11-Karen Carney; 9-Jodie Taylor (22-Lianne Sanderson, 81), 10-Fran Kirby,
Subs Not Used: 12-Gemma Bonner, 13-Siobhan Chamberlain, 15-Casey Stoney, 17-Katie Chapman, 18-Jade Moore, 21-Carly Telford
Head coach: Mark Sampson
PREVIOUS PRE-GAME COVERAGE
Team Continues Women’s World Cup Pre on FOX Sports – It has been a tough time for our Women’s National Team recently. American need to continue to support our women’s game and remember how our country has victoriously pioneered the female side of the beautiful game.
Following a tough 2-0 defeat at the hands of France last weekend, the USWNT looks to rebound against England in its second of a two-game preparation tour for this summer’s tournament in Canada.
FOX Sports 1 kicks off the FIFA Women’s World Cup year with its coverage tODAY, February 13 (3:00 PM ET), beginning with a 30-minute pregame show at 2:30 PM ET on FOX Sports 1 and streaming on FOX Sports GO.
An all star line up includes JP Dellacamera, Cat Whitehill and Tony DiCicco who will call the match, while Kate Abdo hosts studio coverage live from the FOX Network Center in Los Angeles, alongside former USWNT stars Heather Mitts and Leslie Osborne. England Women’s National Team all-time leading goalscorer Kelly Smith, who just last week retired from international soccer as one of the country’s greatest ever players, will join Mitts and Osborne.
Osborne “It is four months before the Women’s World Cup in Canada and what makes the teams so special is when it matters, this team gets the job done.”
While many analysts are concerned about the USWNT’s performance, Osborne is confident America is a strong contender for victory at this year’s World Cup. “There are many ways to get the job done. The team is playing without people and trying new things. This team has the best players in the world. The USA v France match was a very difficult game. It was a huge trip for them immediately after an intense training camp and to play two of the top teams in the world, it was a perfect opportunity for the team to grow. Now is the time to figure out the mid-field and the back line,” said Osborne.
U.S. WNT head coach Jill Ellis said on the match between USA and France, “We’re in the process of trying to get answers and playing different players and we knew France would be a fantastic test for us. At this point, we’re in the process of evaluating and also building and that’s why we play strong teams, to test ourselves. I don’t think we had great possession, we turned the ball over a lot, but still we had some quality chances, as did France.”
America has won the Women’s World Cup twice — in 1991 and 1999 — and will be looking be champions again in 2015. While Brazil’s Marta may have scored more goals in the Women’s World Cup than any other player, America has the most top goal scorers; Abby Wambach (13 goals), Michele Akers (12 goals), Mia Hamm (8 goals), Kristine Lilly (8 goals) and Tiffany Milbret (7 goals). Our country is well known as being the leaders of the women’s game and, according to Osborne, “A lot of European players have returned from practicing and playing with our teams and analyzed the results. These players all always impressed with how hard we train and work. It is all positive and, yes, everyone is catching up and we have to figure out how to stay on top.”
This is cool for women’s soccer in general,” said Osborne.
What is the big issue challenging the team right now? The team’s highly controversial but highly effective goalkeeper Hope Solo. “The team is preparing that Hope may not play and if she does play, then it will be a huge bonus. It is difficult to stay together when a player is going through a lot of personal stuff,” said Osborne who was on the team with Solo in 2007. “Having her behind you in goal gives players an amazing sense of confidence.”
Make sure to catch the coverage as it unfolds as FOX Sports 1 kicks off the FIFA Women’s World Cup year with its coverage this Friday, February 13 (3:00 PM ET)
