The U.S. Women’s national team lost on home soil for the first time in more than a year, as England bagged a late goal to earn a 1-0 victory in the SheBelieves Cup at Red Bull Arena on Saturday.
The only goal of the match came in the 90th minute, when England’s Ellen White scored off a rebound. The ball was first at the feet of Lucy Bronze, who slammed it into the crossbar. White was the first to find the ball, sending it past Harris for the game’s lone goal.
U.S. coach Jill Ellis made seven changes to the lineup that beat Germany on Wednesday, including giving Rose Lavelle her first cap. The first half saw the Americans hold the edge in possession, spending much of their time near England’s penalty area. Despite that, the USWNT recorded only a single shot on target, the same total as England.
England was more threatening in the second half, and forced Harris into making two point-blank saves. Meanwhile, the USWNT. stayed close to goal yet again, but with little end product. The USWNT remained solid defensively and offensively on the night, but on England’s second corner, U.S. disorganization proved costly as the visitors capitalized for the winning goal.
Before the match, Christie Rampone marked the official end of her 19-year international career, as U.S. Soccer honored the former captain and two-time World Cup champion. The tribute also involved Abby Wambach, who presented her longtime teammate with flowers.
Woman of the Match
Despite coming out on the losing side, Crystal Dunn was incredibly active in the attacking third, as her teammates often went through her before creating opportunities. Many of the US’ chances at goal came through Dunn, who was often open on the right side of the field, ready to create chaos in the box.
Moment of the Match
White’s goal was preceded by a thundering strike from the edge of the penalty area by Bronze that hit the crossbar before White found it near the goal. White and her teammates immediately ran to the bench, and were met by players and coaches ecstatic to score their first goal on American soil in six matches.
Match to Forget
Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd, the biggest stars on the team, were largely absent throughout the match. Lloyd’s inclusion has often been the subject of debate in the last year or so, and Saturday’s performance will add some fuel to the notion her time as a lock starter is coming to an end. Lloyd and Morgan were rendered invisible by England’s strong defense.
I don’t know how many of you were paying attention to the size of the England Team, but it was
substantially bigger than the U. S. Team. Their size matched both Sweden and Iceland which the
U.S. has not defeated in the last 6 tries. Hopefully the U S coaching staff will get the message
and attempt to either get some bigger players out there, or else some whose passing and style of play will find some gaps in the opponents defense. I thought that Samantha Mewis stood out in
midfield, controlling things. When she was substituted for was when England began to develop
more opportunities. And that is no reflection on Allie Long who played the best match I have seen
yet when she was in there. If Allie can continue to improve, she could become part of that bigger
line-up that the U. S. may need going forward. In a marct like this one where you are taking a
look at a lot of different players and combinations, you can’t be disheartened when the only goal
against comes from a rebound where the 2 U. S. defenders knock each other down going for the ball. I’m sure the coaches for the U. S. learned what they needed to know. And that would not
have happened if they were playing Jamaica or some of the lesser teams. Anyway, this tournament is not over yet!!!